I absolutely LOVED Reckless Girls. The Villa was great. The Wife Upstairs was okay, but not quite on par with the other two for me. The same goes for The Heiress; it is just not Hawkins' strongest book, to me. There were some interesting twists but I figured out who Jules was pretty quickly, having read Hawkins' other novels, and many in this genre in general.

To sum it up in one sentence: unlikeable rich people doing unlikeable rich people shit.

Meaning - lots of secrets and lies and backstabbing to get their hands on the family fortune.

Ruby McTavish Woodward Miller Kenmore was the richest woman in North Carolina when she died. Her life was practically out of a movie - kidnapped as a young girl, a widow many times over (to the point the townspeople started calling her Mrs. Killmore), a beautiful family estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and ruling over the tiny, nearby town of Tavistock. With her death, the property and fortune went to her adopted son, Camden, leaving the rest of the family with nothing except the agreement that they can live in the sprawling home.

Cam, however, wants nothing to do with the money or any of his remaining family and we quickly find out why. He's made a life for himself over halfway across the country in Colorado, is married to a woman named Jules, and spends his days as an English teacher.

Unfortunately for Cam, his uncle's death leads to him being summoned back home to Ashby House, the elegant, breathtaking home where he was raised. Jules is enthralled immediately and is determined to make sure Cam claims every last cent of his fortune.

The story is told in three perspectives: Cam, Jules, and Ruby (via letters she wrote before she passed). There is also some mixed media, which I am always on the fence about. Here the author chose to tell parts of the story through magazine and newspaper articles related to the family and I would say it worked for the most part.

Given the set-up, I was hoping for something at least a little gothic-y, only because the family home is so central to the story and Cam being called back to Ashby was the starting point of the story. I love when the atmosphere makes the house almost a character in itself, but that did not happen here. I also don't think it was the author's intention anyway, as it's not gothic-y at all. That's just my personal preference.

As the truth is slowly revealed through Ruby's letters, there seem to be more questions than answers. More questions arise about Ruby's childhood, and the kidnapping that made her so famous. Then, there are the ever-present four dead husbands - surely all four could not have ben accidents or natural causes? Then there is the question of Camden himself. Why did Ruby choose to adopt him, after all was said and done? Ruby's relatives certainly see him as an obstacle. They want that fortune and some would do anything to get it.

As far as this type of mystery/thriller goes, it's not bad. It's just the weakest of all Hawkins' work, I feel like. The story was suspenseful even when I had things sort of worked out, because it's always fun to see how wrong or right you are. I just did not feel nearly as wrapped up in this one as I did Reckless Girls or The Villa.

Even so, I read it in a few hours, because I do like this author's work and will continue to read future her books.

Recommended.

This was exactly what I was hoping for! ALL the drama and the secrets this family was messyyyy! The first half of the book had me hooked with the letters and the second half was even better! The twists kept coming and I truly loved it!

3.75 Stars! Nothing like the death of a rich family member to start unraveling family ties and connections.I enjoyed the twists and the story, but it took me a while to get into the storyline. It reads like a soap opera, but I liked that and it fit for the narrative. The past and present jumps can sometimes be a little much for me, but worked well in The Heiress. Everyone has something to hide, and as the story progresses, I was kept on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next!

This is by far my favorite Rachel Hawkins book I have read by far. Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the others, but The Heiress caught me from the first sentence.
In the Blue Ridge mountains sets a mansion, which holds many secrets. Included in these are a missing child, a found child and back stabbing relatives and murder.
Is she who she says she is, was it suicide or murder. As I used to say in my school book reports, you’ll have to read the book to find out!

Someone described The Heiress as a cross between The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Knives Out, and that was spot on!

There are several layers of mystery spanning decades, and the family drama never lets up (in a good way!). One of my favorite aspects of this book was that it kept me guessing, but in very low-stakes ways, making it enjoyable and stress-free to read.

When all was said and done, I almost felt like Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was an old family friend. One who had lived 1,000 lives and always had a new story to tell.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read. All opinions are my own.

4 out of 5 stars.

A darkly glamorous mystery full of old family money, dangerous secrets, and unexpected twists. Stylish, smart, and satisfyingly twisty. Hawkins is always a must read for me!

This book was so good! I read it in one sitting and the ending had my jaw DROPPED! Rachel Hawkins is an author who I now look forward to what they come out with.

3.5 ⭐️ I thought this was a fun thriller! Rich people behaving badly with deep dark secrets, what more can you ask for! I really enjoyed the writing style, it felt like I was being spoken directly to both in the present and with Ruby’s letters, and I enjoyed the newspaper articles at the end of each chapter! I thought it was a fun way to really be immersed into the story. I didn’t see the ending coming, and I appreciated how everything really made sense in the end! It was a very satisfying reveal!

My biggest complain has more to do with the audiobook than the story itself (I did both an eread and audio read). The narrator for Camden was the wronnnng choice. Cam is a 30-something year old boy, and the narrator was easily a 50+ year old man… it didn’t make sense to have this specific narrator. With that said, the Jules and Ruby narrators were excellent.

