The Bursar's Wife

George Kocharyan #1

by E.G. Rodford

Meet George Kocharyan, Cambridge Confidential Services’ one and only private investigator. Amidst the usual jobs following unfaithful spouses, he is approached by the glamorous Sylvia Booker. The wife of the bursar of Morley College, Booker is worried that her daughter Lucy has fallen in with the wrong crowd.

Aided by his assistant Sandra and her teenage son, George soon realises that Lucy is sneaking off to the apartment of an older man, but perhaps not for the reasons one might suspect.Then an unfaithful wife he had been following is found dead. As his investigation continues— enlivened by a mild stabbing and the unwanted intervention and attention of Detective Inspector Vicky Stubbing—George begins to wonder if all the threads are connected...

Genres: Mystery

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2014

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thank you to www.shotsmag.co.uk for my ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review*

Yay! There's a new Private Investigator on the block, and if you don't warm to him like a comfy pair of slippers, then I'll eat the proverbial hat!
Cambridge based P.I George Kocharyan scrapes a living by spying on cheating spouses and investigating benefits cheats, aided by his assistant Sandra and her son Jason. However, when Sylvia Booker (the eponymous Bursar's wife) contacts him and asks him to investigate her daughter Lucy, who she suspects has got herself involved with some undesirables, he has no idea the dangers that this case will bring to his door. There will be break-ins, a stabbing, and vicious assaults on both himself, and Jason.
Then there are the two deaths - the first is one of the cheating wives he was investigating, she is found murdered in a rather compromising situation. The second is a suicide in the Booker case. Because George is involved in both ( albeit indirectly ) it brings him to the attention of DCI Brampton and the surly DI Vicky Stubbing. They seem determined to make things even trickier for him. As the investigation gathers pace, George begins to see links emerging between all the events taking place, and there will be some mind blowing revelations.
This is book one, in what is to be a series. It was written in an easy going style, with nice bite-sized chapters - and then there's our main protagonist George, he's not perfect, and quite naive at times, but he's amusing, and instantly likeable. He'll have you on side in no time!
All in all a good read - look forward to book two.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never heard of this author. Which to be honest I could not tell from the writing who the famous author really is behind the identity of E.G. Rodford. Yet, as I dived into this book, I instantly fell in love with Kocharyan. I like his no nonsense attitude. It showed he was not perfect and human. Although be warned as there is some language used through out this book with the "f" word. Yet it is not used excessively but in good content. Then there are the other characters in this story. They were not just like extras in a play but they were both good main characters and secondary characters as well. They added to the story Plus, I found a few of them to be wacky (in a good way). The story read fast and I will be looking for more books by this author and look forward to seeing Kocharyan again.

[Alexw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun murder thriller. Has anyone found out who E. G. Rodford, the author is as this is written as a pseudonym ?

[Lynsey Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

One in a series of George Kocharyan, private investigator, novels I enjoyed George's world.  I really liked the mainstay characters of George, Sandra and Sandra's teenage son, Jason and the relationships between them.  George, being a private investigator, you would assume to be a confident man but in reality he isn't, suffering still from the blow of his wife leaving him which has lead him to question his ability in most aspects of life.  But this isn't portrayed in a sad (annoying woe is me way) it is done very comically.  As are a lot of the things in this book, which given some of its subject matter is very dark, turns it from what could be a real stomach turning drudge, into something very readable.

The plot is very thick and complex and the author has woven the threads together in a well paced and clear manner.  It is difficult to try and review the storyline without giving anything away so I won't try and say anything more than the blurb, apart from by the end you do feel as if there has been a real journey for George in many ways, not just with the investigation and piecing together the case he is working on but in his family and private life too.

Sandra and Jason both provide extra light for the dark side of this book and I do not think the story would work anywhere near as well without them, and I am glad they will be returning in further novels within the series.

With its dark comical narration and plot that twists and turns this is an enjoyable read.

[Susan B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable , fast paced started right away without a lot of unnecessary dialogue. i got the gist of what was going on about halfway thru but was curious as to how all was going to tie together. Very nicely done . A good weekend read

[Vontel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure I would continue reading this book past chapter 8, but did persist and am glad I did. A new book and series, written in noir fiction owing much to Raymond Chandler. Although published in 2014/2016(depending on website consulted), the technology referred to early in the book made me think it was written at least 10 years previously. However, that seems to have been to situate the new protagonist. At times, especially in the beginning, the book seemed hackneyed and derivative, perhaps partly because of the genre chosen. However, in the end, it proved interesting with possible potential for the protagonist to be Cambridge's Rebus.

