This Changes Everything
Updated: Jun 30
By: Lisa Scottoline
Narrators: Maria Marquis, Kate Burton, Soneela Nankani, Stacy Carolan, Max Meyers
ISBN: 9781538770030
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: 07/14/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
In this “riveting, deeply felt and empowering thriller that is also a touching ode to female friendship” (Laura Dave) from #1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, a woman risks her life to help her closest friend find justice for a tragic crime and realizes she has more power than she ever knew.
Julia Pritzker loves her new life as a wife and mother in beautiful Tuscany—except that she misses her best friend Courtney, back in the States. One night, Julia calls Courtney and reaches her as she’s arriving at her grandmother’s farm in Pennsylvania.
Then the unthinkable happens. A dreadful premonition overwhelms Julia as Courtney is entering the house—but it’s too late to stop Courtney, who makes a heartbreaking discovery. Her beloved grandmother has been murdered, and the killer is escaping out the back door. A distraught Courtney chases him, but he jumps into a pickup truck and gets away.
Julia flies home the next morning to support Courtney in her grief. The local police believe the murder was a botched burglary, but the women suspect something much more sinister. They dig to unearth the truth in a town filled with explosive secrets, and Julia’s uncanny intuition points her to the missing pieces of a dark puzzle.
Before long, events take a deadly turn, and Julia becomes the target of a murderous conspiracy. She ends up fighting for her life, with no one to save her … but herself.
Only a blockbuster talent like Lisa Scottoline can tell this riveting and layered of a story, combining a woman’s search for truth with the revelation of her own empowerment, as well as the enduring strength and joys of female friendship.
My Review
This Changes Everything by Lisa Scottoline is a fast-paced psychological thriller that blends an intense murder mystery with a deep, emotional core. The novel masterfully explores the lengths a woman will go to protect her best friend, combining elements of psychological suspense with a moving exploration of female empowerment and enduring friendship.
Be sure to read The Unraveling of Julia first to understand the background of the character, Julia, fully.
The Hook
Imagine being thousands of miles away, on the phone with your best friend, when a sudden, terrifying psychic premonition takes hold of you—moments before she walks into her grandmother's house and discovers a brutal murder scene.
Elevator Pitch
Julia Pritzker is enjoying her idyllic new life as a wife and mother in Tuscany, but she deeply misses her best friend, Courtney, back home. During a casual late-night call, Julia senses danger just as Courtney arrives at her grandmother's Pennsylvania farm.
The warning comes too late: Courtney’s grandmother has been murdered, and the killer escapes out the back door. Julia immediately flies back to the States to help, but when the local police dismiss the crime as a simple botched burglary, the two women launch their own investigation.
Enlisting the help of legendary Philadelphia lawyer Bennie Rosato, Julia relies on her unsettling intuition to uncover a lethal small-town conspiracy that quickly puts her own life on the line.
Setting
~Tuscany, Italy: Sunny, serene, and warm, contrasting with the dark events across the Atlantic.
~Rural Pennsylvania: A spooky, atmospheric, and menacing old mining town layered with historical grime and explosive secrets.
Vibe
~Tense domestic suspense meets supernatural intuition.
~Gritty small-town mystery paired with fierce female solidarity.
Genre
Psychological Thriller / Crime Fiction / Mystery Suspense.
Themes
~The Power of Female Friendship
~Grief and Trauma Survival
~Self-Empowerment and Intuition
Standout Characters
~Julia Pritzker: The protagonist, struggling to balance her responsibilities as a mother with an overwhelming psychic gift and an intense loyalty to her friend.
~Courtney: Julia’s grief-stricken but fiercely determined best friend, who refuses to let her grandmother’s killer walk free.
~Bennie Rosato: The iconic, sharp-witted Philadelphia defense attorney from Scottoline’s beloved Rosato & DiNunzio universe, who steps in to lend legal muscle.
Author Writing Standout
Scottoline excels at pacing. She brilliantly juxtaposes the cozy, warm dynamics of long-term friendship with a suffocating, breakneck plot. Her signature legal and procedural knowledge anchors the story, while the inclusion of Julia's clairvoyant edge adds an unpredictable, eerie layer to the narrative.
Takeaway
True empowerment often comes from the dark corners we are most afraid to face, and a real friendship is a lifeline that can pull you through a conspiracy.
Title Significance
This Changes Everything marks the exact pivot point where Julia's safe, predictable life is permanently altered by a single phone call. It also signifies her evolution from a passive observer of her own intuition into a powerful force capable of fighting for justice.
Metaphor
A spider's web in an old mine shaft—seemingly fragile and easily missed, but strong enough to trap anyone who stumbles into its intricate, hidden design.
Why You Should Read
Read this book if you love twisty, fast-paced thrillers like those by Laura Dave or Lisa Jewell, but still want deep emotional stakes, relatable characters, and a story that celebrates the unbreakable bond between women.
My Thoughts
Bringing back Bennie Rosato creates a nostalgic thrill for long-time fans, but the emotional core belongs entirely to Julia and Courtney. The supernatural/clairvoyant element might require a slight suspension of disbelief for rigid procedural fans, but it works beautifully to heighten the book's psychological tension and atmosphere.
Verdict: 4 / 5 Stars
"A gripping, emotionally resonant, and beautifully atmospheric thriller that hits like a freight train."
Recs or Read-Alikes
~The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline (for the background of Julia and her journey).
~The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (for the desperate search for truth and strong emotional core).
~Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (for fast-paced, unpredictable domestic suspense).
~The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak (for small-town secrets and intense family/relationship dynamics).
Special thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.>
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 14, 2026
My Rating: 4 Stars
July 2026 Must-Read Books
Praise
"A riveting, deeply felt and empowering thriller that is also a touching ode to female friendship, This Changes Everything is Lisa Scottoline at her best."
―Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me
"Lisa Scottoline always delivers the fastest, twistiest reads packed with brilliant characters to root for.”
―Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let Him In
“With This Changes Everything, her immersive and atmospheric new domestic thriller, Lisa Scottoline transports us from Tuscany to rural Pennsylvania and gives us characters to root for, a compelling mystery to solve, and a deeply-felt meditation on the meaning of motherhood and enduring women’s friendships. As always, Scottoline scores a bullseye. Bravissima!”
―Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times Bestselling Author of Road Trip
“When you open a book by Lisa Scottoline, you know the pacing will be brisk, the characters will be easy to love, and the twists will come fast and furious. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING delivers readers from Tuscany to a Pennsylvania teeming with dark secrets. Get ready for a wild ride!" ―Jason Rekulak, New York Times bestselling author of The Last One at the Wedding
“This Changes Everything has it all—terrific twists, a breathless pace and a whole lot of heart. This story of a grievous crime and an extraordinary friendship could make me gasp on one page and smile on the next. How rare, yet wonderful: A wildly entertaining thriller with real emotional power.”
―Ken Jaworowski, Edgar-Nominated Author of What About The Bodies
“The incomparable Lisa Scottoline delivers a breakneck thriller in which one woman risks everything for justice, as she’s pitted against a twisted, deadly conspiracy.”
―Dennis Tafoya, Critically-Acclaimed Author of Dope Thief
About the Author
Lisa Scottoline is the #1 bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author of 38 novels. She is the President of Mystery Writers of America and has been named a Thriller Master by International Thriller Writers. A former trial lawyer, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and its law school, where she taught Justice & Fiction, a course she developed. Lisa also co-wrote a series of humorous memoirs with her daughter, novelist Francesca Serritella. There are 30 million copies of Lisa’s books in print, and she is published in 35 countries. She lives on a Pennsylvania farm with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. WEBSITE
