Maria Marquis (Narrator)
Maria Marquis delivers a pitch-perfect performance, capturing Julia’s unraveling with emotional precision and just the right edge of mystery. Her narration adds depth and urgency, making the audiobook feel like an immersive experience rather than just a read.
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Forget the comparisons to Rebecca or Jane Eyre, The Unraveling of Julia isn’t trying to be a gothic homage. It’s a psychological thriller with its own pulse, wrapped in layers of astrology, adoption, and ancestral mystery, all set against the moody backdrop of a decaying Tuscan estate. Once I stopped looking for Brontë shadows and leaned into the psychological thriller aspects, I was hooked.

Lisa Scottoline wastes no time pulling you in. From page one, the tension is palpable, and nothing is handed to you on a silver platter. You’re piecing together murder, gaslighting, and tangled family histories with no clear path forward, which is part of the thrill. The narrative keeps you guessing, not just about motives but about who you can trust.

The woo-woo elements of astrology, ancestral echoes, and cosmic timing might stretch the limits for some readers, but in this setting, they feel earned. Tuscany practically hums with old-world mysticism, and Scottoline leans into it with gusto. It’s not just atmospheric; it’s integral to the unraveling.

Fast-paced and immersive, this book doesn’t let up. It’s a ride through emotional fog and fractured identities, and while the twists are sharp, the storytelling never loses its grip. If you’re in the mood for a thriller that makes you work for the payoff and rewards you with a satisfying sense of disorientation, Julia’s unraveling is worth the plunge.

The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline

Julia has never felt so lonely. Her adoptive parents are both dead and she is still grieving the loss of her husband. Murdered during a botched mugging. Trying to rebuild her life, she never expects to receive a letter. She has inherited money and a Tuscan villa. She has no idea who the woman is but maybe she is part of her biological family and she goes to Italy to find out.

The more Julia learns about her illusive benefactor, the more she realizes how disturbed the woman’s mind was… But she can feel someone following her and something sinister is coming… Making Julia wonder what is really going on?

Holy MACKEREL!!!! This book was a whirlwind of brilliance. So much excellence packed into a cracking thriller.

Julia is a really interesting character. She is dealing with grief and trying to get through each day but learning about her bio family.. You can see how she grew as the book went on. Learning to believe and trust in herself and learning the things she didn’t know before.

The plot was EXPLOSIVE! It was like a race to figure out what was going on and who she was. It was insane! I felt like I didn’t know what I needed to know first! Who’s her family? Is the history true? What was her grandmother up to? Where's her mother? Who’s her father? Why is she being followed? Oh man I was on the edge of my bloody seat!! I loved the fact it was mostly set in Italy. I loved it all. If you love thrillers, grab this audio.. IT WAS EPIC!!!!

5 stars

Thank you to Hachette Audio, NetGalley, and Lisa Scottoline for an advanced audiobook of The Unraveling of Julia. Julia Pritzker sees her husband murdered in front of her and then surprised to find out she has inherited a large sum of money and an Italian villa from someone she has never met, Emilia Rossi. As she was adopted, Julia is intrigued to find out more about this connection to Emila. As things progress, she realizes that she has an ability to fortell events, such as her husband's murder. The story continues with a lot of intrigue, surprising twists, and a new romance. I highly enjoyed this book and recommend it others who love Mystery/Thrillers with a touch of romance!

In "The Unraveling of Julia," Lisa Scottoline presents a gripping narrative filled with mystery and self-discovery. Julia, having endured significant loss, finds her life upended once more when she loses her husband in a tragic event. Alone in Brooklyn, her world shifts dramatically upon receiving a letter informing her of an unexpected inheritance: a villa and vineyard in Tuscany from a mysterious benefactor. Eager for a fresh start, Julia embraces this opportunity and travels to Italy, where she learns that Emilia Rossi, her benefactor, claims descent from the Renaissance figure Duchess Caterina Sforza and bears a striking resemblance to Julia. As Julia delves into the histories of Emilia and Caterina, she discovers unsettling parallels with her own life. However, her quest for answers places her and those she cares about in jeopardy, as she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens her existence and reveals the truth about her identity.

