How Danny Rook ran into an old shipmate, got properly
Shanghai-ed, continued to feel expendable - and finally quit...
Click thru to Amazon Argentina has just invaded the Falkland Islands and Danny Rook is trawling through hundreds of half-crazy letters sent to the MoD by members of the British public, wanting to help. But one letter stands out as not so barmy.
It suggests the Junta could employ chemical warfare, based on leftover stocks from a secret Nazi wartime operation... And the story stacks up pretty well. What's worse - it could prove to be a big embarrassment for Britain.
Then Danny's boss, Admiral Rennie, asks him to interrogate an Argentinian prisoner at Ascension Island - "There is nobody else ! " But it's a ruse to get him aboard the Task Force.
Once again, it's time for Danny Rook, unlikely crusader, to put his objections to one side and follow his nose...
- For an interview with "A-P" about Tabarin, click here to visit the Aspects of History website, where you can read this article, published in September 2023.
Tabarin On Tour
Tabarin at Boppard, Rheinland-Palatinate
The last-but-one scene of Tabarin takes place on the riverfront at Boppard:
"...There was plenty of time to think about what he might do next. His current favourite was to march into the Boppard Polizeiamt, come to attention, report for duty under his Kriegsmarine serial number, then break down in tears, pretending memory loss..."
So, we thought, why not include Boppard in our European holiday, stay there for a night - great schnitzel at the Baudobriga Hotel, by the way - and let the book enjoy the visit too. Here's Tabarin then, alongside one of the Köln-Düsseldorfer river steamers at Boppard in April, 2024.
Tabarin at Park Hotel Post, Freiburg im Breisgau
After Boppard we moved on to Heidelberg, then Freiburg, where we stayed at the Park Hotel Post... 'Kultur und Literatur' which is famed for the number of German writers who have stayed there.
The staff at Park Hotel Post were wonderful, and most interested in the Danny Rook novels, so we wrote a piece in the visitors' book (in English) before donating Tabarin to the hotel's collection.
Then we moved on to Switzerland and Italy, with nothing to give away...
Next time, we need to bring more books!