Rachel Hawkins is easily one of the queens of suspense and mystery in the book world. Her new book The Heiress has a slightly different feel than many other earlier books, but still definitely a great read for me. This book focuses on the wealthy McTavish family and what ensues after family matriarch Ruby McTavish dies and her son and his wife come back home to deal with the estate. But as one would expect from a Rachel Hawkins book, things are not as they seem with the McTavishes!

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

This was my first book by Rachel Hawkins and I really enjoyed it. I love books with multiple POVs and this was done very well.

What I really liked is that I really didn’t see any of the twists in the story, so it kept me hooked because I was trying to see if I had figured out what was happening (I didn’t 🤣)

If you are looking for a thriller starring a REALLY messed-up family, I highly recommend this one!

When Ruby McTavish dies, she leaves all of her money and her estate to her adopted son, Camden. Camden does not want anything to do with Ashby House, but his wife, Jules wants it. They return to Ashby House when his uncle dies and being around the remaining “family” is no fun and reminds him why he wants nothing to do with any of them. It turns out, Camden knew some of Ruby’s secrets and he did not want them to get out. How far with the rest of the family go to find out those secrets?

From the minute I started this book, I was hooked. I love dual POV’s and how Ruby’s POV was her letters and some news articles. The McTavish family is so screwed up and I think really shows nature vs nurture when adoption comes into play. Reading about her kidnapping and then being reunited with her “family” was so intense. There were lots of twists, but with how much Jules kept wanting Ashby House, I knew she had to be somehow connect or just a gold digger. Overall, it was a great read and kept me very intrigued the whole time.

The Heiress releases on January 9th! Thanks to Rachel Hawkins , St. Martins Press and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

Yay for another winner from Rachel Hawkins! This book has it all -- family secrets, wealth, greed, and murder.

The various POVs are a fun way to structure the story. I especially enjoyed Jules' chapters as she is trying to find out more about her husband's previous life. There are also letters and newspaper articles. To be quite honest, those took me out of the story a little bit. I would have preferred to have the story told completely through the characters.

The author does a great job of carefully crafting surprises and twists. These really keep the pages turning! The McTavish family is pretty messed up, which of course makes for compelling drama.

All in all, I highly recommend this one for fans of thrillers/suspense.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary e-galley. All opinions in this review are 100% my own.

Super fast read, took me less than a day to read it. I liked how twisty the story was, I thought for sure I knew the final conclusion and then another twist happened. Definitely more of a gothic ish drama than thriller, but it holds people's attention.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

I certainly enjoyed this book. It was a good story, but had a slow start. I also would not call this a thriller per se. It’s more of a family drama. It’s very much like one season of a soap opera. The last part of the book is very engaging and full of twists. I liked this book way better than The Woman Upstairs.

This book featured morally gray characters. None of the characters in this book are really likable, even the main characters. Yet, I found myself rooting for them. The book certainly had an interesting cast of characters.

Now I’m excited to read more of Rachel Hawkins’ books. I love thrillers and I think this author could be a good fit for me.

I loved this book! I also loved the previous title by Rachel Hawkins so I knew this one would not disappoint. The Heiress had so many twists and turns you couldn't even imagine. The ending was great and I highly recommend if you are looking for a page turner with a crazy ending this one is a must read!

4.5 rounded to 5.

holy bananas this book was crazy!! Think Evelyn Hugo meets The Family Game (by Catherine Steadman)!! This book has greed, mystery, old family money, murder, and sooo many secrets! I loved it!!

This book has a fun, unique layout. We get current day POV from Camden and Jules, who are married. Camden being the adopted son of Ruby McTavish, the Heiress of the Ashby house and McTavish fortune. Jules, Camdens wife and her desire to know more about her husband's previous life. I love Jule's chapters because it was like she was talking to the reader directly, explaining everything to us. In between these chapters we get Ruby's POV in the form of letters...telling the story of her life and all the mystery behind it. There are also some newspaper articles thrown in there, which was super fun.

