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Mrs. Pollifax #7
Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha
Listening Length: 6 hours and 46 minutes
Although recently married, Mrs. Pollifax is packed and ready to go to China, where a young agent, Sheng Ti, holds the answers to goings on at the sinister Feng Imports—a one-time agency front. Only Mrs. Pollifax has earned Sheng's trust, and only she can possibly stop what turns out to be a frightening and ominous plot involving drugs, smuggled diamonds, a famous cat burglar turned Interpol agent, a mysterious psychic, and, of course, murder...possibly her own!
Although recently married, Mrs. Pollifax is packed and ready to go to China, where a young agent, Sheng Ti, holds the answers to goings on at the sinister Feng Imports—a one-time agency front. Only Mrs. Pollifax has earned Sheng's trust, and only she can possibly stop what turns out to be a frightening and ominous plot involving drugs, smuggled diamonds, a famous cat burglar turned Interpol agent, a mysterious psychic, and, of course, murder...possibly her own!
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
452 people are currently reading
1261 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Gilman
121 books763 followersDorothy Edith Gilman started writing when she was 9 and knew early on she was to be a writer. At 11, she competed against 10 to 16-year-olds in a story contest and won first place. She attended Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and briefly the University of Pennsylvania. She planned to write and illustrate children's books. She married Edgar A. Butters Jr, in 1945, this ended in divorce in 1965. Dorothy worked as an art teacher & telephone operator before becoming an author. She wrote children’s stories for more than ten years under the name
Dorothy Gilman Butters
and then began writing adult novels about Mrs. Pollifax–a retired grandmother who becomes a CIA agent. The Mrs. Pollifax series made Dorothy famous. While her stories nourish people’s thirst for adventure and mystery, Dorothy knew about nourishing the body as well. On her farm in Nova Scotia, she grew medicinal herbs and used this knowledge of herbs in many of her stories, including A Nun in the Closet. She travelled extensively, and used these experiences in her novels as well. Many of Dorothy’s books, feature strong women having adventures around the world. In 2010 Gilman was awarded the annual Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Dorothy spent much of her life in Connecticut, New Mexico, and Maine. She died at age 88 of complications of Alzheimer's disease. She is survived by two sons, Christopher Butters and Jonathan Butters; and two grandchildren.
Series:
* Mrs. Pollifax
Series:
* Mrs. Pollifax
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 421 reviews
February 22, 2023
I know Mrs Pollifax is a silly concept. No matter what adventures happen, the ends are always neatly tied up within a few days. They’re short, quite exciting reads though and I enjoy them.
In this episode, Mrs Pollifax is sent to Hong Kong to make contact with someone she rescued in the last book. He is working beside a CIA informant who has been sending strange messages recently and Mrs Pollifax needs to find out if he has been compromised. A darker side than usual emerges in these stories as the plot thickens, one I found quite surprising but which bodes well for future books, I think.
In this episode, Mrs Pollifax is sent to Hong Kong to make contact with someone she rescued in the last book. He is working beside a CIA informant who has been sending strange messages recently and Mrs Pollifax needs to find out if he has been compromised. A darker side than usual emerges in these stories as the plot thickens, one I found quite surprising but which bodes well for future books, I think.
June 22, 2022
Fun and entertaining and breaks a bit from the formula.
September 6, 2019
More of the same ... it's a series ... and it's definitely one I'd recommend you read in order.... Context, characters, and experience build throughout.... I found the first installment the most entertaining (creative? cute? unique?), but I'd have abandoned the series long ago, except that my spouse enjoys them, so, in effect, I read them for free (and we get to talk about them, which is an added bonus).... And, sometimes, the travelogue aspects are interesting, but, increasingly, I'm more intrigued by the period piece aspects ... a fun reminder about how dramatically technology, travel, communication, ... and, of course ... surveillance and espionage and, sadly, terrorism have evolved.
I found this one slightly more entertaining than some ... the story and action moved along at a pretty good clip.
As for the Hong Kong setting, I've been enough times to put the landmarks in context, but ... as is often the case ... I find that Gilman under-exploits the colors and texture and tastes and smells of travel (but, hey, that's just me).
Temporal note: In 2019, amidst the massive Hong Kong public protests against Chinese control, it's fascinating to read a book, written decades ago, in which the story line revolves around the then-still-distant 1990's "hand-over" or return of Hong Kong from British to Chinese control/governance. I haven't traveled to Hong Kong sufficiently frequently in the last 20 years to closely observe the evolution (devolution?), but, .... well ... it is different, and the juxtaposition between then and now is (obviously) a major geo-political event....
