First published 1996
Harry Pendel is a tailor in Panama, weaving the finest suits for the city's elite. But Harry has a secret past as a former British spy. When a shady American operative named Andy Osnard arrives, Harry is blackmailed into becoming an informant, spinning a web of lies and misinformation. As Harry's fabrications ensnare the highest levels of Panamanian power, the stakes grow higher, and the threat of exposure looms. In this darkly comic tale, one man's double life threatens to unravel an entire nation.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Panama, Great Britain, Panamá
Period: 20th-century
332 pages · Hardcover · Knopf