A twisty thriller that will leave you guessing up to the last minute. The McTavish family is extremely wealthy and very devious. Short and simple, right? It’s the tale of the have and have nots, and truly makes you ask how well you know those closest to you. The Heiress is Ruby McTavish and we discover her story, which starts out in tragedy but she becomes the heir to an immense fortune. Does that remove that tragedy? Perhaps. This is a great story - however, there really isn’t a character that I connected to and thus only a 4 star rating. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

“The Heiress" by Rachel Hawkins is an engaging blend of mystery and romance. Told through the eyes of three main characters Ruby, Camden, and Jules, they skillfully weave a tale of secrets, wealth, and death. Lots of death. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is filled with twists that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Hawkins' writing style, especially for Ruby, was both charming and suspenseful, making this novel a delightful and thrilling read for fans of historical fiction with a touch of romance and a delicate push of thrilling death.

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Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC.

This book was told from three view points with one view point being if Evelyn Hugo was a serial killer. Sounds intriguing, but ultimately it all fell flat for me. The twists I found expected and I saw the ending coming. If you’re in the market for a fast paced thriller this is enjoyable enough.
Thank you NetGalley and St.
Martin's Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this down! If I hadn’t started this the week before Christmas, I probably could have finished it much sooner.

Murder, greed, family drama; this book had it all. There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and each character had secrets they were hiding. It reminded me of a much darker version of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. There were some parts I wanted more details about, especially towards the end, but overall it was a fantastic book!

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy!

📕I did not expect that ending. Ruby, you freaky rich lady! What a plan you devised! I should have known better: when a woman with such means decides to adopt a child, even if it’s out of spite, she definitely would have an ulterior motive
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📗Ruby was kidnapped when she was a little kid, but as a member of a founding family of the town people did anything and everything to find her. She was the eldest and she was the rightful heir. After her parents’ passing, she further developed the town and Tavistock name. Only thing she was missing was a child
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📘Such a powerful telling of an heartbreaking story of search for justice! I don’t know if I agree with the way Ruby is looking for justice but also I understand why she did what she did. I’m happy to report that I lost hours of sleep to finish this

A spooky mansion, family drama and unreliable characters? Sign me up! This book was definitely a little bit of a slow burn, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t completely invested and rapidly turning pages to get answers. I loved the multiple POVs and how Ruby’s POV was through letters that took place in the past. It was through these different POVs that I kept doubting myself as every chapter had me questioning everyone. The ending was twisty and wrapped every loose end up perfectly. I definitely recommend!

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on January 9, 2024.

Ruby McTavish, a four-time widow and the richest woman in North Carolina, died 10 years ago and left her estate to her adopted son, Camden. Cam wants nothing to do with the money or the house in the Blue Ridge mountains. For the past 10 years, Cam has been living in California, trying to put Ashby House and the McTavishes behind him. After his uncle’s death, Cam and his wife, Jules, are summoned back to Ashby House where they have to face Cam’s hateful and bitter aunt and cousins. He’s quickly reminded why he left, and is determined to leave as soon as possible. Jules, however, has other ideas. She’s fallen in love with Ashby House and wants Cam to take his rightful place as head of the McTavishes.

This is my third Rachel Hawkins novel, and I’m a big fan. This is my favorite of hers so far. It’s told from the perspective of three characters: Ruby, Cam, and Jules. Ruby, since she passed away 10 years earlier, tells her life story through epistolary chapters. And she spills so much tea! I couldn’t put this book down. There were many twists and turns, but it never felt like too much. I’m already read for my next Rachel Hawkins novel.

Rachel does it again! I actually loved Reckless Girls & The Villa but I didn’t feel the same intrigue, page turning, anticipation with those that I felt with The Wife Upstairs. This is that followup. It became a fast pace, page turning story that I quickly couldn’t put down.

The TWISTS! Yes, multiple twists this story had I wasn’t expecting at all. The murders, and ill will this family is so easily willing to conduct is both stomach churning & makes you so uneasy. Seeing who the letters were actually written to spilling all Rubys secrets… I absolutely didn’t see that coming. I didn’t at all think Jules was involved in any of it the way she was, but was so glad that the story of her and Cam was truth. I wasn’t expecting the fire either! What a way to end the story!!!

I know I’m suppose to include a synopsis but you can read that on your own. I like to include my own insights, aspects that spoke to me, portions of the story that kept me intrigued & committed to the story. In this case I was FULLY committed from the first pages!

This story in whole is a multiple storyline. Told in 3 different characters views. Each character is well developed, the portions of their stories flow seamlessly while all eventually tying together. It combines the main character Rubys story in her own words retelling her journey, sharing her truths of her history & family, while unveiling the secrets that become part of the story in the current moment of Jules & Cam.

I loved that the main character(Ruby), proves to be a strong (though a little psychotic) independent woman who doesn’t allow a man to slow her down. Although it’s always at their peril when they do.

If you love crime fiction, psychological thrillers this is for you!!!

Huge thank you to St. Martins Press & NetGalley for this copy in return for my honest review!

this book was addicting good, flipping between jules’, camden’s, and ruby’s perspectives in the now and then. oh it was so messy and twisty i couldn’t put it down. camden is the heir to his mother, ruby’s, massive fortune and massive but what comes with it is years of family hatred and disdain. when camden is forced to confront the family he left, a whole host of secrets are unraveled. hawkin’s intertwined her story so well leaving me rereading pages to put the whole story together!

I thought this was a great read. It was a little predictable at times, but I enjoyed the storyline. This was all about a greedy/twisty/wealthy family and the fight for control over inheritance of a large estate. I enjoyed the shift between the past and present timelines. This story also shifted perspectives which I also thought was nice. This was a great mystery/thriller and unlike others I have read previously in this genre.

This is probably my favorite Rachel Hawkins book to date.

I loved the twists and turn. And the other turns.

Hawkins does a great job of keeping you interested from the very beginning, making you dislike the characters you should dislike. And like the characters you should.

It’s dark. Deeply twisted. And set in one of my favorite places on earth, Asheville, NC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of The Heiress via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Although thrillers are not my usual genre, I loved Hawkins’ “The Villa” and was excited to see this new release. It certainly did not disappoint! Anyone who is a fan of family dramas, alternating POVs, and murder mysteries will love this one. I especially enjoyed the North Carolina setting and allusions to the Biltmore! Would recommend.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is a very highly recommended mystery with Gothic overtones and oh-so-many secrets.

Jules and Camden McTavish met and married in California and are now happily living a simple life in Colorado where he is an English Teacher and she is working in a living history museum. When his uncle dies an email from his cousin brings Camden and Jules back to his mother's estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Ashby House. Camden was the sole heir to his mother's fortune, so he owns the estate and has control of all the money, something his great aunt and cousins resent. Camden's mother, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore had quite a background. She was kidnapped as a child and then a widow four times. It has been ten years since Camden left and now he and Jules are back in the mire of secrets, resentment, greed, and, perhaps, danger.

The writing is skillful and perfectly paced to hold your attention throughout this mystery/psychological thriller. The narrative unfolds through chapters from the three distinct points-of-view of Camden, Jules, and Ruby. Camden knows the scheming and animosity that awaits his return to Ashby House. Jules is secretly anxious for them to live an easier life in a beautiful setting. Ruby's story is told through letters she is writing to someone in which she is honestly sharing her life's story, as well as clips from news stories. Hawkins does an excellent job using the multiple viewpoints to propel the plot forward as well as tell the backstory.

