‘The Mystery of the Gold Rings’ by Judith Cutler

Published by Joffe Books,
5 January 2026
ISBN: 978-1-80573443-7 (PB)
Originally published as
Ring of Guilt, March 2013. 

Lina Townend is the partner in an antiques business, alongside her unofficially adopted grandfather, Griff Tripp. Lina is returning from an auction with a van full of items she has just bought at an auction when she sees a body lying in an isolated field. Lina is more capable of defending herself than most young women, but she is also aware of the dangers of leaving her van to check out the body, which could result in the theft of her valuable, and at this point, uninsured cargo. Unfortunately, she cannot get a phone signal, and there is nobody around to help her, so Lina takes a long-distance photograph of the body, and goes to find a signal to phone the police. When the police arrive, the body has disappeared. Although they would like to dismiss Lina’s story, the photo prevents them from doing this, and they say that they will investigate and be in touch. 

Before Lina came to live with Griff, she had endured a disrupted childhood, living in numerous foster homes, but now she is settled with Griff, who has educated her and encouraged her belief in her self-worth. He has also helped her do informal apprenticeships with antique dealers and restorers, so that she has become highly skilled and respected in her career. Lina also has a gift that cannot be learned, she is a ‘divvy’, a diviner who can instinctively sense precious objects. One of the least impressive things she bought at the auction is a box full of battered and broken household articles, but in it she discovers a gold ring of great antiquity. Soon afterwards, by chance, Lina buys a similar ring from a dealer in dress jewellery at an antiques fair. She and Griff take the rings to London, to show them to an expert at the British Museum, Sir Douglas Nelson, who is an old friend of Griff. Lina thinks that Douggie, as Griff calls him, is very distant in his manner, but she assumes this is because he disapproves of Griff taking her into partnership, an attitude she has encountered before. 

However, a few days later, Detective Sergeant Will Kinnersley, Kent Police’s Heritage Officer, turns up to question Lina, not about ‘her body’ as she first assumes, but to interrogate her about the rings. To Lina’s fury, Douglas Nelson has reported her to the police for illegally acquiring the rings, possibly by digging in an archaeological site. Fortunately, she and Griff always keep immaculate records and receipts, and they are able to prove Lina’s innocence. 

It is evident that Will Kinnersley admires Lina, but she is less keen, as the last attractive police officer she considered starting a relationship with, returned to a former relationship when his previous partner told him she was pregnant with his child. However, Lina has another admirer in high-end antiques dealer, Harvey Waverley, who seems to admire both her personal charms, and her skill as a restorer and her knowledge of antiques. 

The queries around the gold rings could be the sort of misfortune that can happen to even the most reputable dealers in antiques, but strange things continue to happen, which could endanger the professional reputation of Tripp and Townend. It seems that Lina has a powerful enemy who will go to great lengths to discredit her and may even go further and attempt physical harm. Lina and Griff are determined to discover the truth, but they have no idea of the identity of this ruthless adversary, or how the attacks could be connected to the body that Lina had seen. 

The Mystery of the Gold Rings is the third book in the series featuring Lina Townend. It is an interesting addition to a lively series, based in the fascinating world of antiques. Lina is a delightful and engaging protagonist, working tirelessly to improve her memory, knowledge and vocabulary, and she is surrounded by many regular characters that are likeable and eccentric. This is an enjoyable cosy crime novel, which I recommend.
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Reviewer:  Carol Westron 

Judith Cutler was born in the Black Country, just outside Birmingham, later moving to the Birmingham suburb of Harborne. Judith started writing while she was at the then Oldbury Grammar School, winning the Critical Quarterly Short Story prize with the second story she wrote. She subsequently read English at university. It was an attack of chickenpox caught from her son that kick-started her writing career. One way of dealing with the itch was to hold a pencil in one hand, a block of paper in the other - and so she wrote her first novel. This eventually appeared in a much-revised version as Coming Alive, published by Severn House. Judith has seven series. The first two featured amateur sleuth Sophie Rivers (10 books) and Detective Sergeant Kate Power (6 Books). Then came Josie Wells, a middle-aged woman with a quick tongue, and a love of good food, there are two books, The Food Detective and The Chinese Takeout. The Lina Townsend books are set in the world of antiques and there are seven books in this series. There are three books featuring Tobias Campion set in the Regency period, and her series featuring Chief Superintendent Fran Harman (6 books), and Jodie Welsh, Rector’s wife and amateur sleuth. Her more recently a series feature a head teacher Jane Cowan (3 books). Judith has also written three standalone’s Staging Death, Scar Tissue, and Death In Elysium. Her new series is set in Victorian times featuring Matthew Rowsley. Death’s Long Shadow is the third book in this series.  

http://www.judithcutler.com   

Carol Westron is a Golden Age expert who has written many articles on the subject and given papers at several conferences. She is the author of several series: contemporary detective stories and police procedurals, comedy crime and Victorian Murder Mysteries. Her most recent publications are Paddling in the Dead Sea and Delivering Lazarus, books 2 and 3 of the Galmouth Mysteries, the series which began with 
The Fragility of Poppies. 

www.carolwestron.com