Drawing the Line

Lina Townend #1

by Judith Cutler

Lina Townend, the orphaned natural daughter of somebody, somewhere, has been in care all her life. For the first time, at nineteen, she's pretty happy, living with kind-hearted antique dealer Griff, who combines the roles of grandfather and employer. But there is still something missing: she wants to find her real family, despite Griff's fears that she may uncover things she'd rather not know. When Lina comes across a page from a rare sixteenth century book, Natura Rerum, which she remembers from early childhood, she snaps up the chance to buy it. She has a vivid memory of being taken as a child to a stately home, where a man she believes must have been her father gave her this book to keep her quiet. If she can locate the book, maybe she can find her father. However, in the weeks that follow, a series of violent burglaries and attacks make Lina realise that what she found might have been more than just a link to her father. Undeterred, she carries on in her dangerous search, but will it lead her to happiness, or bitter disappointment?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, British Literature

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Judith Cutler was born and bred in the Midlands, and revels in using her birthplace, with its rich cultural life, as a background for her novels. After a long stint as an English lecturer at a run-down college of further education, Judith, a prize-winning short-story writer, has taught Creative Writing at Birmingham University, has run occasional writing course elsewhere (from a maximum security prison to an idyltic Greek island) and ministered to needy colleagues in her role as Secretary of the Crime Writers' Association.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me preface this review by saying that I NEVER don't finish a book. Never. I pride myself on always giving every book a chance, no matter how slow it starts, or how uninteresting I find it. This book just could not force me to continue. Around page 50ish, dying with boredom and incredibly frustrated with the immense amount of typos in the book, I decided there was no way I could make it to page 350. There are so many great books out there, don't waste your time on one that's not even mediocre.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a couple of the later books in this series a few years ago, but I've never read this first book before.

Lina's mother died when she was a child and she never knew who her father was. After living with a succession of foster parents, she leaves care at 16 and ends up moving in with an elderly antiques dealer as a kind of apprentice, helping in the business in exchange for bed, board and training. When she spots a book illustration at an antiques fair, it triggers memories of seeing the same book as a child, in what she believes was her father's house. She sets out to track down the location of the book in the hope that it will lead her to her father, but the book is extremely valuable and rare, and Lina isn't the only one looking for it. The search will be more dangerous than she imagines.

I found the plot to be quite farfetched, and there are only so many coincidences that the reader can swallow, but this is still an entertaining, light read. The relationship between Lina and Griff is touching, although I felt there was too much emphasis on Lina's chaotic childhood. Most people are aware that being raised in care is not the best start for a child - you don't need to keep reminding the reader of this in nearly every paragraph! But it is still a reasonable start to the series, albeit not as good as some of the later books.

[Ellen Dark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of typos, and lots of characters to keep track of, but I enjoyed this first entry in the Lina Townend series.

[Lynne Cosmano · Rating 4 out of 5]

now I'm hooked on another series.......

[Sandra Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Excellent story with twists and subplots. I enjoyed the characters and I learned about antiques. It did drag just a little in a few spots, but all in all is a great story.

[Liz Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK light read

[Sandra Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifically Good Mystery

Set in England (where else?). Delightfully engaging characters and an excellent plot line. Just the thing you can read. Has overtones of a modern Dorothy Sayers.

[Cidney · Rating 1 out of 5]

To draw you into reading a book, it has to grab and hold your attention from the get go. Unfortunately, although I started this book twice, it just didn't. I quite liked the fact that it was mostly set around Eastbourne, and Battle got several mentions, so all places I am familiar with, but it was so boring. If you are very interested in antiques, the buying and selling of them, antique fairs, the price of antiques ..... then this is the book for you.

The story revolved around an antique dealer called Griff and his protege Lina, well Evalina. She was brought up in care and ended living Griff after she left care. She wanted to find her father. She came across the front page of the rarest book I think on the planet at the time, and she bought it from a dealer who didn't know what it was. Considering she had very little education and the front page was in Latin, I had trouble understanding how she knew what it was. (There were many things in this book which stretched the imagination, and not necessarily in a good way).

Eventually they are burgled a few times and she finds her father, titled of course, and all is well in both Griff and Lina's world. To be honest I cared not what happened to either of them, or the front page of the rare book, or who her father was (this was rather unbelievable how she made the connection really), or who kept burgling them. After the first few chapters I was bored rigid, I just skim read through to the end.

But as I say, if you are a lover of antiques, of anything to do with antiques, want to further your knowledge of buying and selling antiques or wanting how to set out an antique stall or where the best antique fairs are to be able to sell your antiques, then this is definitely the book for you. Just not me I'm afraid.

[Eero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antic dealer get middle of mystery when she tries find her father by tracking old and valuable book.

Book start bit slowly but then it's curvy plot keeps reader enthralled until end.

Main character is mixed sort of person, with all that self abusing and thinking that she is not as intelligent as others, but still doing brilliant deducting time to time and bravely going towards danger to find truth. Which make her in my eyes quite interesting character.

Support cast work, but is not very note-able except main character boss, who is also quite interesting character.

[Sharneel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding the world of antiques and antique-hunting interesting made this book have its appeal. Plus the atypical main characters of Griff, an elderly gay man who has taken on the care of young Lina, and, of course, Lina Townsend, a foster care child who has finally lucked out, made the read a little more entertaining. Far-fetched, yes, in its finding Lina's long-lost father--a gentry. Still, it's a fun story and read. Take it for what it is.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay story listened to on our drives round Scotland. If I'd been reading it I think I may have skimmed rather than read parts, instead as I was listening, I fell asleep! Good job I wasn't the one driving at the time..... :o) 

[Elizabeth Butler]

LOVE