The Silent Fountain

Lucy needs to get out of London fast, she’s involved with a married man and needs to disappear for a while. She finds herself in a castillo in Italy looking after aging Hollywood actress Vivien Lockhart.
Vivien’s story begins in America in 1976 when she meets Gio, an Italian doctor and his mute sister Isabella, Gio asks Vivien to marry him and move to Italy. Vivien doesn’t trust Gio’s sister Isabella who she thinks she is manipulative and dangerous. Gio wants Vivien to give Isabella a chance because she had a traumatic childhood. The story follows how Isabella tries to undermine Vivien at every turn and how Gio sides with his sister instead of Vivien until a terrible tragedy occurs.
Vivien has become a recluse and Lucy needs to help her overcome the secrets of the past for them both to move on with their lives.
The story was slow to start but picked up quickly, it was intriguing and heartbreaking with several twists. It was an excellent read which I would highly recommend. Looking forward to the next book from this author.

Sitting here open mouthed in wonderment, but equally speechless with just how much I completely adored this book.

I read the first 3 chapters when I had a short bit of time, and then spent the next few hours thinking about how the book would progress, which showed me just how much it was under my skin instantly. I had many questions just from the beginning and over the course of the book I did get all the answers.

My next stint of reading too me to about 75%, where I incredibly reluctantly put the book down, only because it was 2.30am, and I figured I should probably go to bed. I just had to keep on turning the pages, and kept gasping in shock, as various elements were revealed, or turns in the story occurred.

Of course I read the last bit in one sitting too, so the book was basically unputdownable for me, and whenever I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about the characters.

The Silent Fountain is a remarkably different book from Victoria Fox, who is more known for her big bonkbuster summery novels. This story however has far deeper veins running through it, and tells two different stories alongside each other.

One starts in the 1970s, and is the story of Vivien Lockhart's life, from her early childhood, and through her marriage, and issues with her sister-in-law. The other story is set in present day Tuscany, and all you know to begin with is that Lucy Whittaker is needing an escape from the UK, and from something terrible that she has done.

I found both stories equally engaging and I just wanted to know more and more about Vivien especially, and her life. There is always a chapter heading when you are getting the past so it was easy to tell who or what you were following at any time. We also see a small amount of what Vivien is like in the present day, and large amounts of her story are heartbreaking.

The Silent Fountain is a story that edged under my skin, leaving it on my mind even when I wasn't reading. I found it atmospheric, full of details, and loved reading about the Castillo Barbarossa and the secrets within its walls. I am also incredibly impressed by the change of style from Victoria Fox, and shows she is an even more talented author than I may have first thought. Not really sure how to describe the sort of book this is, other than if you like books that seep into your conscious, like a bit of mystery and drama, then this could be the book for you!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and HQ for this copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Spooky, spine-tingling and scintillating, The Silent Fountain is a spellbinding page-turner packed with intrigue, secrets, passion and deception guaranteed to keep readers in thrall!

Lucy Whittaker needs to disappear – fast! With the whole of London looking for her after a shocking turn of events, Lucy needs to flee from the British capital and seek sanctuary somewhere where nobody knows who she is. With the terrible sense of shame hanging heavily upon her shoulders, Lucy needs an escape from her life. She needs to go somewhere where nobody knows what she has done and the crumbling Tuscan palazzo Castillo Barbarossa seems like the perfect place to hide in. However, Lucy quickly realises that her new home is not the safe house she imagined, for the walls and corridors of the Castillo Barbarossa reverberate with their own shameful secrets and dangerous lies…

In 1975, film star Vivien Lockhart’s life was as far removed from the Hollywood idyll as it was possible to get. When tragedy had sent her spiraling down a path of melancholy and despair, she had sought comfort in the arms of Giovanni Moretti. But just when Vivien had finally thought that the happiness which had previously eluded her was finally within her reach, secrets from her new husband’s past look set to threaten and destroy everything which she holds dear to her heart.

The Castillo Barbarossa is not the idyllic paradise which both women had imagined and across the decades, Lucy and Vivien, find themselves inextricably linked by this Tuscan paradise. Entangled in a web of obsession, deception and betrayal, Lucy and Vivien are shackled by the palazzo’s scandalous secrets and it is only if they unearth the cruel lies and devastating duplicity that holds them both captive can the two women ever be free from the curse of the Castillo Barbarossa.

Victoria Fox has written a stunning and mesmerizing gothic chiller that kept me riveted from beginning to end. The pages just seem to turn themselves when reading this enthralling and captivating tale of illicit desire, forbidden passion, searing emotion and nail-biting suspense and I found myself unable to put the book down. I was up until three o’clock in the morning, on the edge of my seat, desperate to find out what what was going to happen next as I was gripped by this ingenious and engrossing tale fans of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca will simply adore.

Wonderfully written, full of twists and turns and difficult to resist, The Silent Fountain is a book that will linger in your mind long after the last page is turned. Brava, Victoria Fox – I can’t wait for your next book!