ISBN: 1-55690-401-0 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
An amusing, but superficial spy thriller, with colorful characters, flat villains, and tense confrontations.
Reviewed by David on February 05, 2000
Genre: Mystery (Cloak and Dagger)
Synopsis: Mrs. Pollifax, a grandmother, member of the garden club, and an occasional agent for CIA, enters an expensive Swiss clinic to recuperate from a bad case of flu. While playing a convalescent, Mrs. Pollifax is looking for some stolen fissionables, which may have been shipped to the clinic. Instead of a leisurly investigation, the convalescence turns out to be both strenuous and dangerous, when a couple of Interpol agents turns missing, and more than one patient show signs of suspicious behavior.
Full Review: This is an unabridged recording of A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax. As usual, a ligh-hearted romp, with several unlikely allies, and a number of villainous opponents, make this somewhat unlikely plot a pleasant, if not overly deep, adventure. Mrs. Pollifax meets one of her future allies and colleagues, assists a budding romance, and befriends a young boy, all while trying to survive a deadly plot. Her approach to life, a sort of fatalistic optimism, together with insight into human character, make the grandmotherly agent surpirsingly effective in ferreting out evil.
While not perticularly effective in exploration of the beautiful locale, nor in justifying the villains, the book is another entertaining addition to the amusing, exciting, and occasionally touching series.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5; Originality: 5.5;
Copyright date 1973, Recorded Books, 1973, Audio cassette, 5 cassettes
ISBN: 1-55690-401-0 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com