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Available
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Publication
Fawcett (1982), Mass Market Paperback, 223 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:�Mrs. Pollifax is the American cousin to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple.��Toronto Star Now the incredible Mrs. Pollifax has been sent on a safari to smoke out a very clever international assassin whose next target is the president of Zambia. �Just take a lot of pictures of everyone on that safari,� the CIA man told her. �One of them has to be our man.� It sounded simple enough. But it wasn't. Because shortly after Mrs. Pollifax started taking pictures, someone stole her film. And right after that she was kidnapped by Rhodesian terrorists. And right after that�well, read for yourself. . . �Mrs. Pollifax is an enchantress.��The New York Times.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Othemts
More fun fluff about the grandmother / CIA operative. This one has a sort of mystery on a train setting - "which person in this group is a killer?" - except that it's on a safari. Gilman is good at writing Mrs. Pollifax into every political situation of the time, and this one she ends up embroiled
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in post-colonial African skullduggery. And she even gets a love interest! Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I'm so enjoying my travels with Mrs. Pollifax! Although I would have enjoyed a bit more African color, still there were some wild animals and a reunion with an old friend. And there is Romance! in Mrs. Pollifax's life. But I really hope Cyrus quits dropping his pronouns all the time - it is weird
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to read. Show Less
LibraryThing member nolak
Mrs. Pollifax goes on a safari to try to find an assassin planning to kill the president of Zambia. She is kidnapped by Rhodesian terrorists as well as more adventures, especially meeting the wonderful Cyrus.
LibraryThing member annbury
One of the pleasantest of the Mrs. Pollifax series: herein, our heroine finds true love (as well as serious danger, interesting suspects, and an absorbing mise en scene) on a photographic safari in Zamiba.
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Mrs. Emily Pollifax, a New Jersey widow, geranium grower, and occasional spy, has a new assignment from the CIA. An unknown assassin is expected to be among a safari party in Zambia. All Mrs. Pollifax needs to do is take pictures of everyone in the group and the CIA will do the rest. It sounds
Mrs. Pollifax has the strong personality of an Amelia Peabody combined with the sharp perception of a Miss Marple. The combination makes for entertaining armchair adventures. However, the book isn’t pure fluff. The action in the book takes place after Zambian independence and before Zimbabwean independence. The political situation in Rhodesia and the issue of apartheid form part of the context for the events in the book. There are also oblique references to the political turmoil in the U.S. surrounding the Watergate affair:
Carstairs asked me to tell you very firmly that his department has remained scrupulous to the letter in all its undertakings…At least as scrupulous as can be expected when our business is to gather information by nefarious means, hit troublesome people over the head, and indulge in other interesting forms of skullduggery.
Mrs. Pollifax, recalling certain people that she herself had been forced to hit over the head, did not comment; it was a very modest number, of course, but one of which she was sure neither her garden club nor her pastor would approve.
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simple enough until Mrs. Pollifax encounters unexpected difficulties. She’ll have to use all of her considerable resources to get out of the situation alive.Mrs. Pollifax has the strong personality of an Amelia Peabody combined with the sharp perception of a Miss Marple. The combination makes for entertaining armchair adventures. However, the book isn’t pure fluff. The action in the book takes place after Zambian independence and before Zimbabwean independence. The political situation in Rhodesia and the issue of apartheid form part of the context for the events in the book. There are also oblique references to the political turmoil in the U.S. surrounding the Watergate affair:
Carstairs asked me to tell you very firmly that his department has remained scrupulous to the letter in all its undertakings…At least as scrupulous as can be expected when our business is to gather information by nefarious means, hit troublesome people over the head, and indulge in other interesting forms of skullduggery.
Mrs. Pollifax, recalling certain people that she herself had been forced to hit over the head, did not comment; it was a very modest number, of course, but one of which she was sure neither her garden club nor her pastor would approve.
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LibraryThing member bookwoman247
This is a nice, breezy, fun book. It is part of a series featuring an intrepid, grandmotherly-type CIA operative. Her assignment in this book is simply to photograph members of a safari. Naturally, this leads Mrs. Pollifax into danger - and adventure.
LibraryThing member BookReaderHere
Easy read, I enjoyed it very much. This book kept you guessing until the very end.
LibraryThing member kaulsu
Short and sweet; lots of fun. Glad to finally meet Cyrus Reed, the judge who sweeps Emily Polifax off her feet. The abduction of Mrs. P. was so tame it was laughable. On the other hand, the physical aspects that weren't supposed to be tortuous certainly were!