I found this one slightly more entertaining than some ... the story and action moved along at a pretty good clip.
As for the Hong Kong setting, I've been enough times to put the landmarks in context, but ... as is often the case ... I find that Gilman under-exploits the colors and texture and tastes and smells of travel (but, hey, that's just me).
Temporal note: In 2019, amidst the massive Hong Kong public protests against Chinese control, it's fascinating to read a book, written decades ago, in which the story line revolves around the then-still-distant 1990's "hand-over" or return of Hong Kong from British to Chinese control/governance. I haven't traveled to Hong Kong sufficiently frequently in the last 20 years to closely observe the evolution (devolution?), but, .... well ... it is different, and the juxtaposition between then and now is (obviously) a major geo-political event....
April 19, 2020
Mrs. Pollifax heads to Hong Kong to investigate a CIA asset who seems to have been feeding the agency incorrect information in this seventh novel devoted to her adventures. Traveling solo, she befriends psychic Mr. Hitchens on the plane ride over, and soon discovers that her new friend's mission - to help a former student find his missing father - is connected to her own. Something very strange is going on at Feng Imports, and as Mrs. Pollifax struggles to discover just what that is, she reconnects with some old friends. Sheng Ti, the young Chinese man she helped to flee his oppressive homeland in
Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station
, is working at the import shop, while Robin Burke-Jones, the jewel thief turned Interpol agent she befriended in
A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax
, is also in town. Soon our grandmotherly heroine finds herself confronting a terrible terrorist plot, and one of the most physically and spiritually taxing experiences of her career as an unlikely spy...
As other reviewers have noted, Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha is somewhat darker than the previous entries in the series, addressing as it does such issues as terrorism, and depicting Mrs. Pollifax being tortured, toward the close of the book. It isn't that the geopolitical realities underpinning the story are more serious than in previous books - after all, in A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax , we met a religious extremist bent on creating his own nuclear bomb! - but somehow the atmosphere here feels decidedly more disturbing. Perhaps that is because Gilman captures the trauma experienced by our heroine after her terrible experience being tortured, and then seeing a confederate murdered before her eyes. Whatever the case may be, although an engrossing adventure, this was a far less amusing entry in the series, and didn't have any of the hilarity I associate with the first few titles. I enjoyed meeting Sheng Ti and Robin Burke-Jones again, and of course, Cyrus Reed also appears, just in the nick of time. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed previous entries in the Mrs. Pollifax series.
As other reviewers have noted, Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha is somewhat darker than the previous entries in the series, addressing as it does such issues as terrorism, and depicting Mrs. Pollifax being tortured, toward the close of the book. It isn't that the geopolitical realities underpinning the story are more serious than in previous books - after all, in A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax , we met a religious extremist bent on creating his own nuclear bomb! - but somehow the atmosphere here feels decidedly more disturbing. Perhaps that is because Gilman captures the trauma experienced by our heroine after her terrible experience being tortured, and then seeing a confederate murdered before her eyes. Whatever the case may be, although an engrossing adventure, this was a far less amusing entry in the series, and didn't have any of the hilarity I associate with the first few titles. I enjoyed meeting Sheng Ti and Robin Burke-Jones again, and of course, Cyrus Reed also appears, just in the nick of time. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed previous entries in the Mrs. Pollifax series.
May 28, 2018
This was probably my least favorite of the Mrs. Pollifax books. Mrs. Pollifax is as dear and charming as ever with her hat and her willingness to face danger head on. And Robin–I like returning characters. As all of the books are, this one was fast paced and I read it all in one afternoon.
The biggest problem with this book (besides the swearing that is in all the books) was the psychic. It wasn't that he was just mentioned, but it was actually part of the book though it wasn't much help.
The biggest problem with this book (besides the swearing that is in all the books) was the psychic. It wasn't that he was just mentioned, but it was actually part of the book though it wasn't much help.
August 21, 2012
Trouble is brewing in Hong Kong, and who better to investigate than Mrs. Pollifax? When Bishop shows up at her house with the details of her new assignment - and gets a quick tour of her new residence - Mrs. P jumps at the chance to escape the rainy springtime in the northeastern US in exchange for sunny, warm Hong Kong. But when she gets there, she soon finds out that nothing is as she assumed - and she quickly finds herself up to her neck in intrigue and danger...more than she bargained for, by half.
