Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced reader copy of The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Fans of gothic inspired thrillers will enjoy this story of Julia, an orphaned and newly widowed young woman, who is bequeathed millions of dollars and a villa in Tuscany from a stranger who might be a blood relative. Julia travels to Italy in an attempt to manage her grief and find her birth family. The villa, however, is not what she anticipated and she starts to have nightmares and strange visions. She soon realizes that she’s ensnared in a large and deadly conspiracy and her husband’s death may not have been a random act of murder.

I loved the setting in Tuscany, and all of the descriptions of delicious foods and local landmarks. And that Julia’s new love interest is a handsome Italian librarian! I did not find the emphasis on astrology and Julia’s possible abilities as a medium particularly compelling. The action was suspenseful but the dialogue frequently fell flat for me and the story felt drawn out at times. Although the story did not fully resonate with me, I think readers who appreciate psychological thrillers that delve into astrology and spirituality will enjoy this novel. 3/5⭐️

This was a hot mess - sometimes in a fun way, but most of the time, not.

This was my first Lisa Scottoline book. I was bewildered by the number of novels she has written because the writing in this one did not feel at the level of a professional author. The plot was bizarrely complicated and then wrapped up in an equally bizarrely neat manner. The main character is childish and illogical, and other characters equally confusing. With how many sub plots there are, there are multiple loose ends left hanging at the end of the book. Like I said, this was occasionally fun, but most of the time I was staring at my kindle thinking "WHAT am I reading??"

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Julia Pritzker's husband is murdered as they are walking home one night, only one block from their home, when someone comes around the corner and tries to snatch Julia's purse and her husband tries to defend her. She had already lost both of her adopted parents, so now she really is all alone. Then a letter arrives out of the blue, informing her that she has inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard —but her benefactor is a total stranger named Emilia Rossi. Julia has no idea who her birth parents were, so she doesn't know if she could be related to Ms. Rossi or not. She heads to Tuscany for answers, but winds up with more questions than answers. Julia is horrified to discover that Rossi was a paranoid recluse, who believed herself to be a descendent of Duchess Caterina Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. Soon, Julia suspects she’s being followed, and strange things begin to happen. Not even a romance with a handsome Florentine can ease her troubled mind. When events turn deadly, Julia’s harrowing struggle becomes a search for her identity, a race to save her sanity, and ultimately, a question of her very survival.

I always love this author's books. This one is completely different from any of the other books she has written. Yes, it is still a thriller, but the main themes are hauntings, spirits and astrology. Ms. Scottoline did an excellent job branching out into new territory, and I am excited to see where she plans to go from here. Julia did drive me (and everyone around her) a bit crazy with her barrage of questions, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this.

I really liked What Happened to the Bennetts, so I was really excited to read The Unraveling of Julia.
I wish wish wish this book didn’t lean so hard into astrology and mediums and ghosts. It just didn’t feel like her writing style, and I really didn’t care for Julia.
Wish I could have loved this, but it just wasn’t for me.
Thank you netgalley for this arc!

'The Unravelling of Julia' accomplished exactly that, and then she is rebuilt stronger than before. Shortly after Julia's husband is murdered, she inherits a small fortune and villa in Tuscany. When she arrives, strange things occur, making her doubt her sanity. Scottoline creates an atmospheric thriller with many twists and turns. In the end, justice prevails over all. 4 stars.

This was a much slower pace than I expected for the genre, as well as for the author. I never really connected with Julia. Some parts were predictable and repetitive, while others were a bit over the top. I did love the setting. It's plugged as a psychological thrille. Sadly, I did not find that to be the case. This was not one of my favorites, as I've read many books by Scottoline, but I will continue to check out future books.

I’m usually a sucker for gothic novels. Give me a crumbling Italian villa, some dark family secrets, and I’m all in! But this one? It just missed the mark for me. I’ll start with the main character, Julia Pritzker herself. I found her unrelatable; she made choices that left me scratching my head, and it seemed like no matter how weird things got, she didn’t search for answers without easily becoming distracted. Her behavior was so frustrating that it made it tough to keep reading at times.

I did enjoy the book’s setting. A mysterious villa in Tuscany? That’s my kind of setup. Julia inherits it from Emilia Rossi, someone she’s never heard of, who’s rumored to be descended from Renaissance Duchess, Caterina Sforza. Sounds promising! I was ready for intrigue, but the plot quickly started veering into territory that lost me. Repetitious horoscope hyperfocus without truly attempting to heed the “warnings” and random side quests that seemed to hijack some of the storyline’s flow, found me zoning out while reading. Honestly, I feel like I could have skipped most of the middle and still gotten the gist, which isn’t usually the case for books I can say I enjoyed.
So many of my favorite reads have that gothic flavor and those juicy family secrets, but “The Unraveling of Julia” just didn’t do it for me. The plot meandered along, Julia wasn’t someone I found myself rooting for, and the gothic vibes couldn’t do the heavy lifting where the storyline sagged. I’m still giving the book 3-stars because maybe this will work for someone else, but it just wasn’t for me. I will add that Lisa Scottoline normally delivers a great read, and this one lack luster experience won’t keep me from adding her next book to my TBR.

*Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sharing the advanced digital edition of this book. This is my honest review.

Julia has begun to think that she is cursed. Her adoptive parents have passed away and her husband was murdered. Then a letter arrives saying that she has inherited a Tuscan. Ill and a vineyard, but she has no idea who she inherited it from. Who and why?

My thoughts on this one are mixed. There were parts of it I really enjoyed - the gothic, Italian setting and the mystery surrounding people stalking Julia - but there were parts I didn't like so much - the paranormal happenings, Julia as a character (I felt like I never really knew her), and the focus on astrology in predicting things that would happen to Julia.

The premise of the story was very creepy. After Julia's husband is murdered, she gets a call from an attorney in Italy saying she has inherited the woman's property and assets. Without much to live for in the US, she heads to Italy to explore her new "fortune" but quickly finding that there is something sinister with the place.

I felt like this book jumped around a lot. It explored the paranormal and astrology - 2 things I'm not very interested in. Then there was the mystery surrounding the house she inherited and who this woman was... a house that seems to be haunted by a spirit only Julia can see. Then there are other storylines - Julia finds she is being stalked by someone, the realtor wants her to sell the house as quickly as possible, Julia starts a romance with a local, and she investigates her ancestry knowing she was adopted as a baby. A few too many things going on to really get into this book.

Unfortunately I will be Dnf'ing this one 50% in. I really liked how this one started out. The atmosphere was amazing but the book took a turn in the middle I just didn’t like. I will say I really enjoyed the writing. It was easy to get into the story.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC. I haven’t read a whole lot by Lisa Scottoline but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I love a good mystery/haunting/psychic medium/ghost aspectic to a book. It had two main plots lots and some of it seemed a bit far fetched but it was overall good.

Mixed feelings about this book so review is mixed. I think the situation in which someone inherits a fortune, a mansion, a villa, etc. out of the blue is unrealistic and overused - does this really happen? So, immediately, I was skeptical about the book. But this happens to Julia, the protagonist and she gets a chance to “start over” after her husband is murdered. The historical aspect of the connection between the villa and a renaissance duchess is interesting and I also liked the supernatural component to the story. Julia is determined to discover her birth parents and her connection to the elderly woman who left the villa to her and some of her discoveries are interesting and the added romance makes the book more diverse and genre-bending.
While some aspects of this book are creative and interesting, there are more far-fetched and “eye-rolling” elements than anything. Too many cliches such as hidden tunnels in the villa and the reasons behind Julia’s attempted “unraveling” are just too unrealistic. It felt like the author was just throwing in dramatic ideas that messed up the flow of the story. So, I appreciated some of the creativity but overall, couldn’t get past some of the ridiculousness.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

I really like Lisa’s books. I struggled with this one with Anna Mattia’s portion not having all the letters for the words and it made it difficult for me to read.

“The Unraveling of Julia,” by Lisa Scottoline (Grand Central, 400 pages, due July 15), is a modern gothic that finds a young widow traveling to Italy to take possession of a crumbling villa she has somehow inherited. It’s a fun and ultimately satisfying read, even if we’d sometimes like to grab Julia and shake some sense into her..

Reviewed in print and online as part of a roundup of new mysteries in the St. Louis post-Dispatch.

⭐️: 3 / 5

Publication Date: July 15, 2025

I want to thank Grand Central Publishing and Net Galley for allowing me to get an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The first chapter was shocking! I was not expecting the book to start so hard and fast.

Some of the coolest aspects of this story, one was how vivid the imagery became once the story transitioned to Italy. I thought the best friend Courtney was a great addition to the book. There were a few moments that were riveting and had me at the edge of my seat to see what would come next.

As for my reservations, I was disappointed by the lack of imagery in the first quarter of the book. Along this line, it also felt very surface level in terms of engagement with the story until after the first quarter of the book. I’m also not a big astrology person and that was a very popular theme throughout the book along with other spiritual elements that while interesting, I just didn’t feel connected to.

Overall this book had its highs and lows. I would recommend this for people to try it out even if it didn’t totally knock my socks off.

