Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled

October 1, 1999
After foiling a hijacking on a plane bound for the Middle East, a young American woman disappears. Sensibly, the CIA calls in Mrs. Pollifax, now on her 14th outing.

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2000
It is so soothing to be in Emily Pollifax's presence: we know that, at any time, she may leave her tidy existence in Connecticut (complete with geraniums and an understanding husband) and venture forth, with manners and nerves of steel, to do whatever the CIA has planned for her. This time, with her rakish cohort Farrell, she's sent to Syria. An American girl named Amanda Pym has faced down a handful of skyjacking terrorists and then vanished. Mrs. P and Farrell track Amanda down with the barest of clues, through souks and tourist destinations, through the desert and an archaeological dig where an earnest young professor named Joe manages to assist with borrowed vehicles, large numbers of sheep, and other tools. It's wonderful to watch Mrs. Pollifax manage it all with clear thinking and the midlife woman's ability to fade into the scenery as someone's aunt or mum. Along the way, there's lots of local color, a bit of politics, useful phrases in Arabic, and some really elegant use of ancient Babylonian verse. ((Reviewed January 1 & 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)