This book was full of surprises and mystery. The McTavish family was certainly easy to hate, and Hawkins did such a great job at that...and I had a lot of fun reading and uncoiling the mystery of Ruby and her insane life.

I had the privilege of listening to the audio which was great. Cam, Jules and Ruby each had their own narrator which I loved, and they all did a great job.

This is only my second book by Rachel Hawkins, but it definitely won't be my last. She has such a good way of mixing the past with the present in the most mysterious and unique ways. Definitely recommend if you love family drama, rich family mysteries, Mutiple POVs and of course a little murder.

This maybe my favorite Rachel Hawkins book! This book kept me intrigued from the beginning. The author did a great job telling the story from 3 different people. It really kept me guessing and I couldn't quite trust any of the characters. I always felt like each one was keeping something important. There were so many twists and turns that I didn't expect. That makes a book great in my opinion, when I can't guess the outcome. I'm always disappointed when I can guess what is going to happen. This book completely surprised me. The Heiress is one of the best psychological thrillers that I've read in a long time.

I devoured this book like a cake! I’m going to be honest, I’ve only read one other book by this author and I didn’t enjoy it. So, I went into this with low expectations. But, this was great!

I really loved all the twists and turns, some were predictable, but it didn’t take away from it IMO. The letters, the different POV, the articles. It was such a fun read and I highly recommend it to everyone!

I thought ruby was a BB, but Jules was even better!

Rachel Hawkins knows how to write suspense, twists, and characters you get invested in- even when you probably shouldn’t. The Heiress perfectly encapsulates what it is to be a prominent family in the South, and all the scandals that follow. The people in town spread gossip and rumors, never knowing what’s true or false, but always knowing it will be interesting. Just when you think this book has no more twists, here comes another one. Amazing read!

truly truly truly love everything Rachel Hawkins writes! I've had the privilege to read ARCs of her last two books and I'm already excited for the next.

In The Heiress you're taken along the journey of Jules and Camden who are living a simple and frugal life despite Camden having a fortune many can only dream of because of his shattered ties with his family and family home.,

In the book there is letters that go through time which are nicely done by Hawkins and always paired with articles that coincide with the story.

While her first two-three books were more thriller based this one is more drama based but I LOVED that aspect of it and love seeing it in books so I read this really quickly once starting it! Highly recommend as a 2024 read to kick off your year.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
I really enjoy all of Hawkins’ books, so was super excited to read her up-coming release! First, this is a SLLOOOOWWWW burn, and it definitely fits more into the domestic suspense/family drama genre rather than thriller/mystery. This is far from a fast pace, twisted, edge of your seat thriller. If you go in knowing that and not expecting an action packed thriller then you will definitely enjoy this one. I really loved the few twists that this one had, the sinister characters, the multiple POVs, dual timelines, the creepy Ashby mansion, and the gothic atmosphere & vibes. Think dysfunctional family drama featuring rich, unlikeable, and unreliable characters who are harboring dark twisted secrets🤫 This one is up there as one of my favorites by the author, aside from The Wife Upstairs. Hawkins definitely knows how to change it up between each of her books, as each is very different and unique from the rest, and I LOVE that she has the ability and the talent to do that! Overall, a fantastic read with an unforgettable ending that left me shook. Despite this being a definite slow burn, I had a hard time putting this book down! I was hooked from beginning to end. I am already anxiously awaiting Hawkins’ next book!

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞?
If you enjoy a slow burn domestic suspense full of characters who are dysfunctional, money hungry, and enjoy misbehaving and keeping sinister secrets-then check this one out!

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.75/5

Ruby McTavish dies and leaves everything to her adopted son, Camden. Cam returns home to deal with his family and the estate. Lots of drama, twists and turns, and secrets come to light.

This is a well-written book with well-developed characters. There are three POV: Ruby, Camden, and Jules (Camden's wife). I felt like this book kept me guessing. I was intrigued by the letters that Ruby left and what she had to say.

