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kdurham2's review against another edition
4.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Two storylines going on at the same time in this book and I loved that they wind around each other the entire book and then completely combust near the end. Viven Lockhart is in both the present and historical storylines, in the historical storyline she is a retired starlet who has taken up residence in a beautiful Italian home with her husband and his sister and its worth reading the book to find out why the sister is in residence with the couple. In the present day, Lucy has some drama on her own so she decides to get away to this Italian home for a job and escape, but drama always finds you!
Two storylines going on at the same time in this book and I loved that they wind around each other the entire book and then completely combust near the end. Viven Lockhart is in both the present and historical storylines, in the historical storyline she is a retired starlet who has taken up residence in a beautiful Italian home with her husband and his sister and its worth reading the book to find out why the sister is in residence with the couple. In the present day, Lucy has some drama on her own so she decides to get away to this Italian home for a job and escape, but drama always finds you!
chatdunoirreadsalot123's review against another edition
4.0
A great mixture of thriller and romance.
balibee146's review against another edition
3.0
Should 3.5 while nothing new it is well plotted though has some paving issues in the middle
jb_slasher's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Seamlessly weaving back and forth in time, The Silent Fountain by Victoria Fox is a vaguely sinister mystery which takes place in an isolated Tuscan mansion.
Needing to escape from London, Lucy Whittaker is hired to work for reclusive former actress, Vivien Lockhart in Italy. With no internet or cell service at the spooky mansion, Castillo Barbarossa, she is blissfully unaware of whether or not the mistakes from her past have been exposed. Instead of dwelling on her own problems, Lucy is instead extremely curious about what happened to Vivien and why she lives such a solitary life with no company other than her maid, Adalina and groundskeeper, Salvatore. After experiencing a few strange events she cannot explain, Lucy tries researching the history of Castillo Barbarossa and Vivien's past. Finding little information, she teams up with Max Conti, Vivien's former housekeeper's nephew. When her personal life begins to implode, Lucy becomes more determined than ever to unearth the truth about Vivien and what happened at Castillo Barbarossa.
In the mid seventies, Vivien escaped her abusive father and fled to Hollywood where she discovered she had to a pay a pretty steep price for fame and fortune. Just as her life was spiraling out of control, she unexpectedly finds romance with Italian doctor, Giovanni "Gio" Moretti. Deliriously happy yet wary of his younger sister, Isabella, Vivien eagerly accepts his wedding proposal. Her dream wedding is marred by a vindictive act by Isabella and soon the three are ensconced at Castillo Barbarossa. Their initially happy marriage soon falters as Gio works long hours on a secret research project while Vivien grows increasingly frustrated by his refusal to believe Isabella is trying to drive Vivien away. As the years pass, Vivien and Isabella are locked in a battle of wills that culminates in tragedy.
Lucy has not had an easy life and once she is on her own, she makes a terrible decision when she puts her trust her boss, James Calloway. Now that things have gone horribly wrong, she feels incredibly guilty for her perceived role in what happened. The job in Italy is the perfect opportunity for her to leave the past behind, but she is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with some of the inexplicable and eerie phenomena at Castillo Barbarossa. While at first curious about the history of the Castillo and what happened to Vivien, Lucy's quest for answers eventually turns urgent amid her fears about the increasingly disturbing incidents she is experiencing. At the same time, her past is beginning to catch up with her and Lucy is soon facing an inescapable decision about how to handle the situation.
The Silent Fountain is an atmospheric mystery with increasingly ominous overtones. While Lucy's story is interesting, readers will most likely find Vivien's story arc the most compelling. With the chapters flipping back and forth between past and present, Victoria Fox ratchets up the tension as Vivien's secrets are slowly revealed. With numerous twists, turns and shocking revelations, the novel comes to a an poignant yet satisfying conclusion. A truly spell-binding, suspenseful mystery that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
Needing to escape from London, Lucy Whittaker is hired to work for reclusive former actress, Vivien Lockhart in Italy. With no internet or cell service at the spooky mansion, Castillo Barbarossa, she is blissfully unaware of whether or not the mistakes from her past have been exposed. Instead of dwelling on her own problems, Lucy is instead extremely curious about what happened to Vivien and why she lives such a solitary life with no company other than her maid, Adalina and groundskeeper, Salvatore. After experiencing a few strange events she cannot explain, Lucy tries researching the history of Castillo Barbarossa and Vivien's past. Finding little information, she teams up with Max Conti, Vivien's former housekeeper's nephew. When her personal life begins to implode, Lucy becomes more determined than ever to unearth the truth about Vivien and what happened at Castillo Barbarossa.
In the mid seventies, Vivien escaped her abusive father and fled to Hollywood where she discovered she had to a pay a pretty steep price for fame and fortune. Just as her life was spiraling out of control, she unexpectedly finds romance with Italian doctor, Giovanni "Gio" Moretti. Deliriously happy yet wary of his younger sister, Isabella, Vivien eagerly accepts his wedding proposal. Her dream wedding is marred by a vindictive act by Isabella and soon the three are ensconced at Castillo Barbarossa. Their initially happy marriage soon falters as Gio works long hours on a secret research project while Vivien grows increasingly frustrated by his refusal to believe Isabella is trying to drive Vivien away. As the years pass, Vivien and Isabella are locked in a battle of wills that culminates in tragedy.
Lucy has not had an easy life and once she is on her own, she makes a terrible decision when she puts her trust her boss, James Calloway. Now that things have gone horribly wrong, she feels incredibly guilty for her perceived role in what happened. The job in Italy is the perfect opportunity for her to leave the past behind, but she is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with some of the inexplicable and eerie phenomena at Castillo Barbarossa. While at first curious about the history of the Castillo and what happened to Vivien, Lucy's quest for answers eventually turns urgent amid her fears about the increasingly disturbing incidents she is experiencing. At the same time, her past is beginning to catch up with her and Lucy is soon facing an inescapable decision about how to handle the situation.
The Silent Fountain is an atmospheric mystery with increasingly ominous overtones. While Lucy's story is interesting, readers will most likely find Vivien's story arc the most compelling. With the chapters flipping back and forth between past and present, Victoria Fox ratchets up the tension as Vivien's secrets are slowly revealed. With numerous twists, turns and shocking revelations, the novel comes to a an poignant yet satisfying conclusion. A truly spell-binding, suspenseful mystery that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
thea_no_evil's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this book set in both modern day & the 1970s. The characters have many secrets which come to light as you read on. Some you may guess, others I doubt it. The people and the places unpack the story which I found beautiful, tender, emotional and intense.
ruba0327's review against another edition
3.0
A quick read, predictable at times but with enough suspense to keep me reading.
cservat129's review
4.0
This worked well for me because I love a book about secrets. The characters were well developed and the story line was great. I look forward to this authors next book.
thebooktrail88's review
5.0
BRILLIANT! Way more than five stars!
Visit the locations in the novel here: The Silent Fountain
Stunning in every way – the plot, characters, dual time line, hidden secrets, that stunning mansion in the Tuscan hills…the women whose destinies seem to be linked via that place…. I was enthralled throughout and was totally captivated with the twists and turns of the vine like plot which reeled you in and kept me firmly locked inside that house, hearing its every creek, wondering if I would ever see the mysterious owner, find out the mystery of that fountain….
I’ve never felt so excited about a novel unravelling in a long while…that house had me captivated and entranced like I’d been mesmerized, hypnotised even. What is Vivien’s link to that house and why does Lucy find there? Why is Lucy welcomed by a maid who seems to lock everything away and hide even the owner from sight? OMG I wanted to know but all I could see were the vines, the cold gothic turrets of that house..when Lucy dared enter one of the rooms she was not allowed to venture into, I held my breath…… I could see the corridors, feel the tension, smell the fear and wanted to help Lucy dig those secrets out. Vivien especially had that allure from the start and her time in the house and her struggles were some of the most tense moments which shocked and made me gasp out loud. I found myself almost shouting out advice and the odd ‘ She’s behind you!’ so vivid was the tension and fear. This was no pantomime however – but real tension and a story being played out where you as the helpless readers was held there, hynotised by the flicker of each page….
I loved this book – it reminded me of the times where as a child, the world slipped away, the trees seemed to wrap their branches around me, the walls of my bedroom dissolved and where I was in that gothic place, seeing characters come to life and step from the pages.
Victoria Fox has written a novel of complex yet alluring detail that held my gaze from the start. Just brilliant. Breathlessly intriguing, as twisty and deadly as those vines growing on the wall outside. And the Fox puppet master controlling the characters from above…never once did I see or feel the strings and the performances were electric. The ending – bravo but I’m still inside Castillo Barbarossa even now as I cannot bear to leave its walls.
Visit the locations in the novel here: The Silent Fountain
Stunning in every way – the plot, characters, dual time line, hidden secrets, that stunning mansion in the Tuscan hills…the women whose destinies seem to be linked via that place…. I was enthralled throughout and was totally captivated with the twists and turns of the vine like plot which reeled you in and kept me firmly locked inside that house, hearing its every creek, wondering if I would ever see the mysterious owner, find out the mystery of that fountain….
I’ve never felt so excited about a novel unravelling in a long while…that house had me captivated and entranced like I’d been mesmerized, hypnotised even. What is Vivien’s link to that house and why does Lucy find there? Why is Lucy welcomed by a maid who seems to lock everything away and hide even the owner from sight? OMG I wanted to know but all I could see were the vines, the cold gothic turrets of that house..when Lucy dared enter one of the rooms she was not allowed to venture into, I held my breath…… I could see the corridors, feel the tension, smell the fear and wanted to help Lucy dig those secrets out. Vivien especially had that allure from the start and her time in the house and her struggles were some of the most tense moments which shocked and made me gasp out loud. I found myself almost shouting out advice and the odd ‘ She’s behind you!’ so vivid was the tension and fear. This was no pantomime however – but real tension and a story being played out where you as the helpless readers was held there, hynotised by the flicker of each page….
I loved this book – it reminded me of the times where as a child, the world slipped away, the trees seemed to wrap their branches around me, the walls of my bedroom dissolved and where I was in that gothic place, seeing characters come to life and step from the pages.
Victoria Fox has written a novel of complex yet alluring detail that held my gaze from the start. Just brilliant. Breathlessly intriguing, as twisty and deadly as those vines growing on the wall outside. And the Fox puppet master controlling the characters from above…never once did I see or feel the strings and the performances were electric. The ending – bravo but I’m still inside Castillo Barbarossa even now as I cannot bear to leave its walls.
alilianaraquel's review against another edition
4.0
Opinião no blogue: https://a-lilianaraquel.blogspot.com/2019/02/critica-literaria-victoria-fox-fonte.html