Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled

From AudioFile In this latest book in Gilman's series, Mrs. Pollifax flies to Syria on another mission. She must find Amanda Pym, a young American who saved 200 people on a highjacked plane and then disappeared. Even though Mrs. Pollifax is a harmless appearing grandmother, Sharon Williams often makes her voice sound too young and sweet. As the story progresses however, Williams finds a more settled and mature voice for Mrs. Pollifax. Williams gives an appropriate ring of authority to Carstairs and changes easily into an Arabic accent when needed, and her clear diction and excellent pacing draw us deeper and deeper into the adventure. P.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine Product Description Seven weeks ago, a young American woman, Amanda Pym, faced down hijackers on board a flight to the Middle East and saved the lives of more than two hundred passengers. In a blaze of celebrity, she stepped off the plane in Damascus and was whisked away in a waiting car. Since then, NOTHING. The CIA believes she was kidnapped and murdered. Whose plans has the apparently ordinary young woman interfered with? The machinations of the mukhabarat, Syria's dreaded police? The schemes of cutthroat terrorists? Or has she simply gone into hiding? Masquerading as Amanda Pym's worried aunt, Mrs. Pollifax begins her determined search, slipping through Damascus' crooked streets and colorful, crowded souks, and trekking deep into the desert, hoping that rumor and whispers (which is all she has to go on) will lead her to the truth. From Library Journal Mrs. Emily Reed-Pollifax, grandmother, flower-arranger, and part-time CIA agent, is back in the Middle East. A young American has disappeared in Syria, and she has been sent to find her. After all, shortly before she vanished, Amanda Pym saved a whole airline full of people from hijackers. Accompanied by her favorite colleague, John Sebastian Farrell, Mrs. Pollifax visits an archaeological dig, explores the desert, and finds her woman. Gilman has been writing this series for more than 30 years, and Mrs. Pollifax is not quite the same, sweet old lady she once was. Who can resist a woman who alternates garden club meetings with karate lessons, makes lifelong friends wherever she goes, and invariably is able to transfer the contents of a large purse into the pockets or sleeves of any ethnic costume? Overall, this is a very relaxed, cohesive reading by Sharon Williams, only disrupted by the slightly jarring incidental music that begins and ends each side. The "cozy" spy thriller may be a nearly dead subgenre, but Mrs. Pollifax's circulation figures remain healthy. Recommended for all moderate to large popular fiction collections.DI. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll. Lib., Boone, IA Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Dorothy Gilman is the author of the Mrs. Pollifax series of novels, as well as several others. She divides her time between Norwalk, Connecticut, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.