LitPick Review
By juliesaraporter

In the 1970’s, Senator Temple and the heads of three very powerful families — The Sheppards, The Kingsleys, and The Barrons — pool their resources to conspire against a corrupt, powerful oil magnate, Jared Sanders. The one most likely to inherit the Kingsley and Barron businesses and lead them towards a more enlightened and progressive future is the idealistic Delilah Barrons. She will inherit everything if she consents to an arranged marriage between herself and one of the Kingsley Brothers. The only trouble is that she and Harry Sheppard have been in love with each other ever since they were rescued from being abducted as teenagers in Libya.

Opinion: 

The Manhattan Swindle is a highly intelligent, suspenseful political thriller. Every character has multiple motives and has to make various decisions before the final page is turned. It’s the kind of book that asks whether personal feelings are more important than the overall responsibility that one has to their family and country. This point is made when both Harry and Delilah are both shown people suffering because of the actions of men like Sanders and are asked if it’s worth holding onto their romance when they are given the chance to change things in the world for the better. There is a sense that every character is being played in a larger chess match, but the real question is who is playing who and who really comes out on top. Many characters start out with good intentions, but those intentions are squashed once the real world sets in and they are surrounded by corruption, corporate greed, and violence even by people on their side. Many characters compromise their family, relationships, even their humanity for other goals. The question in the final confrontation could be in the end: If one side has lost everything that is important to them in the name of competition, vengeance, and ridding the world of one type of corruption, and if they have to be as heartless and corrupt as their competitor, then have they really won anything?

Readers’ Favorite
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo

The Manhattan Swindle is the second book in the One Hundred Years of War series by Jay Perin, a compelling novel with a strong historical setting in the seventies. Jared Sanders is a powerful man and a criminal who has made a fortune from the oil business, and he is about to gain control of the White House. But someone stands in his way, an old enemy: Senator Temple. This time Temple has allies, and they are ready to do everything and anything to destroy Jared Sanders, each of them with a strong background. It is a chess game designed to destroy Sanders without spilling blood, and they are as cunning as they are resourceful. But can they succeed in bringing down a man with so much power and vast resources?

The first thing that grips the reader is the complexity with which the author writes the characters. Lilah is a strong woman with a painful past who still struggles with the trauma of being sexually harassed in Libya. She has been through a lot. Harry brings unique traits and military backgrounds that complement the other characters. Alex is a character whose good looks have a powerful effect on women, a man with intense sex appeal. The writing is stellar, sprinkled with poignant insights about life. From the very beginning, the enemy makes known their philosophy: “the best time to deal with a problem is before it becomes one.” The bonds between the characters are intricately woven, and I adored how the author writes motivation in each of them. The genuinely flawed characters, the dazzling prose, and the beguiling plot points make this story irresistible. The writing in The Manhattan Swindle is filled with symbolism. Jay Perin is a master storyteller who delivers the entertainment that readers look for in deftly plotted thrillers with memorable characters.

Midwest Book Review
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer

The Manhattan Swindle represents Book 2 in the One Hundred Years of War historical thriller series. It takes place in the 1970s and opens in Washington, DC, where the Kingsley clan is butting heads over the family business.

Senator Temple and others keep oil kingpin and criminal Jared Sanders from controlling the White House, but there are other forces at work, both domestically and internationally, that will sway the course of not just American, but world politics.

From the start, Jay Perin cultivates an intriguing blend of interpersonal interactions and family dynamics and political and criminal clashes. Sanders faces formidable adversaries in the form of three powerful, diverse individuals, but he still holds a powerful card in the way of family secrets that could ruin all his adversaries.

Perin’s story is not your usual thriller genre read. His ability to twist the tale with words that are powerful and unique set this story apart from any anticipation of a staid progression of events: “The world was in chaos. Truth and untruth were constantly at war, the moral with the immoral, and few were willing to take up arms on behalf of that which was good. Somewhere, the chronicler of humanity’s story must’ve despaired over the selfishness and shameful cowardice, but he didn’t possess the power to meddle. Here was Lilah being offered the chance to rewrite a small part of the tale. Did she have the strength in her spine to battle evil, faith enough in her heart to see it through? She’d have to end her life as she knew it.”

