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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline is one of those mysteries that throws everything at you - murder, mysterious inheritances, astrology, paranoia, and a Tuscan villa hiding more secrets than wine bottles. Julia Pritzker has already lost her parents and husband when she inherits a vineyard from a stranger. What follows is a whirlwind trip to Italy, a tangle of family mysteries, eerie coincidences, and a possible curse.
At times, the plot feels overstuffed, but it’s never dull. I didn’t expect the subtle paranormal thread, but it worked, adding just enough strangeness to keep things interesting. The Tuscan setting is gorgeous, and Maria Marquis’ narration keeps the twists feeling fresh without losing the suspense.
⭐️ 3.25/5 - A little chaotic, yes, but atmospheric, twisty, and thoroughly entertaining. My first Scottoline, but definitely not my last.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
At times, the plot feels overstuffed, but it’s never dull. I didn’t expect the subtle paranormal thread, but it worked, adding just enough strangeness to keep things interesting. The Tuscan setting is gorgeous, and Maria Marquis’ narration keeps the twists feeling fresh without losing the suspense.
⭐️ 3.25/5 - A little chaotic, yes, but atmospheric, twisty, and thoroughly entertaining. My first Scottoline, but definitely not my last.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Oh my... where to even start???
So, clearly I didn't enjoy the book, hence my 2 star rating, but boy oh boy was this a trip! I listened to the audio book, and had to grab a paper to start taking notes because I was getting lost. Basically, Julia's husband is murdered and she is dealing with the grief, and then gets a call that she is inheriting a property in Italy along with 3 million Euro. Which is an insane set up to a story, but not necessarily in a bad way. She then goes to Italy to handle the property and to try to find out about her family (she is adopted so has no idea who her family is, but this is a lead!).
What I made my notes on:
Then you have the romance between her and Jean-Luca (I could be wrong on spelling, again listening not reading the book). Her husband was JUST murdered! She basically became agoraphobic because of it, yet she is being pushed into a relationship with a man she doesn't even know, all because he was cute and nice and helped her.
In that same vein, they meet because she is being followed and he offers to help her get away. He then takes her to a couple of different spots, including one of Katerina's castles. Julia "knows her way around" "instinctively" which furthers her belief that she is related to the lady, even though "feelings" are not proof!
The "ghost" of Katerina. Apparently Rossi was sure that she was related to Katerina, a lady from a noble family, yet had no proof of this. Julia learns of Rossi's assumptions, and immediately believes it HAS to be true despite there still being no proof! Anyways, the "ghost" of Katerina starts appearing to her (and that is somehow proof that they are related), and this "ghost" leads Julia to a hidden room that Julia dubs a "prison cell." The room is seemingly a little girls room, covered in mold. Julia finds paintings done by a young girl, and a comb with hair in it. She then comes to the conclusion that Rossi was a child abuser/trafficker. Which, mind you, has no evidence aside from this room, but also everyone says that Rossi had no children! So why would that be the first assumption and not that she may have been the little girl locked in that room?????? After finding this room, she calls the police because it's suspicious I guess, even though there is no indication that child abuse happened, or any sort of murder. The police say they can't really do anything, but they will test the hair for DNA. Julia is then upset that they aren't going to press charges, and like??? Who would they press them against??? The dead lady?? Which is actually exactly what the police say! Julia then asks to keep the paintings, and is told no because they are evidence in the case she wants to bring forward. She then steals hair from the comb, and after the police admonish her because that is EVIDENCE, she goes "oh don't worry, I'll leave you some." Ma'am! That is not how this works!!
On one of her and Jean-Luca's outings they think they are being followed by a man so Jean-Luca starts driving erratically and the car speeds off to get away from them. They then go to police to report the "stalking" being done by the man in the car. The police tell her that, first of all, he wasn't stalking her, and second of all, they would need actual proof (other than he sped to get away from the crazy people following him). She then asks the police to give her the man's information (which they got from the license plate) and the police say no, because obviously! She is then all sad that they won't dox a citizen for her weird little hunch.
Then she starts to believe that her husband was killed by someone targeting HER. She thinks that someone tried to kill her to stop her from inheriting the villa and the money. She believes it, by the way, because she saw a man wearing a blue hoodie and the man that killed husband wore a blue hoodie *cue shocked gasps." Like come on girly pop, be for real! She then calls the detectives on her husbands case to tell them they should investigate if any Italians were in the area at the time- which is not possible! Yes, the entry into the country is tracked, so the federal government is aware which Italians are in the country, but where they go and what they do is not tracked, because that is INSANE!
