As an audiobook, I loved the ensemble cast! Each of the voice actors was a perfect representation of the three different points of view. This book, in my opinion, was impossible to put down and completely engrossing for about 3/4 of it, and then the last 1/4 or so got a little outlandish, and I found that even the marginally likable characters became unlikable, which was a bummer. Still, worth a read!

A twisty, layered domestic drama full of family secrets, murder and revenge told from multiple POVs and dual timelines. This was great on audio and definitely one of my new favs from Rachel Hawkins, Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! Recommended for fans of stories about rich people behaving badly and complicated inheritance stories.

Wow! I really got sucked into this one HARD! The story was absolutely addictive with so much drama, twists and turns - you won't know what hit you! I loved the feel of this with it tragic family story but it wasn't just that - it was so much more! An absolutely fantastic thriller sure to leave you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

WOW! Absolutely phenomenal! Rachel Hawkins is a must read suspense and mystery author! And this one should not be missed!

Ruby McTavish was kidnapped as a baby and returned shortly after. In her adult years, she was plagued with four husbands that passed away and family turmoil that followed her. Because Ruby was given the family fortune and the other siblings and grandchildren were left out.

Now, Ruby has passed and Cam has always avoided the responsibility of the house and family drama. However, the family says the house needs repairs and Cam holds the purse strings but the repairs can't wait.

I love that this is told from both Cam and Jules POV. It gives an outside view of the family, from Jules, but also a look into the brutal backstabbing maneuvering from Cam's POV. There are also letters from Ruby, so we get to know her through her own words. We also see newspaper articles giving us a peek from the outside world into this family. It was such fun twist to read all the salacious details and it definitely enhanced the story.

And what a story! The style keeps you guessing and it keeps the tension tight. I kept making assumptions and leaps, each chapter leaving me changing my mind and leaping to another idea. It's so well paced, and Ruby is perfect parts funny witty and cunning. This was such a deliciously dark read. I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Everyone needs to move this book to the top of their TBR list! I can’t believe I waited so long to actually dive into it. I couldn’t put it down! In my opinion, this is Rachel Hawkins best work. I loved the Wife Upstairs, but the rest of her books after that were not as enjoyable or interesting.

The Heiress is a fast paced gripping novel about the McTavish family and the secrets they hide behind closed doors of the Ashby house, a 15 bedroom mansion in North Carolina. The book is broken down into three different points of views. These points of views are of Camden: the adopted son of Ruby Mctavish, Jules: the wife of Camden, and letters from the voice of Ruby Mctavish, the former head of Ashby house.

Ruby Mctavish passes away and leaves Ashby house to Camden even though he is not a true McTavish and wants nothing to do with the family or fortune. He went through great lengths to stay away from that place so why does Ruby give it to him? This stirs up a lot of drama and emotions in Ashby house since the other living McTavish relatives still reside in the mansion. Camden reluctantly goes back to Ashby house with his wife to settle things but gets trapped in all of the family’s secrets and lies. Boy was it a wild ride!

Ruby by far was my favorite character. She lived such an interesting life and was such a crazy B. She reminded me a lot of Evelyn Hugo, the character created by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC. It was a great book!

✨ARC Review✨

The Heiress
Rachel Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: January 9, 2024

I’ve been hearing how amazing this book was all over my feed lately. So of course this had to be my next read, AND It did not disappoint!

I couldn’t put this one down. If you’ve been putting it off here is your sign to go pick it up. It reminded me of Taylor Jenkins Reids books so if you’re a fan of her I’d recommend this book to you!
_________________________________________________
This was easily a 5 star read for me if you couldn’t tell. I loved that it kept me guessing, I loved the family drama, I loved the mystery and I loved Cam & Jules.

Camden is an heir to a fortune he doesn’t want because of all the drama that is attached to it. His mother who passed away 10 years prior was the infamous Ruby McTavish. Who was kidnapped when she was 3 and found almost a year later living with her kidnappers family. I love the way Ruby’s story unfolds alongside Cam & Jules throughout the book. The dual timeline was a perfect way to keep the reader coming back for more.

While I thought I had a few things figured out in this book there were other twists and turns waiting for me. I really enjoyed this and will be going back to check out her other books.

I’m genuinely sad it’s over and wish it was longer.

