I loved this book! Lately, I've been reading some slow books and thought that maybe something had changed in my reading habits. Totally not the case! I just needed a page turner, and let me tell you, I could not put this book down!

This story revolves around Ruby McTavish, a wealthy woman who was kidnapped when she was 3, found, and returned back to her home 8 months later.

Many years later, in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, is summoned to the estate he grew up in, The Ashby House, to handle the 9 figure estate that he wants nothing to do with. Narrated by Cam and Jules as well as Ruby, through her letters to an unknown recipient prior to her passing, you will be instantly hooked and carried through a series of twists and turns, lies, and secrets you didn't see coming.

Books like this usually fall flat in the end, but I thought the ending was written perfectly.

Thank you NG and St. Martin's Press for my ARC. Publication date: January 9, 2024.

I went into this one blind and after devouring it in less than 24 hours, I must say I'm glad I did. The writing, the pacing, the format, both story-lines absolutely worked for me. Thriller & mystery lovers you do not want to miss this one.

At the heart of the story is a mega wealth family McTavish and their ancestral home Ashby House. Greed, intrigue, dysfunctional families, secrets & quite a few dark moments. I loved that the story was unveiled through a combo of current timeline, letters & short articles about the family. To say I was fascinated by the character of Mrs "Kill-more" is an understatement. I found myself fully immersed into the story and quite unwilling to put this book down. If sleep did not get in the way, this would've easily been a one sitting kind of read.

This was such a smart, nuanced read and I was not only entertained but left wondering what is it that makes a "good" person. Especially when it comes to wealth and access to money and power! And I seriously doubt I'll forget Ruby any time soon! Highly recommend this one!

A huge thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

🌟🌟🌟✨ "The Heiress" by Rachel Hawkins takes readers on a captivating journey into the mysteries surrounding Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore's infamous legacy. Set against the backdrop of Ashby House in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the story revolves around Ruby, North Carolina’s richest and most notorious woman. The aftermath of her death pulls her adopted son, Camden, back into the family drama that he had long tried to escape.

The novel’s strength lies in its atmospheric setting and the gradual unveiling of Ruby’s enigmatic past. Hawkins crafts an intriguing plot with questions about Ruby’s kidnapping, the mysterious deaths of her four husbands, and the true motives behind adopting Camden. The gothic elements add a layer of suspense, creating an eerie ambiance that keeps the reader engaged. 📚🕵️‍♀️ #BookReview #TheHeiress #GothicSuspense #FamilySecrets

This is a must-read, can't-put-it-down, deliciously addictive book! An engaging thriller with so many unexpected twists. The characters come from a dysfunctional family with secrets, lies and murder. The only thing I didn't like was that it ended!
Ten years ago Ruby McTavish died and left her nine figure fortune and the Ashby House Estate set in the Blue Ridge Mountains to her adopted son Camden. He walked away not wanting anything to do with the money. He is teaching in Colorado with his lovely and supportive wife Jules. They are such a dynamic couple that I enjoyed their epic journey back to his home.
One of Camden's cousins and childhood bully, Ben, contacted Cam to return to the estate and settle some family disputes, but another agenda is in place with his cunning sister Libby. They are devious and full of a determination to win.
Told in 3 POVs with Camden, Jules and Ruby relating through letters to Camden about her childhood and her 4x as a widow. She was kidnapped when she was 3 and found 8 months later living with another family. The part I could not wait to find out and how it completed the story and what happened to her four husbands.
"I had gotten away with murder, and I was glad for it."
Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rachel Hawkins you little angel you. I read thrillers a lot as my own personal version of a chaser. It’s supposed to be an easy read, fast, and something you can lose yourself in. I use these in between books that require a lot of contemplation and effort in their readings and Hawkins has yet to disappoint in making a truly perfect thriller.

With a gripping plot that I liken a bit to Knives Out. We have family drama, heiress’ with attitude, secret estates and rich a-holes that you cant help but root for their downfall. And boy does she give it to you.

I’ll never compare a thriller to something like The Alchemist but that’s not why we are here. In every way, in its own right, this is near perfect. I basically ate through this book and devoured it in a couple days. I was curious and nervous, having fun and guessing the twists. There are a couple authours who will go down as best in their genres and Hawkins is definitely one of those people. Can’t wait for my friends to get to read it.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for an honest review. I listened to this book in one afternoon! It had a lot of plot twists and surprises right to the end.i really enjoyed it and and very glad I got the advanced copy.

