The amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Unknown Binding)

by Dorothy Gilman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
When Emily Pollifax answers the phone that Sunday morning, she quickly forgets all about her Garden Club tea that afternoon. For the voice on the other end belonged to a man she had never seen, a man from the CIA who asked her if she could leave immediately on a mission that would take her halfway across the world! What could Mrs. Pollifax say but yes?
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From the Publisher
My grandmother is a big fan of the MRS. POLLIFAX mysteries by Dorothy Gilman. I was at first hesitant
to try the books, because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to relate to mysteries featuring a suburban grandmother
working for the CIA. But because my grandmother's taste in literature has always been impeccable,
I decided to delve into Mrs. Pollifax's adventures. I began with THE UNEXPECTED MRS. POLLIFAX, the first
in the series, and immediately found them delightful. Mrs. Pollifax is just the kind of grandmother I'd
love to have: resourceful, intelligent, somewhat sly, and, of course, a secret CIA operative. Her
adventures take her to all corners of the globe: from an authentically described communist China
(MRS. POLLIFAX ON THE CHINA STATION) to an exhilarating safari across Africa (MRS. POLLIFAX ON
SAFARI). I've thoroughly enjoyed joining her on her adventures, and intend to read them all. I recommend them
to everyone who's interested in learning about different countries and cultures--and, obviously, espionage!

--Malinda Lo, Editorial Assistant --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• ASIN: B00005VCRG
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,321,263 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mrs. Pollifax Returns, August 16, 2006

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Mass Market Paperback)

After her first adventure, Mrs. Pollifax figured she'd never hear from the CIA again. Naturally, when Mr. Carstairs calls and asks her to do another bit of currier work, she's surprised. She recklessly agrees to go. And this time, Carstairs is taking no chances. He's assigning another agent to follow Mrs. Pollifax around and keep her out of trouble.

A notorious Soviet agent has recently defected, and Mrs. Pollifax is to go to Turkey to meet her and help her get to US soil. Naturally, every agency in the world is after this agent, so the danger will be fierce.

Her first night in Turkey, Mrs. Pollifax makes contact, only to be arrested by the local police. Then her shadow is murdered. Alone in a foreign land, Mrs. Pollifax has only her instincts and a young man she just happened to meet to help her. Can she get herself and the agent safely back to the States?

While the first book needed time to set up the premise of the series, this book starts right away. Like Mrs. Pollifax, it can leave the reader a little breathless. Fortunately, there's a little set up before the plot starts in earnest, but once it starts, hold on! The pace is fast and the danger almost constant. Again, there are some plot points that seem a little far fetched, but the book is such fun the reader won't care.

Part of the fun is the characters. Mrs. Pollifax herself is a dear. Her unique perspective on the world makes anything fun. She's taken up karate between books, a skill that comes in quite handy through the rest of the series. In this book, great characters surround her. The heroes are lovable and the villains menacing.

This book was first written in 1970, a fact that is key to a few moments in the story. The historical context of the book helps bring things to an even more vivid life.

While coincidence shows up a time or two, the overall effect is minor. This second book in the series is another winner. You'll be turning pages desperately trying to find out what danger awaits Mrs. Pollifax next.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mrs. Pollifax Wears Many Hats!, July 26, 2003

By	L Smith "acozylover" (Macomb, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Mass Market Paperback)

In the follow-up to the charming debut novel, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman writes another book filled with intrigue and heroism. Mrs. Pollifax, a widow who enjoys teas and garden clubs, sets out on her second courier job for the CIA, a mission which starts in Istanbul. Searching for a missing woman (an agent with international ties), Mrs. Pollifax poses as a tourist to track down the woman and smuggle her safely out of the country. Protected by only an agent, who has no idea what her real mission is to be, Mrs. Pollifax must use her newly acquired knowledge of karate and her unflappable nature to charm her way out of some sticky situations. Hair-raising as always, Mrs. Pollifax's second adventure will leave you wanting more!

I was thrilled to read the second adventure of Mrs. Pollifax, and enjoyed every moment spent with her on the case. Mrs. Pollifax is not a person that you would initially feel would make a good CIA agent. She is elderly, loves to wear outlandish hats, and finds a way to talk and get to know everyone around her. But it is just these qualities that make her so invisible in the world of spies, and even the most cynical of agents falls under her spell. I loved the fact that Mrs. Pollifax learned karate (since she hates guns I worried about how she could plausibly protect herself) and that she was just as lovable yet determined as she was in the previous book. If you have not tried this series, pick up a copy of this book and the previous book, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, and join the millions of others who are charmed by this beloved character! Enjoy!

A Cozy Mystery Lover

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars on the road again, May 31, 2001

By	cynthia (sacramento, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Mass Market Paperback)

Mrs. Pollofax never fails to outsmart, outrun or outlive her evil opponents in her never-ending pursuit of adventure in the prime of her life. And this adventure, set in an incredibly well created Turkish countryside, is no exception. There is no need to worry about giving away the end because Mrs. Pollofax always gets her man. But the real intrigue in her novels is the roller coaster like adventures she encounters along the way. This novel does stand out among the others in its incredible ability to transport the reader right into the heart and minds of the gypsy communities of Turkey. This novel is highly recommended for the adventurer in all of us who remains eternally young at heart.