Apparently written under an alias by an award winning author who lives in Cambridge, England, so ultimately there may be more interest when the true identity is revealed. There is a second book in the series just published, named either The Runaway Maid or The Surgeon's Case. I will look for it to see if the first book's promise proves out.

[Ann Dewar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, tongue-in-cheek crime novel with a lovable narrator and an amuse-bouche of characters including a foreign villain, a side-kick and a femme fatale. Lots of satirical nudges overlay a satisfying storyline and guesses as to the real identity of the author add an additional splash of piquancy. One to add to your reading list.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these out of order and liked the second book (a surgeons case much better). That said I like the plot lines and the book is easy to read. Also after spending 6months living in Cambridge I love the Cambridge references.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as the plot kept me interested and moved at a good pace. The characters are all well developed and George is a complex individual who makes mistakes. The tone of the story was serious yet there is a sense of wittiness and inevitability. A good read.

[Melanie Schloemer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I'm being harsh with the 2 stars, because the main character is smart and diligent. But this case revolved around a seriously perverted man who had been successfully misusing young women for decades, and blackmailing others.. Some things I'd just rather not be exposed to,

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diverting enough. A private detective with issues and a beautiful client with secrets. Heard it before? Me too. Still, well enough done, and the Cambridge setting viewed from the underbelly is a nice twist.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Kocharyan, a private investigator who makes fun of himself about his wreck of a life gets himself caught up in a situation far beyond anything he's ever imagined. Divorced, funny, sarcastic, a little desperate, and very entertaining, Kocharyan takes us on an adventure of twists that I did not see coming from a mile away. Running at a very nice pace and hooking you in from the beginning, this book was an extremely enjoyable and captivating read. Watching George's relationship with others as well as himself transform throughout the book never had a dull moment. A hero in the end, he has a fair sense of justice and stands up for what is right. Though a little naive and hypersexual, he will stop at nothing for the good of other people. The plot and characters, no matter how random you think they are, everything is connected. With a tense, suspenseful, and action filled resolution to it all, this book will quickly grow to be one of your favorite mysteries you have ever read. It is definitely one of mine.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

So happy to find a new author I enjoy. Hope his follow up is as entertaining and well written.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story
Loved the main character
Loved the quirky way it is written
Recommend highly

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing and dark... with strange twists and turns

[Rob Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book. Once I got about a third of the way through I couldn't put it down. Easy to read, lots of humor and a good plot. I want to read more from this author.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

E.G. Rodford’s first George Kocharyan mystery “The Bursar’s Wife” is a an excellent private detective novel in which Rodford focuses both on the sorrid details of the mystery and crimes being committed while also slowly unraveling Kocharyan’s life and past. Rodford is excellent at tying the strands of this multilevel story together and imbues the novel with interesting observations of life, prototypical gumshoe factors spiced up with humor and pathos. And sex. Sex is a big part of the story.

Kocharyan is in many ways an Everyman, but with some atypical issues. 40ish, his father in a nursing home suffering from a dementia like illness, abandoned by his wife, who has moved to Greece with her lesbian lover, Kocharyan is plotting some way to hook up with his attractive downstairs neighbor while perusing the internet’s pornographic enticements.

Rodford is expert at leaving little bread crumbs in the story, tidbits of facts that sometime later have some meaning. While Kocharyan untangles the threads of the story, Rodford slowly reveals details of his life, his ideas, how he thinks, and how other characters think.

But there is also violence and threats, people hurt who we learn to care about. Rodford does not have any wasted space, no thread that somehow does not have some meaning in the end. The clues are hidden, but they are there.

Kocharyan barely supports his practice by investigating cheating spouses and welfare cheats in England. As we enter the story, he is informing mousy Al Greene, a cuckolded spouse about his wife Nina’s perfidy. When in sweeps Sylvia Booker, the attractive wife of the Bursar of Morley college, where Kocharyan’s father used to work before being unceremoniously dumped. Booker wants Kocharyan to spy on her daughter Lucy who is seeing an older man. But before he can even do any investigating, the cops come and pick him up to go to the scene of a murder – Nina has been strangled in a car. DCI Brampton wants information but arrests Greene for the murder of his wife.

Kocharyan is not convinced. A bread crumb.

Rodford teases out the investigation. Kocharyan’s assistant’s son Jason, who goes to school with Lucy, finds out that Lucy has a boyfriend. Kocharyan follows her one day when she is picked up by a chauffeur driven limousine to a mansion owned by Quinton Boyd, a wealthy former student at Morley.

