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A Line of Sight
A Line of Sight is a compelling whodunit woven through a story of community, family and an extraordinary eight-year-old boy.
When Nick and Graham set out rabbit shooting one August day neither of them realise their lives are about to change forever. They spot a couple of suspected cannabis growers on their land. Each fires in warning and one grower is killed. But who fired the fatal shot? And how far will each man go to prove himself not guilty?
The story of a young man facing the biggest dilemma of his life, A Line of Sight is an affecting portrayal of male friendship, the links between generations, and Swan – a blind boy whose strange take on the events brings great danger and unexpected clarity.
When Nick and Graham set out rabbit shooting one August day neither of them realise their lives are about to change forever. They spot a couple of suspected cannabis growers on their land. Each fires in warning and one grower is killed. But who fired the fatal shot? And how far will each man go to prove himself not guilty?
The story of a young man facing the biggest dilemma of his life, A Line of Sight is an affecting portrayal of male friendship, the links between generations, and Swan – a blind boy whose strange take on the events brings great danger and unexpected clarity.
227 pages, Paperback
First published June 11, 2015
3 people want to read
About the author
Adrienne Jansen
30 books10 followersJansen, Adrienne (1947 - ) writes fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children, and poetry. For many years she taught ESOL and was involved in refugee resettlement and immigration issues, and this long interest in cross-cultural experience is reflected in her writing.
Her first books were small practical publications designed to meet particular needs. Having a Baby in New Zealand (1985) was published in Samoan, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Khmer as well as English. She co-authored a second book with a practical focus, Neighbourhood Groups (1986).
Borany's Story (1991) is an account of the life of Borany Kanal, a Cambodian immigrant and co-author of the book. It was originally a series for radio broadcast by Radio New Zealand in 1989. It is a simply-written and moving first person account of a woman’s escape from the Khmer Rouge, and eventual resettling in New Zealand. The book was shortlisted for the New Zealand Library Association Non Fiction Award, and is widely used in schools.
Ten immigrant women tell their stories to Adrienne Jansen in I have in my arms both ways (1990). The title comes from one of the women, immigrant Valeti Finau: 'I have in my arms both ways. I can see my Tokelau way, it's good. I can see the palagi way, it's good. I don’t want to put one down and lift the other up... I can carry them both.' The book is one of the few accounts of immigrant women's experiences in New Zealand.
Her first novel, Spirit Writing was published in 1999. It is the story of a young woman who is drawn into what is for her a foreign world of Lao refugees and political activism, and discovers the costs of misunderstandings and misplaced idealism. '[C]aptivating, powerful and beautifully written,' writes Michael Larsen in The Evening Post, while Beryl Fletcher writes ‘it’s great to read a New Zealand novel that explores the fraught relationships that can occur between refugees and locals’ (Waikato Times).
Jansen’s second novel, Floating the Fish on Bamboo (2001), described by Sue McRae in the Evening Post as ‘a page-turner with real class, falling squarely between the arthouse and the blockbuster’, is also a story set in a multicultural community.
Both Spirit Writing and Floating the Fish on Bamboo (2001) were adapted for broadcast on Radio New Zealand. Jansen has also had short stories broadcast on Radio New Zealand, including ‘War’, highly commended in the Commonwealth Short Story competition in 2002.
Adrienne Jansen was one of four poets in the collection How Things Are (1996), where her work appeared with that of Meg Campbell, Harry Ricketts, and J.C. Sturm. Her first solo collection of poetry is a stone seat and a shadow tree (2001). She has had poems in a number of publications and in several anthologies.
In 2009, Jansen teamed up with photographer Ans Westra in The Crescent Moon: The Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand, a publication for the Asia New Zealand Foundation, intended to present a more accurate ‘snapshot’ of this largest group of Muslims in New Zealand, and to correct some stereotypes and media misrepresentation. The Crescent Moon is also a photographic exhibition touring New Zealand.
In 1993 Adrienne Jansen founded the Whitireia Polytechnic Creative Writing Programme, and was its coordinator until 1999. She now teaches fiction and editing on the programme, and has written several of its online courses. She is part of the writing team at Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum, and does some freelance work. She lives in Titahi Bay, Porirua.
Her first books were small practical publications designed to meet particular needs. Having a Baby in New Zealand (1985) was published in Samoan, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Khmer as well as English. She co-authored a second book with a practical focus, Neighbourhood Groups (1986).
Borany's Story (1991) is an account of the life of Borany Kanal, a Cambodian immigrant and co-author of the book. It was originally a series for radio broadcast by Radio New Zealand in 1989. It is a simply-written and moving first person account of a woman’s escape from the Khmer Rouge, and eventual resettling in New Zealand. The book was shortlisted for the New Zealand Library Association Non Fiction Award, and is widely used in schools.
