📜Quick Summary: When Julia loses her parents, she seems to feel she is cursed. But when her husband is murdered in front of her, she truly starts to spiral. Julia is alone in life except for her best friend Courtney. Their friendship seems to be solid, except when Julia hears things she doesn’t want to accept. When she receives a letter in the mail regarding an inheritance she knew nothing about, things start to take crazy turns! Julia flies to Italy to see what this inheritance is truly about. Is this Emilia Rossi someone who truly she knew or is this some type of scam?

❣️Initial Feels: I can only imagine the spiraling and mental toll the murder of her husband caused…really hoping she finds any ounce of clarity!

👀Trigger Warnings: murder of husband, physical abuse

🌶️Spice Level: eh, not too spicy

📖Read if you want: a paranormal elements, Hallmark type of second romance, Tuscan setting, astrology aspects

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Although Julia irked me at times, you do see her growth throughout the novel. Especially dealing with grief, which is something you learn to deal with, she showed a lot of strength in times that I myself may not have had.

🗨️Thoughtful Words: “There’s no line between sadness and happiness, like borders of a country. Sometimes sadness leads to happiness and sometimes both emotions exist in the same space at the same time.”

💡Final Sentiments: This book took me for a ride. The short chapters kept me saying one more chapter, one more chapter, and even though some of the instances had me second guessing Julia or other characters, I felt compelled to keep reading. This book did rely a lot on astrology and your horoscopes, and some things seemed to fall into place “easily.” I wish the relationships had been developed more, so I believed her relationships with Mike or Gianluca, or even her best friend, but that almost felt like a side plot to the astrology and mystical side of things. I think this book may be hit or miss with some people, but someone who’s into stars and signs will truly enjoy it!

🌟Overall Rating: 3.75 stars

🔉Special thanks to Lisa Scottoline, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for this arc of The Unraveling of Julia.

📘Grab yourself a copy on July 15, 2025!

I was drawn to this book as the setting is Tuscany and what's not to love? This is a bit of a different approach for Ms. Scottoline with the historical fiction basis. There were quite a few scenes and references to astrology and the paranormal which did detract from my enjoyment. The story lines were a bit unbelievable at times but beautifully tied together as the novel came to a close.

Lisa Scottlone is one of my all-time favorite authors and The Unraveling of Julia is a perfect example of why I keep coming back to her books. This one throws the reader into the action from the very first page! Julia is a woman forced to revisit the darkest moments of her past when her seemingly perfect life is shaken to the core. It’s a slow burn in the best way-unraveling secrets layer by layer while exploring memory, grief, and what justice really looks like. I just love how Scottoline incorporates parts of Philadelphia and the surrounding area in her books. The bulk of the book takes place in Tuscany, when Julia unexpectedly finds out that she is the soul inheritor of a villa. Scottoline brings the Chianti region to life with so much richness and beauty with some unexpected gothic elements thrown in: a mysterious fortune-teller, a set of unsettling caretakers who seem to know more than they let on, and a villa that feels like it’s watching. It gave me chills in the best way. This one is about more than just suspense. It’s about grief, healing, and facing the truths we bury. Thank you to @grandcentralpub and @netgalley for the advanced e-arc in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I have been a long time fan of Lisa Scottoline and have enjoyed many of her books.. Unfortunately, I was a disappointed in this one. I didn't have a real connectin with any of the characters and a lot of it seemed very far-fetched. There were way too many different storylines going on and I found it very hard to connect them all. When it was all explained at the ending it was very confusing.

I haven't given up on Scottline. I will read her next book and hope it's better than this one.

Great beach read! Story of murder, mystery, paranormal activities, heart pounding and all with the reminder of what you would do for love and family.
This book quickly became one that I couldn’t put down. I wanted to see where it went and what happened next.
This was the first book I’ve read by Lisa Scottoline, but I am definitely adding her to my favorite authors list. Characters were well developed, the story line was intriguing and kept me wondering how, who and what was happening.
Thank you Grand Central Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Scottline, and Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy of The Unraveling of Julie in exchange for an honest review. After our main character, Julia, husband is murdered she receives a random letter from Emilia Rossi gifting her a Tuscan Villa & Vineyard. Since Julia was adopted, she thinks maybe Emilia could be a long lost relative so she packs up and heads abroad. When she arrives, she realizes that Emilia may have been a bit unhinged and thinks she was related to royalty and there are secrets surrounding her potential relatives. As the story progresses, the reader is sent on a hunt to find out who is related to who, what secrets are being buried, is Julia being followed, and what the heck is happening within the walls of the villa? This atmospheric, gothic, suspense novel will have everyone turning the pages as fast as they can to see how fast Julia will unravel.
This one is out now!

