Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The only thing the CIA's peripatetic den mother has to do this time out (her 13th) is provide cover for her old friend John Sebastian Farrell as he hangs around Amman waiting to smuggle the manuscript of a dead Iraqi dissident's explosive last novel out to the West. But Emily Pollifax has been chosen for another assignment as well: to serve as unwitting courier for a celebrated terrorist's cargo to Jordan. The double duty would be a challenge to anybody else, but Mrs. Pollifax, surrounded by a bevy of enemy agents unfailingly more innocent than she is, dispenses a combination of karate kicks and affecting charm that keep her bobbing atop this weightless, though topical, caper. Another dainty sip of Old Reliable (Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer, 1996, etc.)--three parts expert tour-guide, one part game intrigue--the whole mixture gently stirred, never shaken.

Publishers Weekly
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Spunky Emily Pollifax, the occasional CIA operative last seen in Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer (1996), travels to Jordan with former Company agent John Sebastian Farrell to receive a manuscript smuggled from Iraq, written by an executed dissident Iraqi novelist. As Farrell's cover, Mrs. Pollifax poses as his tourist cousin but immediately is up to her flowered straw hat in intrigue. In Amman, she discovers that her airplane seatmate hid a carving in her luggage that contains a mysterious map and key; then her room is searched. Simultaneously, the CIA learns that notorious Jordanian terrorist Suhair Slaman recently sneaked into and out of the U.S. Was he Emily's seatmate? You bet. Farrell's contact doesn't show up for their scheduled meeting at the Crusader castle at Karak, although Emily does find a dead body there. When their guide, Youseff, and his sister, Hanan, invite them to visit their grandfather, a desert sheik, they're trailed by Jordanian terrorists, the Iraqi secret police and Amman police Inspector Jafer. The climax occurs at an ancient desert fort, where Mrs. Pollifax fells the villains with karate. Whatever they lack in subtlety, the reliably delightful Mrs. Pollifax stories make up for in charming, intelligent characters, brisk action and seductive scenery. Author tour. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The always delightful Emily Pollifax is back in another hair-raising adventure. Mrs. Pollifax's latest mission is a trip to the Middle East with her CIA friend Farrell to retrieve a manuscript written by a murdered dissident. The manuscript, thinly disguised as fiction, provides provocative details of Saddam Hussein's reign of terror. The pickup, arranged through an intermediary, proves much more difficult than Farrell or Mrs. Pollifax anticipated, what with smugglers disguised as businessmen, attacks by knife-wielding sheikhs, car chases, and rides on berserk camels. By the end, the always gracious Mrs. P., as expected, has fingered the baddies, restored order to the universe, and made some delightful new friends in adverse circumstances. Fun and entertaining, this one is sure to be a hit with the legion of Mrs. Pollifax fans. --Emily Melton