Rating: 3.5/5

This was an interesting one! And it had me intrigued from the very start. And when I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The premise is unique. We follow a wealthy family in North Carolina, and the head of the household, Ruby, is the most notorious, a child kidnapping victim and the widow of four husbands. And when she dies, she leaves her entire fortune and estate to her adopted son. However, he wants nothing to do with it. And instead chooses to live a simple life in Colorado. Now, ten years later, he decides to return home, if only to sort the estate, which is in desperate need of repairs. But being back there among family again, the question of inheritance comes to light, along with many other secrets this family has held on to.

Being told through the perspective of Ruby’s adoptive son, Camden, his wife Jules, and letters from Ruby and new articles of the Tavistock family over the years, we’re told the story of this family. I honestly loved the letters from Ruby the most. These were my favorite parts and what I couldn’t wait to get back to whenever we weren’t reading one of her letters. I loved learning about her story and what her life was really like, and oh, the secrets she carried.

As I made my through, I couldn’t help but want to know more. But the further I got, the less shocked I became with each secret that was uncovered. Some of them, I guessed from the start, and the others I didn’t, but even the ones I didn’t predict, they didn’t really surprise me.

The entire first half kept me on my toes, mostly because of Ruby. Her stories kept me invested. But as her story was coming to an end and we focused more on the current timeline with Camden and the house, I felt myself getting bored. I still wanted to know how things were gonna play out, but like I said at the end, the twists just weren’t very shocking.

I still found this to be enjoyable. I was just hoping for a more shocking reveal. I think the biggest “reveal” was one I had guessed from the start, so it just made this fall a bit flat for me in the end.

But if you enjoy mystery thrillers set around families and lots of family drama, you might enjoy this one too!

I love that The Heiress is told from three different perspectives. It was a fun, page-turning read and I enjoyed it. This is the second Rachel Hawkins novel that I've read, but it certainly will not be the last, and this one makes me want to go and read more of her writing.

Fun, twisty thriller filled with old world money family drama! I wasn’t a fan of the Ruby character and her storyline was lost to me at times. But I loved Cam & Jules’ storyline. Somewhat predictable but entertaining nonetheless!

Like others have mentioned this book is great if you like Hawkins' other books. There was a nice tie-in to her previous books. The mystery was good, the plot twists shocking, and of course the book was bingeable.

Rachel Hawkins is one of my auto-buy authors so I was really excited to receive an ARC of The Heiress! This novel follows Camden and Jules as they travel to North Carolina after the death of Camden’s uncle. Camden is the adopted child of a wealthy, notorious local and he inherited her house but didn’t want anything to do with it so left town a decade ago. Jules goes into the trip thinking that Camden should reclaim his inheritance.

The characters in this were pretty extreme, almost caricatures of people. And I didn’t really love Jules and Camden either. I think I would have like this more if they were a little more two dimensional. That being said, the plot was interesting and I did really enjoy the format (Ruby’s chapters were better than the present day timeline, in my opinion. Hawkins always writes strong dialogue. Witty and humorous. 3.5 stars for me.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

I've procrastinated writing this review, because I read this book right before I joined the boycott. Organizations and the people that support them should be held accountable when hateful rhetoric is shared and efforts put forth to counter the harm done. And marginalized voices should be uplifted, supported, and protected.

I had been wanting to give this author a try after hearing mixed reviews for her other thrillers. I love struggling actors and wealthy widows and mysterious deaths. I really enjoyed this one. I loved learning Ruby's backstory, and Jules was a fun character. The pacing and the multiple perspectives worked well. The ending threw in some surprises, but it wasn't shocking.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was entertaining enough. Not my favorite of this authors. But it was ok!

For those who appreciate tales of dark family dynamics and suspenseful narratives, The Heiress is a must-read. I still think about this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I kept saying “just one more chapter" because I was eager to find out what would happen next. There were many twists. I loved it! The one character who had me wondering what her alterer motive was in this story was Jules. I didn't know if she had alterier motive or if that was just who she was as a person. I knew the rest of the family were twisted.
I loved the POV from Ruby when she was writing the letters. I loved discovering what happened to all of her ex husbands. She was a pretty twisted lady. And then finding out the story about the kidnapping. Mouth hanging open shocked!
This might be my favorite book by Rachel to date!

Unfortunately, this is the first book by this author I haven't at least liked if not loved! I found this very boring. I almost DNF'd it but really wanted to stick with it and... I can't say it was worth it. I found Ruby compelling but everything else just felt silly.

Rachel Hawkins has become an auto-read thriller writer for me — which is very rare! Like her other books, I found this hard to put down and it kept me guessing!

A solid domestic family drama with a pinch of thriller from the talented Rachel Hawkins. I love a book that uses letters to build and enhance the storyline so it gets extra points for that. All in all it was entertaining and likeable at the time of reading but looking back on it a few months down the road it was in all honesty not very memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.