My experience with "The Unraveling of Julia" was thoroughly engaging, as the novel's dual mysteries surrounding the Tuscan villa and Julia's biological family kept me eagerly turning the pages. Scottoline masterfully delivers surprises and plot twists that are both well-executed and satisfyingly unpredictable. After witnessing her husband's brutal murder, Julia's transformation from a recluse in Brooklyn to a determined seeker of truth in Tuscany is both compelling and believable. The book stands out with its innovative storyline, captivating plot, and well-developed characters, allowing readers to connect deeply with Julia's journey. Overall, I found "The Unraveling of Julia" to be a captivating read, deserving a solid four-star rating for its ability to weave a complex and thrilling tale that held my attention from start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Scottoline's The Unraveling of Julia is a whirlwind of a story that blends love, loss, and a suspicious Italian villa. After witnessing her husband's murder, Julia finds herself alone and unexpectedly inheriting a Tuscan villa. Just as she starts to get a handle on her life, a bizarre cast of characters appears, making her situation even more confusing. A new friend from back home arrives to help her piece together the puzzle, and for a while, things seem to make sense—until one rainy night changes everything. The plot is full of twists, and I was completely hooked by the characters and the storyline. The audiobook, narrated by Maria Marquis, was a real highlight, and she did a fantastic job.

Anything Lisa writes is gold. She got me back into reading in 2017 and every time she releases a new book i jump on it.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱🎧”The Unraveling of Julia" by Lisa Scottoline

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
JULY Books
published July 8, 2025

Another winner from auto- buy author Lisa Scottoline. This one is set in Tuscany, with a contemporary fiction/paranormal/thriller vibe. Julia Pritzker is now alone, after her husband is murdered in a random mugging. When a letter arrives telling Julia she has inherited a Tuscan vineyard from a Emilia Rossi, she goes digging for answers. Since being adopted Julia wonders if Rossi is a blood relative. After arriving at the decaying estate, Julia realizes rather quickly that Rossi was a paranoid recluse who believed she was a descendant of Duchess Caterina Sforza. While trying to learn about Emilia the townspeople are rude, almost secretive, insisting Emilia never had children, Julia is being pressured by a pushy realtor. A messy mystery with some romance mixed up in the beautiful Tuscany seashore.




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The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline is a twisty turning story of love, loss and an Italian Villa is Tuscany? How is this happening to Julia? Everything is a mess, her husband was murdered, in front of her, she inherits a villa in Tuscany and she is all alone. Once there a crazy cast of characters seem to appear out of no where and they are all suspicious and she is even more confused than before. She is trying her best to put everything in order but it is getting harder every day. She has a new friend though who helps her to start to put the pieces of the puzzle together and her friend comes from the states and things start to make sense. Until one rainy night things start to unravel again. This book was vey good and I loved the storyline and the characters. This was an excellent book to listen to. The narrator Maria Marquis did an excellent job.

I went into this one without many expectations, but I was quickly swept up in Julia’s tragic, twist-filled story. Julia has already endured unimaginable loss when she unexpectedly inherits a mysterious Tuscan villa and vineyard from a stranger. From there, her life spirals into a gothic, atmospheric mystery full of family secrets, astrology, and eerie parallels between past and present.

I really liked Julia as a character—her grief and confusion felt real, and I was rooting for her even as her sense of reality began to fracture. The “unexpected inheritance” trope is one of my favorites, and the Italian villa setting brought it to life beautifully. Scottoline layers themes of identity, adoption, mental health, and destiny in a way that made this story feel both haunting and deeply human.

This book has everything I enjoy in a gothic mystery: a crumbling old estate, a family legacy shrouded in secrets, a protagonist questioning her sanity, and just enough supernatural suggestion to keep you on edge. The Tuscan setting—both the villa and the glimpses of Florence—added so much atmosphere.

The narration by Maria Marquis was excellent, capturing Julia’s fragility and strength as her world unraveled.

Final Thoughts:
A twisty, atmospheric read that blends grief, identity, and conspiracy with gothic suspense and a touch of the supernatural. If you enjoy inheritance mysteries, old houses with secrets, or atmospheric settings in Italy, this is a great pick.

Julia's husband dies in a violent attack and she feels like it was fate, diving more into astrology amidst her grief. Then one day Julia receives a letter from Italy telling her she has inherited a house and vineyard in Italy. Only she has no idea who owned the house, but hopes that maybe it was a relative she's never known. Julia travels to Tuscany to explore her inheritance, only to discover the prior owner was a recluse who was losing her mind. As Julia digs deeper into the estate's past and her own history, she discovers strange, unexplainable events and a conspiracy that might put her in danger.

Lisa Scottoline has written a fun thriller that works as a good tour of Tuscany. The estate scenes have some fun elements of supernatural, gothic horror that separate this from typical psychological thrillers. I found the book fun and satisfying, even if I had to push myself at times to finish it. The plot keeps adding layers to the central mysteries of Julia's past and issues with the villa, but I did not enjoy it as much as Scottoline's other books. But for a thriller with a vibrant setting and some spooky elements it did the job. Maria Marquis was a great narrator that did a great job bringing Julia's story to life.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of The Unraveling of Julia in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced. Interesting plot. I loved the Tuscan setting. The mystery was powerful. Wonderful narration. Highly recommend.

I was blessed with an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased. I’m looking forward to more by this author.

You can see from the listening history I did not finish this. It started very slowly for me and there was little to nothing to hold my attention. Then it started getting into zodiac / magic and just wasn’t interesting at all. Maybe a good fit for a younger audience - although the cover doesn’t say to me that it’s going for the younger audiences

I love a good thriller – and if it’s set in a spooky Tuscan villa, all the better! – so I had high hopes for this new release by Lisa Scottoline. Despite the intriguing premise, great research, and introduction to an impressive woman in Italian history whom I’ve never heard of, this one just didn’t do it for me. Astrology became a main character and plot driver, rather than the mystery itself. The ending felt rushed, most of the action happened all at once, with all the loose ends too conveniently tied up. Rounding this up to a 3 star read.

I listened to the audiobook and Maria Marquis did a great job narrating this story.

Thank you to Hatchett Audio, NetGalley, and author Lisa Scottoline for the complimentary advance copy! It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA
Lisa Scottoline, Author
Maria Marquis, Narrator
Mystery/Thriller

When Julia thinks she has lost everything, a mysterious benefactor comes to her with the news that she has inherited a house. As things go along Julia thinks she is losing her mind, but only time will tell.

This book has everything you would want in a mystery: twists and turns and even a little spice thrown in. I would give this book a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

This one was just meh for me. The setting in Tuscany while scenic just couldn’t pull me in. Perhaps I just wasn’t in the mindset for this book. I love this author so I’m sure the next read will work better for me.
The narration was very easy to listen to on the audiobook.

I normally love this author but I had a hard time with this book. It was slow paced and didn’t hold my interest.

Julia inherits a house in Italy and she doesn’t know the person that gave it to her.

She looks into the history of the house as spooky things are happening. Is she going crazy? Is the house haunted? Is she being drugged?

This wasn’t my favorite book by this author but I still look forward to her next new release.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced audio copy of The Unravelling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline.

When Julia Pritzker tragically witnesses the murder of her husband, she becomes a recluse terrified to leave her home. So when she inherits an estate in Tuscany from someone she has never met, she hesitates to travel to Italy preferring to let an attorney broker the sale of the place from afar. .However, Julia has never known her biological family, and the more she thinks about the mysterious inheritance, the more she wonders if this could be a link to her past.

Julia is soon disappointed to discover that her new benefactor, Emilia Rossi, was a paranoid old woman who was disliked by the community and who was adamant she was a descendent of Duchess Caterina Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. As Julia begins to uncover more about Rossi’s life, she is shocked by how her own physical features and personality traits resemble that of Rossi, as well as Caterina, including an obsession with astrology.

But what dark secrets are really hidden on the Rossi estate? And at what lengths will some unseen force go to in order to keep these secrets buried?

This is definitely a gothic thriller with some supernatural mixed in. The narration by Maria Marquis was appropriately spooky and she has a perfect voice for Julia’s character. The setting is everything you would expect for an Italian mystery and Scottoline had me in the edge of my seat at times. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline
Use your typical Gothic mystery where mysterious benefactor has willed a mansion to a woman who doesn’t even know her, and along with that request comes a lot more questions and plenty of twists and turns.

Julia’s husband has been murdered and she finds herself at a loss, so the unexpected inheritance of a Tuscan Villa from an unknown Amelia Rossi is too tempting to give up. She finds herself jet sending to Tuscany and finding her villa decrepit and with a lot more questions than answers… but once her life and none of her new friends come at risk, she finds herself digging deeper and finding that she’s a lot more linked to this house than expected.

This book felt more like a Scooby Doo mystery with plenty of twist and turns and way too many coincidental connections. I found myself getting pulled out of the story by all of this.

I listen to the audiobook Maria Marquis and really enjoyed her accented voice work. She did an excellent job, creating diverse characters and setting the story’s atmosphere. Her reading was a highlight of the audiobook experience.

Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Scottoline, & Hachette Audio for the arc audio book of The Unraveling Of Julia.

I was really disappointed. This was my first Lisa book that I’ve read and I actually have two more of her other ones on my TBR. I didn’t really feel like there was a good mystery or a good twist. It was just very going along with and was getting really annoyed with how many times I heard ARGH I feel it was completely unnecessary. The narrator herself I felt like was great. I did listen to it at 1.75 speed.

Thank you for the opportunity to read "The Unraveling of Julia" by Lisa Scottoline and read by Maria Marquis.

This mystery novel captured my attention from the first chapter. The mystery and atmosphere of the location kept building with each chapter, the characters developing and revealing more about themselves. Along the way there were several times I felt sure that I knew the answer to the mystery of Julia's family and the Tuscan villa, but I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, thank you for the read!