This book is darker than many of the rest. There is something almost hardened about it. There is more of the introspective commentary about life in general, as I've come to appreciate in the Mrs. Pollifax books, but even that is tinted a darker color than normal. Where most of the earlier books had a great deal of traveling around and seeing the world, here the action is focused in Hong Kong, and not just because Hong Kong encompasses such a small area. Mrs. Pollifax does get around within Hong Kong - from Hong Kong Island to the New Territories and back - but this story reads more like a political suspense thriller more than an adventure story. It seems almost...military in nature, though the military itself is not directly involved. This is a horrible pun, but Mrs. Pollifax earns her stripes in this book - and somehow I can imagine she'd smile at me saying that, as if she appreciated the irony of it.
So Emily Pollifax has moved out of her cozy little apartment in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with its familiar little rooms and the sun-striped patterns across the carpet in the living room, and the geraniums, of course. I'm almost sad to see that, because her apartment held such character to me, for some reason. I always looked forward to the brief glimpse into her life, and the accustomed return to her apartment. Now she has moved with Cyrus to the countryside and become Mrs. Emily Reed-Pollifax. (Really, Cyrus? You insisted? How old-fashioned of you!) Just when Mrs. P is wondering if she'll adapt to the house with the big yard in the country, she is whisked off on another mission, saved from having to contemplate her move to the country until later.
I like the strong sense of continuity this story has with the other stories before it. Sheng Ti is back (I was glad of that, as I liked him) and Mrs. Pollifax stays in the same hotel she stayed at for the first night before heading into mainland China in the previous book, Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station, and that added a touch of realism to it all, making it easy to imagine I was right there along with her. Sitting there eating breakfast at the buffet again, with the nice papaya and melon that she remembered from before - and thinking back on the meeting of the tour group from last year, and how different...and much more somber...the atmosphere was this time around. And then sitting in the same dining room again, at the end of this story, when Mrs. Pollifax is very much changed again...good comparison and contrast there.
We also get a tour of Hong Kong's various locales, and a glimpse into the daily life of many of its people. Very interesting, and a good way to round out the story.
The rest of it...well...it was very good but it lacked that little extra something that made other installments (The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax, Mrs. Pollfax on the China Station) really shine. We get to meet up with an old friend from a past adventure, and as always Mrs. Pollifax makes some new friends, too. Yet the spirit of adventure seems to be missing, and there really aren't any of the more lighthearted moments which causes one to crack a smile, and Carstairs is all but absent. Now I realize...a CIA guy like that would have several different things going on all at once and so it is very realistic that he is not always at the forefront of each and every story, but somehow it still marks a depart from the first few stories. I used to enjoy the interspersed scenes where Carstairs and Bishop would be in their office, wringing their hands and needing more coffee to fortify themselves as they waited on pins and needles for a report from Mrs. P.
Overall, this was a very good addition to the series, although I feel it takes it in a slightly different direction, but it's all good. Mrs. Pollifax continues to learn and grow, both as an agent and as a person, and this time around, the lessons are particularly harsh...but for Mrs. P, with all that comes a newfound appreciation for life.
This book is darker than many of the rest. There is something almost hardened about it. There is more of the introspective commentary about life in general, as I've come to appreciate in the Mrs. Pollifax books, but even that is tinted a darker color than normal. Where most of the earlier books had a great deal of traveling around and seeing the world, here the action is focused in Hong Kong, and not just because Hong Kong encompasses such a small area. Mrs. Pollifax does get around within Hong Kong - from Hong Kong Island to the New Territories and back - but this story reads more like a political suspense thriller more than an adventure story. It seems almost...military in nature, though the military itself is not directly involved. This is a horrible pun, but Mrs. Pollifax earns her stripes in this book - and somehow I can imagine she'd smile at me saying that, as if she appreciated the irony of it.
So Emily Pollifax has moved out of her cozy little apartment in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with its familiar little rooms and the sun-striped patterns across the carpet in the living room, and the geraniums, of course. I'm almost sad to see that, because her apartment held such character to me, for some reason. I always looked forward to the brief glimpse into her life, and the accustomed return to her apartment. Now she has moved with Cyrus to the countryside and become Mrs. Emily Reed-Pollifax. (Really, Cyrus? You insisted? How old-fashioned of you!) Just when Mrs. P is wondering if she'll adapt to the house with the big yard in the country, she is whisked off on another mission, saved from having to contemplate her move to the country until later.
