April 26, 2010
American readers will learn a lot about the British antiques world from Cutler’s clever second Lina Townend mystery (after 2005’s Drawing the Line). Lina, the illegitimate daughter of Lord Elham of Kent’s Bossingham Hall, regards her mentor, gay antiques dealer Griffith “Griff” Trip, as her real father. Lina agrees to help Lady Petronella Cordingly, Griff’s boyfriend’s sister, by bringing a 17th-century Hungarian silver dish of Lord Elham’s to sell at an antiques fair Petronella’s involved with. At the fair, Detective Sergeant Morris accuses Lina of trying to sell stolen property. Though she’s cleared after striking up a friendship with Morris and Piers Hamlyn, a sympathetic young antiques dealer, Lina worries about dodgy doings at Bossingham Hall. Could boozy Lord Elham be stealing from the hall’s trustees, or is his son, Darren Harris, the culprit? When the smitten Piers gives Lina a flawed friendship ring, Lina must re-evaluate everything she thinks she knows in this romantic cozy.
July 1, 2010
Lord Elham might have been someone to look up to at one time, but having ruined his own reputation, hes now just a cranky old man planted in front of his television eating noodlesand his daughter, Lina, is distraught about her father's situation. Lina is attractive and an up-and-comer in the antique-restoration business, but that might change quickly after shes accused of theft when she tries to sell one her fathers pieces from his dwindling collection. The mix-up puts her dear friend, the quick-witted Griff Tripp, in a dangerous spot, too, forcing Lina to work on her own. Keeping the mood light even when the plot turns menacing, Cutler infuses her heroine with a healthy dose of humorjust as she does with cop Kate Power in her other series. The antiques business makes an intriguing background, and the supporting characters are drawn as deftly as the lead. Give this one to fans of other antiques-based series by Jane K. Cleland, Sharon Fiffer, and Lea Wait (and Jonathan Gash, for those who like antiques but can do without the cozy ambience).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)