Ahhh Rachel Hawkins absolutely knocked this one out of the park! By now she has proved to be an absolute master or merging the past with the present with heart stopping twists and revelations.

This story is told from multiple POV, our two MC’s from the present day, a happily married Jules and Cam. Cam being the adopted son of a recently deceased heiress, and the only inheritor of the estate and financials.

We also get glimpses into the past life of the heiress (Ruby) herself, told through written letters to an unknown receiver where she spills the secrets of her sordid past. I’m a huge fan of Ruby, I love her clever disturbed wit.

This book contains murder, kidnappings, affairs, lies, secrets.. all things devious. I absolutely devoured the book in one sitting I could not put it down.

The cover artwork is stunning and the author herself is a genius. I’m a huge fan of “the villa” but heiress is hands down my new favourite! 10/10 fully recommend!

The ending was perfection, all questions answered, loose ends tied up, and left on a somewhat cynical note.

This is a must read 🙂

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
@LadyHawkins
Pub date: January 9, 2024
Narrated by: Eliza Foss, Dan Bittner, Patti Murin, John Pirhalla
Duration: 8H 20M

𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚍

I’ve been reading Rachel Hawkins for a lot of years, all the way back to her Hex Hall days! I love her writing and have soaked up everything she’s written over the years!

In The Heiress, the story is focused on the McTavish family and what a family they are. Rich, entitled, selfish and some? Coldblooded murderers.

Told primarily by Jules, the bride of Ruby McTavish’s adopted son, Cam, and by Ruby herself, now deceased. It’s a tangled web of lies, secrets and deceit! Ah, the life and privilege of the uber wealthy!

One of the most entertaining things about this novel is that it’s told in epistolatory style, dropping little bird crumbs of information here and there which gives insight into the characters right at the opportune moments – just when you think you know them or have decided on their guilt or innocence!
Very clever, Lady Hawkins, very clever!

I fully enjoyed this domestic thriller and as always, I'll wait anxiously until the next book by this author!

🎧This is a full cast narration and it is done to perfection! Bravo and well-done!

Thank you to St. Martins Press and MacMillan Audio for these copies to review!

The Heiress reaches the absolute pinnacle of plot twists and turns. Just when you think you've figured it out, there's another curve ball. The beginning central thread revolves around Ruby McTavish. Ruby was supposedly lost on an outing in the woods near her family's palatial estate at a young age. Given the sheer wealth of the family, it leads to multiple plot twists, including the sibling rivalry with her sister and their family, her multiple husbands and their mysterious deaths. And that isn't even half of the intrigue. Pick up this book now - and you won't be able to put it down!

Hawkins' "The Heiress" is an engaging and distinct blend of mystery, identity and the seduction of power. As the reader, you're drawn into the life of Ruby McTavish, an infamous heiress who first made headlines after being kidnapped as a toddler.

My favorite part of the book was not just the alternating narrative, but how Hawkins drops pieces of information in newspaper articles and tells Ruby's story via letters (although to whom the letters are written is not divulged until the end). I was deeply engrossed in Ruby's story, the lives (and deaths) of her four husbands, and the fascination (and obsession) with her family's North Carolinian home, Ashby House. Her story and voice were, at least, compelling. The same cannot be said for those of Camden - Ruby's adopted son - and his wife, Jules.

I can't say that how the plot ultimately unfolded was a surprise; the twists were not unexpected. In fact, it would have been even more unexpected if the twists didn't happen. Regardless, this was a fun, quick read that would be best enjoyed in a group/book club setting.

Great story. Enjoyed the twists. It took awhile to grab my interest, but overall it was a great read. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an online arc of The Heiress.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins goes a long way to prove that death brings out the worst in families.

Cam McTavish thought he was done dealing with his petty family once his adoptive mom, the infamous Ruby McTavish (and 4 other last names from her 4 dead husbands!), is gone. But the death of his uncle, coupled with the apparent disrepair of the family mansion Ashby House, bring him back to his hometown as heir to fix things up (or at least foot the bill) Let’s not forget Jules, his faithful wife of 10 years, pushing him toward his former hometown of Tavistock with a glint in her eye... His greedy relatives do not make his visit easy from minute one.

