THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING by Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline has done it again with This Changes Everything—the sequel to last year’s psychological thriller The Unraveling of Julia. Five years after the murder of her first husband, Mike, the discovery of her biological parents, and the inheritance of a crumbling villa in Tuscany, Julia is living a new life: married to Gianluca and mother to three-year-old Leni. That hard-won peace shatters when her psychic abilities flare during a phone call with her lifelong friend Courtney back in the States. In that moment, Courtney discovers her grandmother has been murdered.

Julia flies home to support Courtney, testing the new life she has built in Italy. Torn between loyalty to her best friend and devotion to her family, she faces difficult choices. Skeptical of the local police’s ability—or willingness—to solve the crime, she and Courtney launch their own investigation, aided by several of the victim’s friends.

I’m not usually a fan of supernatural thrillers, so I was glad Scottoline kept Julia’s psychic powers to a minimum. They serve the story without taking it over. The friendship between Julia and Courtney feels genuine and lived-in, and the tension between Julia’s Italian life and her loyalty to Courtney gives the book real emotional weight.

The pacing is tight, the small-town secrets are well-handled, and the ending was a complete surprise—I didn’t see it coming.

Rating:  4.5/5 stars ⭐

Highly recommended if you enjoyed The Unraveling of Julia or just want a smart, twisty thriller with heart.

YELLOWFACE by R. F. Kuang

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang – A sharp, addictive satire that’s hard to put down.

R.F. Kuang (known for The Poppy War and Babel) tries something new with Yellowface: a contemporary thriller set in the competitive world of book publishing. It follows two writers whose lives collide after a tragedy. What starts as a shady decision quickly turns into a tense story about ambition, jealousy, identity, and who gets to tell which stories.

Kuang’s best move is the main character’s voice. The first-person narration feels real, unreliable, and surprisingly relatable in its pettiness and excuses. You get pulled into her head as she justifies worse and worse choices, which makes it a real page-turner. The book takes sharp shots at the publishing industry—hype, diversity marketing, social media drama, and cancel culture—without sounding preachy. It cleverly explores cultural appropriation, the business side of stories, and the resentments that build up among writers.

It feels very current and makes you think, especially if you’ve followed book-world controversies. At the same time, it works great as a fast-paced thriller with dark humor and plenty of uncomfortable moments.

A couple of small criticisms: Some readers might find the main character too unlikeable, and a few themes feel a bit heavy-handed. The book doesn’t give you easy heroes or a neat ending, which adds to its impact but might leave some wanting more satisfaction.

Who should read it? Fans of smart, uneasy stories like Gone Girl or The Secret History, or anyone curious about what really goes on in publishing. It’s a quick, engaging read that sticks with you.

Content notes: death, racism, cultural appropriation, cyberbullying, and moral gray areas.

Overall, highly recommended. Kuang shows she can write just about anything. If you haven’t tried her other books, this might be the easiest place to start.

Rating: 4/5⭐

THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA by Lisa Scottoline

When I picked up The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline, I expected a straight psychological thriller. What I got was something more atmospheric and genre-blending: a young widow grappling with profound grief, a mysterious Tuscan inheritance, adoption secrets, and a healthy serving of the paranormal.

Julia Pritzker is still reeling from her husband’s brutal murder in a Philadelphia mugging when she receives shocking news—she’s inherited a crumbling villa and vineyard in Italy from a complete stranger, Emilia Rossi. As Julia travels to Tuscany to sort out the estate, she’s plagued by disturbing dreams, eerie feelings of being watched, ghostly apparitions, and visions that blur the line between hallucination and something more. Throw in a real estate conspiracy, hidden rooms, family mysteries, and possible blood ties to her benefactor, and the stage is set for a twisty, transportive read. 

What Worked for Me

The emotional core and human mystery are the book’s greatest strengths. Julia’s grief feels authentic and raw, and the adoption/inheritance storyline hooked me immediately. The Italian setting is vividly drawn (food, landscapes, culture), providing a welcome escape while the suspense builds. Once the real threats—stalking, drugging, and a dangerous conspiracy—kick in, the thriller aspects deliver solid tension and satisfying revelations. The later sections tie up the human plotlines effectively, and I appreciated how Scottoline explores themes of fate, intuition, family, and empowerment.

