3.5 stars. Cam and Jules move back to North Carolina as he is the sole inheritor of his family’s estate; but everybody in this family has secrets, including Cam and Jules.
This was my favorite of Hawkins’ books and I enjoyed the twisty nature of the plot. The original driver of the story, the disappearance of young Ruby was a bit of a stretch to me, but everything falls together fairly well and not in a totally contrived way. This was a great popcorn thriller and I look forward to seeing what Hawkins does next.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC!

This story had several elements that I love in a suspense story - a decrepit estate in a small town, a cast of suspicious characters and an untimely death. I enjoyed this story, about a man returning to his dysfunctional family with his wife, to sort out an inheritance of sorts, but I felt like the pacing was slow burning for the majority of the read, particularly with the redundancy of the news articles and Ruby’s diary entries. I wasn’t invested in her past, her black widow status, and wanted to keep going to the present chapters. Aside from that, there were plenty of surprise twists and turns that I did not expect and it was a quick read!

3.5 stars rounded up.

A decent mystery in which nobody is who they seem and everyone has secrets. That sounds a bit generic, but the author keeps it entertaining with some twists, of varying degrees of predictability, and flamboyant characters.

Jules and Camden arrive at Ashby House, a fabulous North Carolina mansion in a glorious mountain setting, ten years after they got married. It was bequeathed to Cam by his adoptive mother, Ruby McTavish and now the remainder of the McTavishes have called him home to sort out his inheritance, which he has never wanted.

Interspersed with Jules’s and Cam’s narratives are letters from Ruby. As a child she was kidnapped by and recovered from a couple in Alabama and as an adult she was widowed four times - so quite a zesty life!

Much to Jules’s frustration, Cam does not want Ashby House and just wants to get his family off his back and get back to their normal life in Colorado. But as things start to unspool, secrets start falling out of the cupboards, and the bodies pile up.

There’s lots to enjoy here, including a few sly insights into characters that initially seemed a little one-dimensional and a plot that takes a few swerves into the slightly incredible. It’s worth a few hours of your time if you enjoy cynical characters and largely bloodless murders.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

I really didn't understand the hype on this one. I felt like it was a soap opera masquerading as a mystery. The supposed mystery is that of Ruby McTavish and the fortune she leaves to her adopted son, Camden, who wants nothing to do with the money or the remaining family and why.

The drama begins when another family member dies, and Camden finally returns home to take care of the house and fortune left to him. It gets very "Days of Our Lives" from there, with cousins being bitter over not gaining all the money, and being more bitter that it went to an adopted son instead of true flesh and blood. The many twists and turns are pretty easy to see coming, and none of them were very shocking. While all of the characters play their parts very well, it's hard to feel anything for any of them because of how terrible they all are. There was a lot of people thinking they were owed everything because... well, I never actually figured that part out. I get that the author was really trying to show a corrupt family, but man does it make for hard reading. The only exception is Camden, who genuinely seems to not care about the money or the family he left behind, and for good reason.

The biggest saving grace for this novel was the setting. You can really imagine a mansion sitting in the Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by trees and full of the stories of those who lived there. The descriptions of Ashby House reminded me a lot of the Biltmore House in Asheville, but with a surrounding and atmosphere a little more like the Stanley Hotel or the Schweppe Mansion.

If you enjoy reading about shitty people being shitty to each other with a bit of mystery thrown in, this is the book for you. However, if you can't stand soap operas or anything resembling them, I'd steer clear.

Ruby McTavish is a wealthy little girl who was lost in the woods at three years old near her home in North Carolina. Ruby was found eight months later in another state and returned home to the McTavish family. As Ruby grows up in Ashby house, she often feels that things are not quite right. Ruby writes letters about her years growing up as well as her four marriages. When Ruby dies, she leaves her fortune to Camden, her only son. Camden wants nothing to do with Ashby house or the McTavish family. However, his wife Jules thinks it would be a great idea to visit and get everything taken care of once and for all.

The story is told from three different points of view, alternating between past and present. My favorite point of view was Ruby’s told from letters she wrote. From each letter we learn more about the family and all the secrets each family member holds. There is lots of family drama and tons of twists and turns. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys thrillers! I give it 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC! This is the fourth Rachel Hawkins books I’ve read, and I’ve enjoyed each one. I loved the family drama and the setting of The Heiress. The multiple POV style kept me hooked and added to the suspense of the story. I did get a little confused at times because there were a lot of characters and many people had more than one identity, so I felt disconnected at those points. There were lots of twists and turns that I didn’t expect, and the book was the perfect length - I was never bored!

4.5/5 star rating

The story centers around Ruby, Cam, and Jules points of view. Ruby's part of the story was so compelling, it was told in letters to unknown person. I always wanted to skip ahead to the next Ruby section. The way it was written was so clever.

I felt like Jules and Cam kept me less engaged, especially the first half of the book.

I will say I loved the book overall, and was interested in what story was being weaved together. I felt like it was well done. I didn't think it was overly obvious. There were some moments I had pieced together or had theories about that checked out but overall didn't see where the novel was going.

Definitely worth a read!

The heiress is Ruby McTavish, an eccentric, wealthy infamous woman who has had four husbands die. Her family are vultures circling and wanting her home and fortune. Her heir is Camden, an adopted son, who is much despised by the family. Throw in his wife Jules, who comes with secrets of her own and there is a story with many twists and dark secrets through the generations.

I was immediately hooked! This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and I was not disappointed. I will be purchasing more of her books because this was written so well and I could not put it down! I finished this in two days!!

Hawkins' last book reminded me of Daisy Jones & the Six but this one, this gives me Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes and I LOVED IT! I love this new brand of alternate history thriller books and I'm hoping Hawkins writes more. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and flying through pages to find out about what happened to Ruby's husbands. I can't wait to recommend this book to folks when it comes out!

