Tuscany, where she finds the villa run-down and in dire need of repairs.

Although a local realtor urges her to sell, Julia decides to stay and learn more about the villa’s former owner. She discovers Emilia was considered crazy by the locals and believed herself to be a descendant of Caterina Sforza, a real-life 15th-century Italian noblewoman. Julia was adopted as a baby and soon wonders if she and Emilia are related, which might explain her inheritance. She also begins having visions and nightmares that suggest Caterina’s spirit is present. Julia also encounters more earthly danger, in the form of two different sinister men following her and someone breaking into the villa at night. To top it off, she’s rescued by a handsome man on a motor scooter when one of her pursuers chases her.

From this synopsis of The Unraveling of Julia, potential readers might think the plot is overstuffed, and they’d be right. I haven’t included the mysterious caretaker couple at the villa, the hidden room, or the mysterious well at the edge of the property. To the author’s credit, these various plot threads come together in a convenient explanation that brings in a motive—and a new character—that are only introduced in the book’s last few chapters. However, the explanation seems almost like an afterthought since Julia has kept up a running commentary throughout the book in which she gives out a series of Sherlock Holmes-style deductions about the goings on at the villa.

My biggest problem with The Unraveling of Julia is that the author never fully decides what type of novel she’s writing. The book has elements of an exotic romance: the by-now-stereotypical rustic Tuscan setting, complete with a vineyard and a handsome stranger. But it also has plot strands straight out of a Gothic novel. The author also delves into the life of Caterina Sforza, who becomes the book’s most interesting character, even though she’s been dead for 600 years. The result is a story that’s repetitive, confused, and, ultimately, somewhat confusing.

I also didn’t like the author’s use of astrology and the book’s supernatural elements. The author eventually provides a natural, real-world explanation for all the goings-on at the villa, rendering Julia’s visions and flashes of light extraneous. Are they the manifestations of the long-gone Caterina, acting as Julia’s guardian angel or spiritual guide? We never find out, nor do we care. The supposed supernatural elements in the story aren’t effective.

Julia’s belief in astrology, via a website that’s a souped-up version of a daily newspaper horoscope with a few bells and whistles added, is similarly ineffective. Julia’s daily horoscope proves to be a less-than-credible motivational hook that explains her decision to go to Italy. She began believing in astrology after interpreting her horoscope for the day her husband died as a warning. She later receives what she believes to be an astrological sign on the day she learns of her inheritance. Her daily horoscope doesn’t outright say: “You will get a large inheritance today that you should claim.” Instead, it says: “Your luck is going to change today. You are stronger than you know. Trust yourself. It is only the beginning.” Those who frequently read daily horoscopes will recognize this statement as the type of vaguely positive pep talk that often shows up and gives people who experience good fortune that day a reason to believe. However, Julia, a supposedly rational woman, swallows it whole.

I don’t want potential readers to think that The Unraveling of Julia is a total disaster. It’s not. Lisa Scottoline is a talented writer who got off track here. Individual sections of the book read well, and it’s pretty successful as a mystery (even though the author doesn’t strictly play fair with readers). Also, it’s hard to go completely wrong with a Tuscan romance or a book that’s in part about as colorful a historic figure as Caterina Sforza. Unfortunately, despite some good sections, The Unraveling of Julia never succeeds as a mystery, suspense, romance, or history, and unravels before its conclusion.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.