This has been my favorite Rachel Hawkins book so far. I really enjoyed this story and was surprised by the twists. Reminded me of Evelyn Hugo but with a mystery.

Camden McTavish grew up in Tavistock, a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, as the adopted child of Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore (yes, I had to cut and paste that). She is wealthy and powerful, living in a mansion high above the town.

Cam gets as far away as possible as fast as he can, never to return – at least not until he is summoned there after the death of his Uncle because he has been named in the will.

He is happy with his life as a schoolteacher in Colorado, but his wife is considerably more interested in the inheritance.

The Heiress is a turducken of a mystery with unanswered questions at every turn. How did so many of Ruby’s husbands die? Why did she adopt Cam? Why is he determined to reject his inheritance? Do his cousins have a rightful claim?

I recommend The Heiress to fans of thrillers or domestic suspense.

I received this Advanced Reader Copy of The Heiress from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book! Rachel Hawkins paints a beautiful story set in the backdrop of an intense family with a lot of history.

What a ride this one was! THE HEIRESS was like riding a rollercoaster, just when you think you know what’s happening you get yanked in a different direction. Fast paced and unexpected, this one will keep its grip on you long after you finish it.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.

Loved this book by Rachel Hawkins. Twists and turns but really unfortunate that there was not one likeable character. Everyone was out for themselves.

I’m a huge fan of Rachel Hawkins latest novels. They provide a sense of escapism into a world where you can’t trust anyone and the twists and turns are abundant. The Heiress is no different. If you’ve enjoyed any of her previous books, you’ll like this one too.

Perfectly paced, gothic family drama full of wild twists and turns. Might be Hawkin's best to date. Just a wild ride of a book that will have you thinking about it after you put it down. Recommended for fans of Ruth Ware.

Very twisty story. Wasn’t quite sure how it was going to end. Well developed characters as always with Rachel’s books. Good read.

I love Rachel Hawkins and her story telling so I was so excited about this release! I took a little reading hiatus after having a baby but I’m back and I loved this novel!

Hawkins delivers a compelling blend of gothic suspense and family drama in The Heiress. Ruby McTavish’s legacy, with its dark twists and enigmatic allure, kept me hooked as Camden and Jules navigate the haunting ties of inheritance and family secrets. The novel’s atmospheric setting and layered characters make for an engrossing read, unraveling mysteries that linger long after the last page!

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC of the Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. To be honest, I struggled a bit to get through this one. The ending made it an “OK” book for me. This one follows the inner lives and secrets of a rich family - Camden is now marrying Jules, a woman who is looking to escape her own past. They find themselves at Ashby House, and old family secrets come back to surface.

Great writing by Hawkins, but I feel like this plot continues to be seen in the thriller realm.

This is a book that I literally devoured in two sittings. Told with a keen eye for detail and in a writing style that will transport you, Hawkins' The Heiress is a book that will make you rethink your next family gathering and cause you to keep a keen eye on you family...because this book shows that you never really know the whole story of what motivates the people around you. I loved the way the storylines converged and showed different aspects of the moments as a reader I thought I knew.

One sentence review: This is story of twists and turns that has the best gothic feel that would make Wilkie Collins proud...if dysfunctional families, backstabbing and conveying relatives, and plot twists around every corner make your fingers itch to open a cover, this is a book you don't want to miss.

Absolutely not. I was giving this author another chance after her last few and I am sorry I did. I don't mean to sound harsh but this book was just not for. I definitely will say this author is not a me author.

I had so much fun with this! The family drama and the secrets were so entertaining. I really enjoyed watching how everything was revealed throughout the story. It was done in a way where I always needed to know what was going on, the pieces were slowly put together in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat for more answers. I will continue to read from this author!

I'm picky when it comes to thrillers. I want something that keeps me guessing and prompts me to continue turning those pages as plot twists unfurl in gasp-worthy glory. The Heiress wasn't quite that.

If someone is looking for a story full of rich people family drama, this might hit better for them. For me, the most intriguing parts were the letters explaining the past of the dearly departed woman at the center of the story. As the truth of one husband after another was revealed, I was pulled deeper into the intrigue of that life lived... but the sudden veering plot twists in those final chapters just felt a bit too forced for my liking after the slow pace of the rest of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins was an enthralling journey into the dark underbelly of family legacy and hidden truths. Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Ashby House in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the novel masterfully intertwines suspense, complex characters, and a haunting setting.

The story centers on Camden McTavish, the adopted son of the enigmatic Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore—a woman notorious for her wealth, a mysterious childhood kidnapping, and the untimely deaths of her four husbands. After distancing himself from the McTavish legacy for a decade, Cam is drawn back to Ashby House following his uncle’s death, accompanied by his wife, Jules. As they navigate the tensions with the remaining family members, long-buried secrets begin to surface, challenging their perceptions and threatening their safety.

Hawkins’ writing is both evocative and gripping, capturing the essence of Southern Gothic storytelling. The alternating narratives between Cam, Jules, and Ruby’s letters provide a multifaceted perspective, gradually unraveling the complex web of deceit and ambition that defines the McTavish family. The characters are richly developed, each harboring their own secrets and motivations, making the unfolding drama all the more compelling.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was GOOD!

