The Noriega Tapes: A Thriller Based on True Events

Crime is one of my favourite genres to read, and I love a novel that is packed with suspense, unexpected twists, mystery and adventure. The Noriega Tapes, by Aussie author Lance Karlson, ticks all those boxes and was a page-turner from start to end.

This is a fiction novel; however, it is well researched and based on true historical events that took place in Panama in the 1980s involving Manuel Noriega, a Panamanian politician at the time and a notorious criminal. Noriega was renowned for his duplicitous behaviour toward American officials and CIA and used a series of secret recordings to blackmail his way to power. Nobody knows what happened to these tapes, but Karlson has skilfully placed a fiction twist to this story by filling in these gaps and exploring what happened through his characters, Owen Ellis and Jenna Martinez.

I enjoyed the structure of the book and the dual storyline that combines two plots set almost a generation apart. I recently read a book that switches between past and present-day that was difficult to follow and left me confused. Karlson has cleverly intertwined the two stories in a way that provides cohesion to the overall narrative. The style of writing is easy to read, but the characters are rich in detail. The ending was great! This book would make such an entertaining Netflix series.