A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax

Mrs. Pollifax is off to Switzerland, but she's not there to eat all the cheese and chocolate. She's been sent to a hotel-clinic on the shores of Lake Geneva in quest of a stolen consignment of plutonium. If the people who've stolen it manage to keep it, they will be able to build an atomic bomb, with unthinkable consequences for humanity. No pressure.

I always enjoy the Mrs. Pollifax novels, and this is one of my favourites. It moves at a relentless pace, packing a lot into its 200-some pages. This book also introduces the charming Robin Burke-Jones, who is something of a recurring character in the series. It is a delightful tonic if you want something fairly light, but not *too* ridiculous.

The inimitable Mrs. Pollifax returns here for her fourth adventure, this time finding herself at a ritzy convalescent hotel in Switzerland, on the hunt for some stolen plutonium. While searching for this dangerous contraband, she also befriends a charming young British man with a mysterious past and a young Arab boy who is apparently terrified of his companions. As is so often the case with Mrs. Pollifax, the friends she makes along the way to reaching her objective prove to be useful allies, and some of their stories end up being more than a little germane to the central conspiracy she winds up confronting...

Although I would not describe A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax as being quite the equal of its three predecessors - The Unexpected Mrs. show more Pollifax, The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax and The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax - in terms of either hilarity or narrative excitement, it had more than enough of both to make it an engaging entry in the series. I enjoyed Robin Burke-Jones' character, and his amusing exchanges with Mrs. Pollifax, as they both learnt that the other was not what or whom they had thought, were quite humorous. The adventure with Hafez at the castle was also most engrossing, and the climb down the medieval latrine was entertaining. This was written in 1973, as terrorism in the Middle East was just beginning to become more religious, rather than nationalist in nature, so the conclusion, in which the villain, a Muslim zealot intent on creating a worldwide theocracy, escapes, presumably to carry on with his scheming, was also fascinating. I finished the book, written so many decades ago, thinking of how Islamist terror has since become one of the gravest troubles facing our world, and wondering what Gilman (who died in 2012) made of it all. Did she think of this story at all, after 9/11? Did she see any parallels between her villain and figures like Osama bin Laden? I certainly did.

Leaving such musings aside, this was an entertaining addition to the series, even if it has never been one of my personal favorites, and I recommend it to anyone who has read and enjoyed the first three Mrs. Pollifax books. show less

Book on CD performed by Barbara Rosenblat
3.5***

Book number four in the delightful series of espionage / mysteries featuring the intrepid Mrs Pollifax, senior citizen and secret CIA agent.

In this episode Mrs P heads to a hotel/health resort in Switzerland, where there appears to be some connection to a series of thefts of weapon-grade plutonium. Her cover story is that she is recovering for a nasty bout of flu, and her contact is an Interpol agent masquerading as a waiter at the resort.

I love this series. Mrs P is quite the character. She frequently goes “off script” finding interesting dilemmas to pursue rather than the main objective. But, of course, these “distractions” almost always prove to be important to the mission, show more from enlisting unlikely compatriots to stumbling on significant clues in unexpected places.

Barbara Rosenblat does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to deal with, of various ages and nationalities, and her skill with accents and voices is apparent in how she handles this. show less

The conceit is badly outdated and the characters are paper thin. Viewed as a response or rebuttal to the James Bond books this series has some worth. The notion of a nice old lady spying effectively due to her humane concern for the welfare of others is an attractive myth but it wears even less well than stories of an amoral and brutal spy.

Mrs. Pollifax, that intrepid senior citizen who works for the CIA, is sent to a Swiss medical clinic to investigate stolen plutonium. Once there, she befriends a young boy who appears to be mortally afraid of someone or something. She also catches a jewel thief trying to steal her expensive-looking imitation jewelry. When her contact on the hotel staff is murdered just before he was going to meet her, things start heating up. But before she can discover the murderer and the plutonium, Mrs. Pollifax intends to find out why her little friend is so afraid and why his grandmother seems to be under guard. She recruits the jewel thief and they start sniffing around for clues. Before too long, Mrs. Pollifax, the boy and the jewel thief have show more uncovered a deadly secret that puts them all in danger.

Mrs. Pollifax is a kind, engaging character whose outgoing personality and homey advice endear her to friends and enemies alike. I like her devil-may-care attitude and her sense of wonder and ability to take in the sights as she dashes about on her mission. This book was originally published in 1985 so it made me chuckle when Mrs. Pollifax had to burn a secret message in the airplane bathroom. But thirty years later these books have become my go-to series when I want a comfort read. show less

Mrs. Pollifax takes a step up from courier to undercover operative in the fourth installment of the series. We find her staying at a Hotel-Clinic in Switzerland on the trail of stolen plutonium and getting caught up in the sorrowful tale of a little boy from an fictional Arabic oil state and his sick grandmother. Of course the two cases are twined together and Mrs. Pollifax with the help of Hafez and a gentleman burglar get to the bottom of it all in charming and humorous fashion.

I had to force myself to start this one. I dreaded the formula and just, well, wasn't that interested. But, as soon as I got past the first 2 chapters, I was hooked.

This one I liked more than the others. It was less unrealistic action, more Agatha-Christie-esque in character. Definitely had plot holes. And, as always, she does a fantastic job of creating secondary characters that you love and are therefore devastated when they are killed 1/3 of the way in.

I'll pick up the next one. Eventually.