This was a quick read and kept me engaged. Camden inherits a house and money from his adoptive mom, Ruby, who is the heiress to this family fortune. She went missing as a toddler and was eventually found. Camden and his wife, Jules, finally go back to fix the house up and has to deal with his estranged family (great aunt and cousins). Lots of twists and turns!! Some I anticipated and others I didn’t!

Another great read from Rachel Hawkins. The writing style kept me hooked. Bouncing between the viewpoints of Jules and her husband Camden McTavish, to letters from Camden’s late adopted mother, Ruby. The story line between the dysfunctional family kept me awake, wanting to read more. I loved the Rachel Hawkins twists throughout the book. Absolutely fantastic!

This one took a bit for me to get into and I felt like the plot line didn’t really start to pick up until about 60% in. That being said, it was manipulative and twisty and I enjoyed those aspects. The letters were interesting, as well. There were alternating POVs, which is always a win for me.

Another Rachel Hawkins book I couldn’t put down! The Heiress grabs you from page one, told from alternating viewpoints with letters and “news clippings,” and the reader is slowly brought into the fold. We’re left wondering throughout if the mystery happened in the past or if we’re in the middle of it now. It’s a messy family story with more than one unlikable character and I loved every page. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy! I will read everything Rachel Hawkins writes.

Couldn’t wait to read this one and I wasn’t disappointed. I flew through the short, very intriguing chapters. I would’ve loved to have known Ruby- what a firecracker of a woman! A great weekend read! I did not see the end coming.
Thank You to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Rachel Hawkins for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC

I love the way this novel was constructed: narratives about Camden and Jules, letters from Ruby, local articles. It all really worked well together to tell the story and what an interesting story it was! Rich, entitled people gone bad. Great lead up to the final twist. So complicated, yet a really engrossing, fun read. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This took me a long time to finish. I just could not get fully invested into the book primarily because it is a very slow burn and more of a family drama than a thriller. The writing is well done, and the storyline sounded like it was going to be exciting but, for me, it was a tough sell to get me invested.

The story is told in three POV’s:

Ruby: Ruby was North Carolina’s richest woman with a salacious past. We learn about her past life through letters she has written. These letters were the best part of the book for me and are what kept me reading. Ruby was once kidnapped as a child and was widowed four times. She had quite the life.

Camden: Cam is Ruby’s adopted son. After her death, her adopted son Camden left the estate and never looked back, starting a new life as a teacher, and marrying his wife, Jules. He left behind a huge inheritance he wanted nothing to do with. Cam is now summoned back to the estate 10 years later after his Uncle passes away.

Jules: Cam’s wife. Jules is in awe of the estate and envisions herself not worrying about money and living in the grand mansion. She wants Cam to have the inheritance Ruby left for him. Are her intentions good? We shall find out.

I really enjoyed the letters from Ruby the most and it was those letters which kept me going. The last quarter of the book picked up and I while I had my suspicions what was happening, there were some twists in there I must give kudos to.

Overall, a good family drama read but slow off the gate. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I received a digital advance copy of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins via NetGalley. The Heiress is scheduled for release on January 9, 2023.

Ruby is The Heiress to a massive North Carolina fortune. As a child, she was kidnapped, then returned to her family eight months later. As the heiress, she grew the family fortune and place in society despite rumors around her disappearance and the later deaths of four husbands. While she had no children of her own, she did adopt a son, Cam, who she leaves everything to when she dies. Ten years after Ruby’s death, Cam is forced to return to the fortune and home he has little interest in to deal with the family that considers him an interloper and the estate that is his responsibility. He brings his wife Jules with him, forcing the two to deal with what Ruby has left them.

This novel is told in alternating perspectives, with both Jules and Cam narrating. There are also clips of newspaper articles and other media reporting on the events around Ruby’s disappearance and life, as well as a set of letters written by Ruby to explain her past. While we hear from Jules, Cam, and Ruby, there is a certain distance in all of them, a sense that they are only giving us part of the story. This does serve the story in the end, but it creates a feeling of not really knowing the characters. We also see the other characters through their perspective, which sometimes leads to a lack of nuance, as they generally don’t like the family they are stuck with, and make little attempt to understand their motivations or desires.

The plot of this novel is layered with mysteries and questions. While I did predict a couple of the reveals, there were others that did surprise me. All of the twists and connections made sense, and wove together in a way that created a rich, believable storyline.

Overall, The Heiress delivers the promised mystery elements in an enjoyable story package.

The very rich and well known, Ruby McTavish passes away and a little while later her son is called back to the estate to take care of some issues needing attention. Ruby was the victim of a kidnapping as a toddler, 8 months later reunited with her family. She married 4 times and every one of those times, her husband had died – talk about bad luck!! Cam, Ruby’s son has avoided returning to the estate, ignoring the wealth and money preferring to live a simple life with his wife Jules while his aunt and cousins lived in the mansion. Now, he knows the time has come to return – what awaits Cam upon his return? What does envy and jealousy do to a person? Are people born with a little darkness in them? You will have to read to find out!

I really enjoyed the format of the book, I love the mix of past and present, learning about a character’s past through written passages – Ruby’s letters were my favorite part and thankfully they represented a fair portion of the book.

I didn’t really care for the present day characters as much as I hoped. Just when I thought I was siding with one, they proved to be just as shallow as the rest. They each had some secret side, and at times I just wasn’t invested in their actions, but it was entertaining.

If you are looking for a quick thriller read that has wealthy family drama with plenty of secrets and reveals, this is the book for you!

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

I really loved this novel! The wealthiest woman in North Carolina has passed away and left everything to her adopted son. But she has quite the past and things may not be as black and white as it seems.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.