Read if you like:
💚Twists and turns
✨Family Drama
💚Billionaire mystery
✨Dual Timelines
💚Multiple POVs

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: A very "readable" twisty mystery where no one is quite who they seem. A couple return to the man's ancestral home--an extremely large house in the mountains of North Carolina. There are many separate plot lines involving several generations and an abducted child, a widow with four dead husbands and a palatial estate in North Carolina and the issue of the rightful heirs. I found this an engaging mystery and an enjoyable read. Characters were well drawn and complex.

Is evil a product of nature or nurture?

It only took 20 pages for me to know that this soon-to-be released novel has all the characteristics of a great mystery/thriller. Family secrets, money, greed, lies, murder, jealousy…

Camden and Jules are in their late 20s and have been married for nearly a decade. They are deeply in love, and have been living a simple life out west. Until they receive notice that Camden’s uncle has passed away, and his family needs him to come home to tend to the family’s estate in North Carolina. Camden wants nothing to do with Ashby House or the millions of dollars he inherited from his mother 10 years prior, but a sense of obligation pushes him to go. Jules on the other hand would love nothing more than to take over what is rightfully Camden’s. But everyone has ulterior motives and everyone has secrets, even Jules.

The truth behind the secrets and myths of the dysfunctional McTavish family is revealed through three POV – Camden, Jules, and his late mother through letters she wrote just before she passed. The story is fast-paced, suspenseful, twisted, shocking, and engrossing. I read this in a matter of a few days and stayed up late to finish it because I just had to know the ending.

This novel will be released January 9, 2024. If you love mystery/suspense novels about dysfunctional families and murder, then I highly recommend it!

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Another hit book by Rachel Hawkins! Kept me interested from the get go!

Adopted son, Cam, rejects his inheritance after his mother passes away in exchange for a quiet life with his wife in Colorado. When an uncle passes away, Cam and his wife return to his hometown and he is reminded why he left and wanted nothing to do with it or the money. His wife has other ideas.

3.75 - The Heiress is about Ruby McTavish, the richest woman in North Carolina who died ten years ago, leaving her estate to her adopted son, Cam. He fled across the country when she died, wanting nothing to do with the Ashby house and family fortune— and is forced to return along with his wife, Jules— to confront dark family secrets after Cam’s uncle passes.

I loved how the timeline moves between past and present; Ruby’s past is shared through letters to an unknown author. I loved hearing about Ruby’s tumultuous childhood, and her four marriages. You also get Cam and Jules POV’s, which were hard to distinguish between, and that was a miss for me. I think Jules POV should have been cut. The characters are dysfunctional and messy in the best way.

I felt like the majority of this book was family drama, and 25% mystery. The ending has a twist but I don’t think it was that strong. I think those that prefer super gripping, twisty and chaotic thrillers, all the way through, won’t love this one as much. But still an enjoyable read for me!

Thanks to Netgalley + St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

4⭐
Genre ~ mystery
Setting ~ Colorado, North Carolina
Publication date ~ January 9, 2024
Est page Count ~ 281 (p+ 17 chapters + letters +e)
Audio length ~ 8 hours 20 minutes
Narrators ~ Dan Bittner, Eliza Foss, John Pirhalla, Patti Murin
POV ~ multiple 1st
Featuring ~ family drama, greed, domestic abuse, secrets, revenge, slow burn

Cam wants nothing to do with his inheritance or the infamous Ashby House. His wife, Jules, convinces him to visit the estate after another death in the family 10 years later.
Ruby tells us her life story ~ the good, the bad and the ugly ~ through letters. These were my favorite parts of the book.

A juicy plot where secrets are plenty and family drama is high. It was a bit of a slow burn, but it kept me engaged and entertained and had a few nice zingers.

Side note ~ I don't know if I noticed this more because I listened to it with my daughter, but holy moly there is an abundance of swearing. F bombing to the max.

I was fortunate enough to have both a kindle and an audio copy, both were equally enjoyable.

Narration notes:
Yay for 4! They all did a lovely job. I don't have any complaints.

The Heiress was such an interesting read! I had trouble putting it down!

Camden in the adopted heir of the McTavish fortune in North Carolina. His adopted mother left the entire estate to him, and next to nothing to her sister's family who still live on the estate.

After having been estranged for over 10 years, and setting up his own life apart from the McTavish fortune, high school teacher Camden receives an email that it is time to return to Ashby house (the ancestral home he inherited).

