Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle

Rating:
Summary: A most unusual spy!
Review: "Wanted: Agents for the CIA. Must be able to travel at a moment's notice, able to endure pain and danger,
and willing to lie to your neighbors about where you have been."

If you came across such an ad, what would you do? Most of us would call the editor for running such an
obvious hoax, but Emily Pollifax, a garden-club grandmother, once came across an ad much like that one and began a
series of adventures that I have found fascinating reading.

In Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle,, Dorothy Gilman takes us (and her heroine) to Thailand where she
is to simply deliver a package to one of the CIA's couriers. Afterwards, she and her new husband can enjoy a much-
deserved vacation.

Of course nothing goes as smoothly as it should, and when Mrs. Pollifax attempts to make the delivery she
discovers that the agent is unable to keep their appointment for an excellent reason-he has been murdered! To make
matters even worse, her husband, Cyrus, is kidnaped and only she can follow the trail to rescue him.

Unfortunately her only link to her husband and to the dead agent is a man called Bonchoo, and she is not
sure how well she can trust him. He claims that another agent there has been passing along false information to the
CIA and that he had tried to inform the agency of that fact.

Swallowing her mistrust, Mrs. Pollifax follows Bonchoo into the jungle. There they come into contact with
one of the local bandit gangs, a group interested in smuggling both guns and opium. Are they connected with her
husband's kidnaping? And even if they are not, does she know too much to live?

Matters are only complicated more when she comes across a photojournalist, Mornajay, a man who insists
on getting in her way, and when she meets the Acharya, a reclusive Buddhist holy man.

Her superiors in Washington are in terror that Emily Pollifax may be on her last mission. Of course, we
readers have much more confidence in her abilities-and in the joys we will encounter in the other Mrs. Pollifax
books!

Rating:
Summary: A Slight Disappointment
Review: I am a fan of the entire Pollifax series of books, but "Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle" is by far my least favorite. For some reason, this book just doesn't grab me. It has its share of exotic locales, interesting characters and fascinating plot twists, but it just doesn't hold the attention. Still, I believe it is worth reading for the true Pollifax fan.

Rating:
Summary: A Slight Disappointment
Review: I am a fan of the entire Pollifax series of books, but "Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle" is by far my least favorite. For some reason, this book just doesn't grab me. It has its share of exotic locales, interesting characters and fascinating plot twists, but it just doesn't hold the attention. Still, I believe it is worth reading for the true Pollifax fan.

Rating:
Summary: My all time favorite book!
Review: Mrs. Pollifax is in Thailand being pursued while trying to find her kidnapped husband and ends up helping the CIA on accident.I really like the ending. I recomend this book and the rest of the series to anyone who likes mysteries with a sense humor.

Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Pollifax in Thailand
Review: Mrs. Pollifax is trying to recover from her last adventure in Hong Kong and is planning a trip to Thailand with her new husband, Cyrus. Just as they are about to leave, CIA emissary Bishop arrives and asks them to go on a "simple mission" in which they would divert their travels only slightly and would deliver something to an agent and retrieve something in return.
She and Cyrus agree and soon they are off on their latest misadventure. As always, in Mrs. Pollifax tales, things do not go according to plan and there are unfortunate incidents of murder, kidnapping, and opium dealing before Mrs. Pollifax finally triumphs and ties up these untidy details in a nice, neat package. This is a typical book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Pollifax in Thailand
Review: Mrs. Pollifax is trying to recover from her last adventure in Hong Kong and is planning a trip to Thailand with her new husband, Cyrus. Just as they are about to leave, CIA emissary Bishop arrives and asks them to go on a "simple mission" in which they would divert their travels only slightly and would deliver something to an agent and retrieve something in return.
She and Cyrus agree and soon they are off on their latest misadventure. As always, in Mrs. Pollifax tales, things do not go according to plan and there are unfortunate incidents of murder, kidnapping, and opium dealing before Mrs. Pollifax finally triumphs and ties up these untidy details in a nice, neat package. This is a typical book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: A fun read.
Review: Mrs. Pollifax takes us to yet another location in the world for a fun mystery. I enjoyed it very much.

Rating:
Summary: Golden little tale of suspense and survival
Review: Sometimes when I read of the doings of Mrs. Pollifax, I just get exhausted thinking that an over 60 woman could possibly have all the stamina and determination of Gillman's Emily Pollifax. And sometimes, while reading the Pollifax series titles, I have had to set the books aside and shake off my irritation at this super-hero woman.

But this one grabbed me from the start, with Emily and her spouse, Cyrus Reed, vacationing together in Thailand on a "sure-thing" little assignment for Carstairs and Bishop of the CIA, back home in Virginia.

Gillman has a way of making Emily Pollifax an endearing protagonist who empathizes with her adversaries to the point of befriending them, and who survives miles of walking in the wrong shoes, eating the minimum of food, enduring the most hazardous of jungle trails and the dangers thereof.

There are always surprises in store for the reader. The double identities are things one can guess at if you have read very many mysteries, but the touching revelations just add to the delight.

It would be nice to think that there is someone out there like Emily, who at the waning time of life is still up and after it and never too tired to try another adventure. For me, the reader's position is the best place, with the comforts of home as I enjoy another quite dramatic journey that all winds up kosher, thanks to the skillful touch of a fine mystery writer, Dorothy Gillman Butters. Brava, Emily! Brava, Dorothy!

Rating:
Summary: Golden little tale of suspense and survival
Review: Sometimes when I read of the doings of Mrs. Pollifax, I just get exhausted thinking that an over 60 woman could possibly have all the stamina and determination of Gillman's Emily Pollifax. And sometimes, while reading the Pollifax series titles, I have had to set the books aside and shake off my irritation at this super-hero woman.

But this one grabbed me from the start, with Emily and her spouse, Cyrus Reed, vacationing together in Thailand on a "sure-thing" little assignment for Carstairs and Bishop of the CIA, back home in Virginia.

Gillman has a way of making Emily Pollifax an endearing protagonist who empathizes with her adversaries to the point of befriending them, and who survives miles of walking in the wrong shoes, eating the minimum of food, enduring the most hazardous of jungle trails and the dangers thereof.

There are always surprises in store for the reader. The double identities are things one can guess at if you have read very many mysteries, but the touching revelations just add to the delight.

It would be nice to think that there is someone out there like Emily, who at the waning time of life is still up and after it and never too tired to try another adventure. For me, the reader's position is the best place, with the comforts of home as I enjoy another quite dramatic journey that all winds up kosher, thanks to the skillful touch of a fine mystery writer, Dorothy Gillman Butters. Brava, Emily! Brava, Dorothy!