Rachel Hawkins has written another fantastic book; one that I couldn't put down! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read The Heiress!

I’ve enjoyed most of this author’s books, but I think this one might be her best. It does start off a bit slow, but once Ruby’s story starts to develop, I could not stop listening. Her character alone was so fun to follow as she deals with her murderous tendencies. The rest of the characters were well-developed and the plot got super twisty, especially at the end. I never imagined I could like a book about a disputed inheritance so much!

Note: this is less of a “thriller” and more of a family drama with suspense. A lot of reviewers said that they wished they had known what to expect and not knowing had negatively impacted their rating. My rating, however, reflects my evaluation of the book with this in mind.

This book was most reminiscent of Hawkins’ The Wife Upstairs. It’s rich with untrustworthy characters and has you wondering what to believe until the end.

3.5/5. I had no idea what to expect from this book, but was pleasantly surprised! I don’t read a ton of “thrillers” and I’d probably label this one thriller lite. The plot itself is pretty simple and the present day narrative is interspersed with articles and letters from Ruby. But with that, it’s hard to tell what characters know at any given time. The McTavish’s are all pretty awful and seem kind of one note. Is there absolutely no conscience in these people? Camden and Jules are definitely the most likable of all the characters, but even so I don’t know that I’d label them as absolutely likable. Overall, I could predict most things that happened, but was still pleasantly surprised a couple times. For some reason I wish the townspeople had played a little more into things though.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've really liked this author's other books, so I was thrilled to get an early look at "The Heiress" thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley. I jumped into it right away, both reading and listening. Quick heads up: it's not a thriller; it's more of a suspenseful family drama.

“The Heiress" is what you'd expect from Rachel Hawkins – a slow burn that’s focused on characters. In the past, I enjoyed this style because her stories got intense and had me hooked. But this time, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. There weren't those edge-of-my-seat or OMG moments. I don't regret reading it, but it's my least favorite of hers.

I love epistolary formats, and the letters crafted by Ruby were hands down my favorite parts of the book. The audiobook has a full cast and the narrators were on point! They captivated and held my attention, possibly making the audiobook better than reading it.

If you're into family dramas featuring dysfunctional families with a soap opera vibe, set in a Southern “old money” mansion with unlikable characters, "The Heiress" could be a good fit for you.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Spice Level: Fade to black
Language: High (full of f-bombs and more)

This is a crazy book of manipulation, lies, and cover-ups.

The letters from Ruby are haunting and horrible. I seriously wonder how someone gets to that point in their life. Sure, she grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth, but seriously, she's indescribable in her level of entitlement and such.

Everyone is pretty horrid in this book. The characterization is on point!

Did I feel sorry for anyone? Yes, a bit for a couple of them. It was an interesting choice to have Jules talk to us, the reader, directly. I was okay with it, though it was a tad jarring, because: 1. the whole novel is jarring. 2. It worked because the entire book is about sharing secrets. 3. It was infrequent enough to not become grating. 4. It added to the texture of the novel by the end. There are also interesting flashbacks and historical elements in this novel.

This is a twisty novel. I mean twisty!!! Periodically, I thought I knew what was happening. Nope. I was wrong other than obvious things until the very end! Yeah, there are clues, and maybe you'll catch on better than I did.

This isn't my normal fare in books, but I like to try new things. I think if you love thrillers, you're going to love it!

Happy reading!

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and author Rachel Hawkins for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Oh my, where do I start? I LOVE everything about this book! The mystery, suspense, how cunning some characters are, and what's weird about it is that there is some heart to it. It pulled my heartstrings despite of all the twists and turns that this book has told me. The author definitely delivered, it made me feel connected to the characters, including Ruby's, and as the story progresses, it made me love the entire book even more! The writing style was so spot on as I envision these characters. Love love love it! This book releases on January 9th, so please do yourselves a favor and grab this!