I like the strong sense of continuity this story has with the other stories before it. Sheng Ti is back (I was glad of that, as I liked him) and Mrs. Pollifax stays in the same hotel she stayed at for the first night before heading into mainland China in the previous book, Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station, and that added a touch of realism to it all, making it easy to imagine I was right there along with her. Sitting there eating breakfast at the buffet again, with the nice papaya and melon that she remembered from before - and thinking back on the meeting of the tour group from last year, and how different...and much more somber...the atmosphere was this time around. And then sitting in the same dining room again, at the end of this story, when Mrs. Pollifax is very much changed again...good comparison and contrast there.
We also get a tour of Hong Kong's various locales, and a glimpse into the daily life of many of its people. Very interesting, and a good way to round out the story.
The rest of it...well...it was very good but it lacked that little extra something that made other installments (The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax, Mrs. Pollfax on the China Station) really shine. We get to meet up with an old friend from a past adventure, and as always Mrs. Pollifax makes some new friends, too. Yet the spirit of adventure seems to be missing, and there really aren't any of the more lighthearted moments which causes one to crack a smile, and Carstairs is all but absent. Now I realize...a CIA guy like that would have several different things going on all at once and so it is very realistic that he is not always at the forefront of each and every story, but somehow it still marks a depart from the first few stories. I used to enjoy the interspersed scenes where Carstairs and Bishop would be in their office, wringing their hands and needing more coffee to fortify themselves as they waited on pins and needles for a report from Mrs. P.
Overall, this was a very good addition to the series, although I feel it takes it in a slightly different direction, but it's all good. Mrs. Pollifax continues to learn and grow, both as an agent and as a person, and this time around, the lessons are particularly harsh...but for Mrs. P, with all that comes a newfound appreciation for life.
September 4, 2014
(Aside: the tracking bug they put on Mrs. Pollifax is referred to as an "ackameter." I assumed this was a real thing, but it gets absolutely no hits in a google search!)
The most dark of the Mrs Pollifax books I've read recently. Not as much lyrical description of the landscape as in Golden Triangle - but I suppose that is in part because the setting is Hong Kong, very urban.
The penultimate chapter is quite compelling from a narrative perspective. Mrs P has been through the worst and final admits that her spirit is crushed, her hope is gone. A Mrs P without her indomitable spirit? Quite distressing for the reader - and the narrative style picks up on this. She has dissociated from her surroundings and the people around her, and you can sense that from the short, disconnected sentences.
Also an interesting diatribe against terrorists. Some people in America seem to think that international terrorism started in 2001 (or maybe 1995, with the OKC bombing), but it didn't.
When you finish this book, you get the sense that the Mrs Pollifax series is done - and you wouldn't be surprised if she hung up her passport for good. I wonder if Gilman intended to stop writing here? I'm glad she didn't, because then we wouldn't have Golden Triangle, which I think is my favorite Mrs P.
The most dark of the Mrs Pollifax books I've read recently. Not as much lyrical description of the landscape as in Golden Triangle - but I suppose that is in part because the setting is Hong Kong, very urban.
The penultimate chapter is quite compelling from a narrative perspective. Mrs P has been through the worst and final admits that her spirit is crushed, her hope is gone. A Mrs P without her indomitable spirit? Quite distressing for the reader - and the narrative style picks up on this. She has dissociated from her surroundings and the people around her, and you can sense that from the short, disconnected sentences.
Also an interesting diatribe against terrorists. Some people in America seem to think that international terrorism started in 2001 (or maybe 1995, with the OKC bombing), but it didn't.
When you finish this book, you get the sense that the Mrs Pollifax series is done - and you wouldn't be surprised if she hung up her passport for good. I wonder if Gilman intended to stop writing here? I'm glad she didn't, because then we wouldn't have Golden Triangle, which I think is my favorite Mrs P.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2025
Emily is in the Connecticut countryside at her and Cyrus’s new home, and Cyrus is bird-watching in Vermont, when Bishop arrives without warning. Carstairs wants Emily to travel immediately to Hong Kong to check on an agent there, Detwiler, whose reports have been off lately. On the flight, Emily’s seatmate is a psychic, Mr. Hitchens, who has been hired to find a missing police officer by his son. Mr. Hitchens will play a major role in the story.
It struck me, not for the first time, how much 21st century communication technology has changed life. This book was published in 1985. Of course Emily had no way to contact Cyrus before flying out to Hong Kong; she had to leave him a letter to explain why and where she went.
Later in Hong Kong, she is delighted to see Robin Burke-Jones. Robin tells her a rather incredible ugh 😴 (fell asleep there)
Robin tells her a rather incredible story that he is investigating for Interpol: it is believed that a well-known terrorist is in Hong Kong. He is known as Eric the Red of the terrorist group called Liberation 80s. The issue of Great Britain’s lease of Hong Kong that will expire in 1997 plays a big part in this book. Although there are Chinese nationalists who don’t recognize the Communist government as legitimate. And of course, Robin’s investigation and Emily’s are one and the same.