Why is she meeting him? Its not for what we think.

Kocharyan is later is on a date with his hot downstairs neighbor, but on seeing Lucy, drunk and about to be attacked, abandons the date to save her. She reveals that Boyd just wants to talk to her.

So why is Sylvia Booker worried?

Kocharyan’s investigation uncovers that Boyd is a nasty piece of work with a habit of employing prostitutes and videotaping sexual acts.

Then Sylvia Booker’s husband commits suicide. He also knew Boyd.

And Kocharyan learns that Sylvia Booker and Boyd were students together at Morley, where, surprisingly, DCI Brampton knew both of them. They were in a club together. A movie club. Boyd’s first venture in amateur pornographic film making.

So why is Boyd seeing Lucy, and if Sylvia knows him, why is she not doing something to stop it.

As Kocharyan tries to unravel the tangled tale, he is threatened, Jason is attacked and Lucy is scared.

And all along Sylvia Booker knows a lot more than she is telling about Boyd and Kocharyan’s father and even Boyd’s motivations. The secrets that you keep closest are the secrets that hurt the most.

And don’t forget Nina Greene and her murder left out there in the beginning.


E. G. Rodford’s debut George Kocharyan mystery is that special private investigation novel where the pleasure is in watching a smart detective discover the truth, while at the same time letting the reader learn about the hero and the cast of characters. Well worth the read.

[Gordon Mcghie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet George Kocharyan, a Cambridge private investigator who is about to take on a case which may just change his life (assuming he manages to avoid being bumped off by a stooge with a pocket knife).

George’s wife has left him for another woman. He is ‘dealing with things’ and making Bambi eyes at the nutritionist that works in his building, but business is slow. As the story opens we find George breaking the news to his client that the client’s wife is spending time with strange men in parked cars – George has the photo’s to prove it (even if you cannot always see her face). As one unhappy client leaves his office a new one enters in the form of the lovely Sylvia Booker. Mrs Booker is the wife of one of the Bursar’s at a Cambridge college. Her husband’s position means she moves in powerful social circles so cannot afford a whiff of a scandal. She wants to engage George’s services to keep an eye on her daughter who seems to be falling in with the wrong crowd. George can hardly say ‘no’ to the bewitching Mrs Booker, especially when there is a bulky cash-filled envelope pushed across his desk to cover his costs.

What seems to be a relatively simple task soon starts to snowball in complexity. Mrs Booker has not been entirely forthright with George and has kept back a lot of information that could have made his task much easier. Her daughter (Lucy) is also keeping secrets but for the life of him George cannot quite work out what she is doing hanging around the home of a man that is old enough to be her father.

As if these secretive Booker women were not proving George with enough of a headache the local police are very keen to have him ‘help them with their enquiries’. The lady from the parked cars has been spotted in another car, however this time she is on her own and very, very dead. DI Stubbing does not seem to like George and seems to believe that a man who spends his time taking pictures of people coupling in cars should certainly have no problem spending time assisting the police with their investigations.

The Bursar’s Wife was great fun to read. There is a really good crime story to enjoy but the tone is light and the lead character really engaging – if you have read Lawrence Block’s fantastic ‘Burglar’ series then you may have an idea as to how well this balance can work.

I am going to be singing the praises of The Bursar’s Wife for quite some time, it ticked all the right boxes for me and I was delighted to find that George Kocharyan will be returning next year. Although my bookshelves are filled with dark, intense and gritty reads The Bursar’s Wife was a very welcome addition…I love when an author feels that they can have fun with a story and E.G. Rodford nails this perfectly. You have to read this one – it would be a crime to miss it!

[Cybercrone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot line fairly standard, nothing really exciting. Writing was surely nothing to write home about either.

Characters totally derivative. Messed up private eye with divorced/widowed assistant who has teenaged son who needs mentoring - been done before and done much better.

I'll maybe try another one further down the line to see if there has been any growth.

[Judy LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder, lovelorn private investigator, secretive societies, humour, has it all! Great read for the weekend, long wait for book #2 though (2017).

[Susan Beecher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this mystery. Hadn't read any of this author previously.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read 'crime' fiction but this was such an easy read and very enjoyable. Would like to 'investigate(!) other titles in the series.

[Emma Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder mystery in a very weird way which was very cleverly written. im ususally quite good at guessing a story line but i didn't see this one coming.