Then Jean-Luca is involved in a car accident and is in a coma. He was driving to her place when he got in the accident, so she feels partially responsible. She then goes to hospital and his family think she is his girlfriend because he told them that! Even though she is RECENTLY WIDOWED and has also only known this man for a week at max!
She then goes to a medium, and the lady tries to contact someone but is denied access because Julia is apparently a medium! Which just heightens her insane notions about being connected to Katerina because of the "feeling" along with the fact she saw a self portrait DRAWING in the hospital that "feels" like her mother so it just has to be her!
Towards the end of the book she learns that she was being drugged by the people living on the grounds of villa (who she only knows for a few days BY HER OWN ADMISSION so keep that in mind for the timeline!). The drugs make her hallucinate, and she finally agrees that maybe she isn't actually a psychic!
Then at the end, she tells police the whole story (including her being a medium) and the police are like, cool story, can you please sign a statement that doesn't say that because that makes you look crazy. She says "I don't understand why what I said doesn't make logical sense" *cue me screaming and crying* because huh???????
Biggest spoilers!!:
Overall, did not enjoy in the slightest and it made me want to rip my hair out! The only saving grace was the narrator, her voice is *chefs kiss* and I will be looking more into her other books. Lisa Scottoline is a hit or miss author for me. I read another book by her, and it was mind numbingly repetitive, but I enjoyed it beyond that, so was excited for this, but oh my was this terrible!
*Thank you NetGalley, who provided the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review*
So, clearly I didn't enjoy the book, hence my 2 star rating, but boy oh boy was this a trip! I listened to the audio book, and had to grab a paper to start taking notes because I was getting lost. Basically, Julia's husband is murdered and she is dealing with the grief, and then gets a call that she is inheriting a property in Italy along with 3 million Euro. Which is an insane set up to a story, but not necessarily in a bad way. She then goes to Italy to handle the property and to try to find out about her family (she is adopted so has no idea who her family is, but this is a lead!).
What I made my notes on:
Spoiler
She is trying to find out if Rossi is actually her grandmother and goes into town to find someone who might know, she goes into a shop and accosts the shop keeper. She keeps pushing that the shop keeper just has to know who Rossi is, and pushes to show her a picture, when the woman says no she doesn't know the lady! She then asks Julia to leave if she isn't going to buy anything and Julia is all huffy because the interaction "wasn't friendly."Then you have the romance between her and Jean-Luca (I could be wrong on spelling, again listening not reading the book). Her husband was JUST murdered! She basically became agoraphobic because of it, yet she is being pushed into a relationship with a man she doesn't even know, all because he was cute and nice and helped her.
In that same vein, they meet because she is being followed and he offers to help her get away. He then takes her to a couple of different spots, including one of Katerina's castles. Julia "knows her way around" "instinctively" which furthers her belief that she is related to the lady, even though "feelings" are not proof!
The "ghost" of Katerina. Apparently Rossi was sure that she was related to Katerina, a lady from a noble family, yet had no proof of this. Julia learns of Rossi's assumptions, and immediately believes it HAS to be true despite there still being no proof! Anyways, the "ghost" of Katerina starts appearing to her (and that is somehow proof that they are related), and this "ghost" leads Julia to a hidden room that Julia dubs a "prison cell." The room is seemingly a little girls room, covered in mold. Julia finds paintings done by a young girl, and a comb with hair in it. She then comes to the conclusion that Rossi was a child abuser/trafficker. Which, mind you, has no evidence aside from this room, but also everyone says that Rossi had no children! So why would that be the first assumption and not that she may have been the little girl locked in that room?????? After finding this room, she calls the police because it's suspicious I guess, even though there is no indication that child abuse happened, or any sort of murder. The police say they can't really do anything, but they will test the hair for DNA. Julia is then upset that they aren't going to press charges, and like??? Who would they press them against??? The dead lady?? Which is actually exactly what the police say! Julia then asks to keep the paintings, and is told no because they are evidence in the case she wants to bring forward. She then steals hair from the comb, and after the police admonish her because that is EVIDENCE, she goes "oh don't worry, I'll leave you some." Ma'am! That is not how this works!!