I wound up alternating between the e-book version and the audiobook, and I have to say, the narrators for each section are amazing, especially the one who reads Ruby's letters (which were my favorite part of the book as a whole). The blend of the past (in the form of newspaper/magazine articles over the course of Ruby's life and then the letters she was writing later on) and the present (from both Jules's and Cam's perspectives) was done quite well, and it really kept me engaged throughout the entire book. There were some things that I figured out ahead of time, but even when they were finally revealed, it was still done in such a way that I actually gasped a couple times.

This is my first book by this author, and it will most definitely not be my last. Definitely recommend!

4.5 stars

**I received a free copy from NetGalley and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and comments contained within are my own.**

I love Rachel Hawkins so this was a no brainer for me! I am incredibly grateful for the ARC and I think The Heiress might just be the best yet from Hawkins.

I loved this, gothic suspense, dysfunctional family hoopla and complicated relationships. It was a fun twisty read. I will say story structure (alternating chapters, letters woven in etc) was done really well sometimes I can find that too distracting but this was handled deftly.

I might need to do a re read!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader's copy of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. This is my third read from this author and I've enjoyed all her works. This book starts off a bit slow but I urge you to push on -- it gets faster and more convoluted. I enjoyed it - who doesn't love a beautiful mysterious estate? If you're looking for a fun book with some twists and turns, pick this up!

The Heiress fits the genre of Southern Gothic storytelling perfectly: “The stories often focus on grotesque themes. While it may include supernatural elements, it mainly focuses on damaged, even delusional, characters.” It can be challenging to care for the characters that populate Southern Gothics. They’re often cruel to others, reflecting the cruelty that was inflicted on them in their childhoods. That’s a hallmark of a multi-generational sagas. Readers witness abhorrent behavior; they absorb far too many secrets: these are tropes that wind their way through the decades.

Every self-respecting Southern Gothic requires an unforgettable matriarch or patriarch, and The Heiress doesn’t disappoint. Meet Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. She ruled “the tiny town of Tavistock,” from her fabled estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Add up all those last names—Ruby, “North Carolina’s richest woman,” was widowed four times. Ruby is reputed to have killed her husbands—she certainly benefited from their deaths financially. When Ruby died in April 2013, newspapers harkened back to something that happened to her as child of barely three. Surrounded by her family, accompanied by her nanny, Ruby disappeared during a “picnic in the mountains surrounding the McTavish home, Ashby House.”

At this time, the Tavistock County Sheriff’s Department says they have “no reason to suspect criminal activity” involved with the child’s disappearance, but Mr. McTavish is among the wealthiest men in the state of North Carolina, and as such, kidnapping has not been conclusively ruled out.



THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, MONDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 13, 1943

Ruby’s father offered a huge reward for his daughter’s return, and he also hired a private detective to keep on looking, after traditional police methods proved unsuccessful. The detective “found the child alive and well, living in Spanish Fort, Alabama, with a family by the name of Darnell, eight months after she first disappeared.” Unsurprisingly, after Ruby’s return, some folks didn’t believe it was really her. This was before the days of DNA testing. Ruby grows up—she’s a gorgeous heiress—and she marries Duke Callahan, only to lose him “to a shooting on their Paris honeymoon.” Number two, electrocuted by accident at Ashby House, “the third to a lingering illness, and the last, Roddy Kenmore, to a boating mishap.” It is any wonder that she was colloquially and very discreetly referred to as “Mrs. Kill-more?” Four marriages is all she wrote—Ruby McTavish (she took up her maiden name) became a philanthropist, “mostly involving disadvantaged youth.” Her obituary in THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES April 2, 2013, stated that, “It was through this work that she met and eventually adopted her only child, a young boy she named Camden, who, with her death, becomes sole heir to a fortune rumored to be in the high eight figures.”

Camden couldn’t leave Ashby House fast enough: he’s not interested in the mansion or the money or his surviving relatives. He moves to Colorado, works as an English teacher, eschewing the trappings of his privileged upbringing. Will it be possible for him to walk away from his inheritance? Camden meets and marries a young woman he meets in a bar—he and Jules live under the radar, no conspicuous consumption.

Ten years later his uncle dies, and his cousin Ben emails. It seems that Camden’s decision to ignore his inheritance has stymied life at Ashby House. Not only is it in desperate need of repair, the reputation of the McTavish name, which “used to mean something—used to make shit happen,” is greatly tarnished. Ben wants things on the mountain fixed.

And none of that can happen until we untangle the mess Ruby left us with the damn will.



I’ll understand if you don’t answer this, but like I said, I had to try. I know we haven’t ever been close, and I hate that Nana Nelle and Ruby spent so much time pitting us against each other, but we’re not teenagers anymore, Cam. Come home, back to Ashby, and let’s get this shit squared away once and for all.



Sincerely,

Ben

Jules gently but persuasively convinces Camden to return. Everything he left behind is there waiting for him. The reader constantly questions the veracity of what they’re reading—who’s lying, who’s shading the truth, who can be believed? Strange, dangerous things start to occur at Ashby House—long buried secrets emerge. Could Camden and Jules be in danger? Always in the background, what caused Camden to leave and stay away for ten years?

Readers can take nothing or no one at face value—clear your reading schedule, hold on tight, and enjoy the twists and turns.