Emily is captured by the terrorists and they beat her pretty badly. WARNING: I’m going on a tangent here! I’ve heard this series classified as “cozy mystery” and I vehemently disagree. The books are a shorter length as cozies usually are, but the content is much more similar to spy thrillers. Emily herself early on may have been described as “cozy”, but her character has evolved—in fact, although Ms. Gilman doesn’t fully describe her physically, I would expect that practicing karate and yoga has changed her body.
And no, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with cozy mysteries—I read them myself, I’m just pedantic.
Anyway, Emily is being held by the terrorists, along with Detwiler and the son of a murdered police officer. Robin and Mr. Hitchens are trying to get the police or the army to help find Emily, without much luck. Enter Cyrus! He returned early from his bird-watching and found Emily’s letter and immediately flew to Hong Kong.
Emily and the others are rescued (except for Detwiler), the terrorists are either killed or captured, and all the bombs they planted are found and disarmed. Mostly happy endings all round.
It struck me, not for the first time, how much 21st century communication technology has changed life. This book was published in 1985. Of course Emily had no way to contact Cyrus before flying out to Hong Kong; she had to leave him a letter to explain why and where she went.
Later in Hong Kong, she is delighted to see Robin Burke-Jones. Robin tells her a rather incredible ugh 😴 (fell asleep there)
Robin tells her a rather incredible story that he is investigating for Interpol: it is believed that a well-known terrorist is in Hong Kong. He is known as Eric the Red of the terrorist group called Liberation 80s. The issue of Great Britain’s lease of Hong Kong that will expire in 1997 plays a big part in this book. Although there are Chinese nationalists who don’t recognize the Communist government as legitimate. And of course, Robin’s investigation and Emily’s are one and the same.
Emily is captured by the terrorists and they beat her pretty badly. WARNING: I’m going on a tangent here! I’ve heard this series classified as “cozy mystery” and I vehemently disagree. The books are a shorter length as cozies usually are, but the content is much more similar to spy thrillers. Emily herself early on may have been described as “cozy”, but her character has evolved—in fact, although Ms. Gilman doesn’t fully describe her physically, I would expect that practicing karate and yoga has changed her body.
And no, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with cozy mysteries—I read them myself, I’m just pedantic.
Anyway, Emily is being held by the terrorists, along with Detwiler and the son of a murdered police officer. Robin and Mr. Hitchens are trying to get the police or the army to help find Emily, without much luck. Enter Cyrus! He returned early from his bird-watching and found Emily’s letter and immediately flew to Hong Kong.
Emily and the others are rescued (except for Detwiler), the terrorists are either killed or captured, and all the bombs they planted are found and disarmed. Mostly happy endings all round.
July 13, 2025
Listened with Simon whilst sitting very still on our couch. We're enduring a heatwave here in the UK. No air conditioning, just a fan moving air over us. This was a rediscovery for me and new for Simon.
At the beginning of the book the original publication date is announced as 1985, which caused me to reminisce - it was a big milestone year for us - we got married and our first child was born, how amazing I thought, yet I found this thoughtfully written story full of wit and wisdom still very relevant today.
Quotes:
"the lines of scarlet lacing his cheek like deranged embroidery."
"Mrs. Pollifax thought that someday, perhaps on a summers day among her flowers, she would allow it all to come back to her and she would try to make sense out of a world that could produce trips to the moon and silicon chips and computer robots and satellites yet never touch the impoverished hearts that could still torture, terrorize and kill without mercy or feeling, but not now. Not yet."
At the beginning of the book the original publication date is announced as 1985, which caused me to reminisce - it was a big milestone year for us - we got married and our first child was born, how amazing I thought, yet I found this thoughtfully written story full of wit and wisdom still very relevant today.
Quotes:
"the lines of scarlet lacing his cheek like deranged embroidery."
"Mrs. Pollifax thought that someday, perhaps on a summers day among her flowers, she would allow it all to come back to her and she would try to make sense out of a world that could produce trips to the moon and silicon chips and computer robots and satellites yet never touch the impoverished hearts that could still torture, terrorize and kill without mercy or feeling, but not now. Not yet."
August 22, 2025
I adore these books. Thankfully I requested the next two from the library so I can binge them for my birthday! 🥳
March 18, 2024
Fun in Hong Kong with Mrs. Pollifax and friends.
October 28, 2022
Another mediocre spy story but with enough charming characters and exotic-yet-familiar detail to knock it up to an overall 4 stars and change. This is an immediate sequel to Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station, but set next door in 1985 Hong Kong; i.e., the exact Hong Kong where I spent so much time while based in Taipei.
The ultimate plot hinges (as do most spy stories) on a pretty big McGuffin, but it's still a quick, fun and surprisingly exciting read. That said, there's just one more Pollifax story set in Asia (the next one in the series, so perhaps a direct sequel to this book), and so after that, I may more on to something a little more serious.
One correction - just as Gilman got the location of the CIA's HQS wrong in the previous book, she duffed the return of Hong Kong to China by claiming that Britain was only giving back Kowloon and the New Territories, while the Queen was going to retain Hong Kong Island. Unless something can tell me otherwise, I believe the deal was ALWAYS to give the whole colony back to China - I just cannot imagine Beijing accepting anything less than a full reversion.
The ultimate plot hinges (as do most spy stories) on a pretty big McGuffin, but it's still a quick, fun and surprisingly exciting read. That said, there's just one more Pollifax story set in Asia (the next one in the series, so perhaps a direct sequel to this book), and so after that, I may more on to something a little more serious.
One correction - just as Gilman got the location of the CIA's HQS wrong in the previous book, she duffed the return of Hong Kong to China by claiming that Britain was only giving back Kowloon and the New Territories, while the Queen was going to retain Hong Kong Island. Unless something can tell me otherwise, I believe the deal was ALWAYS to give the whole colony back to China - I just cannot imagine Beijing accepting anything less than a full reversion.
September 25, 2009
This book rather surprised me. I'm used to the Mrs. Pollifax books being light and very funny, with Mrs. Pollifax getting in to scrapes and then finding unusual ways to come out of them. While she still comes out on top in the end, in this novel she falls into a terrible trap and pays dearly for it - making this book not quite as much "fun" but still very good. Definitely a story that departs from the formula of the first ones.
December 11, 2021
This one felt too much like she was working extra hard to be grittier. I'm not interested in torture showing up in my lighter fiction choices, even if it is mostly off-scene. And the psychic nonsense and the hey-isn't-it-great-that-you-can-circle-back-to-your-first-wife nonsense make my nose wrinkle in distaste. On the other hand, I did appreciate the couple instances of real heroism, but they weren't enough to make this more than an OK book for me.
December 14, 2018
This one gets a bit darker than the previous adventures.
May 26, 2025
This one was intriguing and way more intense at some points than some of the others! As always it was very, very good.
January 13, 2018
i'm pooped
will think later
later:
p79: mrs. pollifax felt her mind go blank. "blank--irma blank," she stammered, and fled.
*
p88: from the amount of money that was paid to him for both his silence and his absence mrs. pollifax thought that he could very well afford to move into the hong kong hilton but robin and marko had their stakeout.
p97: "good afternoon," said mrs. pollifax pleasantly, "i'm taking an advertising survey on how many hours of television you watch each say?"
p100: it was becoming a very real effort for mrs. pollifax to hide her astonishment over mr. detwiler's absence from his home hut she managed to say soothingly, "away on a business tri, is he?"
p122: mrs. pollifax, interrupting a breakfast of ham and eggs, bean curd, papya, watermelon, bacon, sausage and orange juice, toast and coffee, said that she would be delighted to accompany them.
p127: if what they sell destroys human lives their victims cooperate by choice in their own destruction, and if drug dealers bend and break every law in the book they as least know the laws.
p148: leaning forward marko said, "it would be more than one could hope, but--mion dieu, if it has secrets--"
p149: "the gods are smilng," he added as he flattend them out.
p198: snatching a quick glance at him she saw only his back as he crouched under the radio, hut she could give him no more attention and her eyes fled back to the second hand's movements on her watch.
will think later
later:
p79: mrs. pollifax felt her mind go blank. "blank--irma blank," she stammered, and fled.
*
p88: from the amount of money that was paid to him for both his silence and his absence mrs. pollifax thought that he could very well afford to move into the hong kong hilton but robin and marko had their stakeout.
p97: "good afternoon," said mrs. pollifax pleasantly, "i'm taking an advertising survey on how many hours of television you watch each say?"
p100: it was becoming a very real effort for mrs. pollifax to hide her astonishment over mr. detwiler's absence from his home hut she managed to say soothingly, "away on a business tri, is he?"
p122: mrs. pollifax, interrupting a breakfast of ham and eggs, bean curd, papya, watermelon, bacon, sausage and orange juice, toast and coffee, said that she would be delighted to accompany them.
p127: if what they sell destroys human lives their victims cooperate by choice in their own destruction, and if drug dealers bend and break every law in the book they as least know the laws.
p148: leaning forward marko said, "it would be more than one could hope, but--mion dieu, if it has secrets--"
p149: "the gods are smilng," he added as he flattend them out.
p198: snatching a quick glance at him she saw only his back as he crouched under the radio, hut she could give him no more attention and her eyes fled back to the second hand's movements on her watch.
July 26, 2010
This is the seventh in the series...I missed the sixth and need to go find it. I hate gaps in series books.
Old friends show back up here and Mrs. Pollifax comes through with her usual panache. These are good (and fun) reads and I recommend them.
Old friends show back up here and Mrs. Pollifax comes through with her usual panache. These are good (and fun) reads and I recommend them.
June 19, 2022
4 stars English paperback
Emily’s tranquil domesticity with new husband Cyrus is interrupted when she is called to Hong Kong in pursuit of a vanished agent.
I have been reading and re- reading this series for years. This was one of the series that I read in October each year to clear my head.
I wore the books out over time and when I couldn't find them had them special ordered so I went at least 4 sets of these books.
Finding them again, at least the first 7 books of the series was wonderful. I love the main character in this book and the idea that she began a new adventurous life in her 60s.
It give inspiration to the rest of us to live life to the fullest and the possibility of remaining young and in good physical condition and giving in and giving up as we get older.
These books are great for women of any age - I began reading these when my in my twenties. Since I began reading them I have recommended them to any women that loved to read as much as I do.
Emily’s tranquil domesticity with new husband Cyrus is interrupted when she is called to Hong Kong in pursuit of a vanished agent.
I have been reading and re- reading this series for years. This was one of the series that I read in October each year to clear my head.
I wore the books out over time and when I couldn't find them had them special ordered so I went at least 4 sets of these books.
Finding them again, at least the first 7 books of the series was wonderful. I love the main character in this book and the idea that she began a new adventurous life in her 60s.
It give inspiration to the rest of us to live life to the fullest and the possibility of remaining young and in good physical condition and giving in and giving up as we get older.
These books are great for women of any age - I began reading these when my in my twenties. Since I began reading them I have recommended them to any women that loved to read as much as I do.
January 17, 2022
Mrs. Pollifax is going to a mission in Hong Kong, facing diamonds, guns, thieves and terrorists. She is met with friends from previous books (I strongly advice you to read the series in order).
It was ok, gave me some chuckles and had a great time reading it. Mrs Pollifax is an amazing old lady really. She might wear her hats but she is the best spy I’ve seen in literature.
It was ok, gave me some chuckles and had a great time reading it. Mrs Pollifax is an amazing old lady really. She might wear her hats but she is the best spy I’ve seen in literature.
Read
December 31, 2022I don't think I had read this particular Mrs. Pollifax novel prior to my bout of covid in November, when I listened to the audiobook. The narration was enjoyable, but as I dozed off at times, I missed some of the plot developments, so one of these days I'll need to reread it. The Mrs. Pollifax books are classic escapist fun, yet with a deep humanity and sense of awe laced through them.
September 15, 2024
As always Mrs. Pollifax is a delight!
October 1, 2025
Dorothy Gilman.... massively overlooked and underrecognized. Onto the next!
December 29, 2013
On Monday, Emily Pollifax goes to Hong Kong where CIA Bishop, in green glen plaid suit, says her old friend Sheng Ti, is in trouble at Feng Imports, the past two months reports from co-owner Detweiler are wrong. Friend Robin, former jewel thief, now works for Interpol. On same plane comes psychic Hitchens. who seeks Inspector father for Alec Hao. On Friday, terrorists led by Eric Red plan to take over citadel and city.
Dislike woowoo supernatural "Nothing happens by accident" p 99 search, rocket launcher drawing p 105. Pretty Lotus loves Sheng, Hitchens loves first wife here on tour, Robin still married to Court, Cyrus saves new wife Emily. Happy marriages.
Dislike woowoo supernatural "Nothing happens by accident" p 99 search, rocket launcher drawing p 105. Pretty Lotus loves Sheng, Hitchens loves first wife here on tour, Robin still married to Court, Cyrus saves new wife Emily. Happy marriages.
October 15, 2023
Wow. I got a copy of this very cheaply a couple of years ago at a library sale. Glad I picked this one up. I really enjoyed it. I know I own at least one more in this series and will work to obtain the rest! Mrs. P is rad!
