Welcome to Litsy!

This was fun! Published in the 1960s. Emily Pollifax, a widow in her 60s, is bored so she decides to become a spy for the CIA. They of course don't hire her as a spy, but through a mix up, they do recruit her to vacation in Mexico & pick up a package. Things didn't go according to plan & she is kidnapped by communists & sent to a prison in Albania. Much of the plot relies on coincidence and dumb luck, but I still enjoyed it

Recommended to me by a friend. This was a delightful story! Basically a spy novel, except instead of James Bond it's a 60-something widow who is bored of Garden Club and volunteering at the hospital. It has most of the same elements as a James Bond novel, but is more upbeat/cheerful. Really fun and quick to read. Good for anyone who likes the action/spy/mystery genres. One of my favorite books so far this year. Definitely Recommend.

Murder She Wrote + James Bond = Mrs. Pollifax

00...FUN!

I hadn‘t read this in years and enjoyed it a great deal. Didn‘t realize it was published as long ago as 1966! This is a series where the first book really hits the ground running, so I feel confident about recommending this book, especially if you find regular cozies too fluffy but find hard-boiled or cop novels too bloody. This book has just the right mix.
August 2021 #BookSpin

So much fun!!!

August 2021 #BookSpinBingo is looking good!
#BookSpin: The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Gilman)
#DoubleSpin: Madame Tussaud (Moran)
Also, I‘ve already completed one of the books on the card: Our Town (Wilder) 😂

I have been listening to this series on audio this week. I enjoy it because my Grandma also read Mrs Polifax. These are from the 60-70s, but to me they hold up. Nice to have a connection to something she also enjoyed reading.

#20Series20Days Day 18

Only a few more entries to go but I decided I had to make room for Mrs. Pollifax on my #Top20Series list . A widow bored with her garden club routine becomes a CIA agent...danger, mystery, adventure, spying & hilarity ensue. I love this series—my paperbacks are so worn pages are falling out of some of them—& the fact that younger teenage/20 something me loved reading about a widow who spies? It has to be good!

@Andrew65

One of my favorites.

#20Series20Days @Andrew65

My Day 2 pick for #20series20days is the Amazing Mrs Pollifax. She‘s a senior citizen from New Brunswick New Jersey who‘s bored with her life...so she decides to join the CIA. Written in the 1960‘s, so it‘s a bit dated. But it‘s a charming, funny, and delightful spy series that gave me hours of enjoyment. I recently read the entire series via audio—Barbara Rosenblat brings Mrs Pollifax to life!
@Andrew65

Intrigued to read this!

When you‘ve had a work week (2 of them actually) like mine has been, you have a beer, eat homemade pizza, watch Clue on Amazon Prime, comfort read Mrs Pollifax, and maybe finally wrap your #letsgetcozy stuff to mail on Saturday. And you firmly refuse to remember that it‘s not actually Friday even though you need it to be.
Here‘s s hoping everyone else has a suuuuuper chill week to counteract the energy mine is putting out into the world! 😒

Mrs. Pollifax has always wanted to be a spy, but life got into the way. Now, with all her children grown up, she gets the opportunity of a lifetime to be one. But a spy's life is always unpredictable and full of dangers, and very soon she is left at the mercy of very dangerous people in an unknown country where she must rely solely on her wits to get out of there.

There was really just one thing I didn‘t like about this book. Namely, that this is a book to be finished in one sitting, and I could not listen to it all at once! 🤣

A grandmother, tired of her volunteer work at the hospital and garden club, walks into CIA headquarters to apply for a job as a spy. An fortuitous mix-up occurs, and the most unbelievably believable series of events occurs. Mrs. Pollifax is wonderful, and yes, “Unexpected.”

I am so excited to have a couple hour drive! Why?
Because I am loving this introduction to Mrs. Pollifax! ❤️

Low pick. It oscillated between wildly charming parts and sometimes rather boring bits, but was delightfully light: 1960s madcap spy adventures, starring a sensible old lady. 'Red Russians! Red Chinese! Get the microfilm at all costs!'

#vacationread No. 1, train ride.

Is there such a thing as a cozy thriller? Because I think this applies. I stayed up way too late last night reading this and I'm going to pay for it today. But it was so good. Funny and charming. It's a bit dated (written in 1966) and the use of "Oriental" and "Red China" was a bit jarring. But did make sense for the time.

I will definitely continue the series. Because who doesn't love a grandmother who volunteers to be a spy for the CIA?

Starting a delightful spy mystery featuring a retired grandmother who volunteers to be a spy for the CIA. (Also ignoring all my partially-read books. Ha!)

Three days til Christmas and my time off has officially started! Cozy morning with Mrs. Pollifax; not going to complete #readharder this year due to busy personal life, but I'll get a couple more in before the end of the year 😊

1. Daughter of Fortune
2. Dorothy Gilman
3. Dead Poet's Society
4. Dessert with dates

#ManicMonday @JoScho

A mash-up of the spinster-detective and cold-war spy genres, Mrs Pollifax is naïve, but it's clear she has steel inside her. Some big coincidences are involved in starting her off, but these don't persist, so credulity isn't excessively strained. Mrs Pollifax is endearing and eccentric, and I felt her actions were natural for an ordinary, resourceful person thrown into extraordinary situations, helped by the necessary sprinkling of luck of course.

#MagicalMarch #Reread
@ykois88 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

A widow with grown children is bored with her life so she decides to offer her assistance to the CIA. Mrs Pollifax certainly made the most of her #goldenyears. #septembowie

Mrs. Pollifax will always be my go-to choice for a senior citizen protagonist. Because my Pollifax books are at my parents' place, here's a picture of Angela Lansbury playing Mrs. P in a 1999 TV movie.
#anditsaugust day 21: senior citizen

My collection of Mrs. Pollifax books! 😄 💜💙💚

@NataliePatalie
#welllovedreads #riotgrams

A little nighttime reading. Trying not to wake hubby so I'm using a book light and trying not to laugh too hard at Mrs. Pollifax.

My most reread books are the Mrs. Pollifax series, a feel good mystery about an elderly woman who joins the CIA.

@NataliePatalie
#mostreread #feistyFeb

I really enjoyed this book. There were parts of the plot that were too "convenient," but the excitement kept me hooked. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

#booktober #setinsouthamerica well sort of. Mrs Pollifax is my favorite mystery series and this is the first book. Mrs Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick NJ is a widow with grown children and her volunteer work and Garden Club meetings aren't enough to staunch the ennui of her life. Her doctor suggested she try something that she'd always wanted to do. So she joined the CIA of course. Her first assignment is to Mexico City.

i have to read this again for a post on my blog. i was reminded how i loved dorothy gilman & this famous, resourceful & intuitive character ms. pollifax. i loved reading this again just like the first time. this is how mrs. pollifax became a spy for the CIA.We're never too old to follow our dreams.