The three narrators, Cam, Jules and letters from Ruby to an unknown (until the end!) recipient, tell the past and present story in a way that sucks the reader in. I could not put this one down! I'll admit to figuring out a small twist along the way, but it did not make the ultimate reveals any less stunning in the end. 5/5 star read

This was a super quick read and I liked it. It was fast paced with multiple POV and kept me intrigued. I read it in one day, I couldn’t put it down. The twists and turns, while some predictable, others I didn’t see coming. I definitely enjoyed this one.

“On Sunday September 12, an afternoon constitutional in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina took a tragic turn when the three year old daughter of Mr. Mason MacTavish of Tavistock, North Carolina seemingly vanished into thin air.” Here are reasons to read the thriller book:

A Missing Child - This book is a little hard to explain without giving away, so let me start by saying it opens up with a missing child, Ruby who is found again after 8 months
Prodigal Son - In the present, her adopted son Camden returns to his childhood home to take care of his extended family’s bills after a few deaths
So Many Secrets- as we read, we follow secrets throughout the life of Ruby through letters, and also what is happening from Camden and his wife, Jules’ point of view
Even More secrets - And these secrets include pretty much the crux of who Camden, Jules, and Ruby are as people.

And yeah that’s basically what I can say about the plot. The flow was quite quick because there was just a lot to reveal even in the last chapter. I don’t think it was extremely shocking or thrilling, but instead a compelling mystery. The twists are not delayed, and are nicely sprinkled throughout the book. Go into it for the mystery and it is really one of the best things about this book.

The Heiress is a cozy mystery novel that follows the married main characters, Camden and Jules, as they get called back to Cam’s childhood home after the death of his mother Ruby. Ruby was not only Cam’s mother, but the heir to a family fortune, and all remaining family members are scheming for a piece.

This “who done it” never truly lets you know all its secrets until the very end! I felt like I was reading a rendition of the Clue game! With that much money on the line, who keeps family first over fame? The NC Appalachian setting kept the allure of a closed off house setting away from the rest of civilization… if someone happened to die, who would know? Each character has something to hide. 🫣

Wow! The Heiress is my favorite Rachel Hawkins yet! I get excited for her releases every year because each book is full of so many surprises.

Ruby McTavish is widowed many times over and after her death, Ruby’s adopted son Cam and his wife Jules, are summoned to the Ashby house to claim his inheritance.

The Heiress is told with letters from Ruby woven through to help Cam learn about his mother’s past. There are so many twists and turns throughout the multiple story lines. The Heiress is hard to put down.

With every Rachel Hawkins book, I feel it’s best to go in blind and enjoy the ride! If you enjoyed the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and murder, be sure to pick up The Heiress in January 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Heiress
By: Rachel Hawkins

I was completely invested in this novel. The characters are well-developed, fun and twisted. They each have their own personalities and reasons for wanting Ashby House along with the money that goes along with it.

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies and leaves all the money to her son. You can see by her long name she has married multiple times. There are several family members living on the estate, but not her son Cam. When Cam gets the call that he needs to come back to the estate to help, he temporarily leaves his teach job with his wife Jules.

When I say everyone is hiding things, that is only the beginning. Cam and Ruby along with Jules have a complicated past. Ruby adopted Cam as she never had biological children and wanted to pass down the fortune. One of the more complicated story backgrounds is that Ruby was stolen outside the estate as a child and returned within the year under unusual circumstances.

Hawkins has been a auto-buy for me since The Wife Upstairs.

What a ride! I absolutely devoured this book. The dual POV and slow reveal of Ruby’s history was done so well. I did call some of the plot twists, but then some came out of nowhere! Overall, a very enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a really fast paced book with a complicated family, wirh many secrets, in the midst. There is a kidnapping, an adoption, a death, (actually more than one, and some may have been
murder). Then you have a will and a family at odds with one another. The ending is wonderful. This book will keep --You the Reader- On your toes to the very end. Enjoy! I did. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. I give it a 4 out of 5.

This was such a page turner! I loved Jules, Ruby, Cam all in different ways. I loved that there was a little spice to Cam and Jules’ relationship. I did not see the twist coming and appreciated it was an over complicated or far fetched story. Would recommend to a friend.