Update as of October 15, 2023. I have now obtained all the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries and read the first 6 books, having now reread this one some 2+ years later! I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND READING THIS SERIES IN ORDER as Gilman has recurring characters and some characters undergo much development throughout!
As a female over 65 years of age, I greatly enjoy this series. Not sure what I might have thought if I'd read it in my 20s or 30s, but that is immaterial to me!! Long live Mrs. P and her determination to stay alive and do what is "right" even if that occasionally means committing a crime or two herself (disposing of a murder weapon and possible suicide note, etc.)!
Update as of October 15, 2023. I have now obtained all the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries and read the first 6 books, having now reread this one some 2+ years later! I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND READING THIS SERIES IN ORDER as Gilman has recurring characters and some characters undergo much development throughout!
As a female over 65 years of age, I greatly enjoy this series. Not sure what I might have thought if I'd read it in my 20s or 30s, but that is immaterial to me!! Long live Mrs. P and her determination to stay alive and do what is "right" even if that occasionally means committing a crime or two herself (disposing of a murder weapon and possible suicide note, etc.)!
September 27, 2024
It was fun to meet up with characters from previous books. Thank goodness for Cyrus! Best read and/or listened to in order. Barbara Rosenblat does an admirable job as the reader for this audio version.
Re-listen 2024-Had forgotten this is a sad one, and not comfortable w/ the odd,"professional mystic" character.
Re-listen 2024-Had forgotten this is a sad one, and not comfortable w/ the odd,"professional mystic" character.
September 12, 2025
Having Robin reappear was great! 🥰
And I love that the tone of this one is a bit more serious.
And I love that the tone of this one is a bit more serious.
March 22, 2023
Another fun unreal romp with Mrs Pollifax this time preventing nefarious deeds in Hong Kong
May 8, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. I would like to give a more detailed description of why I liked this book, but it was published by one of the big five publishing houses. (see note below).
Note: I used togive full reviews for all of the books that I rated on GR. However, GR's new giveaway policies (Good Reads 2017 November Giveaways Policies Changes) have caused me to change my reviewing decisions. These new GR policies seem to harm smaller publishing efforts in favour of providing advantage to the larger companies (GR Authors' Feedback), the big five publishers (Big Five Publishers). So, because of these policies from now on I will be supporting smaller publishing effort by only giving full reviews to books published by: companies outside the big five companies, indie publishers, and self-published authors. This book was published by one of the big five companies so will not receive a more detailed review by me.
Note: I used togive full reviews for all of the books that I rated on GR. However, GR's new giveaway policies (Good Reads 2017 November Giveaways Policies Changes) have caused me to change my reviewing decisions. These new GR policies seem to harm smaller publishing efforts in favour of providing advantage to the larger companies (GR Authors' Feedback), the big five publishers (Big Five Publishers). So, because of these policies from now on I will be supporting smaller publishing effort by only giving full reviews to books published by: companies outside the big five companies, indie publishers, and self-published authors. This book was published by one of the big five companies so will not receive a more detailed review by me.
May 12, 2023
If you like cozy mysteries, you'll enjoy this book. As a youngster, I remember reading Mrs. P stories in my parent’s Reader's Digest Condensed Books when I was a child (I’m dating myself!) and I thoroughly enjoyed them then and now. My parents still have those RD books!
As usual, Mrs. P finds more than she’s bargained for as a CIA courier. Paths converge and danger is afoot as she noses her way into trouble. Mrs. P has great insight but too late for her own good. And Cyrus gets his own starring role!
These books are, of course, unbelievable, and break all CIA norms but they are entertaining and at times humorous.
This is book 7 of 14 in the Pollifax series. While I suggest you read the earlier books first, it isn't strictly necessary as each novel stands on its own, but you do, however, get reintroduced to characters from previous books in the series that build upon each other.
Content:
Language: Mild
Sex/Nudity: None
Violence: Medium
As usual, Mrs. P finds more than she’s bargained for as a CIA courier. Paths converge and danger is afoot as she noses her way into trouble. Mrs. P has great insight but too late for her own good. And Cyrus gets his own starring role!
These books are, of course, unbelievable, and break all CIA norms but they are entertaining and at times humorous.
This is book 7 of 14 in the Pollifax series. While I suggest you read the earlier books first, it isn't strictly necessary as each novel stands on its own, but you do, however, get reintroduced to characters from previous books in the series that build upon each other.
Content:
Language: Mild
Sex/Nudity: None
Violence: Medium
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