My thanks to Net Galley and Grand Central Publishers for allowing me to review this arc.

4.5 stars!!

I really enjoyed this book. The prolog hooked me right away with the opening tragedy. It was nice of the good fortune that came to Julia. Hearing about the trip to Italy was a nice read. My few issues. I think it was a slow build up.to the really good action. The little horoscopes seemed to distract the flow of the read. And what happened to Gianluca! Why? All in all good book!

Lisa Scottoline's The Unraveling of Julia is nothing short of magnificent. This suspenseful, dramatic novel captivated me from the very first page. The plot is brilliantly crafted, filled with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. It's both easy to read and incredibly hard to put down—each chapter pulling me deeper into Julia's intense journey.

The characters are excellently developed, bursting with authenticity and depth. Their emotions and decisions felt real, making it easy to connect with them on a personal level. Scottoline’s storytelling is gripping, weaving a narrative that is emotionally resonant.

If you're looking for a book that combines suspense, drama, and unforgettable characters, The Unraveling of Julia is a must-read. Five stars without hesitation!

Horoscopes and murder!_____4.5

Julia Pritzker’s world collapsed when her husband Mike was murdered during a slash and grab robbery as she and Mike were walking home. Her horoscope had predicted her life would change. It did!
All Julia knew of their attacker was that he wore a strange vibrant blue hoodie.
Nearly twelve months on and Julia still finds it difficult to go outside.
In the midst of all this pain and angst Julia receives notification from an Italian lawyer in Milan that she has inherited three million euros, a villa and a vineyard. Julia needs to go to Italy to sort out the paperwork.
Julia btw was adopted and knew this from the get go. She’d always wanted to find her birth mother. Her time in Italy has Julia negotiating DNA tests, experiencing hallucinations and a somewhat spooky encounter with the spirit of a Caterina Sforza, an influential noble woman of the 1480’s.
As Julia searches for her birth mother, danger unfolds and she finds herself being pursued by frightening strangers
It’s all very testy, dangerous and completely off the wall as Julia’s medium gifts are unleashed.
I was caught up except for the use of the exclamation Aw! It really annoys me. It just seems out of place. So much so that I had to take half a star off.

A Grand Central Pub. ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

The Unraveling of Julia gives you the full gothic package with haunted pasts, moody Tuscan villas, suspicious locals, and a protagonist who apparently skipped every “stranger danger” lesson ever taught. Julia, bless her heart, is remarkably easy to manipulate. If someone tells her the sky is green, she’s not just believing it, she’s painting her villa ceiling to match.

The atmosphere is lovely. Think candlelit dinners, shadowy corridors, and just enough tension to keep the pages turning. It’s moody, it’s dramatic, and it feels like a soap opera with a passport. If you enjoy watching someone slowly come undone while sipping wine in a centuries-old villa, this checks the box. I don't know if there is such a box, but if you wish there was one then here is your book!

Julia’s gullibility becomes the real mystery. For a character who's supposed to be intelligent and grieving, she accepts every lie, half-truth, and cryptic warning like she’s being paid by the plot twist. Meanwhile, readers with even a modest sense of suspicion will likely guess what’s happening by, oh, chapter four.

And then, just when you’re ready for the big reveal...boom! The motive arrives wearing a trench coat full of overly complicated logic. It's a twist, sure, but it’s the kind that seems designed to stretch believability rather than convince.

Overall, it's a scenic, twisty read that’s entertaining if you don’t mind suspending your disbelief higher than a Tuscan bell tower. Julia may unravel, but the real challenge is untangling the plot’s final explanation without needing a corkboard and string. Still, it’s a decent ride if you like your thrillers with a little melodrama and a lot of “wait, seriously?” moments.

I DNF this book (got through about 40% before I gave up). The protagonist was too inconsistent, the writing too stilted, and the situation too unbelievable. I tend to enjoy women's fiction, magical realism, and thrillers, but this novel fell absolutely flat for me. I don't recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Hachette Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by a favorite, Lisa Scottoline, with the audio wonderfully narrated by Maria Marquis. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Julia is mourning the murder of her husband when she receives notice that she has inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard. But Julia doesn't know her benefactor, a stranger named Emilia Rossi. Because Julia is adopted, she thinks this could be a link to her past and heads to Italy. But the villa is in shambles and Rossi apparently was a paranoid recluse, although they both apparently shared a fascination with astrology. Before long, Julia also feels paranoid and suspects she's being followed. Is she in danger or is she losing her mind?

