The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax
A Thrilling Spy Novel Set in Bulgaria Featuring Emily Pollifax
Dorothy Gilman has written a fantastic mystery with the CIA's most unlikely operative Emily Pollifax. Set in Bulgaria, this story centers around eight forged passports.
Mystery lovers will enjoy this charming and very suspenseful tale following the world’s most unlikely spy as she braves the dangers of Bulgaria and its secret police to deliver eight forged passports.
Emily Pollifax is a very involved member of her community. She pushes the book cart at the hospital on Wednesdays, takes karate lessons on Friday, and is an active member of the Garden Club. She is also an international operative for the CIA.
She is recruited for a very simple assignment; make contact with a man named Tsanko and deliver eight counterfeit passports. But things rarely go simply for Mrs. Pollifax. She encounters a group of young backpackers at the airport, and hours later one of them is arrested by the secret police for espionage. Another one of the backpackers, a socially repressed girl named Debby, finds Mrs. Pollifax and confesses that she believes her friend Philip was set up. Debby joins up with Mrs. Pollifax as she attempts to make contact with Tsanko.
They are sent to the small town of Tarnovo, but when Mrs. Pollifax attempts to make contact with Tsanko, she and Debby are kidnapped by two men named Bemish and Yugov. Yugov is a member of the secret police, and Bemish is an informant. After a terrifying standoff in an old crypt, Mrs. Pollifax and Debby are rescued by Tsanko and the Bulgarian Underground. Mrs. Pollifax learns that Philip is being held for ransom, a ransom that will further the career of the evil head of the secret police. Bemish was actually Philip’s uncle, and his hatred towards his nephew stemmed from the fact his brother-in-law managed to get out of Bulgaria and amass a fortune in America. When he learned that Philip was traveling in Europe, he went to the secret police with a plan to kidnap Philip and hold him for ransom, thereby satisfying his feeling of discontent and put himself in good standing with the head of police, General Ignatov. After the ransom is paid, Philip will be killed.
Mrs. Pollifax begins to devise a plan to break Philip and several members of the Underground out of Panchevsky Institute, the most heavily-guarded building in all of Bulgaria. The plan involves some geese, a rope, fireworks, and a run-down truck. With the help of Tsanko and some unlikely characters, their plan just might work.
Dorothy Gilman has spun a wonderful story with colorful characters and a fantastic web of subplots. The dialogue is amazingly real, and the emotions are conveyed through descriptive language. Her writing style is funny and witty, and she doesn’t leave a stone unturned. For anyone looking for a great mystery, pick this one up.
