Customer Reviews

8 reviews

• Michael Northey

  Various stories are skilfully woven together in a seamless narrative. Various family and other tensions are shown, and the author is realistic, but there is a lot of resolution, forgiveness and healing. The novel is about things that matter. The relationships are convincing. The scenes really come to life. I could easily visualise the Devon/Cornwall scenes. The Indian scenes are especially lovely. The love affair in India was really romantic and enchanting. The setting is beautiful and the description of the affair was lyrical. Strongly recommended for the way it deals with problems, love and reconciliation. It is easily read, and is the sort of book that will make people believe again in the power of forgiveness and healing.

• Sarah Weston

  A charming book showing sensitivity to the foibles and frailties of the characters within and setting them in places explored and well loved by the author.

• J K

  I have read and enjoyed Vicky Winchester's book "Cambridge Brains". I thought that the book started well with a first chapter that intrigued me and I wanted to read on. The book reminded me of Joanna Trollope's novels in that it is largely about the relationships between the various characters but the scene setting is much more varied than that in Joanna Trollope's books. I felt that the characterisation was good and that the characters were people one could meet. There were good descriptions of the scenery and the plant and animal life in the various places the book was set.

• Linda Polwart

  I would like to say how much I enjoyed reading Vicky Winchester 's novel "Cambridge Brains "recently. I found it a very interesting and enjoyable read.It shows very well what is happening beneath the surface of ordinary lives. I look forward to reading more of her work soon.

• Gillian Fellows

  If you want a good read, a novel in which the lives of a varied group of characters are cleverly intertwined, then why not pick up a copy of Vicky Winchester's debut novel, Cambridge Brains? Here you'll find that beneath what initially appears to be a successful, educated, middle-class family lie strained relationships. For example, there's gentle Jonathan, a retired vicar, continually harassed by his estranged wife whilst trying to rebuild his own life. Mary, whose money-grubbing, deceitful son, leads her to seek help and advice from Mark and Emma, who are having unspoken problems within their marriage. However, in the background, there is always the one constant; Martha and Gerald. Two intelligent, perceptive individuals, whose relationship, though linked to others, remains a point of stability. Not only does Vicky Winchester have a gift for characterisation, but also for interweaving the various threads of the lives of those she has created, leading them to a successful conclusion. In addition, her descriptive passages, ranging from the flora in India to the renovation of a cottage, are masterful in detail. Clever and well-written, in my opinion Cambridge Brains is definitely a book that's worth the reading.

• Valerie Vaux

  It was recommended to me by a friend who had thoroughly enjoyed and thought I might like it too and indeed I did. The story telling was excellent and kept your attention as did the interaction of the characters and the poignant relationship between each one particularly Mark and Moo. I believe there is a little something for everyone in the book - humour, romance, suspense and the usual family sensitivities. It makes for a very good read.

• Liz Dyer

  A beautifully written book with wonderful scenic descriptions. A very enjoyable read.

• Fiona Ross

  Vicky Winchester writes with sensitivity and a wry sense of humour about the tensions in modern family life as they affect the different generations . In addition, the chapters set in India are particularly vivid and beautifully written and the book comes to a satisfactory conclusion.

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