Member Reviews

A twisting tale told by three different characters. All who seem to have a different ending in mind.
I loved Ruby’s truth, how her letter tells her past.
Jules seems to be so sweet and loving, but what sinister secret is she holding back from Cam?
And Camden, it appears he’s being pulled back into his old life. The one he tried to run away from.
But how they all twist together, the secrets, and lies.
But are they really secrets?
Must read!!!

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A must read by Hawkins! Following the death of one of the most powerful matriarchs in North Carolina, Camden McTavish, the now adult adopted son of heiress Ruby McTavish, returns to the family estate to settle things with the remaining McTavish family members. Angry and conniving, the McTavishes go to the extreme to get their hands on Camden’s inheritance, including bringing up Ruby’s childhood kidnapping that leaves lingering questions about who really is Ruby McTavish, and, more importantly, who should get her inheritance? Ruby doesn’t help the situation either, leaving behind letters containing a number of revelations about her kidnapping, multiple husbands, and their untimely deaths. Ripe with tension, this thriller set in Ashby house, a mountain estate with a personality of its own, will keep you saying “just one more chapter” until you are left mouth agape wondering why there is not more!

I have really enjoyed the direction Hawkins has taken with her thrillers since the publication of ‘The Wife Upstairs’ in 2021 and think ‘The Heiress’ may be her best one yet. Fans of Colleen Hoover’s ‘Verity’ should be quick to pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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This book starts out deceptively mild with Jules and Cam’s low key life in Colorado. The story quickly builds in intensity as the reader learns about Cam’s inheritance and the couple returns to his family’s estate to deal with his bitter relatives who are living in the ancestral home that was left to him by his adopted mother. With several plot twists and a web of mystery and deceit, I was hooked from the beginning and read it in a day.

The pacing is perfect and although the larger plot points were resolved, the reader is left grappling with the secrets revealed and left unaddressed.

Big thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book.

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“The Heiress” is a thought provoking thriller about generational wealth and morality. The novel follows Camden and Jules as they return to his estate Ashby House, in North Carolina to deal with his inheritance and adopted family. Interspersed are letters from Camden’s adoptive mother Ruby who left him Ashby house. I loved the tension building and intrigue throughout this novel. Ruby’s letters were definitely my favorite to read, but I enjoyed Jules and Camden’s perspectives as well. If you’ve liked Rachel Hawkins previous books or are a thriller reader, pick up “The Heiress” when it’s released on January 9th!

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WOW!! What did I just read?! Fantastic book! This is about an heiress who adopts a son. She passed away and her fortune is left to him. He decides to tuck it away and live a normal life. Until his family draws him back to the family mansion. So many twists and turns in this book. The only downside was the number of F bombs in the book. Well written with great character development. Good insight in this book about families and adoption. Thank you to the publisher and net galley for an ARC of this book.

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A genre mash of a mystery thriller and a drama with a side plate of f*%k up family.

Honestly don’t want to give a lot away because the chapters go fast as they unravel the mystery surrounding the Heiress of Ashby house.

A woman with multiple husbands dead and a son that wants to walk away from it all.

It’s wildly fun to read and at the same time you’re just glad you’re not part of their group.

I’ve struggled with the last two by this author but dang this one was VERY good! 4.5 ⭐️

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Loved everything about this book! The setting seemed like a character itself. The house and town were very well written. The characters were flawed and deep. Even the unlikable ones were fun. The book was written from different perspectives and though letters and some news articles. I especially liked the letters and found them creative in what the character was up to. The MC had a wicked sense of humor in them too. The mystery was interesting and there were some surprising happenings in the book. I love how this author keeps the reader guessing and not wanting to put the book down. This is the 4th book I've read by this author and this one might be my favorite along with The Wife Upstairs. A highly recommended read!

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Secrets. Lies. And Murder. What more could you ask for in a book. I absolutely loved this fast paced book! So many twist and turns!! It had me guessing till the very end.

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The book started a bit slow for me at first, but I devoured the second half! It was chalked full of fun twists and turns, and my jaw was on the floor by the end.
There were a few plot holes that I wish were tied up a bit more, but overall I enjoyed this book

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I loved this book! I like the way that parts of the story is told through letters and magazine/newspaper articles. The tidbits of information are perfectly doled out to keep you reading and guessing. All of the characters are hiding secrets and darkness and I found myself cheering on characters who had done some pretty awful stuff. This was my first book by Hawkins and I look forward to reading more by her.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy for review.

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Teetering between 3.5-4 stars, so rounding up to 4! This is a quick read and if you are a fan of the author's previous books, I don't think you'll be disappointed in this one either. I felt like the writing style was different from her other books or maybe it was just how the book was set up. I don't know, but I didn't find that a bad thing at all!

