Tragic Secrets Await In ‘The Silent Fountain’ [REVIEW]

Two women decades apart are trapped within an idyllic Italian villa in Victoria Fox’s The Silent Fountain. (Photo by Mircea, Flickr)

Deep in the Tuscan hills of Italy stands a beautiful old villa. It is the stuff dreams are made of. Scenic and solitary, it should be a haven for all who enter. Instead, it holds dark secrets that threaten to escape. But what are they? And what will their discovery ultimately mean? Find out in Victoria Fox’s The Silent Fountain. 

Mira

In 1978, Vivien Lockhart is one of Hollywood’s shining stars. But she’s also a woman in trouble, a woman with nowhere to turn, at least until she meets Giovanni Moretti and discovers hope in his eyes. After the two are wed, however, she meets his sister, and suddenly the illusion of security dissolves into a troubling nightmare.

Fast forward to present day Tuscany. Lucy Whittaker needs to disappear. When she moves into the crumbling Castillo Barbarossa, she is confident it will be her new safe haven away from the world. Then she hears eerie sounds in the attic. The house’s owner refuses to meet her in person. And the fountain in the courtyard is silent… but it has never run dry. What secrets lie within the walls of this aging villa and how does it connect the lives of both Vivien and Lucy?  

When I received this book from the publisher, there was much about it that I wanted to like. After all, I love everything about Italy and traveled there extensively in the past. So I was ready to lose myself in this story’s pages and reminisce about my own previous adventures. Unfortunately, the setting alone wasn’t enough to capture my imagination.

Let me begin by saying that I rarely enjoy books which vacillate between past and present, shifting from one point of view to another. It gives me a headache trying to remember which time period I’m in while keeping the storyline straight and memorizing which characters belong to which era. Sadly, Victoria Fox’s The Silent Fountain is not the exception to the rule. I wish it was. But in all honesty, I can’t even say that I really liked a single character. None of them spoke to me as they should have.

That being said, the tragedies faced by the three leading characters (Vivien, Lucy, and Giovanni) are chilling and do result in many twists and turns as Lucy struggles to unlock the house’s secrets and the writer takes us toward the novel’s denouement. Nevertheless, underdeveloped characters and faulty plotting make this one a tough sell for me, and if you are able to finish it then you must be one tenacious reader. But my suggestion is that you skip this one and find another that catches your interest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Victoria Fox

Victoria Fox is the bestselling author of six novels. The Silent Fountain is her breakout novel in North America.

Prior to her writing career, Victoria previously worked in publishing.

Now she divides her time between Bristol and London. She invites her readers to like her on Facebook and to follow her on Twitter.

THE SILENT FOUNTAIN
By Victoria Fox
400 pgs. Mira. $15.99

Purchase The Silent Fountain at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Books-A-Million, or Barnes & Noble.

The Silent Fountain is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.

The Silent Fountain Giveaway

Want to win a copy of The Silent Fountain for your own personal library? Simply complete the form below and click submit to enter. Giveaway is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Contest ends December 15, 2017.