I’m heading to visit some relatives in Florida. They are some of my favorite people in the whole world, kind, thoughtful, love food, have excellent taste in books. I’ve got a whole week of reading, and walking, and swimming. Packing has me thinking about what I’ll read. Even though I always pack a few books one of my favorite things is raiding bookshelves. Do you raid bookshelves?

One book unearthed on such expedition that has stuck with me the most is The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. I was at my Fisches, for Thanksgiving. After I finished The Paris Bookshop, the rest of my own selection seemed tedious. My Fisches is a sacred place for reading, mindlessly searching Pinterest is an act of heresy I shudder to consider. There, on my narrow bed, a wall of shelves rising beside me, an unexpected discovery, of unexpected delights!

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax is a spy novel – the first in a series – written in 1966 and shaped by the cold war. Some people say that the incomparable Mrs Emily Pollifax, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, I’ve heard that the book seemed dated – Hah! Is Mrs. Marple dated? Is Sherlock Holmes dated? Is James Bond dated? I ask you?!

The world of Mrs Pollifax is a CIA in its infancy. She is the titular unexpected new agent to the game. With the thoroughly enjoyable combination of the sarcasm, that comes to the witty in their latter years, and the wide eyed surprise of a person delivered to world they had only dared to imagine. I find Mrs. Pollifax to be a character easily relatable, and likable. A woman who needs a new adventure, an exhilarating, fulfilling purpose for a life, whose primary objects have all been accomplished. Maybe I’ll visit with Mrs. Pollifax again.

If you haven’t read any Mrs. Polifax, you should. Go on. Grab some tea. Raid someone’s shelves. Inundate the libraries with requests. Flood Amazon with orders. Call for a new printing. It would be so – unexpected.

If you love The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax you should also check out Mrs. Pollifax Spy. It’s a film, and it’s fabulous.