Ten immigrant women tell their stories to Adrienne Jansen in I have in my arms both ways (1990). The title comes from one of the women, immigrant Valeti Finau: 'I have in my arms both ways. I can see my Tokelau way, it's good. I can see the palagi way, it's good. I don’t want to put one down and lift the other up... I can carry them both.' The book is one of the few accounts of immigrant women's experiences in New Zealand.
Her first novel, Spirit Writing was published in 1999. It is the story of a young woman who is drawn into what is for her a foreign world of Lao refugees and political activism, and discovers the costs of misunderstandings and misplaced idealism. '[C]aptivating, powerful and beautifully written,' writes Michael Larsen in The Evening Post, while Beryl Fletcher writes ‘it’s great to read a New Zealand novel that explores the fraught relationships that can occur between refugees and locals’ (Waikato Times).
Jansen’s second novel, Floating the Fish on Bamboo (2001), described by Sue McRae in the Evening Post as ‘a page-turner with real class, falling squarely between the arthouse and the blockbuster’, is also a story set in a multicultural community.
Both Spirit Writing and Floating the Fish on Bamboo (2001) were adapted for broadcast on Radio New Zealand. Jansen has also had short stories broadcast on Radio New Zealand, including ‘War’, highly commended in the Commonwealth Short Story competition in 2002.
Adrienne Jansen was one of four poets in the collection How Things Are (1996), where her work appeared with that of Meg Campbell, Harry Ricketts, and J.C. Sturm. Her first solo collection of poetry is a stone seat and a shadow tree (2001). She has had poems in a number of publications and in several anthologies.
In 2009, Jansen teamed up with photographer Ans Westra in The Crescent Moon: The Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand, a publication for the Asia New Zealand Foundation, intended to present a more accurate ‘snapshot’ of this largest group of Muslims in New Zealand, and to correct some stereotypes and media misrepresentation. The Crescent Moon is also a photographic exhibition touring New Zealand.
In 1993 Adrienne Jansen founded the Whitireia Polytechnic Creative Writing Programme, and was its coordinator until 1999. She now teaches fiction and editing on the programme, and has written several of its online courses. She is part of the writing team at Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum, and does some freelance work. She lives in Titahi Bay, Porirua.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 26, 2025
Jansen is an very easy writer to read. her language is clear, spare, economical and evocative. her characters are real, flawed but basically likeable - human. Two men are idly rabbits hunting when they spot 2 trespassers. Both men fire warning shots but a trespasser is killed. Who fired the fatal shot is at debate. The shoiting has huge impact on the local community. The story is mostly centred on Nick and his conscientious objector grandfather and Vietnam veteran uncle add context as does an enigmatic young blind boy who calls himself Swan. He adds a different perspective. A really gripping read.
December 19, 2021
Read in a day, first book I have read by this author .
Very. Impressed have ordered two others from library.
Very. Impressed have ordered two others from library.
June 14, 2015
The book is listed as a whodunit, but it's a fairly mild version of that genre. It gains some suspense about half way through, but prior to that seems a bit underpowered.
The main character, Nick, is involved in the shooting of a trespasser on his father's farm. The mystery is whether Nick was the one who shot the trespasser, or whether it was his old friend, Graeme.
This is woven into a story which looks at such things as second sight, guns and banning them, the Vietnam War and its aftereffects, father-son relationships, disillusion and more. I felt the book was rather unfocused, but maybe I missed the point of why there were all these other facets that didn't seem ultimately to contribute to the main story.
I read Jansen's The Score a year or so ago, and enjoyed it, because it brought together a quirky collection of characters, and had some sense of forward motion. A Line of Sight doesn't seem to have quite that energy.
The main character, Nick, is involved in the shooting of a trespasser on his father's farm. The mystery is whether Nick was the one who shot the trespasser, or whether it was his old friend, Graeme.
This is woven into a story which looks at such things as second sight, guns and banning them, the Vietnam War and its aftereffects, father-son relationships, disillusion and more. I felt the book was rather unfocused, but maybe I missed the point of why there were all these other facets that didn't seem ultimately to contribute to the main story.
I read Jansen's The Score a year or so ago, and enjoyed it, because it brought together a quirky collection of characters, and had some sense of forward motion. A Line of Sight doesn't seem to have quite that energy.
April 4, 2016
I love this book! It has a quiet intensity that sneaked up on me - the issues opening up and really resonating, while the characters got under my skin and stay with me for a long time afterwards. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews