Family thrillers take on such interesting twists and turns - especially when there's money involved.. but The Heiress takes the cake for the reveals. Set in the sleepy mountains of North Carolina... there really just is something about the misty Blue Ridge.

Everything I thought I understood throughout this book came crashing down one chapter after another most spectacularly. It's not often that I really like a book so much that my mind doesn't start skimming through the pages? But in Hawkin's latest... you really have to pay attention to every chapter's intended audience!!!

Up there with another of my favorite family-based thrillers like The Maidens - The Heiress is one I'm going to recommend to all of my fellow thriller readers down here in the South!

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

Quick and enjoyable. One of those layered try to figure it out reads with a few red herrings that were clever. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review,

We have another Hawkins Hit on our hands! This book moves very quickly, and has a cast full of villainess family members.

The book opens with Ruby telling her story through letters. As a toddler Ruby went missing, lost in the woods surrounding her family's estate. Luckily for her, she is not the Lindbergh baby, and she is found alive.

In present day, we meet her adopted son Cam, who is no longer on speaking terms with his mother, her sister Nelle, or his cousins. Cam is the heir to the family fortune, and eventually must head back to the family estate to deal with the responsibility passed to him.

Of course everyone, including Cam's wife Jules, has something to hide and an angle to play. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout, and the book moves very quickly. In typical Hawkins fashion, this one is easy to read, and you finish it quickly.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for a review.

The Heiress is full of secrets, terrible people, old money, and twists upon twists, all combining into one very fun read. Alternating viewpoints interspersed with letters to...someone...slowly unwind this tale of greed and betrayal, and by the end, you kind of hate everyone, but it's so fun to feel that way you don't mind it. This is the perfect thriller to start 2024 with!

The Heiress is a quick page turner that can pull you out of a slump and at only 304 pages, you can easily get through this one in record time.⁠
This one ended up middle of the road for me at 3.5 stars. Somehow it managed to be a slow burn while also keeping the story moving forward at each chapter. I think since our alternate POV was letters that Ruby had written explaining her past the time jumps made the story feel like it was moving forward at a decent pace. The reality is that the actual story of Cam and Jules going “home” moved quite slowly. ⁠
I really liked Ruby’s stories and the writing was well done. I could picture this complex woman that struggled between who she was and who she was supposed to be, while grappling with the choices she’d made along the way. ⁠
Where this one push it middle of the road was that it was ultimately so slow and predictable. I called many of the things that would end up happening in the first 20% of the book and really, nothing of note did happen until the end. ⁠
Overall, in the Rachel Hawkins lineup this was was good, and I definitely do recommend it, and hopefully you don’t guess the ending so you can enjoy the surprises!

Wow, wow, wow! I could not put this down. I love it. I highly recommend this book. Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

This book was really good. It kept me flipping pages and I did not see the plot twist coming. I recommend checking this one out. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As with any of Rachel Hawkins’ books, you enter the story on the first page and you live through each event. Her staging, character creation, her quick wit and cunning will keep you entombed until the final page. Only then may you leave.
In “The Heiress”, Rachel takes the reader to a gloriously run-down mansion in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. Cam. who’s adopted mother has passed, isn’t happy about inheriting the mess, mainly because he doesn’t feel like fighting with his kin who now reside there. He has no choice but to go, so he takes his happy-go-lucky, down-to-earth wife with him to help keep him sane. Jules tries to play it cool, but she can’t contain her awe when she lays eyes on the home. Even with its needed repairs, it's a beautiful and extravagant manor. Let the feuds and back-stabbing begin.
Through an intricate web of past and present, the true nature of all involved is slowly exposed. The history of Cam’s mother, Ruby (the heiress), is colorful, entertaining and reminiscent of finer times. The remaining family’s opinion of her is less than stellar. And each day it gets worse, then less safe.
This is a fun read for anyone drawn to thrillers, mysteries, Gothic, and family jealousy.
Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is January 9, 2024.

Amazing story! I went into this book blind like I do with most books, I just knew I liked the author. I was not disappointed. It gave me seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes but more of a thriller. The twists I didn’t see coming, and a possible even bigger twist in the epilogue shook me. I enjoyed the different viewpoints and the huge underlying message of the story. Overall 5 star read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. Rachel Hawkins did not disappoint again. This book was a page turner. You would think you know the plot...then it changes..and changes again. I read the book in one day!

I have read a couple books by Rachel and enjoy her writing but this is by far my favorite! Lots of twists and a quick read! I read this so fast because I couldn't wait to see what happend next!

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Rachel Hawkins for an ARC of the Heiress! WOW! This may be a top contender of the year. This had me losing sleep over - it was painful to put it down. This gave me Evelyn Hugo vibes, but with the twists and turns that make it an amazing thriller! Ruby, the heiress of the Ashby estate, had a long life - kidnapped at a young age, widowed 4 times over, and had an adoptive son. Camden wanted nothing to do with the estate so moved off and married Jules. Camden never wanted to see the Ashby house again or have any association with it, but with his uncle dying, he has been called back home. What will they find about the family once they are back? Everyone has their own secret to tell, but to what great lengths will they go to keep it a secret?