Camden and his wife, Jules, go to Ashby house to make some repairs. Little do they know they will actually be uncovering layers and layers of family secrets from the McTavish dynasty.

Booksellers this is a great hand sell with authors like Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewel.

This digital review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Huge thanks to netgalley and St. Martins Press for my review copy.

I read this book in one day, which should tell you how much fun the mystery is! It's twisty, it's salacious, it spills all the tea. I enjoyed the multiple POVs, particularly Ruby's, and every character is just so nasty that you can't help but chuckle at how awful they all are. Reminds me of my family, except we, alas, have no fortune to fight over.

THE HEIRESS is a terrific vacation or self-care read, perfect for the bath or comfy reading nook on a long winter evening. Just hope you don't have any untimely accidents while reading!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Rachel Hawkins has mastered a great thriller for me! I have read all of her books, but haven’t loved them all. But this one worked for me! It had a great story and kept me so intrigued as we switched from present day to past and both stories came together so perfectly! The twists would not stop, even at the end when I thought they were all wrapped up! Highly recommend for any thriller lover!

I couldn’t put this book down!! it was full of twists + secrets! reading about wealthy families is my guilty pleasure, so reading about a wealthy dysfunctional family had me HOOKED! I wouldn’t describe it as a thriller but definitely a good suspense!

This book was amazing! I loved the characters and there were so many plot twists and turns that I didn't see coming! The characters were so easy to like and hate

This new Rachel Hawkins release doesn’t disappoint! While some of the twists aren’t that shocking the overall story is engrossing enough to force you to keep reading to see how it plays out. I also think that I was a little disappointed in her previous work, Reckless Girls, so this novel felt like a triumphant return. Rachel Hawkins continues to be an automatic read author for me!

What a ride The Heiress is! So many twists and turns. You never know what’s going to happen next.

It’s a little slow. And the characters are all awful but it works for the story.

If you like family secrets and drama then the Heiress is definitely for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for a copy of The Heiress in exchange of an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and MacMillan Audio for my copies of the digital book and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Ruby McTavish is a notorious wealthy heiress whose sensational kidnapping as a child led to her life of notoriety. It didn’t help that she later married four times (each husband dying under mysterious circumstances) and after her death, Ruby bequeathed her daunting estate home, Ashby House, to her adopted son, Camden, infuriating her blood relatives. However, Camden’s tumultuous childhood leaves him wanting as much space and distance from his Ruby’s legacy and his inheritance of estate in the mountains of North Carolina. He’s spent the last 10 years since his mother’s death living small with his wife, Jules, out in Colorado. But now Camden’s uncle has also passed away and his distant cousins plead for him to come to NC and settle the estate. Jules and Camden arrive at Ashby House and the scheming, posturing, and secrets start to test the bonds of family and their marriage. Readers are provided glimpses into Ruby’s past marriages through letters Ruby has left behind, but the intended audience is kept a secret; who is she writing to? what really happened when she was kidnapped as a child? How and why did each of her marriages dissolve and her husbands die? Why did she adopt Camden?

This is a brilliant, captivating, atmospheric, and chilling mystery. The multiple POVs and the dual timeline format added depth and smashed my ability to predict the twists and reveals! I binged it in two days. Kudos to the narrators for their accent work and ability to build suspense throughout their performances. In particular, when Ruby’s chapters/letters were being read I felt as if I had to hold my breath; an incredibly commanding performance bringing this huge character to life!

I can’t wait to highlight this book during publication week early in 2024.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“There's nothing as good as the rich gone bad.”

Rachel Hawkins stays true to her style in this page turning thriller! It’s safe to say, expect the unexpected. The book is told in three perspectives, letters written by Ruby McTavish, her adopted son Camden, and his wife Jules.

The book is about Ruby McTavish, North Carolina’s richest woman, who also has a notorious reputation. Starting out as a child she was abducted from her family’s estate, only to be returned months later at great expense to her father. As an adult she is widowed four times. When Ruby dies, she leaves everything to Camden, her adopted son. Through out the book Ruby reveals how each husband met their untimely death in letters to Cam.

After having been gone for ten years from the family estate, Jules, Cam’s wife, talks him into going back to help straighten out some family affairs. While there more family secrets, betrayal, and lies surfaces.

The drama and twists along the way made this a fun read!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.