This is the first Lisa Scottoline book I read and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't what I was expecting. Julia's life, history and journey are the focus of this book. Her husband, Mike, was murdered in front of her and shortly afterwards she inherits a villa and a fortune in Italy. Having become a recluse after her husband's death, the trip to Italy sees her out and about, investigating the mysteries of the villa and her own family.

I don't know what was rubbing me the wrong way but I found the characters not well developed and the plots to be all over the place. Disbelief had to be suspended in parts. I expected more - or even something else. I'm not quite sure.

Still it is a good book, an easy read, and I enjoyed the Tuscan setting.

Thank you Lisa Scottoline and Grand Central Publishing for an eARC of this book.

So many mixed feelings about this one. But I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. I NEEDED to know what happened. I don't know if I was unraveling with Julia or if she was the one driving me crazy. Either way, now I want to move to Tuscany.

A little chaotic but classic scottoline because you’ll love the story and characters Lots of storylines and a strong message Definitely read if you are a Lisa fan

I have been randomly buying Lisa Scottoline books from library book sales for years and haven't read one. This was my first Scottoline book. And it was absolutely ridiculous. Are they all like this or is she trying something new? The writing itself was just not very good. Weird, short sentence structure, weird language like she was trying to be hip when she's not. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Julia and Courtney read as much older than 30's.

This was my first Lisa Scottoline book. I found the description and title intriguing enough to give it a shot. The first half of the book was good, action right off the bat and getting to know the characters. Then it started to feel drawn out. The dialogue was stilted and unnecessarily formal at times which felt forced and unnatural which brought me out of the story. Overall it was an okay story which was quick to read just not as engaging as I would have liked.

When Julia witnesses her husband be brutally murdered right in front of her she isn’t sure she will ever be able to move on. Six months later she receives a bizarre piece of news that she has been left millions and a villa in Italy. Not knowing anyone in Italy she thinks it’s a hoax. When she finds out it isn’t she just decide if she has the courage to go find out who left her such a gift, and most importantly why.

I am a big fan of Scottoline’s work. She always tells interesting and different stories. While that is true for this mystery. I don’t always love stories that have a lot to do with ghosts, mediums, and astrology. But she still does a good job of weaving the story and solving the mystery of Julia in a satisfying way!

Julia’s husband was murdered in front of her, and as you would expect, she is having a challenging time coping. An unexpected inheritance, a villa in Italy breaks her lethargy, and she at once heads off since there is an interested buyer.
Julia was adopted and this might be the only chance she has to discover more about her birth family. A lot goes on while she is in Italy.
I have to say that in this case, I wish that I had read the book description. I’m not a fan of astrology and there is a lot of it here. Also for me, Julia just wasn’t a compelling character. Not my favorite book by this author and I’m a huge fan. Not every book is for every reader though. I will keep my eye out for what comes next.

Twisty thriller meets Under the Tuscan Sun in this mesmerizing blend of suspense and psychological intrigue in the Unraveling of Julia. From the start the reader is on a visceral journey, from reeling devastation to unexpected events only to be transported to the heart of Tuscany, where a grieving Julia Pritzker, finds herself emersed in a dangerous conspiracy. Lisa Scottoline masterfully weaves themes of fate, identity and paranoia keeping readers tittering on the perilous edge as Julia uncovers the eerie connections between herself, an enigmatic benefactor, and Rennaissance royalty. The novels rich Italian setting, fun yet compelling characters, and the relentless tension make Unraveling Julia impossible to put down. With its gripping twists this book is a must read for fans of psychological suspense, I highly recommend!

Usually, I am a fan of Lisa Scottoline, but The Unraveling of Julia was not a favorite. The character of Julia annoyed me and the book felt a little sloppy or cheesy at times.
This is a different type of novel for this author so I will not give up on her yet.
Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted to love this book. The idea of a young widow unraveling family secrets in a crumbling Tuscan estate? I was sold. Lisa Scottoline sets the scene beautifully—olive groves, sun-drenched stone villas, a lingering sense of something just beneath the surface. The atmosphere was probably my favorite part.

Julia is a compelling character at first—grieving, isolated, clearly haunted by more than just her husband’s death. But as the story went on, I found it harder to stay connected to her. The emotional unraveling felt repetitive, and instead of pulling me deeper, it started to feel a bit aimless.

The mystery had real potential, especially with the historical connection to a Renaissance duchess, but the reveals didn’t land as strongly as I hoped. I kept waiting for that "wow" moment, and it never quite came. A lot of buildup, but the payoff felt underwhelming.

Still, there are some moving themes here—grief, identity, and how history echoes through families. If you’re in the mood for a slow-burn, introspective mystery with rich atmosphere, this could work for you. Just don’t expect a twisty thriller.

"In "a delicious escape that blends suspense, atmosphere, and heart" (Danielle Trussoni), #1 international bestselling author Lisa Scottoline crafts a sweeping Gothic tale in which a young widow, emotionally distraught after the shocking death of her husband, inherits a Tuscan estate from a mysterious benefactor and finds herself thrust into the crosshairs of a dangerous conspiracy. Twisty, transportive, and haunting - this is suspense with a passport.

Lately, Julia Pritzker is beginning to think she's cursed. She's lost her adoptive parents, then her husband is murdered. When she realizes that her horoscope essentially foretold his death, she begins to spiral. She fears her fate is written in the stars, not held in her own hands.

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 information about her biological family, so she wonders if Rossi could be a blood relative. Bewildered, she heads to Tuscany for answers.

There, Julia is horrified to discover that Rossi was a paranoid recluse with delusions of grandeur, who believed herself to be a descendent of Duchess Caterina Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. Julia is stunned by her uncanny resemblance to Rossi, and even to Caterina. Then she unearths eerie parallels between them, including an obsession with astrology.

Before long, Julia suspects she's being followed, and strange things begin to happen. Not even a chance meeting with a handsome Florentine can ease her disturbed mind. When events turn deadly, she breaks with reality. Julia's harrowing struggle becomes a search for her identity, a race to save her sanity, and ultimately, a question of her very survival."

Well, once you start believing in astrology and break with reality is sure to follow.

As a Lisa Scottoline fan, this was just ok for me. I’m always excited for her books. This is just my opinion and I would encourage others to readers to give it a try.

this was definitely not for me. the writing was very generic, almost as if someone subbed in for Scottoline. did not finish, couldn't get into the characters at all.
thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first book by the author but I’m definitely curious to pick up more. The mystery element was really twisty with a solid building of suspense. I also found it interesting that we got to see beyond just when the mystery is solved, to actually get a glimpse into the courtroom. That felt like a necessary glimpse in order to complete Julia’s arc. The explorations of grief and family were well done, and the atmosphere was phenomenal.

The Unraveling of Julia is a semi-twisty, semi-cozy Lisa Scottoline mystery set in the gorgeous Tuscany area of Italy. The descriptions of food, wine, scenery, and architecture are very finely written with very visual details. The mystery is initially compelling - beginning with a murder plus an unbelievable inheritance from a stranger. Best read lightly for me and not taken too seriously. Some aspects don’t click together easily plus other aspects such as the italicized and inserted commentary, appear juvenile. Will be a fun, quick summer vacation story!

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC. I am always excited to see that a one time favorite author has a new novel and I was hoping with a new publisher (per a note in the front of the book) the old Lisa Scottoline had returned. Nope. I am not sure Julia was ever “raveled” to find herself “unraveling”. The book starts out with the murder of her husband. Julia is an orphan and her parents are dead. Her long time best friend checks in with her regularly, but Julia has holed up in her Philadelphia apartment barely able to work and uninterested in therapy. She checks and checks her horoscope for the day of her husband’s murder certain she could have prevented it. She relies on astrology almost to the extent of when to use the bathroom. I am not trying to tell anyone how to grieve. I am telling you Julia just kept making me angry.