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is my fourth novel by this author and she does not disappoint! Her mystery thriller titles have a way of keeping you intrigued until the very last page of the book. Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, the author hits you with a new surprise.

This title explores the lives of Cam and Jules as well as their history with the McTavish family and the Ashby House. If you are a fan of family drama, twisted secrets, and strong minded female characters then this is definitely the title for you! The most interesting part of the book was how the author told family secrets through letters and news articles. This is something that I truly enjoy from Ms. Hawkins.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title!

This author always comes up with such a new and intense tale that it always fascinates while it thrills me.

An ancient family, money that makes more money because of what a century old ancestor did. This group that fights, lives and dies in their ancient and beautiful mansion, Ashby Home located in the very majestic and dangerous Appalachian mountains in North Carolina seem to survive not just from the endless money but from a seething hatred amidst their family.

When Jules comes home from work one day, her husband has to let her know that he must return to his family. Not even true family. At least, in my opinion, true families are accepting and loving. After his adoptive mother, the infamous Ruby, dies and leaves him the house and the whole fortune he thought he could get away. Leave the money behind, the incessant problems. However, when he returns with his wife, there is more than just luggage to unpack. We learn Ruby's sordid tale, among others. And it's never what I expected.

This has the atmosphere and the characters that really made me feel the intensity of every part of this story. I truly enjoyed this and recommend it.

Out January 9, 2024!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Hawkins NEVER fails to impress. This might be her best work yet.

Twisty and complex without ever becoming cumbersome. Just when you think you have a grasp on the context, she throws another curveball.

Elements also reminded me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Hawkins is always a winner for me!

⭐️: 4.5/5

When North Carolina’s richest woman, Ruby McTavish, dies, she leaves everything, including her family’s ancestral home, Ashby House, to her adoptive son, Cam, which deeply angers her younger sister and her descendants. Ten years later, Cam, now married to Jules, returns to Ashby House in the wake of his uncle’s death, only to be reminded why he left in the first place. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Cam, it becomes clear that Ruby had a plan that was more complicated than any of them could have imagined, as old secrets begin to be revealed.

This was my favorite so far of all the books by Rachel Hawkins that I’ve read. It was a relatively quick read, made even quicker by how much the secrets draw you in and keep you reading just one more chapter. There were twists upon twists, which kept the pace of the book moving so fast. I absolutely love thrillers that switch up the storytelling techniques, like this one did. In this case, it switched from dual POV narratives of Cam and Jules to letters from Ruby, to old newspaper articles detailing past events, which kept the book feeling fresh as you read it. It also had its fair share of rich people behaving badly, which is always entertaining to me. The only complaint I had was that I wish the ending would have been a bit…tighter? Overall though, like I said, this was my favorite book by the author to date, and I definitely recommend, especially if you’re a fan of her previous books.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this free eARC!!

My thanks to Net Galley and St Martin s Press for allowing me to review this book. I found it rather good. A bit confused at times like I was reading separate stories but they did come together. You get the story of heiress Ruby McTavish s kidnapping and how she was recovered. Then you get how her adopted son Camden and his wife come back to inherit the McTavish estate and the family drama with it. And then we have Ruby writing letters to someone describing her multiple marriages ,husbands,and widowhood Ala Seven Husband's of Evelyn Hugo vibes. Lots of twists and surprises at the end.

Rich people drama, am I right?!?!

Ruby McTavish, the heiress of the McTavish fortune has recently died, leaving behind a legacy of dead husbands and her own kidnapping as a child.

The Heiress explores an unravelling story as told in parts by Ruby’s adopted son, his wife, and letters from Ruby herself. I loved the dual timeline and found Ruby’s letters to be especially fascinating.

I had a great time reading this book! Even though I guessed the ending, it didn’t affect my enjoyment and I was totally along for the ride. Rachel Hawkins does what she does best, sets up a tangled web of stories, soaked in mystery and secrets.

This book was full of twists! Just when I thought I'd figured out one part another secret was revealed! It's a well written story of the effect secrets can have on a family and to what lengths people will go for money. Could not put this one down!

Wow, this was the fastest I’ve read a book in a long time! What a fantastic, page turning read.

The Heiress is about the wealthiest woman in North Carolina, the heir to her fortune, and the battle for the estate.

There are three POVS: Ruby the heiress, whose comes in the form of letters to an unknown recipient, Cam, the heir, and Jules, the wife of the heir. The POVs are the present and past, covering Ruby’s four marriages.

This was a page turner and reminded me a little of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, in the retelling of her marriages. I genuinely did not see half of the twists coming and highly highly highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.