With The Heiress, we follow along with three main characters: Camden, Jules, and Ruby McTavish. This book is packed full of secrets and as you continue to read you realize everyone has them.

This book is more of mystery/ family drama type thriller. It was a decent read and I did enjoy it, but it didn't quite keep my full attention or shock me with any of the plot twists. In fact, I had predicted one of the major ones early on. My favorite part was the sections involving Ruby's letters depicting her life and her many husbands' and their untimely deaths. I really liked her character and thought those sections were very entertaining.

All in all, I think this book would make a good beach or vacation read. It is quick and not too complicated to where you wouldn't have any issue following along. This book releases 1/9, but there are rumors it could be a Book of The Month option for December, so I wanted to read it quickly before they announce to see if it would be a good choice and currently I think it would be!

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Rache Hawkins for this digital ARC. Another great thrilling mystery from Rachel Hawkins...

Cam has been running from his past by living in Colorado. He rejected his inheritance from his mother Ruby, and settles in to life as a teacher and husband to Jules. But 10 years later, when his uncle dies, he is brought back to Ashby House to face his family past. Secrets will unfold about Ruby... and Cam and Jules will be unable to pull away this time to hide.

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𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: mystery/thriller📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
It’s a captivating mystery but I wouldn’t really say it was a thriller.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Intriguing mysteries
Multiple POVs
Dysfunctional family drama
Page turners
Creepy atmosphere
Rumors and secrets
Unique plot
Isolated mansions
Greed and secrets galore

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The letters placed throughout
Short chapters
NC setting

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Wasn’t really suspenseful
I still had a few unanswered questions at the end

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A clever and compelling mystery from Rachel Hawkins. While I guessed some of the twists and turns in the story,
I still enjoyed the story developing. This mystery is about what happens when an adopted son returns to the family estate with his wife following the death of his adopted mother and what ensues with the remaining family members. Told through 3 points of view, this page turned makes for a quick read. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This was my first book I have read by Rachel Hawkins. Quite the interesting thriller with lots of twists weaved in throughout. I can say this book kept me hooked and I found it hard to put down as I just had to know what revelation we were going to get next. Told from three different perspectives, it was interesting to see who knew what about each other and the reader gets a really good glimpse into the whole picture while sometimes the characters are in the dark about certain things. I will definitely be adding some of Rachel Hawkins' other books to my TBR! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Rachel Hawkins in an automatic read for me and this one did not disappoint. When Cam’s adoptive mother dies, she leaves everything to Cam which includes a gothic mansion and a very large inheritance. Cam has done his best to separate himself from his family as to not deal with all of the many issues they have. But, when Cam is summoned home, his wife sees this as her opportunity to get her hands on the inheritance. How far will she go, What constitutes family when it comes to inheritance? You will have to read this to find out. If you like a book that has twists and turns, buried family secrets, and a dysfunctional greedy family, this is the book for you! Thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press and of course Rachel Hawkins for the ARC of this masterpiece.

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A great thriller and family drama. This book is a seedy exploration of greed and wealth and I loved every minute of it. Every single character is fatally flawed and it leaves you wondering about the grey between good and evil.

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Ruby McTavish was one of North Carolina’s most infamous women. As the victim of a kidnapping as a baby and a four-time widow, misfortune seems to follow her everywhere.

When she dies, she leaves her fortune and lavish estate to her adopted son, Cam. But he wants nothing to do with the money and all that comes with it — particularly his dysfunctional family and their sordid history. But, when Cam is summoned back to the home, his wife Jules is determined to claim the wealth that is rightfully theirs.

This was a fun, fast-paced mystery that kept me glued to the pages. I read it in just a few sittings. It’s a story about very wealthy people behaving badly and keeping secrets, which always intrigues me.

If you’re a person who enjoys twists and turns, there’s no shortage of those in this book — some I saw coming and others I did not.

My favorite parts of this book were the three different POVs and the mixed media elements, including newspaper and magazine articles and letters. They added some historical fiction flair into what would normally be your run-of-the-mill mystery. I also liked how this one dealt with the theme of whether there is inherent darkness lurking in some people because of their lineage.

My main complaint with this book is that I didn’t feel very connected to the characters, but I often struggle with that while reading mystery/thriller stories.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this one to readers in need of a quick and suspenseful read about the ways in which money can poison people.

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This book was insane!

I loved all the twists and turns. Definitely kept me up a few nights because I was anticipating the end. Can't wait to see this out in the world.

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Wow this is one of my favorite reads of 2023. Fantastic gothic thriller. So many cliff hangers. Five stars!

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