Would recommend for those who are fans of
- (Mostly) Linear timeline
- Pennsylvania / Italy setting
- ??? driven stories
- Haunted house stories
- Ghosts/mediums
- So many horoscopes

⚠️ violence, PTSD,


Characters: 5
Atmosphere/setting: 7
Writing style: 6
Plot: 6
Intrigue: 7
Logic: 4
Relationships: 7
Entertainment: 7
Total: 3.06

Scottoline attempts and fails with this new genre in my opinion. I have been with her through her legal thrillers, satire, psychological thrillers, and historical fiction, and this gothic psychological horror/thriller is probably the worst I have read from her. The storyline is implausible and the main character is hard to relate with as she makes one bad decision after another.. There is also the overemphasis on astrology that brings a fantastic element into the mix that this book does not need. I hope others enjoy this more. I thank Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I was really excited for this one

The twists and suspense are compelling, this puzzle of a novel has conspiracies and dangerous encounters throughout; the main character Julia finds her strength as she navigates a surprise inheritance and becomes resolved to solve the mysteries surrounding her in a beautiful Tuscan setting that is lavishly described. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy and the opportunity for early access.

This is unlike any other Lisa Scottoline book I’ve read. It’s more mystery than thriller, and is heavy on the paranormal and astrology, with a side of creepy Tuscan villa. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

I both read the e-book and listened to the audiobook. Maria Marquis is a great narrator.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 out of 5 Stars!

Julia Pritzker thinks she is cursed. Once she finds out her horoscope predicted her husband getting murdered, she fears her fate is written in the stars. But when she receives a letter in the mail stating that she inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard, she starts to wonder if her luck has turned around. Since she was adopted, she has no information about her biological family, which leads her to Tuscany looking for answers. But when she arrives, she is horrified to discover that Emilia Rossi, the benefactor, was a paranoid recluse. She believed that she was a descendent of Duchess Caterine Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. At first, Julia doesn’t know what to believe, until she sees photos of these women. She admits they look very alike. Before long, Julia suspects something strange is happening in Tuscany. She feels as though she is being followed, but by whom?

“The Unraveling of Julia” by Lisa Scottoline was high up on my Summer 2025 reading list, since “What Happened to the Bennetts” and “The Truth about the Devlins” scored 5 out of 5 stars. Even though I give “The Unraveling of Julia” 4 stars, I really did enjoy this psychological thriller! I will admit, I thought this book was different from her last 2 books published. There were more emotional and heartfelt moments, which I thought was a great touch. There was less action and, dare I say, suspense. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of secrets to uncover and twists in this book. But, there was less of a mysterious vibe to the story than I was anticipating.

I really liked our main character, Julia. She was smart, had a great head on her shoulders, and had great development throughout the story. Normally, characters who tend to get paranoid start to get on my nerves at some point in the story. But even though Julia was starting to get paranoid about the events that were happening, she was still determined to figure out what was happening. Her relationship with her best friend, Courtney, was also a highlight for me. Friendship stories in psychological thrillers can go really good or really bad, but I thought Scottoline did a great job at having these characters work for each other, rather than work on their own.

The reason why I docked a star was partially because of the mystery. I did start to uncover some of the twists prior to them happening, which was a shame because I think I would have given this book a 5 out of 5. I don’t think the twists were necessarily easy to solve, but it was obvious to me. I also loved the history Scottoline did to create this story, but I was starting to get confused about it all. You could tell Scottoline was passionate about that part of the story, which I appreciate. But, I wish she would have broken it down a little more for the reader.

Overall, I think “The Unraveling of Julia” by Lisa Scottoline is a perfect psychological thriller for the summer! Pick up your copy after July 15th, 2025!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Lisa Scottoline, and Netgalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This thriller starts slow but the then creepy factor really starts to build and gets under your skin. I love when I can predict a few of the twists in a thriller along the way but still be surprised by some of them too and this book kept me guessing. This book also has a lot of heart mixed into the mystery. Julia's struggles with heartbreak and grief as she mourns the loss of her husband and works to rebuild a new life are relatable to anyone who has experienced loss. However what really makes this book shine are Lisa's beautifully immersive descriptions of Italy and the food. When this book wasn't giving me the chills from reading about the scary things Julia is witnessing at the vineyard, I was salivating over the delicious meals she was enjoying. the wine and finally understanding why my coworker runs off to Italy every summer for a long vacation - it's just gorgeous.

The Unraveling of Julia is a great summer read. It's got a little bit of everything; a thrilling mystery with a dash of romance, adventure and the supernatural.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy of The Unraveling of Julia thanks to the publisher, Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on Tuesday, July 15th but it's available for pre-order now. Visit Lisa's website for more information on pre-orders, her upcoming book tour and a "Behind the Book" video series.