[This is a review I wrote in 2010]

**Only the hardest of hearts will fail to be moved by this story of loss, love and friendship**

The Winter House is the beguiling story of a woman summoned to confront the trappings of her youthful past, a complex quadrangle of tangled relations, which have long been buried but never forgotten. With a wisdom beyond its pages it is a novel that makes you explore you own half-forgotten friendships and relationships; whether consciously of subconsciously you cannot help but relate to Marnie's circumstances by placing a question mark against people, choices and events from your own past.

When Marnie receives a phone call out of the blue from old friend Oliver Fenton, he his summoning her to a small cottage in remote Scotland where their friend Ralph is dying. There was a time when these three, and Lucy (a fourth) were all very close and inseparable friends. But that all came to an abrupt end years ago and Marnie hasn't been in touch with the boys since. Can they all put past events behind them and transport themselves back to their youth, to give Ralph the peace, the strength and love he needs at the end? Much has happened in their lives since their youth, but will the bonds of friendship still be strong enough to see through their differences now?

It is a very warm and poignant novel, more about relationships and emotions than about events. The main characters are real, immediate, - very well portrayed. In just a couple of places I think the writing loses it's thread, with the theme of 'home' and 'homesickness' being ever so slightly over-played as well, but on the whole it's a novel I can recommend for its originality, kind heart, warmth and good story telling, and only the hardest of hearts will fail to be moved by this story of loss, love and friendship. ( )

Een psychologische roman met de suspense van een thriller. Verhaal over vriendschap, liefde, loyaliteit en de kracht van herinneringen ( )

onplezierig, niet navoelbaar boek. opofferend meisjes, die uit trots haar liefde niet achterna gaat. ( )

I can't remember what led me to this book but it was just right for me at this point in time. It's essentially a story about three people who had been friends / lovers as young people, coming together again as one of them is dying. I was (and remain) suspicious and cynical about this author...I guess I see her as a marketer as much as a writer (why write different styles of book under different names?) but I suppose the reality is that all writers have to be part marketer these days. Anyway, putting that aside and judging the book on its merits, I found myself engaging very much with all the characters. Even though there might be seen to be an element of romanticism in the story, I did feel that we were close enough to the real world as I experience it that I could find the story quite believable in most of its elements. In fact, I discovered that the book actually helped me reflect on a relationship in my own life to help me to see how valuable it is.

Death and dying is undoubtedly the dominant theme of the book, with three major deaths in the story. Having reached the age where my peers are starting to die, I find myself more and more interested in the process of dying - what makes it better or worse, and how I might like my own death to occur if I get to have any choice. That makes this book an obvious choice for me, but the characters also look back on their younger life so there's also some intrinsic interest for readers who still feel a long way off the stage of dying. ( )

Een vrouw haalt herinneringen op aan het sterfbed van een jeugdvriend. Niet wat je verwacht van Nicci Gerrard (geen Nicci French thriller) . Duidelijk anders en daarom waarschijnlijk onder haar eigen naam geschreven. Mooi en boeiend verhaal. ( )