A key turning point for me was the revelation around the drugging, which offered a rational explanation for some of the early “supernatural” sightings and hallucinations. From there, the story felt more grounded as a suspense novel, with Julia’s emerging psychic abilities adding an interesting (if unconventional) layer rather than pure creepiness.

What Didn’t Work as Well

I’ll be honest: the supernatural/paranormal elements were a mixed bag and nearly sent the book to my DNF pile early on. If you’re not a fan of ghosts, apparitions slipping through walls, blue auras, or spiritual interventions, they can feel jarring in what starts as a psychological thriller. While some of it serves the plot (guiding discoveries and protection), it occasionally pulled me out of the story. I preferred the subtler psychic intuition over the more overt gothic moments.

Final Thoughts

The Unraveling of Julia is bold and ambitious—Scottoline ventures into new territory with spiritual thriller vibes while keeping her signature character-driven suspense. It’s not a pure legal thriller like some of her earlier work, but if you can embrace (or tolerate) the paranormal alongside strong themes of grief, identity, and female resilience, there’s a lot to enjoy. By the end, the human drama and resolutions won me over enough to round up to 3.5 stars.

Would I recommend it? Yes, with caveats. Skip it if heavy supernatural elements are a hard no. Otherwise, it’s an atmospheric, twisty ride perfect for fans of authors like Ruth Ware or those who enjoy a touch of the mystical in their thrillers.

Have you read it? What did you think of the balance between the mystery and the spiritual aspects?

Rating:  (3.5/5) ⭐

THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden completely surprised me—in the best way.

I started this one with low expectations. I love a good mystery, but psychological thrillers aren’t usually my thing. A few chapters in, though, I was hooked. McFadden’s writing is so conversational and easy to read that it feels like a friend is telling you a wild story. The short chapters and constant tension make it ridiculously hard to put down.

What begins as a seemingly straightforward “troubled young woman takes a job as a live-in housemaid for a wealthy, dysfunctional family” setup quickly turns into something much darker and more twisty. Just when I thought I had the characters figured out, the story zigged and zagged with jaw-dropping revelations. The final stretch is packed with “holy mackerel” moments that left me rethinking everything.

It reminded me a lot of Verity by Colleen Hoover—same unreliable-narrator, domestic-nightmare energy—but I actually preferred McFadden’s version: tighter pacing, less sex, and more of that subtle (but not overly graphic) edge. The ending is a fantastic segue into the sequel, and I’m already tempted to dive in after a cozy mystery palate cleanser.

If you’re on the fence about psychological thrillers, The Housemaid might just pull you in the same way it did me. One leg dangling off the edge, for sure. Highly recommend!

Rating: 4 / 5⭐

STRANGERS on a TRAIN by Patricia Highsmith...

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith was published in 1950 by Harper & Brothers. If you are looking for a cozy mystery, this book is not for you. If you expect this book to be anything like the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock movie, you're also in for a bit of a surprise. The movie is a slightly whitewashed version of this novel.

Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno are two strangers that meet on a train. Haines is an architect on his way back to his hometown to confront his cheating wife, Miriam, hoping to finally settle the terms for a divorce... three years in the making, so that he can marry the woman he loves, Anne Faulkner. 

Bruno is a spoiled, ne'er-do-well playboy with a psychopathic bent from Long Island, New York. He has a strong affinity for his mother and an equally passionate hatred for his father. 

Bruno proposes a solution that, in his mind, will solve both of their problems... "swap murders," with Bruno killing Miriam if Guy kills Bruno's father; since neither has a motive for the murders they committed, the police will have no reason to suspect either one of them of the killings. Guy, of course, doesn't take Bruno seriously, but Bruno kills Miriam anyway while Guy is out of town. When Bruno informs Guy of his crime, Guy is reluctant to turn him over to the police for fear that Bruno will claim that Guy is complicit in the murder exchange plan. Unfortunately, the longer Guy remains silent, the more he implicates himself, and the longer Guy delays in 'fulfilling his end of the agreement,' the more impatient and dangerous Bruno becomes to him. 

Strangers on a Train is a psychological thriller much darker than the film adaptation. Further details on the plot twists will spoil the book for you, but believe me...there are a few. However, the novel starts out a little slow but does pick up speed in the third chapter and only lets go at the end. If you like any of Highsmith's other books, like "The Talented Mr. Ripley," it's worth reading, especially if it's been a while since you've seen the film. 

My personal rating... ⭐⭐⭐½