LibraryThing member Jean_Sexton
This is the fifth book of the series and sees the return of a character introduced in the first book. It takes place during the Cold War era when apartheid was still going strong.
I loved the assignment: take pictures of everyone going on this safari. It is simple and sounds so easy -- what could
It is another frothy mystery, perfect for reading quickly. But beware! You'll want to finish it in one gulp.
Off to the next one in the series.
I loved the assignment: take pictures of everyone going on this safari. It is simple and sounds so easy -- what could
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possibly go wrong? But this is Mrs. Pollifax so you know *something* will happen. It is another frothy mystery, perfect for reading quickly. But beware! You'll want to finish it in one gulp.
Off to the next one in the series.
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LibraryThing member Olivermagnus
If you've ever read any of the other Mrs. Pollifax mysteries you already know our heroine, Mrs. Pollifax, is an excellent gardener, expert karate expert, and part-time CIA agent. This time, she is asked to go on an African safari in order to take pictures of the participants, one of whom is a
The Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman are delightful and the perfect way to relax after a more gritty mystery. The politics are over thirty years old so don't be surprised to see some old stereotypes in this story. If you are already a Mrs. Pollifax fan, you will certainly enjoy this one too.
Show More
vicious assassin named Aristotle. But the first night of the safari, Mrs. Pollifax discovers that her film has been stolen. Suddenly, things are personal, and she decides she will not only take the pictures but figure out who Aristotle is. Can she do that when her fellow travelers seem so nice? What secrets might they be hiding? Before long there is a a kidnapping and a reunion with an old friend and a delightful romance scene.The Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman are delightful and the perfect way to relax after a more gritty mystery. The politics are over thirty years old so don't be surprised to see some old stereotypes in this story. If you are already a Mrs. Pollifax fan, you will certainly enjoy this one too.
Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
August 2016 reread -- I am increasing my rating from 3 to 4 stars. The Mrs. Pollifax books aren't great literature but they are a lot of fun and the best of them stand up well to rereading.
Amazing how the world has changed since this was first published in 1976 - issues that were of great
Amazing how the world has changed since this was first published in 1976 - issues that were of great
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contemporary interest then are now of more historical interest. But the characters still shine :) Show Less
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
Lovable Mrs. Pollifax is back! This time she has traveled to Africa to go on safari. Her mission is to take lots and lots of pictures and oh by the way, find an infamous assassin. Acting as the CIA's voluntary grandma spy, Emily Pollifax, albeit with bumbling charm, befriends every strange
As an aside, this is not a spoiler but, but. But! Gilman gives Pollifax an umbrella to carry throughout her journey through Africa. Because the umbrella/parasol is mentioned a dozen times I thought for sure it would be used as a weapon, contain a secret clue or something significant. In the end, Pollifax gives the umbrella away without incident. Oh well.
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character she meets in the hopes one of them is the elusive and deadly Aristotle. Of course, it wouldn't be a Gilman mystery if something didn't go according to plan. This is a quick read, but highly enjoyable.As an aside, this is not a spoiler but, but. But! Gilman gives Pollifax an umbrella to carry throughout her journey through Africa. Because the umbrella/parasol is mentioned a dozen times I thought for sure it would be used as a weapon, contain a secret clue or something significant. In the end, Pollifax gives the umbrella away without incident. Oh well.
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LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
That grandmotherly spy Mrs. Pollifax, with her penchant for flamboyant hats and her friendly interest in everyone she meets, heads to Zambia in this fifth installment of Dorothy Gilman's series devoted to her espionage adventures. Her mission, while on safari, is to take photographs of all of her
I have always enjoyed Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, since first reading it (along with the rest of the series then in publication) as an adolescent. First, there is our eponymous heroine, with her cheerful, upbeat, hopeful view on her fellow human beings. I am no expert on spy novels - these are, in fact, the only ones I have read - but it strikes me that this must be unusual, in the genre. Second, there is the poetic description of Zambia, and the beauties of the natural world, which would make any reader long to go on safari herself. As another reviewer has noted, the travelogue aspect of this series is one of its great charms. Third, the reader gets to witness the happy reunion with John Sebastien Farrell, whom Mrs. Pollifax met and befriended in her first adventure, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, and who is a favorite character. Fourth, Mrs. Pollifax's newbeau, and eventual second husband , Cyrus Reed, debuts here. These factors all make this an engaging addition to the series! I see that some other reviewers felt that Dorothy Gilman failed to grasp the geopolitics of the region, during this period, but while their criticisms may indeed be just, as someone not conversant with the history, I feel ill-equipped to judge. Still, those who do know more about the subject might want to keep that in mind, when approaching the book. With that proviso, I recommend this one to anyone who has read and enjoyed the previous books in the Mrs. Pollifax series.
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fellow travelers, as Mr. Carstairs and the CIA have it on good authority that one of them is an international assassin known as Aristotle. Things rarely go as planned on a Mrs. Pollifax mission however, and soon our redoubtable retiree finds herself kidnapped by some very dangerous people...I have always enjoyed Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, since first reading it (along with the rest of the series then in publication) as an adolescent. First, there is our eponymous heroine, with her cheerful, upbeat, hopeful view on her fellow human beings. I am no expert on spy novels - these are, in fact, the only ones I have read - but it strikes me that this must be unusual, in the genre. Second, there is the poetic description of Zambia, and the beauties of the natural world, which would make any reader long to go on safari herself. As another reviewer has noted, the travelogue aspect of this series is one of its great charms. Third, the reader gets to witness the happy reunion with John Sebastien Farrell, whom Mrs. Pollifax met and befriended in her first adventure, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, and who is a favorite character. Fourth, Mrs. Pollifax's new
Show Less
LibraryThing member Olivermagnus
If you've ever read any of the other Mrs. Pollifax mysteries you already know our heroine, Mrs. Pollifax, is an excellent gardener, expert karate expert, and part-time CIA agent. This time, she is asked to go on an African safari in order to take pictures of the participants, one of whom is a
The Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman are delightful and the perfect way to relax after a more gritty mystery. The politics are over thirty years old so don't be surprised to see some old stereotypes in this story. If you are already a Mrs. Pollifax fan, you will certainly enjoy this one too.
Show More
vicious assassin named Aristotle. But the first night of the safari, Mrs. Pollifax discovers that her film has been stolen. Suddenly, things are personal, and she decides she will not only take the pictures but figure out who Aristotle is. Can she do that when her fellow travelers seem so nice? What secrets might they be hiding? Before long there is a a kidnapping and a reunion with an old friend and a delightful romance scene.The Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman are delightful and the perfect way to relax after a more gritty mystery. The politics are over thirty years old so don't be surprised to see some old stereotypes in this story. If you are already a Mrs. Pollifax fan, you will certainly enjoy this one too.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jetangen4571
Africa, 1970s, historical-fiction, history-and-culture, spies, assassins, romance, abduction*****
I have probably read the print copy three times, and this is the second time on audio, all this century. Emily Pollifax is a nice widow of a certain age with two children and a couple of grandchildren.
Narrator Barbara Rosenblatt is always great with her pleasant voice and ability to differentiate characters and emotions.
I have probably read the print copy three times, and this is the second time on audio, all this century. Emily Pollifax is a nice widow of a certain age with two children and a couple of grandchildren.
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And an occasional courier assignment for the CIA. Well, this WAS set in the late 1970s. That is especially evident in this mystery set in Africa. Not that paid assassins need any timeline, of course. Its a good story of a good series and even more fun to compare the political situations to those of today. All of the characters are VERY interesting.Narrator Barbara Rosenblatt is always great with her pleasant voice and ability to differentiate characters and emotions.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
2019 reread via Recorded Books audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
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August 2016 reread -- I am increasing my rating from 3 to 4 stars. The Mrs. Pollifax books aren't great literature but they are a lot of fun and the best of them stand up well to rereading.
Amazing how
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This entry of the Mrs. Pollifax series introduced Cyrus Reed!
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August 2016 reread -- I am increasing my rating from 3 to 4 stars. The Mrs. Pollifax books aren't great literature but they are a lot of fun and the best of them stand up well to rereading.
Amazing how
Show More
the world has changed since this was first published in 1976 - issues that were of great contemporary interest then are now of more historical interest. But the characters still shine :)-------------------------------
This entry of the Mrs. Pollifax series introduced Cyrus Reed!
Show Less
Language
Original publication date
1977
Physical description
223 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0449234142 / 9780449234143
Local notes
Mrs. Pollifax, 05
DDC/MDS
| Fic Mystery Gilman |