Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilman

The Mrs. Pollifax series consists of gentle, G-rated mysteries along the lines of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency or the "Cat Who..." books. Mrs. Pollifax is a little old lady who through strange circumstances ends up doing missions for the CIA. In between Garden Club meetings, murders just drop into her lap.

This book is no exception, Mrs. Pollifax is happily at home when she discovers a fugitive hiding in her closet. Mrs. Pollifax takes the girl, Kadi, under her wing and their off to outsmart all the criminals. This always involves travel to an exotic locale, in this book Africa. Another part of the story takes place in a circus and I couldn't help thinking again and again, "Well, it's sure not Water for Elephants" but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. A little visit with Mrs. Pollifax is like spending time with an old friend. When I first discovered the Mrs. Pollifax books, I read them all. Then when I ran out, I was done. But Dorothy Gilman wasn't done; she wrote more, I just never picked them up. I've done that with The Ladies Detective Agency, and with Mitford, and with the Cat Who books - I'm loyal until it requires some patience on my part (waiting for the next book to come out!)and then I'm outta there. It's why I never read book six or seven in Harry Potter. I'm a serial binger.

I enjoyed my visit with Mrs. Pollifax. I'm not running out to find others but if one drops in my lap like a corpse to Mrs. Pollifax, I'll read it.

This is one of the books on my list for the Spring Reading Thing 2009. Click on the logo to see the rest of my list.