Litpick Review
By praetorian2004

The Maltese Attack by Jay Perin is a political and historical thriller. The book centers on U.S. Senator Temple in the midst of deep tensions between Libya and the United States during the 1970s. Gaddafi had gripped the region with his tyrannical power. Major oil companies and holdings were constantly at risk of succumbing to Gaddafi’s shrewd tactics. Senator Temple has to navigate the tenuous situation politically and economically. Haunting him is a poor decision made in the past to let an oil tycoon on the loose. Can he do enough to bring three oil companies and their leaders together to secure the region and his political aspirations? We meet Senator Temple in the opening chapter on a search-and-rescue mission to save two teenagers who will prove to be the key to Temple’s hopes.

Opinion

The Maltese Attack by Jay Perin is a well-written political and historial thriller. It moves at a steady pace without getting too bogged down in the political details (like voting processes and other politicians). Historical facts weave their way through the story, usually with description, but sometimes refreshingly through the dialogue of the characters. One thing Perin does very well is introduce Senator Temple at the very beginning, but then basically leaves him out of the story while telling the background and developing the other characters. Doing so makes Harry and Lilah feel essential at the end of the story, which is the whole point. By the end, you can imagine Senator Temple working his machinations behind the scenes the whole time, but the reader is left to imagine much of what he has had to do to secure his own position. The reader is also helped by Perin’s listing of the cast of characters at the very beginning of the book, so the relationships between the characters can be kept in mind throughout.

Explain your content rating: 

There are some frightening situations for the main characters, and some mild language. One of the characters is raped; the rape itself is not described, but the character deals with the horrific trauma afterwards. I also think adults would get the most out of the book, especially if they have some familiarity with the history behind the story.

Readers’ Favorite
Reviewed By Vincent Dublado

The Maltese Attack is a political thriller with a unique and interesting twist. Jay Perin employs all the necessary elements that make up a good page-turner and on top of it is characterization. The novel opens with U.S. Senator Temple aboard a search-and-rescue helicopter that is careful not to violate Libyan airspace as they try to retrieve two abducted teenagers. Why a senator like Temple is risking his life in such an operation is that he is partly responsible for playing a role in the tragedy. Temple is a friend to three wealthy oil families who were instrumental in helping him get to where he is now. But his past grave error comes back to haunt him, and it will take more than political will to thwart the threat of a powerful, corrupt businessman who is taking over the energy sector. Problems coming from all fronts will thwart Temple. So much is going on in Libya under Gaddafi’s tyrannical rule, and back home, he must deal with a political rival who has a possible hand in everything that is happening.

Jay Perin gives a rousing narrative from start to finish. He descriptively shows how Temple winds up in such a predicament, which is something that can truly happen in real life as the echelons of politics have always been marred by bribery and corruption. We see tensions between the Libyan and U.S. governments, which were prevalent back in the seventies when Gaddafi was in power. There is a sense of urgency as Temple races against time to rectify matters. The strength of The Maltese Attack hinges on its intensity as it stirs your curiosity to find out if powerful individuals ever get to do time for their crimes. You might find it easy to categorize this novel as a political thriller, but it is more than that. It crosses other genres easily and without the excessive complexity that you find in many of today’s thrillers. This novel is smart and engaging, and the events it presents may well play on your fear that history might repeat itself.

Blue Ink Review

In this thriller, set in the early ’70s, two teenagers learn what grit and determination mean when
their survival is at stake in Libya.
Harry and his childhood friend Lilah are just starting to enjoy their budding teenage romance
when Lilah’s parents are killed in a small plane crash. Lilah and her twin brother Dan are taken
in by their half-sister and her billionaire husband Andrew Barrons, who live in New York.
Barrons wants to adopt Dan—but not Lilah—as his heir. Aghast, Dan turns him down.
Meanwhile, Harry now lives with his family in Libya, where dictator Gaddafi and corporate
raiders vie to seize Harry’s family’s small American oil company, a move that would bankrupt
them. With Lilah desperate to talk to Harry, Barrons agrees to send her to Libya, seeing this
benevolence as an opportunity to win over Dan.
When Lilah arrives in Libya, she doesn’t realize she’s a pawn in the oil game. She and Harry are
kidnapped and, upon escape, they become political footballs, with good and evil forces pursuing
them.
Once the chase begins, the book becomes a page-turner. The protagonists’ journey is rousing
as they navigate the difficult terrain and consider whom to trust. Politics were complex in the
early ‘70s, and the author manages to highlight political tensions without giving a history lesson.
The book is also chockful of interesting symbolism (Jared Sanders is the son of a Maltese
immigrant; the Maltese attack is also a chess move), as well as biblical allusions (Lilah’s real
name is Delilah; Harry’s family company is Genesis).
The story falters, however, when trying to explain the secondary characters’ enmities and
alliances. In particular, Jared Sanders, a political candidate and possible friend of dictators,
remains a shadowy figure. Because the author plans to continue the series, perhaps he intends
to fill in this outline later.
The thrilling chase remains the drawing card for now, and fans of this genre won’t be
disappointed.

Midwest Book Review
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer

The Maltese Attack opens in 1974 on the Egyptian/Libyan border, where U.S. Senator Temple is involved in a search-and-rescue mission involving young people he’d inadvertently played a role in endangering.

Even Temple’s stint in the army hasn’t prepared him for the active combat situation he faces. And this is only the opening salvo in a series of encounters that test him in various ways on the international arena, from dirty politics to the increasingly deadly involvements of diplomat’s daughter Lilah in the clans and politics of the Middle East.

Charged with more than survival, Lilah and Harry find themselves immersed in a culture and political situation way over their heads. Temple also finds himself out of his league, even given his determination and abilities.

Jay Perin crafts tense scenes surrounding all three characters in a story that moves deftly through this world: “Could she fight through this nightmare? Could they escape to safety? The men who held this part of the world in their cruel grip did not plan to let their prisoners live. The ones who’d offered help could barely help themselves.”

Part of the special strength of The Maltese Attack lies in its plot and subplots, in which danger moves from the Middle East and onto American soil. A successful mission does not mean a successful long-term outcome, as Temple, Harry, and Lilah discover.

Can two clever young people and a savvy senator defy political and economic forces at work in two nations?

Perin’s careful crafting of both political ramifications and family interactions is well done, injecting strong psychological inspection into the overall story of intrigue and international conflict: “Without answering directly, Temple walked to the door. “Something else to remember… pride, self-respect… it might get injured, but time heals such wounds. A life once lost will not return. Not yours, not your family’s.” The boy would figure things out. After all, he knew very well there was one thing in the world Andrew wanted he didn’t have yet. The one person whose self-respect he wasn’t able to buy.”

The result is a story replete with action and interpersonal inspection. It goes beyond political arenas to consider the choices, consequences, and lives of all who fall into the trap of family secrets and international conspiracies.

Thriller readers will find the use of three powerful characters and their different perceptions and strengths makes for a fast-paced and well-written story that offers hope and insight for formulating a brave new world forged on new alliances.

U.S. Review of Books
Book review by Elizabeth Creel

“If the White House and the CIA were indeed involved, the crisis Temple was trying to stave off had arrived.” In a mistake he’s lived to regret, Senator Temple let a corrupt businessman go free. Now that same businessman has taken over the world’s biggest energy sector. It’s hard enough dealing with the tensions going on back home through the politics, the scandals, and even the heartbreaks, let alone the rising conflict in the Middle East. To make matters worse, the only ones who can help the senator are the oil tycoon families who are too greedy to depend on. Will Temple be able to thwart the criminal mastermind, or will old grudges and corruption get the better of them all?

Frequently historical fiction can become bogged down, making the reading experience much more like that of a school lesson. Thankfully, this story keeps an even balance. It gives historical fiction fans plenty of history while giving thriller and fiction fans the action and suspense they’re craving. In fact, there’s enough here to keep almost every reader happy. Even romance fans can get a little something out of this story. Perin’s book has many different interesting elements and themes, keeping readers intrigued and ready for more when the series continues. The characters, such as the protagonist, are well developed and interesting enough to keep anyone reading engaged. They are also likable enough to keep readers rooting for them. The plot moves quickly enough to prevent boredom, which again can often plague other historical fiction, but not so speedily as to skip details pertinent to the general storyline. Readers will definitely be ready to jump back in when the next book in this series comes out.

Clarion Reviews
Reviewed by John M. Murray
March 3, 2021

Clarion Rating: 3 out of 5

In the political thriller The Maltese Attack, headstrong young people are swept into an international power play.

In Jay Perin’s thriller The Maltese Attack, two young people become political pawns to a Libyan coup.

In the early 1970s, Lilah and her twin brother Daniel are preoccupied with high school and their plans for college. When their parents die in a plane crash, they move in with a wealthy family who hope to adopt Daniel as their heir. Lilah distracts herself with her budding romance with Harry, her childhood friend. Harry and his family are in Libya, working to keep their small oil company afloat. Lilah travels there to be closer to Harry, but the two are abducted. Their harrowing escape sets them on a dangerous trip across Libya, as they work to reach the safety of Egypt.

The stakes are established in a quick, brutal fashion in the prologue, in which Lilah and Harry are at the border of Libya with their enemies closing in, bombs going off, and an ally watching them from Egypt. The story proper rewinds two years, devoting ample time to building up Lilah and Harry’s romance, showcasing the various political powers who play into their story, and covering the events leading up to the Libyan conflict, all with balance.

Harry has a quick wit and is prone to flirting, but his heartfelt exchanges with and about Lilah reveal a deeper side to him. Lilah, meanwhile, has a deep sense of her personal worth; she ends up anchoring the story. She never compromises her morals; she refuses to take money from the family who adopts her, even though this lengthens her time apart from Harry.

Elsewhere in the cast, Daniel’s desire to become a titan of industry is used against him by his adoptive family, who hope to bring Daniel in as heir to spite their disinherited son. Secondary cast members are present to highlight class differences, from oil barons to a snobby senator with ulterior motives to an unknown agent working against the family; the latter is never revealed, which comes to seem a glaring absence.

The book’s intense sensory details, as of the stench and sights of a torture room, clash with its more poetic romantic story line. Biblical and mythological references (Lilah’s full name is Delilah, and the family company is Genesis) are used to foreshadow events. Though Lilah and Harry’s story doesn’t end at the border, the book does settle its adoption issues and cover the fate of the family’s company, though the question of what’s behind the adoptive family’s troubles remains murky.

In the political thriller The Maltese Attack, headstrong young people are swept into an international power play.