The Silent Fountain

by Victoria Fox

[Leah]

Victoria Fox is an author who has massively evolved since her debut novel Hollywood Sinners was released in 2011, she’s gone from being a bonkbuster author, to an author with more to her stories than glamorous people in glamorous locations. The Silent Fountain appears to be another departure for Fox, and I really liked it. For years I’ve loved books set in the present and the past, the stories that opens up as times have changed and I was fascinated by The Silent Fountain, by the mystery surrounding it and the fantastic Italian setting.

The Silent Fountain tells the stories of two ladies – Lucy finds herself lost after a tragedy, worried that when the truth comes out about what happened that day, she’ll be enemy number one with everyone who knows her (and doesn’t) and Vivien, a Hollywood starlet, turned recluse. Both find themselves at Castillo Barbarossa, with secrets aplenty between them, will Barbarossa give up its own secrets and let Lucy learn the truth about what happened to turn Vivien into a recluse? It’s such an intriguing plot – plenty of drama, plenty to question, lots to get your teeth stuck into and I was fascinated by Vivien’s story. It’s a slow burn and you have to be patient for the reveal, but boy is it worth it. It keeps you turning the pages like you can’t believe, because you MUST know what happened.

One of the most interesting aspects about The Silent Fountain and Vivien, is her beef with Isabella, the sister of Gio, whom Vivien marries. Isabella is mute, after an incident when their parents died, and Vivien is convinced Isabella is out to ruin her life. It’s fascinating story and because we only really see it from Vivien’s perspective it’s easy to wonder if Vivien is imagining things, if Isabella is just hated because of her presence, but as the story unfolds, it just seems to become more and more interesting. More and more heartbreaking. It went places I didn’t expect, Fox wrote scenes that were really quite upsetting, but I still couldn’t stop reading, because it was fascinating.

The story in the now wasn’t as interesting, your typical love affair (yawn!) however seeing Lucy discover Barbarossa and try to uncover its secrets was intriguing. I just found The Silent Fountain so fascinating. I loved Victoria’s writing, the story was incredible, the writing was just the right pace, with little titbits given out with each passing chapter and I loved getting to know Lucy and Vivien (mostly Vivien). I’ve loved every genre Fox has tried and I love this new direction for sure. She’s SUCH a good storyteller, she really gets you into the heart of her stories and The Silent Fountain was a triumph.