Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist

 

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist
Dorothy Gilman
read by Barbara Rosenblat
Recorded Books, 2011, c1997.

Nearing the end of the Mrs. Pollifax series, and feeling a little sad at seeing Mrs. P to her finale. But this one is well suited for nearly the end -- here Mrs. P meets up with old friend John Farrell, to take an "off the books" trip to Jordan, where he hopes to retrieve a manuscript smuggled out of Iran. 

Jordan plays a big role in the story; Mrs. P is almost run away with by an out-of-control horse on the road to Petra -- current events are mentioned (Saddam Hussein, which puts the series timeline out of whack and would make Mrs. P nearly 90 in this book if it was going by the beginning novel -- so you have to let the suspension of disbelief stay strong here!) -- and the political status of borders and politicians is so important here. We do get to see various 'sights' of Jordan via Mrs. Pollifax's travels, and she and Farrell reminisce quite a bit about their past adventures together. For someone who has read the whole series in order, this is a nice way to recap some of the earlier books and see Mrs. P's character development. 

The plot is a bit weaker than earlier books, and Mrs. P doesn't really save the day here - she is more being saved, which is a bit of a letdown. But there are some great local characters who take her and Farrell to the desert, and their time at a Bedouin camp is a wonderful element. This really adds to the atmosphere of the book - Gilman is back to embedding real places and politics into the series, which is very welcome after the imaginary African country of the last two books. 

I enjoyed this one and am only sad that the series is concluding in one more installation...