Product Description

Mrs. Pollifax is on hand in Morocco to back up an inept CIA agent, and it's a good thing. Their first informant is killed, and Mrs. Pollifax begins to get the idea that her colleague is not who he says he is. Still, she forges ahead, checking out suspicious informants, and coming to the conclusion that someone is an imposter and someone wants her dead....

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #156825 in Books
• Published on: 1991-07-30
• Released on: 1991-07-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This spirited mystery, the ninth featuring garden club matron and part-time secret agent Emily Pollifax shows the kindly grandmother at her steel-edged and resourceful best. Her superiors in the Atlas Group (an unofficial branch of the CIA) have dispatched Emily to Morocco to provide a cover for another of their agents, Max Janko. Emily will pose as Max's aunt to make the pair look like tourists, while in reality they will be trying to identify all seven agents in order to ferret out the mole who has recently infiltrated the Atlas network. Anticipating a relatively serene journey through picturesque Moroccan villages with an agreeable companion, Emily is dismayed to find Janko insufferably hostile. Worse, he intends to kill her. By the time the real Janko shows up, a murder has occurred, and Emily and her inexperienced companion are running for their lives from one dusty hamlet to the next, desperately trying to find the informer and save the rest of the network. Gilman's latest is well crafted, richly detailed and eminently suspenseful.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Carstairs' right hunch for the wrong reason provides the occasion for Mrs. Pollifax's journey to Morocco as Ajax agent disguised as aunt and traveling companion to Max Janko. Keen observation and quick thinking enable her to capitalize on opportunity as she speeds across the barren landscape, one step ahead of her assailants. Breakneck adventure and suspense are enhanced by insight into eastern culture and characters. This fast-paced armchair excursion into the exotic world of North Africa is equally entertaining for first-time readers of Mrs. Pollifax and her long-time fans. This may be one of the few books reluctant readers will actually finish. --Barbara Hawkins, West Potomac High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher
My grandmother is a big fan of the MRS. POLLIFAX mysteries by Dorothy Gilman. I was at first hesitant
to try the books, because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to relate to mysteries featuring a suburban grandmother
working for the CIA. But because my grandmother's taste in literature has always been impeccable,
I decided to delve into Mrs. Pollifax's adventures. I began with THE UNEXPECTED MRS. POLLIFAX, the first
in the series, and immediately found them delightful. Mrs. Pollifax is just the kind of grandmother I'd
love to have: resourceful, intelligent, somewhat sly, and, of course, a secret CIA operative. Her
adventures take her to all corners of the globe: from an authentically described communist China
(MRS. POLLIFAX ON THE CHINA STATION) to an exhilarating safari across Africa (MRS. POLLIFAX ON
SAFARI). I've thoroughly enjoyed joining her on her adventures, and intend to read them all. I recommend them
to everyone who's interested in learning about different countries and cultures--and, obviously, espionage!

--Malinda Lo, Editorial Assistant

Customer Reviews

Dorothy Gilman Does it Again!
Once again, Dorothy Gilman brings her reader along with Emily Pollifax on another of her adventures. This time Mrs. Pollifax visits Morocco, from the medina of Fez to a small village on the edge of the desert (complete with camel caravan). As always, Mrs. Pollifax overcomes each obstacle with grace and skill (and the occasional bit of luck) and wins out in the end. We get a mini history lesson of the area and a brief lesson on Sufi whirling. Dorothy Gilman continues to provide lovers of mystery novels with a heroine worthy of being any woman's (or man's) role model. Thanks for another great read, Dorothy.

The holy man
Dorothy Gilman writes smoothly and plots excellently. I am certain that others have compared her to Agatha Christie. This story begins as Carstairs determines that a situation requires the presence of Mrs. Pollifax. He thinks that Emily Pollifax would be able to correct whatever lack of tact the CIA man, Max Janko, possessed. He feels that it would be dangerous for Mrs. Pollifax to know too much. The destination is Morocco. Some years ago Mrs. Pollifax volunteered to be spy. Before being called this time she ws beginning to fear that Carstairs felt she was too old to be of any further use. She agreed to go to Morocco the following day. She is successful in her mission to foil the attempts of someone making impersonations of persons promoting the interest of the Polisarios. In the course of her adventures she encounters a small boy, a holy man, the sufi or whirling dervish of the title, and a former superior of Carstairs. The holy man she encounters is someone who saved Carstairs from certain death when he was serving in the OSS during World War II.

Back to the old style!
After the disappointment of "Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle," Dorothy Gilman went back to the formula that works for the series with "Whirling Dervish." The story of Mrs. Pollifax traveling through a foreign land with a crusty agent makes for intrigue and comedy. A very enjoyable, exciting, quick read. Reminiscent in some ways of both "The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax" and "A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax."