Dorothy Gilman has charmed and delighted millions of readers worldwide
with her portrayal of the witty and unpredictable Emily Pollifax -
part-time CIA operative, full-time garden-clubbing grandmother from New
Jersey. In this tenth mystery in the popular Mrs. Pollifax series, the
inimitable and irrepressible Mrs. Pollifax finds herself in Sicily,
dodging assassins' bullets in another fast-paced and suspenseful
adventure. When wealthy art collector Ambrose Vica invites
CIA-spook-turned-art-dealer John Sebastian Farrell to Sicily, it's to
find and authenticate a document bearing Julius Caesar's signature,
presumably owned by a mysterious Mr. Raphael. Farrell doesn't hesitate
to break into the Sicilian villa of Mr. Raphael - a man known for his
exquisite taste in art, as well as his shady underground connections -
to open his safe. But instead of finding Caesar's signature, Farrell
discovers a mysterious list of names - and ends up taking a bullet to
the ankle. Narrowly escaping capture, he hides out in a mountain
village, where he sends an SOS to CIA headquarters requesting Mrs.
Pollifax's help. With the aid of Kate Rossiter, a feisty young CIA agent
who happens to be vacationing in the Sicilian countryside, Mrs. Pollifax
and Farrell uncover the truth about the Caesar document. And in the
process they become targets for a deadly cartel of professional killers.
With Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief Dorothy Gilman has written
another page-turning mystery filled with the intrigue, colorful
characters, humor, and exotic locales that have made the Mrs. Pollifax
series both a critical and commercial success.