This was a great read! Everything truly came together in the end and the plot was very well developed. I really enjoyed the characters as well as the setting.

A journey into ones past leads Julia to discover a world foreign to her. Yet all a happy predictable ending.

I typically enjoy reading Lisa Scottoline’s books. This was a bit of a let down for me. It felt a little too long and convoluted for me. I will still read this author’s new works though.

I wanted to love this book. Unfortunately it was much too over the top for me to love it.
Julia is happily married to Mike and she has a horrible premonition right before he is murdered protecting her from being mugged. Julia was adopted and has always wondered about her birth family. Her andoptive mother dies in a ridiculous way, All of a sudden she is informed that she has inherited lots and lots of money and a villa in Italy. She doesn’t know the person who gifted it to her as far as she knows.
Once she gets over her disbelief and flies to Italy and things just keep getting crazier. It seems just a bit too far fetched that she would come from such a rich family with such valuable property. There are lots of supernatural elements to this story. Julia appears to have some psychic powers. The characters she meets seem over the top and stereotypical. The bad guys seem like caricatures. She conveniently meets an eligible man too so a new romance can begin. Her best friend annoyed me. She talks like a stereotypical cool girl. She is somehow able to join Julia in Italy and stay for quite a while.. It seems like a plot device just to give Julia a side kick for her adventures while she unravels all the mysteries.
Too many loose ends were tied together in an unbelievable way. I was bored during the last few chapters and just wanted the story to be over. I was tired of her thinking the same things over and over again.
I listened to the audio book and I have to say that the narrator did a fantastic job narrating. Her Italian accent was flawless. She shifted seamlessly between characters. Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Unraveling of Julia is a thriller that keeps you on edge throughout. Julia Pritzker is living through a rough stretch at the time. Her adoptive parents have both died and her husband was just murdered in front of her. Julia reads her horoscope every day and felt a premonition while walking home late with her husband. She felt that something bad was going to happen before the man in the hoodie jumped out and stabbed her husband. He was stabbed while protecting Julia from the man. Julia is grieving and feels guilty over her husband's death. Julia receives a letter from someone in Italy and almost doesn't read it. The letter is from a lawyer and says that Julia has inherited a villa and vineyard in Tuscan, Italy from someone named Emilia Rossi. The problem is Julia doesn't know anyone named Emilia Rossi or anyone in Italy for that matter! Why would she inherit such a valuable property from a stranger?

Julia calls the lawyer and finds out that it's not a joke and the lawyer sends her travel information to get to Italy. Julia wonders if this woman could be a blood relative? Julia has no information on her biological family so she has no idea if they're from Italy. She decides to go and check it out as she's got nothing else to do. Once in Italy she is given a driver to take her to the villa. The villa is rundown and has seen better days, but not as bad on the inside. There is a couple who takes care of the place and lives in the cottage out back. They were told Julia was coming and have stocked the fridge, cleaned, and cooked some things for her to enjoy. She finds out from them that Emilia was a recluse who rarely left the house and had no friends. She also finds out that Emilia was obsessed with astrology and horoscopes. The lawyer tells Julia that she's now the owner of the villa and vineyard along with a great deal of money. This is life changing stuff for Julia and she's already been approached by a real estate agent. The real estate agent says he can get a lot for the property if she wants to sell.

Strange things start to happen to Julia in the villa and she thinks she's being followed when she goes into town. Why would someone be following her? When she goes to the library to research the villa, Emilia, and any other family she meets the nicest man. He works at the library and helps her with her research. He also lends her a few books to help with her journey. Julia is hoping to find out if she's related to Emilia and maybe through that search she can find out about her biological mother. As she digs in to the research dangerous things start happening putting her and those around her in real danger. Why does someone want her true identity kept a secret? Will Julia be able to find out who she really is before these people catch up to her and kill her? The Unraveling of Julia is a fantastic thriller that keeps you guessing throughout. I loved the book and rate it 4 stars. If you love a thriller with twists along the way this is the book for you. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of The Unraveling of Julia in exchange for a fair review. #TheUnravelingOfJulia

thank you so much for this book. this was a paranormal sorta story. we have Juilia and Mike when mike is murder, she inheritsa vila. suspense with some romance. it was an ok read

Thank you so much for this ARC! Been a Scottoline fan since the legal thrillers.

