The Lost Story of Via Belle by Melanie Dobson – Mixed Emotions – Interesting but Challenging

After reading the synopsis of The Lost Story of Via Belle by Melanie Dobson I wanted to read her newest book. 

The Lost Story of Via Belle has two timelines, 1940’s and 2006, and three heroines.  Olivia is a writer in the 1940’s.  Her pen name is Via Belle, and she is much beloved by her readers.  Izzy is a young college student at a university where Olivia was invited to speak about her writing.  Fast forward to 2006 and meet Harper who currently working as a housekeeper for a Hollywood producer.  Harper has ambitions to be a screenwriter and is hoping to get a break, if only someone will give her a chance.  But when her plan falls apart, she packs up and goes to Pennsylvania to stay at her aunt’s home.  Harper is hoping to find the right story that she can pore herself into and prove herself as a successful screenwriter.

The lives of these three women will intersect.  The lives of both Olivia, an older, wise and mature woman, and Izzy, a young and naïve woman, are impacted by Simon Farrow.  A man who may not be who he represents himself to be.  As Simon’s life starts to unravel and he loses control, their lives will be upended.  Sixty years later Harper starts digging into the mystery of what happened to Via Belle, hoping to find a story.  What she finds may be a whole lot closer to home than she could ever imagine.

When I wasn’t reading, I found myself thinking about the characters and wondering how the story would turn out.  The dual timeline in this book took a little time to get used to.  My affinity for the various characters changed as the story progressed.  The character I struggled with the most was Harper, perhaps because of her immaturity and self-focus.  I was very surprised by the changes in Simon.  I struggled to understand why Oliva and Izzy were so slow to wake up to the truth that was staring them in the face. 

The story was interesting and there were some twists and turns I didn’t expect.  The book seemed to drag at the beginning and the end.  But in between I was drawn in by the story.

While there were aspects of faith in the story, it was not deep.  I found that surprising since Olivia had been married to a pastor.  At one point in the story, Oliva, “wanted to hear God’s whisper in the breeze.  Words that spoke to her heart.  Why had He stopped speaking to her?”  Reading that concerned me because doctrinally that is not sound theology.  Today, God has spoken to us through in the Bible, the word of God.  If Oliva wanted to hear God speak, she should have opened the Bible and read it out loud. 

There were aspects of the book that I liked and characters were interesting.  Yet, I didn’t fully understand the characters Olivia and Izzy and even Harper.  I would have liked to have seen the Christian faith better developed in the characters and storyline.

If you like mystery, intrigue, historical fiction, or are a fan of Melanie Dobson’s books, you may want to read The Lost Story of Via Belle.  This book will be published on April 14, 2026.

I would like to thank Tyndale Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of The Lost Story of Via Belle by Melanie Dobson.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.