On one of her and Jean-Luca's outings they think they are being followed by a man so Jean-Luca starts driving erratically and the car speeds off to get away from them. They then go to police to report the "stalking" being done by the man in the car. The police tell her that, first of all, he wasn't stalking her, and second of all, they would need actual proof (other than he sped to get away from the crazy people following him). She then asks the police to give her the man's information (which they got from the license plate) and the police say no, because obviously! She is then all sad that they won't dox a citizen for her weird little hunch.
Then she starts to believe that her husband was killed by someone targeting HER. She thinks that someone tried to kill her to stop her from inheriting the villa and the money. She believes it, by the way, because she saw a man wearing a blue hoodie and the man that killed husband wore a blue hoodie *cue shocked gasps." Like come on girly pop, be for real! She then calls the detectives on her husbands case to tell them they should investigate if any Italians were in the area at the time- which is not possible! Yes, the entry into the country is tracked, so the federal government is aware which Italians are in the country, but where they go and what they do is not tracked, because that is INSANE!
Then Jean-Luca is involved in a car accident and is in a coma. He was driving to her place when he got in the accident, so she feels partially responsible. She then goes to hospital and his family think she is his girlfriend because he told them that! Even though she is RECENTLY WIDOWED and has also only known this man for a week at max!
She then goes to a medium, and the lady tries to contact someone but is denied access because Julia is apparently a medium! Which just heightens her insane notions about being connected to Katerina because of the "feeling" along with the fact she saw a self portrait DRAWING in the hospital that "feels" like her mother so it just has to be her!
Towards the end of the book she learns that she was being drugged by the people living on the grounds of villa (who she only knows for a few days BY HER OWN ADMISSION so keep that in mind for the timeline!). The drugs make her hallucinate, and she finally agrees that maybe she isn't actually a psychic!
Then at the end, she tells police the whole story (including her being a medium) and the police are like, cool story, can you please sign a statement that doesn't say that because that makes you look crazy. She says "I don't understand why what I said doesn't make logical sense" *cue me screaming and crying* because huh???????
Biggest spoilers!!:
Spoiler
It was all true! I was so upset, I'll be honest. It was so incredibly convoluted, and insane, and she needed to get some professional mental help, but she was right?????? I was fully expecting it to be some kind of weird hallucination or she would wake up from her own coma after being attacked, maybe her husband would still be alive. Yeah, that would have been cliché, but still a better ending that her being entirely right in all of her wild and baseless assumptions, falling in love after knowing a guy for a few days, and then marrying said man and having his baby.Overall, did not enjoy in the slightest and it made me want to rip my hair out! The only saving grace was the narrator, her voice is *chefs kiss* and I will be looking more into her other books. Lisa Scottoline is a hit or miss author for me. I read another book by her, and it was mind numbingly repetitive, but I enjoyed it beyond that, so was excited for this, but oh my was this terrible!
*Thank you NetGalley, who provided the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review*
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I didn’t realize this book would have so many supernatural elements to it. There is nothing on the Goodreads genres saying supernatural so I was surprised. I didn’t love that aspect of the story. I thought the conversations between the characters were very odd. They talked strangely to each other, very formal and abrupt. I liked some aspects of the story, but overall I thought this was ok. I thought there was a lot going on between Julia’s murdered husband, her villa, her new boyfriend, people trying to kill her, finding her birth mother, discovering she was a psychic. It was too much.
Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Julia recently lost her adoptive parents, and now her husband has been murdered. Things take a turn when she learns she has inherited a Tuscan villa worth millions from an Emilia Rossi. She has never heard of Emilia, so she travels to Tuscany to see if she can solve the mystery. Julia was not prepared for what she would find…
Well this book took a turn I was not expecting! I loved that Julia lived in Philly, and of course the Tuscan scenery was fantastic. Though what Julia was facing in Tuscany was certainly not the relaxing Italian vacation anyone would wish for. There was so much happening in this book and it kept me on my toes as the story went on! While the story was a bit off the rails at times, the ghosts and mystery around Emilia kept me on my toes and I really enjoyed every second!
Thank you to @grandcentralpub for my gifted copy of this book!
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was such an interesting and complex story with some supernatural elements adding to the dimension. Some really well-rounded characters and well-timed plot twists kept me interested the whole way through.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Fascinating psychological thriller set in Tuscany. Don't read anything about it before dipping in.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
extremely boring and predictable with a number of plot holes
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced