The Runaway Maid

Starred review from May 8, 2017
British author Rodford’s excellent second mystery featuring everyman Cambridge PI George Kocharyan (after 2016’s The Bursar’s Wife) demonstrates that a gifted writer can create engagement and suspense without a plot centered on solving a murder. George is approached by a TV celebrity, Dr. Bill Galbraith, known as the “Hugh Grant of surgery,” who hosts a popular program that follows patients from diagnosis through surgery. Galbraith’s domestic, Aurora de la Cruz, has disappeared, as has a briefcase containing medical records, and the doctor retains George to track her down and recover his property. Despite Galbraith’s reluctance to let George interview his wife about their servant, the assignment seems straightforward enough. But when George easily tracks Aurora down through the local Filipino community, he’s unsettled by her fear of her employers and agrees to broker a deal: returning the briefcase in exchange for Aurora’s passport, which the Galbraiths have held on to. The lead’s wry humor enlivens the non-formulaic story line. Agent: David Grossman, David Grossman Literary Agency.