A thriller taking place in the darker side of Tuscany was SO appealing. The premise was great and the book started off really strong. I also enjoyed the horoscope portions. Unfortunately, the book took a very far fetched turn for me. Not necessarily a dealbreaker for me (hello, it’s fiction!) but this was too much. Julia and her relationships (aside from Mike and Gianluca) were so amateur and superficial, especially for someone as skilled as Scottoline.

A good book? Yes. Her best work? Not even close.

Julia's walking home when she gets a premonition that something terrible is about to happen. The next moment, her beloved husband Michael is stabbed to death right in front of her. As she's recovering from the death, she gets news: she's the sole heir of a mysterious, crumbling estate in Italy. As an adoptee, she has no idea who her birth family is, but thinks this mysterious inheritance may be a clue. She decides to go to Italy to investigate, where people begin following her, those close to her are harmed, and she has nightmares about the estate.

At no point in this book did I have any idea what was going to happen next. The plot felt chaotic, like it was trying to be several different books at once. The murder mystery was incredibly complex and felt a little unbelievable. However, it did keep me turning the pages.

The romance between Julia and Gianluca felt sweet, albeit short. I would have loved to see more interactions between them, as this was some of the best moments of the book. I also loved the storyline of an adoptee looking for her birth family, especially as Julia honors both connections: biological and built from love.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book.

This page turner is about Julia, who finds herself floundering after her husband is brutally murdered right in front of her. She's just starting to wonder what might happen next, when she receives a letter from Italy informing her of an inheritance. She decides to go to visit her villa and finds a lot more than she expected. This is a fast paced story with lots of action and plot twists. I didn't want to put it down! There are themes of family and connections as well as astrology and the occult, there's also a lot of well researched Italian references, which makes it a perfect get away kind of novel. I thought it was great.

Been a fan of Lisa Scottoline for a while and this novel does not disappointment although quite different for her in writing style. Julia is in grief after her husband is murdered. She inherits money and an estate in Italy from someone she had never heard of. She decides to go to Italy; perhaps she can link her benefactor to her birth mother. Adopted as a child, she knew nothing about her birth family. But, DNA testing revealed that she was Tuscan. The once stunning estate is run down. The caretakers tell her about the deceased, Emilia Rossi, who claimed to be descended from Caterina Sforza, an important family. And how in her last years, the deceased became a recluse and was perhaps mentally unhinged. Julia is pressured to sell the property by a local realtor, but she decides to stick around and search for a connection between her and Rossi. She meets a librarian who helps her. But strange occurrences abound. She discovers a secret, hidden room. She experiences weird hallucinations and visits a medium. She is being followed. Accidents occur, the caretakers disappear. Julia persists, and finds her heritage and love.This has some mystical as well as family related stories as well as greed. I enjoyed the novel and would rate it 3.5 but am rounding up. Thank you to Net Galley, the author and Grand Central Publishing

The start of this novel is very reminiscent to Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. From there it takes on its own originality with astrology, paranormal, and a subdued romance element added.

A moody, suspenseful escape to Tuscany with gothic vibes and emotional depth

The Unraveling of Julia delivers exactly what the title promises—a psychological spiral laced with mystery, inheritance drama, and an atmospheric Italian backdrop. Julia Pritzker is a character who instantly grabs your sympathy: a young widow grappling with loss, unraveling truths, and a series of bizarre coincidences that seem astrologically fated.

Lisa Scottoline skillfully blends gothic suspense with a modern thriller edge. The eerie parallels between Julia and her mysterious benefactor Emilia Rossi kept me turning pages, especially as Julia’s search for answers becomes increasingly desperate and strange. The Renaissance tie-ins, astrology obsession, and historical intrigue add depth without overwhelming the plot. Plus, who doesn’t love a crumbling Tuscan villa with secrets?

The pacing dragged just slightly in the middle, and I would’ve liked a bit more development around the secondary characters but the tension and twists delivered in the final third were worth the wait.

If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers with a splash of historical mystery and a hint of romance, this is a great one to add to your list.

A compelling read with mystery, murder, and romance in a Tuscan setting. An intriguing storyline where Julia’s husband is murdered in front of her and 6 months later she inherits money, a villa in Tuscany, a Ferrari and mystery. There was a lot of reference to astrology and psychic abilities, but the story moved along and the setting played a strong role in the plot. Always looking for a satisfying ending and this one delivers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline is not the book I was expecting from her.This story tells of a grieving widow who inherited a fortune and a villa in Tuscany from someone she does not know.The book has mystery and romance at the villa.I am not a fan of paranormal and horoscopes and having this in the plot was not for me. I also felt Julia was too one dimensional and immature.I usually enjoy books by this author but this was not a favorite.Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC!