I have reviewed other books by this prolific author - Min nasab lis-Sur Wilf?, Allat tal-Qerq - but I readily say that the novel I am reviewing today is by far his best.

And maybe not on a national level only but also on an international level too.

I tried to find if there are novels that speak of Ukraine under attack by Russia but could find only one that fitted the bill - A Short History of Tractors by Marina Lewycka - while there are some others that speak of a previous time, the Maidan revolution and others that go even further back in history.

But none that describe the hell in Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion. And none from the part of Ukraine overtaken by the Russians.

I am tempted to say it is a pity in a way this novel is in Maltese for I'm sure that if it were in English it would sell quite well.

Having said that, the novel hinges on a Malta angle. A Maltese family Alex and Brenda, who lost their first child and sought to adopt.

Without foreseeing what was about to happen, they find a child in Ukraine which they adopt.

But the child turns out to be sickly and the professor in Malta tells them that unless the child has a transplant from her own family, she was sure to die.

But the child's two sisters and half-brother are in an orphanage in the part of Ukraine that has been overtaken by the Russians. And there are fears that Russia is stealing children from Ukraine and taking them to Russia.

Note: the rudimentary map provided in the book does not tell you that Kherson is a riverside city and a Black Sea port.

And actually Kherson was under the Russians for a very short time whereas the book seems to give the impression that Russian occupation lasted far longer.

Alex works with the Civil Protection in Malta and has absolutely no training in fighting, using weapons or enduring extremely hard conditions.

But he is determined to find the sisters and half-brother and save the girl.

He tried the official way but predictably got nowhere. Then he tries to get nearer and without realising it he finds himself in Kherson, running hard so as not be captured by the Orki (the Russians).

The author describes the aftermath of the Russian conquest - not just destroyed buildings but also the savagery, the rapes, the way people come to betray their friends and neighbours, the extreme poverty which is only made worse by the invasion.

He joins the ranks of the brave resistance fighters - some of whom become victims, while others, like the exceptionally courageous Olyena, endure.

The remainder of the story is gripping and suspenseful, guaranteed to keep you reading with bated breath.