Elusive Mrs. Pollifax

Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC! Very highly recommended
Review: I am a huge fan of all of Dorothy Gilman's Pollifax books and, of late, I have been enjoying rereading them for the first time in years. I had forgotten that the third book in the series, "The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax," is not only fun and intriguing (like the others) but is downright moving. This is the first of the Pollifax books where the main character becomes more than just a quick-witted, eccentric, elderly spy and is elevated into a feeling, breathing person. Once again, a great book by Dorothy Gilman.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best in the series
Review: I go back a couple of books in the series now to this one, the third. Fortunately there are no significant references to prior books this time around.

Anyhow, this time Mrs. Pollifax finds her way to Bulgaria. Supposedly she is only taking passports to the underground there, but her boss Carstairs is strongarmed into having her taking other items, sewn into her coat, along with her without her knowing it. Complications, unsurprisingly, ensue. She falls in with a group of travelling college students (and one in particular), and leaps in to help when one of them is held by the secret police.

She leads both friends and foes on a merry chase as she travels around Bulgaria. It's got to be one of the more complex plots of any of the books I've read so far, and as a result one of the most gripping.

Rosenblat again does a superb job with the voices.

Rating:
Summary: This book is intriguing and a lot of fun!
Review: I just recently discovered the Mrs. Pollifax books and I have been enjoying them immensely. This one is a great favorite of mine because not only are the many characters and the complex plot skillfully handled, but the characterization is wonderful. The author employs the great writer's rule of "Show, don't tell" to give the reader a more detailed picture of who Mrs. Pollifax is. Her character is drawn with more depth in this novel than in either of the two preceding. In addition, the story is exciting and told with a gentle humor that certainly kept me reading.

Rating:
Summary: No One Else Could have Passports Sewn Into her Hat!
Review: The 3rd book written by Dorothy Gilman is another book filled with intrigue and heroism. Mrs. Pollifax, a widow who enjoys teas and garden clubs, sets out on her third courier job for the CIA, a mission which starts in Bulgaria. Mrs. Pollifax is a CIA agent assigned to smuggle forged passports into the country, for the use of some agents that have found themselves in need of escape. However, as in her previous two cases, no simple courier job ends up that way, and she also works to assist a group of college kids that find themselves in trouble.

I was enthralled with the third assignment of Mrs. Pollifax, and enjoyed every moment spent with her on this adventure. 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 is learning 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 books. If you have not tried this series, pick up a copy of this book and the previous books, and join the millions of others who are charmed by this beloved character!

The first book in the series is "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax". Enjoy!

A Cozy Mystery Lover

Rating:
Summary: No One Else Could have Passports Sewn Into her Hat!
Review: The 3rd book written by Dorothy Gilman is another book filled with intrigue and heroism. Mrs. Pollifax, a widow who enjoys teas and garden clubs, sets out on her third courier job for the CIA, a mission which starts in Bulgaria. Mrs. Pollifax is a CIA agent assigned to smuggle forged passports into the country, for the use of some agents that have found themselves in need of escape. However, as in her previous two cases, no simple courier job ends up that way, and she also works to assist a group of college kids that find themselves in trouble.

I was enthralled with the third assignment of Mrs. Pollifax, and enjoyed every moment spent with her on this adventure. 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 is learning 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 books. If you have not tried this series, pick up a copy of this book and the previous books, and join the millions of others who are charmed by this beloved character!

The first book in the series is "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax". Enjoy!

A Cozy Mystery Lover