Rating: 4/5
Review:
Very enjoyable
I thoroughly enjoyed The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax – and I wasn’t
at all sure that I would. I found it witty, endearing and rather a
gripping story, too.
Mrs Pollifax, a
60-something year old, well-to-do, respectable widow decides she
needs to give her life meaning and presents herself at the CIA to
volunteer as a spy. Through a slightly silly series of events she is
recruited to go on a very routine mission to Mexico City to collect a
package. No-one knows who she is and her cover as a tourist is
perfect, but (needless to say) things do not go as planned and take a
very sinister turn. An exciting plot of kidnap and peril ensues, in
which Mrs Pollifax remains very much herself, but discovers the value
of some of her solid personal qualities.
It could have been
dreadful but Dorothy Gilman strikes a lovely, subtle balance of wit
and a little farce occasionally with a very decent, exciting plot and
some shrewd insights into human nature and the importance of life.
It’s very well written and I read it with unalloyed pleasure
(although some allowance does need to be made for the political
attitudes of 1966 when it was written). I can recommend it warmly
and will certainly be reading more in the series.
(My thanks to
Farrago Books for an ARC.)
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