I'm a huge fan of Scottoline, although this book seems a bit of a departure from her normal books. It had slight gothic and supernatural vibes in addition to all the astrology mentions, There are multiple mysteries involved and while it seemed like it might veer off, I appreciated how the ending tied up the plots. There's a touch of romance as well and the Italian setting and food descriptions were definitely on point. I alternated between reading and listening for an immersive experience and enjoyed them both!

This one took awhile to hold my attention. Some parts were a little slow. I had a hard time connecting with the main character. I did enjoy the setting taking place in beautiful Tuscany and the researched history that went into the book. I started getting more invested towards the end of the book and I did enjoy it overall.

Thank you Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

🌱| Is fate written in the stars… or buried in your bloodline? Atmospheric blend of suspense, ghostly past, and psychological unraveling vs awakening.

➜Gothic Suspense
➜Paranormal Activity
➜Thriller with Romance

Wow! What a story! This was a riveting and richly detailed psychological and spiritual thriller.

Julia Pritzker is reaching up to touch bottom. Her adoptive parents have both passed and her husband was murdered on the streets of Philadelphia. To top that, the investigating officer suggests that the perpetrator may believe that Julia could identify them and that they may go after her next. She is trapped alone in her apartment, afraid to leave it, and she ostensibly ceases living. That is until, she receives a letter from an Italian solicitor informing her that she's inherited a Tuscan villa and a sizable sum from a woman Julia has never heard of. At the prodding of her best friend, it's off to Tuscany Julia flies. It is at this point that the action really takes off with hallucinations, spirit visions, covert tailings, highspeed chases, poisonings, spirit channelings, and of course, more murder attempts. Will Julia be able to get to bottom of it all before she goes stark raving mad? Only time with this thrilling read will tell.

Ms. Scottoline has done it again - delivered a rich and exciting story. The writing is solid, pulse pounding, and enthralling. The mise en scène is beautifully crafted and highly atmospheric. The Tuscan scenery, as described, makes one want to hop on a plane and be there tomorrow. The chases through Florence reminded this reader of all the city's rich treasures and beauty. I highly recommend this book to arm-chair travelers and fans of thriller fiction.

I am grateful to Grand Central Publishing for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: July 15, 2025
Number of Pages: 400
ISBN: 978-1538769997

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

I'm a HUGE fan of Scottoline and What Happened to the Bennetts is one of my favorite books ever. If you like her crime thrillers, you may not love this.

I, however, happen to like crime thrillers and gothic/supernatural books so this was an easy win for me. It may be different from her other books, but I don't consider that a negative.

Julia Pritzker had a strange feeling on the night she and her husband, Mike, went to dinner six months ago. That feeling unfortunately came true when a man in a blue hoodie grabbed her purse and then stabbed Mike to death. Even six months later Julia barely leaves her apartment. One day she gets a call from a lawyer in Italy advising he has been trying to reach her by email to advise her she has inherited a villa and more money than she can imagine when he tells her, from a woman she has never heard of. Julia knows she was adopted and has no knowledge of her birth family, Could this woman be her grandmother? Reluctantly, Julia travels to Italy determined to find out. What she learns is so much more. But only after discovering her own life is in danger; someone may be drugging and gaslighting her and more importantly, she may have found love again, along with her birth mother.

The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline

Things I enjoyed about this story are that I enjoyed the setting of the Tuscan villa and vineyards and the historic places that Julia visits while in Italy. I am a homebody but still enjoyed the idea of how interesting it would be to tour this region and enjoyed getting to do so from my home side of the book. I also enjoyed that there is a great big dog who knows the value of getting his beauty sleep above all else. Thank you to the author for allowing this dog to get his sleep and relaxation while making sure he got taken care of properly whenever he needed attention.

I can't say I got much of a gothic feel from the book but I think it was because I had a hard time relating to Julia. We meet her after her husband was murdered as he tried to protect her and Julia's grief and feelings of guilt are bottomless pits. When Julia is told she's inherited a huge sum of money and a villa in Italy, she doesn't want to go see the villa but her best friend encourages her to do so as a great way to get moving and to possibly find out just who the stranger is who would leave all this to her. So off Julia goes, from grieving, hermetic widow to an heiress in a foreign country.

Julia is very big into astrology, just so you know. I don't think you'll forget it as you read the book since it's mentioned often. But is she into dead people communicating from the other side? Apparently she's getting vibes, lights, bad dreams, and visions from somewhere and she's just as likely to act on those things as to opt for more traditional choices as she tries to learn who left her this fortune and if they might be related to her. She is also trying to avoid bad guys who are trying to do her and those she cares about major harm. While staying very busy, Julia has a meet cute that progresses very quickly despite Julia still wearing her wedding ring. See, Julia is conflicted about stuff!

Overall, Julia reads a immature, gullible, and prone to making about the last choice I'd ever make in her situation (although I'd love to inherit all the goodies she inherits). Julia also tromps all over pesky things like preserving evidence, even in the presence of the law, telling the truth, and self preservation. At least Julia comes out of her grieving shell for a while although she has reasons to dive right back in at some point. I enjoyed the last two books by Lisa Scottoline and look forward to reading more but I'd prefer to leave astrology and the paranormal out of the mix next time.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Grand Central Publishing for an early copy of The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline

Fans of Scottoline's mystery/thriller novels (and I am one such fan) may want to skip her newest endeavor The Unraveling of Julia. This series of missteps may work for you if:

A. you believe in mediums
B. you allow astrological charts to dictate your life
C you believe in everlasting love after a few dates
D. you appreciate a protagonist who throws out a thousand suggested scenarios until you as the reader cannot keep anything straight
E. you are fine with the protagonist's best friend showing up unannounced in your Tuscany rundown villa, she tells a story of something found in
a well and you two rush out to find a well on the villa's property where evidence is in a box. Pretty convenient.

The word in the title "unraveling" is well chosen to simply describe the overall feel of the book.

“Death wasn’t necessarily far away, on the distant horizon or at the end of some actuarial table. Sometimes it was right in front of you, in your very next step. Waiting around the corner.”

4.5 stars! This book was WILD. It was totally like going on an adventure. I have loved all of her books that I have read and that streak continues with this one. There does need to be some suspension of belief here due to some of the plot points but overall this was an epic story. And Italy 🇮🇹. Always Italy. ❤️

“Love is all. Nothing matters more.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

You know that feeling when someone starts describing a dream they had, in excruciating detail, and you’re just nodding politely while internally screaming? That was me reading this book.

Julia’s nightmares, the inherited villa, the vague sense of mystery—I wanted to care. I really did. But the pacing was slow, the dream sequences were heavy, and I never quite found a reason to stay invested. I kept waiting for something to click, but by a third of the way through, I realized I was forcing it. And I don’t believe in hate-reading.

Totally understand why this might work for others—it’s introspective, layered, and clearly building toward something. But for me? I just wasn’t interested enough to stick around and find out what.

Wishing Julia and the villa all the best. I’m tapping out. DNF at 33% - thank you to the publisher for the gifted ebook and audiobook.

A mixture of mystery and the paranormal with a good dose of astrology. Julia inherits an estate in Tuscany from the mysterious Emilia, a woman she's never met and thinks might be part of her bio family. But is that a good thing? This pulls her out of the depression she sank into after the murder of her beloved husband but things aren't as wonderful in Tuscany as she'd hoped. This is where things get gothic and a bit woo woo. She's a believer in astrology and ghosts and the house is not right, not at all. And then there's a bit of romance. All the answers are here and there's a twist. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm a fan of Scottoline and while this is not her best IMHO it's still a decent read.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

Unfortunately I dnf at 51%. The characters weren’t likable, the romance felt silly, and the conspiracy felt far fetched. Maybe it would have all made sense in a nice cohesive way in the end, but I don’t want to stick around to find out.

A gripping mystery with many layers that came together beautifully. I loved how the fantastical and mystical elements came together with the reader able to give as much credence to them as to “rational” explanations for the things that happened.

This was a fun and compelling read with a nod to astrology, an engrossing setting, and likable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Unraveling of Julia is not your average psychological thriller. It took me out of the genres I normally read with quite a bit of paranormal and astrology. While reading, it crossed my mind that maybe I should've waited for scary season to read it. 3.5 stars