Then a letter arrives from Italy that she has inherited an old run down villa and vineyard from someone she has never heard of. Better news: there is an offer to buy it! She will be wealthy. Julia consults her friend and her horoscope and jets off first class to Italy where she is overcome with anxiety by the crowds and her fear that someone will kill he like they killed her husband. She escapes to the cool interior of her chauffeured Mercedes back to the Ritz. Then she rents her own car. She can’t stand the crowds, but she can drive herself around a country she has never been to before?

Hello? Earth to Julia? It was tourist season. She never expected crowds? She did no research on the areas she would travel to? Not even a quick google search while studying her favorite astrology app? How did she afford the expensive travel accommodations? She just let her panic run wild, never seeking help. Shame on Ms. Scottoline for giving us a book with a widow who really doesn’t grieve her husband and suffers from severe untreated anxiety. This is where I just about quit. I should have because we next met up with the 2025 version of Alice In Wonderland. She is falling down rabbit holes everywhere. Ms. Scottoline introduces the paranormal, sci-fi, ghosts, potential family relations to royalty from the Renaissance and a guy on a motorcycle.

The book is too long. How many times do we need to read about soup and crusty bread? If you liked the book I know what your counter argument is, but far too much time is given to Julia savoring food. I started skimming. I was bored with repeated scenes of rotting vines, Julia taking charge, Julia falling apart. We are treated to an epilogue because there is no other way out. I gave this three stars. Round it down. I’m annoyed just writing the review.

Thank you for allowing me to read this advanced copy of The Unraveling of Julia. I'm afraid that this was not my favorite of Scottoline's books. The gothic thriller style was a bit melodramatic, dragged in plot, and had too much of a mystical element for my liking. I still think it will be popular with book clubs, and reader's advisory for the right reader, but it is not one I can recommend for LibraryReads.

We meet Julia and her husband in the night they are mugged and he dies. Julia tries to cope with losing her husband and her feelings of abandonment as she is adopted, her mother died young, and her father was not supportive. She finds out that she has inherited money and a villa in Italy. She embarks on a journey to try to find her birth mother in Italy. However when she arrives in Italy, things don't add up- she's being followed, she's hallucinating, people act strange, and she finds weird things in the house.

I found this book to be a little too far fetched. The main plot of a murder to inherit some land overseas was too much. It was trying to hard to give the story a mystery. Not for me

I liked the aspect of Julia finding her birth parents and discovering her past as well as finding out her future. I thought the medium aspect was trying too hard, it didn't seem cohesive to the story.

Thank you to netgalley and to Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my review.

After battling depression after her husband is killed by a mugging gone wrong, Julia receives a letter stating that she has inherited a mansion in Italy. Her best friend convinces her to go to Italy to see what this mansion looks like and see if she can discover any lost family from her past; as she was adopted. Once Julia gets to Italy all things go wrong. For some reason no one wants her to stay in Italy as she is followed, people are trying to kill her and she is drugged to think she is crazy. The more she dives into her past and tries to figure out what is going on, the more dangerous things become.

Things I loved about this book is the true nature of how people grieve after the sudden horrific loss of a loved one. How Julia is trying to find out about her past to see if she does have any family left. I love the new love interest that comes on suddenly but you just root for them from the start. There were a lot of twists and turns and it did keep my interest for most of the book.

The things that I struggled with was the astrological aspect of the book. It just kind of felt thrown in here and there without much real reason for it. It doesn't really seem to add to the story or flow for me. Finally, it did drag on a bit in spots and started to get a little repetitive at times.

I like Lisa Scottoline and will continue to read whatever she publishes. Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book because of the mystery and suspense of how it all went down. The ghost story and her visions was very interesting on her background came about.

This would be a great read!