Special interests range from the adopted (yet pedigreed) aristocrat Lilah (Delilah Sheppard Barrons) and her forceful influence on the people around her to those involved in a conspiracy that traverses the globe. There are many characters that clash in the arena of contracts, interpersonal relationships, and struggles for power as the story moves from the 70s to the 80s, following both national influence and the interpersonal relationships and politics that affect both.

Perin’s ability to wind all these characters into a story filled with struggles over rightful legacies, slaughters, and tarnished reputations makes for a fast-paced tale that is hard to put down.

It should be noted that The Manhattan Swindle is not a read recommended for casual thriller audiences interested in action alone. It is steeped in multifaceted political and interpersonal tension that evolves in a myriad of characters and influences, and requires of its reader an astute attention to detail even as it weaves these events into a thoroughly engrossing feature filled with twists and turns.

Thriller readers looking for depth, complexity, historical foundations (the novel is replete with references to American history) and satisfying surprises as three dynasties embark on long-term struggles will find The Manhattan Swindle akin to The Raj Quartet in its ability to bring to life the influences and evolving politics of nations under siege both from internal and external forces.

Social issues ranging from rape to power plays make for a backdrop that is thought-provoking throughout, elevating The Manhattan Swindle beyond the usual thriller read and lending to its appeal to history and social issues audiences, as well.

U.S. Review of Books
Book review by Batya Weinbaum

This is a vibrant, colorful thriller about United States politics and government. The book opens with a splashy legal setting replete with secrets, the Supreme Court, books on the law, and the constitution. Senator Temple is waiting for his stepbrother, who is a silver-haired, pony-tailed eccentric judge. The two men whip out a folder with the life story of a young woman and a chessboard. They begin to plot a marriage to save their corporation. With that, Perin has quickly and deftly established the tone of this long, rambling, and rambunctious novel.

Perin’s ability to craft skillful dialogue and create a detailed atmosphere is obvious: “‘The girl does present us with an extraordinary opportunity,’ Godwin murmured. Through her and one of his grandsons, the Kingsleys, the Barronses, and the Sheppards would once again be allied against a common enemy. They would defeat the criminal emperor of the energy sector.” Lilah, the young woman in question and the apex of the action, is the daughter of a recently deceased ambassador, which only thickens the plot further. And yet Perin adds another touch: the erstwhile heroine had just escaped from two thugs who had kidnapped her with a man with whom she had envisioned quite a different future.

A flirtation with the surreal via the supernatural seeps into the pages as well in a scene in which the author creates suspense and uses dialogue to not only develop his characters in surprising ways but also to bring in other-worldly elements: “‘I saw my grandfather,’ a Texas cowboy sobs. ‘He’s been dead for three years. I think I’m gonna die.'” Those who want a gripping read romping through the lives of some spellbinding characters will not be disappointed.

San Francisco Book Review
Reviewed By: Erin Britton

Jay Perin’s One Hundred Years of War series began in explosive fashion with The Maltese Attack, which explored the rabid corruption that permeated the oil industry and affiliated politics during the 1970s. It introduced three wealthy oil dynasties—the Kingsleys, the Sheppards, and the Barronses—the members of which are bound together as much by their secrets as by their pervasive rivalry, and a politician, Senator Temple, who sought to exploit their influence in order to bring down his greatest foe, ruthless oilman Jared Sanders.

Now, in The Manhattan Swindle, Perin moves the action and feuds on into the late 1970s and early 1980s, where the glitz and glamour of the oil industry belie the danger, exploitation, and media intrusion that key industry participants face. Temple continues to move the other characters around the world like pieces on a chessboard as he pursues his vendetta against Sanders, who is inching ever closer to the White House, despite his criminality being well known in the corridors of power. Temple has a plan to unite the three dynasties through a strategic marriage—which he intends to take place whether or not the two parties involved actually wish to be married—and then use their combined influence and resources to topple Sanders.