The characters are well drawn and interesting. Camden and Jules are sympathetic, but they have their secrets along with everyone else. Everyone has their own secrets, thoughts, and schemes that could potentially change everything. The whole McTavish gang at Ashby House are despicable, entitled, and greedy. You will wonder why Camden doesn't just evict them. And there are so many little twists, questions, and secrets from the past that have accumulated, many of which are shared in the honest and sometimes humorous letters Ruby writes. The letters work with the current situation to help create the tension that rises with each page. The ending is surprising, inventive, and perfect. 4.5 rounded up

Disclosure: My complimentary review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.
The review will also be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I LOVE a well-thought-out, tasteful, and slow-burn mystery. Over the past couple of years, I feel like there's been a real push for mysteries to try to be as shocking as possible but then the reveal doesn't always make the most sense or it is completely out of left field. Now, I'm not saying this one was super predictable, but the ending also made sense and there were small hints toward it throughout the novel.

The lore that this author has created around Ashby House is so intriguing. It gave m similar vibes to Clue and an Agatha Christie novel. I love an extravagant setting where each character is suspicious and each room seems to hold a mystery. If Rian Johnson ever wanted to create a Knives Out adaptation of this book, I would throw my money at him immediately!

Some other things I loved about this book are the use of letters to inform the reader of past events and the commentary on biological family versus chosen family.

This book had everything! Amazing writing, fantastic characters and voices, drama, scandal, twists and turns! The author did a great job giving each character their own voice, but it all flowed so well together it was easy to jump between the different perspectives. I loved the little moments where Ruby swore she would comment about how she shouldn’t. I absolutely LOVED the twists near the end. It all came together perfectly and I wish I could have seen it coming, but it made it even better that I didn’t. Rachel Hawkins may be my new favorite author!

This was such a good book, really got me out of my reading slump. I love the thrill, the family drama, the mysteries, the twist! I have to say, this is my favorite Rachel Hawkins book by far. I love the present to the flashbacks that was done beautifully and kept me engaged. Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy!

The Heiress is full of twists and turns, red herrings , family secrets, murder, nasty people ( love that) and an ending you wont see coming.

Rachel Hawkins has written a very cleverly plotted story that will take you by surprise as it slowly gets you hooked on Cam and Jules story as he reluctantly returns home to a family he would just rather forget.

The story is told in different POV's and just when you think you have it all figured out another curve ball is thrown the reader's way.

I don't want to say much more in case I say too much but I will say get your copy and add it to the top of your TBR pile and settle in for a chillingly good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the privilege to read and review The Heiress.

I have received an ARC via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I have discovered why I didn't like this thriller at first! It isn't a thriller...it's a soap opera! Which is perfectly fine. Once I adjusted my expectations of what I was reading I enjoyed it a lot more.

It's like if "Dallas" was trying to be that kind of retro paperback that always seemed to a feature a woman running away from a castle on the front cover. Generations of a gross family with plot twists that keep on coming...seriously. Every new chapter seemed to have at least one, if not multiple new scandalous developments. I'm all for keeping the reader on their toes, but this made me just sit back and go "for real, though?" about halfway through. The plot just keeps getting progressively loonier and loonier.

So, if you're looking for a sophisticated, nuanced thriller that gives you chills...you may be happier looking elsewhere. If you're looking for pseudo-gothic camp with a barrage of plot twists that keep you wondering what on earth could possibly happen next, look no further!

Gifted copy provided by St. Martians Press and Netgalley.

I read The Villa last year and I wasn’t sure if The Heiress would be as good. I can tell you that I enjoyed it more. It was better and I can’t wait to read what Rachel writes next.

At first I wasn’t so sure about the duel pov. But as the book and story progressed I was hooked. There was a lot of hints and foreshadowing that I think worked well in this book. Did I see some of the twists and reveals coming? Yes. Did I still enjoy them? Yes.

I enjoyed the layered story and the way that they all weaved together at the end. I found Rubys letters really interesting the first part of the book and honestly they were the thing to keep me hooked.

If you want dynamic characters, layered with murder, plot twists, soaking with family drama spanning generations, pick this book up.

As with all of Rachel Hawkins's books, I enjoyed this a lot. Fast-paced, twisty mystery that draws you in and doesn't let go. I had so much fun reading this book and was sad when it ended. Thankfully she writes fast so hopefully we'll have something fun to read soon.
I will be recommending this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!