Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle

Emily Reed-Pollifax occasionally works undercover for the Central Intelligence Agency. Shortly before departing for Thailand purely as a tourist, Mrs. Pollifax and her husband, Cyrus Reed, agree to deliver a small package in Chiang Mai and receive some concealed information in return. What the CIA promised would be a simple courier mission turns into high adventure when Mrs. Pollifax finds her supposed contact murdered, her husband kidnapped, and a Thai teak smuggler as her only ally. Through the jungles of Thailand, Mrs. Pollifax and her companion, Bonchoo, are both pursuer and pursued as they follow Cyrus 19 elusive trail. The opium trade, a Thai government coup, and the covert operations of both the CIA and the United States Drug show more Enforcement Agency all figure in the intrigue as Mrs. Pollifax struggles against all the odds to find her missing husband and survive a mission suddenly filled with danger.

Mrs. Pollifax is a delightful and unlikely undercover agent. She works her way with charm and efficiency in this fast-paced story of international intrigue whose ending is never anticipated by the reader. I love this series for some light, entertaining reading, filled with interesting characters. show less

The one word for Mrs. Polllifax: gullible. Either that or the one word for the CIA is inept. Not sure which is more accurate. Emily and her new husband Cyrus are headed to Thailand for a little rest & relaxation; a real vacation without an ulterior motive. After their fiasco in China, they needed a break from all things dark and dangerous. They are all set to head out the door when who should catch wind of their trip, but old friend Bishop, and who should need a favor, but the old CIA. It sounds simple enough - all Bishop needs is for Emily to drop off a package for an informant and in exchange, receive some top secret information too important to send in a letter. What could possibly go wrong? If you have been paying attention to Emily show more Pollifax's adventure you already know...a lot. This time, it's Cyrus who goes missing. Never mess with a feisty woman when her man is kidnapped! show less

Still recovering from her traumatic experiences at the end of her previous adventure, in Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha, our intrepid grandmotherly spy is looking forward to a trip to Thailand with husband Cyrus. It's to be a trip as a genuine tourist this time, until Bishop shows up and asks Mrs. P to do a simple job, picking up a letter in a town in northern Thailand. This being a Mrs. Pollifax adventure, not all goes as planned, and Cyrus is kidnapped. Hot in pursuit, our heroine treks through the rainforest with an unexpected ally, in the form of local teak smuggler Bonchoo. She visits a Akha village, sees a forgotten monastery, now inhabited by a Buddhist mystic, and meets an unpleasant American masquerading as a show more photojournalist. As always, all is not as it seems, but fortunately Mrs. Pollifax does find Cyrus in the end...

I've always enjoyed Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle, which is the eighth entry in the Mrs. Pollifax series, which I reread many times as an adolescent. The setting is fascinating, and as always, I found myself longing to visit the places the heroine does. The travelogue aspect of these books is one of their chief charms, as is the main character herself - a cozy grandmother in a distinctly non-cozy world. I appreciate the open and accepting way that Mrs. Pollifax approaches the wide world, her sense of wonder, at discovering new things. I don't know that these later books in the series are as amusing as prior ones - the first three are the most hilarious, in my view - but they are engaging. This one is the last that I tended to reread, when younger. The subsequent six titles have been read once, but never revisited, and I'm debating whether I'll reread them now, during this pandemic comfort reading project. Perhaps so, perhaps not. In any case, this is one I'd recommend to readers who have enjoyed previous entries in the series. show less

I don't know, it seems like the Mrs. Pollifax books are losing their edge a bit. I so thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 or 4, but these last couple, not so much. They seem to be not so imaginative and laugh-out-loud as they were. They're still fairly good as adventure books, and fun, light reads. I am attached enough to the series to continue on and hope that they pick up again!
This one did have a couple of interesting "ah-ha" moments, like the true identity of the holy man and the role of the CIA guy that everybody thinks has gone rogue, but the plot and resolution overall felt sub-par.

Emily Reed-Pollifax occasionally works undercover for the Central Intelligence Agency. Shortly before departing for Thailand purely as a tourist, Mrs. Pollifax and her husband, Cyrus Reed, agree to deliver a small package in Chiang Mai and receive some concealed information in return. What the CIA promised would be a simple courier mission turns into high adventure when Mrs. Pollifax finds her supposed contact murdered, her husband kidnapped, and a Thai teak smuggler as her only ally. Through the jungles of Thailand, Mrs. Pollifax and her companion, Bonchoo, are both pursuer and pursued as they follow Cyrus’ elusive trail. The opium trade, a Thai government coup, and the covert operations of both the CIA and the United States Drug show more Enforcement Agency all figure in the intrigue as Mrs. Pollifax struggles against all the odds to find her missing husband and survive a mission suddenly filled with danger.

Mrs. Pollifax is a delightful and unlikely undercover agent. She works her way with charm and efficiency in this fast-paced story of international intrigue whose ending is never anticipated by the reader. I love this series for some light, entertaining reading, filled with interesting characters. show less

Mrs. Pollifax and Cyrus Reed are ready to go on their first real vacation to Thailand when Bishop arrives to ask them to include a simple courier job into their holiday. Of course, simple courier jobs are never simple when Mrs. Pollifax is involved. Cyrus is kidnapped and Mrs. Pollifax must learn to trust a Thai smuggler to help her track him down. In the jungles of Thailand they encounter rebels, Buddhist monks, and opium traders in another rollicking adventure. Entertaining and whimsically written as always, but Gilman better adopt another conceit in future novels as they’re getting a bit formulaic.

smuggling, murder, Thailand, espionage, abduction, betrayal****

This book was written in 1988, that makes it historical in nature without any research of the time.
If you never read any of the series or didn't catch it in the blurb, Mrs P is an over 60 widow who presented herself to the CIA in 1968 looking to be useful to them. She certainly has! She even met and married a retired judge and they had planned a vacation in Thailand when they were advised that another courier job needed doing in Thailand! Good tale, even going to people and places familiar to Dr Siri Paiboun. Enjoy the ride!
Reread via Recorded Books audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Voice actor Barbara Rosenblatt always does a wonderful job with all the voices and show more really acts out the story and not just read it. Her voice brings the characters to life with her inflections entirely suited the situations and characters. show less