As for Harry Sheppard and Lilah Sheppard Barrons, they are slowly recovering from the trauma of being kidnapped and held hostage by Sanders’ thugs during the first book, although fate and its minions seem to be conspiring to keep them apart. Harry has joined the Navy SEALs and, when not training, is being dispatched to various foreign locales to assist the CIA with covert missions. Lilah has enrolled at MIT and is focused on supporting herself while excelling in her studies, although she is concerned by the lack of communication from Harry. Meanwhile, Dan Sheppard Barrons, Lilah’s twin brother, is attending West Point and being groomed to take over the Barrons empire. As they all seek to make their way in the world, they little realize that they are simply pawns being maneuvered to further the interests of the powerful.

The Manhattan Swindle is an action-packed, globe-trotting thriller that explores the depths to which people will sink in pursuit of power and wealth. The two characters, who serve as the opposing chess players in the game that will decide the fate of nations, Senator Temple and Jared Sanders, are both Machiavellian strategists who care little for the lives of others. Even Temple, who is positioned on the side of “good” when compared with the criminal Sanders, is playing a long game in which he is willing to sacrifice as many people as necessary to achieve his aims. With so many devious characters involved, it’s little wonder there are crosses and double-crosses to be found throughout the story.

Perin drops readers straight into the action and intrigue and, while some explanation of the events of the first book is provided, the story may well prove confusing for those who haven’t read The Maltese Attack. Even with that grounding, it can prove tricky to keep track of the various characters, familial relationships, and timelines involved in the story. Despite this, The Manhattan Swindle is a pretty exciting tale of political intrigue and stock market chicanery, and it’ll be interesting to see what Perin has in store for readers in the next book, The Cuban Gambit.

Manhattan Book Review
Reviewed By: Willow Greymoor

The Manhattan Swindle, penned by Jay Perin, is the second historical thriller in the One Hundred Years of War series that chronicles the continuation of blood feuds, criminals, oil barons, politics, and undertones subterfuge that propelled the origins of this series.

The Kingsleys and the Sheppards were well-established familial dynasties located in the United States during the harrowing eras of the 1970s and 1980s. Moreover, the families were rivals for years before deciding to join forces to jointly protect their wealth from the criminalistic oilman Jared Sanders– who covertly attempted to assassinate the young heir, Harry, in an attempt to assert his criminal intentions within the oil industry. Not only was the demonstrably corrupt Sanders a domineering criminal—his objective was nearly in reach via seizing power within the White House.

Shortly after the vicious assassination attempt from Sanders, the power families joined forces with Senator Temple, who was arch enemies with the reprehensible Sanders, to stop his political takeover and protect the White House. The longstanding opposing families agreed and concluded that Lilah should take Sanders’s place in the oil industry after disposing of him.

Harry and Lilah’s relationship was strained from the attacks from Sanders and arguments within their families, and the couple chose to separate. The couple managed to maintain their romantic feelings for each other while in separation. Harry’s rebellious spirit led him to join the Navy Seals, and Lilah forged her own path and furthered her autonomy as a woman and pursued her studies at MIT. Although the pair was no longer together, they periodically ebbed and flowed through each other’s lives and eventually found their paths back to each other.

Author Perin’s visually detailed depictions of the undoubtedly motley characters exuded quality storytelling capabilities, which rendered the characters believable as they are memorable. Perin also conceptualized the traumatic events that had molded the characters’ personalities, which divulged a reverence for the effect of traumatic stresses on the human psyche.

Furthermore, the novel’s ending was nothing short of riveting. Several burning questions will require answers in The Cuban Gambit, the third novel in the One Hundred Years of War series. Indeed, this series is a fantastic choice for any reader who enjoys a thrilling book with unexpected twists and turns that will keep the reader curiously enthralled.