With a true fangirl’s love of all things Nancy Drew, bestselling novelist and real-life literary detective Lisa Scottoline once again turns to the mystery genre for her latest page-turner.

After delving into historical fiction with ETERNAL and LOYALTY, Scottoline returns to the passionate and colorful history of Italy in THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA. What could a Renaissance duchess have to do with a contemporary murder in Philadelphia during a routine mugging? Scottoline creates an intergenerational thriller that is sure to exhilarate fans and newcomers alike.

Julia Pritzker led a normal life until an angry mugger kills her husband on the streets of Philadelphia one night. While grieving, she discovers that her recent horoscope may have predicted his violent passing. Looking for answers to quell her pain, Julia takes an avid interest in astrology. This leads her to believe that her life already has been determined, so she has lost all control over her existence. As her common sense twists and turns into something else, she receives life-changing news from Italy.

"Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the book is the Italian history that Scottoline weaves into the fabric of Julia’s search.... Upgrade your vacation reading this summer and unravel yourself with this timeless novel."

With one letter, Julia discovers that she has inherited a villa and a vineyard in Tuscany. These gifts come to her from Emilia Rossi, though she knows nothing about this woman. Having been adopted, she has little knowledge about the extent of her biological family tree. Soon she rushes off to Italy to search for what she hopes to be a true blood relative.

It turns out that Emilia suffers from serious mental issues. Her delusions include believing herself to be a descendant of the Duchess Caterina Sforza, a bold ruler during the Renaissance. Is it true? As Julia explores the two women, she finds a number of parallels that could explain their connection, including a vast and unending obsession with astrology. The more Julia discovers, the more frightened she becomes. Is she being followed? Is the lovely man from Florence who she just met interested in her or her family and what she is revealing? As her search for identity continues, Julia’s grief turns into something much more terrifying.

Scottoline has a penchant for combining vivid historical events with a flesh-and-blood contemporary woman’s life and concerns. The flashes of the past that relate to Julia’s present make for an intriguing and disturbing time-travel mystery. If Julia starts out with no sense of her own family background, is it destiny that is bringing these strange experiences to her at this time, or is it something even more devious? Scottoline shows real skill in building Julia’s knowledge, slowly but surely, infusing every new discovery she makes with a sinister sense of something that may or may not be good for her.

Julia’s natural inquisitiveness and openness to the intuitive nature of the darker arts infuse the narrative with a devilish streak of wonderment and magic. The story benefits from all the “girl power” and feminine mystique that Julia’s search requires. As the ties between the women become more tightly bonded, THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA takes on the taut and frightening edge of a classic 19th-century gothic tale. The Renaissance is the perfect historical period for such a book, and the plot drives down some strange and shadowy trails as Julia gets closer to solving the many mysteries she must face.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the book is the Italian history that Scottoline weaves into the fabric of Julia’s search. Her struggle to overcome grief and live a new life with a family identity is a compelling and emotional pageant. Upgrade your vacation reading this summer and unravel yourself with this timeless novel.