Mrs. Pollifax on Safari

Dorothy Gilman

Carstairs of the CIA learns that an assassin named Aristotle is going to be on an African safari. No one knows who this assassin is other than his code name. He decides he wants photographs of everyone involved in the safari. Mrs. Pollifax is the perfect cover person to take on the comparatively safe mission. All she has to do is play the tourist and take lots of photographs, especially of her companions on safari.

Is it that easy? Well, it could have been. But Mrs. Pollifax decides to look for Farrell while she is in Zambia. That leads to trouble. Her film is stolen on the safari. Someone objects to her tourist hobby. To complicate matters more, there is Cyrus Reed. He seems to take an instant attraction to Mrs. Pollifax. She admits to herself that she likes the attention. When she decides to play detective and start nosing around for Aristotle herself, the situation becomes more dangerous. Before this novel is done Mrs. Pollifax endangers not only herself but other members of the safari as well.

The Mrs. Pollifax novels are light fare on the surface. This one also has an excellent mystery intertwined. We know one of the members of the safari is an international assassin. But trying to figure out who is difficult. Aristotle is not unmasked until the end of the book with a number of uneasy moments and deaths beforehand. This book is well done for the mystery as well as the character relationship development that occurs throughout this series.

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax
The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax
A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax
Mrs. Pollifax on Safari
Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station
Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha
Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle
Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish
Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief
Mrs. Pollifax Pursued
Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer
Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist
Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled