Derek Robinson

         The fourth Luis Cabrillo novel

                     - Operation Bamboozle -

                 was published in 2009.

Details on Homepage: www.derekrobinson.info

                     

The series follows the career of Luis Cabrillo - a young Spaniard with no nerves, often no sense, but always too much imagination.  It's based on the true story of an agent codenamed Garbo, who found a moneyspinner in World War Two:  invent Allied secrets, and sell them to German Military Intelligence.  When the British recruited him to help create deception plans, his lies were so convincing that he was decorated by Britain and Germany at the same time.  Peace was no obstacle to Cabrillo's talents, and that's what Red Rag Blues and Operation Bamboozle are all about.
 

  





Nutshell:  In WW2, a freelance spy asks himself: What does the Wehrmacht want to hear?  He invents it (easier than working ) and takes the pay. Also the risk.


  "Original and Dazzling."
                            - SUNDAY TIMES

  "Sharp and ironic."
                            -  THE NEW YORKER

  "
A splendidly ruthless and anarchic spoof."
                            - Hermione Lee -  THE OBSERVER

  "
Our Man in Havana out of Catch 22."
                            -  Kaleidoscope - BBC Radio 4



Author's Notes



Nutshell:
 Never short of ambition, our spy/double-agent recruits a team of  sub-agents, all bogus, and takes their pay, too. Damn clever. Also damn dangerous.


"There are few novelists whose work I buy automatically, but  Robinson is one of them; his audacity and skill are second to none. I often feel like standing and applauding when I read his books."
                               -  Tibor Fischer - THE TIMES



Author's Notes


Nutshell:  WW2 ends; money runs out. But where there's arrogance, there's gold. Our man cons the great witch-hunter, Senator Joe McCarthy, and finds a crock. Several crocks, in fact.

   

"Robinson's dialogue is beyond compare - he hits the ground wisecracking on the first page and is still at it, without any signs of flagging, at the novel's close. "
                       Mike Petty - THE OBSERVER 




The Eldorado Network  (1979; paperbacked 1981)
The novel is  based on the true story of an agent codenamed Garbo. who found a way to turn
World War Two into big business: invent an endless supply of Allied secrets, sell them to
German Military Intelligence, make a ton of money. In the novel he becomes Luis Cabrillo
(codename: Eldorado), a young Spaniard with no nerves and too much imagination.  But
life gets complicated. His American  girlfriend has scruples as well as freckles.  German
officers doubt his brilliance. British Intelligence interferes. Guns go bang and bodies fall.
Still, Luis never quits.  Will Eldorado be the first spy to gross a million? Why not? Top of Page


Artillery of Lies (1991; paperbacked 1992)
Luis Cabrillo's roaring trade as a bogus spy selling fake secrets to Germany is too good.
British Intelligence recruits him.  Now he's a double-agent, based in Britain, with a network
of phony sub-agents, all selling Allied deception plans to Hitler. Power  -  even imaginary
power  -  is intoxicating, and Luis begins to treat his fake sub-agents as if they exist. Such
fantasy is not good for his love life. Meanwhile, real German spies are landing in Britain with
orders (naturally) to contact Luis. Listen, nobody ever said war was simple.       Top of Page


Red Rag Blues (2006)
It's 1953, and Luis Cabrillo has spent the small fortune he earned from both British and
German Intelligence in WW2.  Now he has only his wits, his confidence, and his dazzling
skills at lying and cheating.  Teaming up again with Julie Conroy (a corker of a New Yorker),
he follows his wartime instincts and goes where arrogance breeds wealth:  to Washington DC
and Senator Joe McCarthy, high priest of America's holy war on Red treachery. Joe's problem
is a sudden shortage of treachery.  Luis has the answer, for dollars. Big dollars. But when the
CIA gets into the act, followed by the KGB, FBI, MI6, and the Mafia, it makes for an explosive
mixture ripe for a spark.                                                                                    Top of Page

 To see other Derek Robinson website pages, please click:

           Homepage                    The RFC Trilogy (WW1)              The RAF Quartet (WW2)

          Other Novels                            Bristol Books               

Availability of the books.
The quartet is currently out of print apart from Operation Bamboozle, copies of which can be obtained
from the author. The quartet is available as e-books. The following websites may be useful in tracking
down secondhand copies.
Amazon UK   Amazon USA      Fantastic Fiction   

Other websites you may find of interest: 
Wikipedia               The Aerodrome Forum      LibraryThing.com