What a great read! This gave me Evelyn Hugo vibes for sure. I loved the way the story was told: through letters, articles and the two main characters. While I did feel like this was a slow burn, once it got moving I couldn’t put it down! I have enjoyed previous books by this author and am looking forward to reading more!

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!
Just to start, this is my new favorite Rachel Hawkins book! While I felt like it took me a bit to be fully invested in this story, by the mid-way point I was completely immersed.
Ruby McTavish may be one of my favorite characters I have read recently if not ever.
This gave me all the Taylor Swift-Rebekah Harness vibes. IYKYK.
This is a can’t miss read and I am elated I got to read it early!
This gem publishes January 9, 2024!
4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5

I loved Rachel Hawkins’ The Other Wife (a contemporary Jane Eyre retelling) and I really enjoyed Reckless Girls, and The Heiress measures up to those two novels. It’s a Southern gothic tale complete with secrets, lies, a mansion that belonged to the now-deceased matriarch, and a dysfunctional family who’s squabbling about the inheritance. Questions about who “should” inherit the mansion and exactly who should be considered family (and who shouldn’t) are central to the novel. Rachel Hawkins is amazing at pacing and you want to keep turning those pages to find out what secrets everyone is keeping.

🚨Spoiler alert 🚨

The book ends with the happy news of a pregnancy, and personally I’m not the biggest fan of the pregnancy wrap-up. This certainly wouldn’t keep me from reading whatever Rachel Hawkins writes next—I think she’s an amazing thriller writer!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a review copy!

Release date: January 2024 🗓️

Ooh I love a good dilapidated mansion mystery with plenty of wealthy family drama. And this book delivers! The chapters are from different viewpoints so you really get to know the characters perspectives. The letters from Ruby are especially delicious to read. Hawkins does a beautiful job of mixing a modern story with the Gothic overtones that come with Ruby’s history & the Ashby House. So many secrets & revelations! I don’t want to say much more, as to not give anything away but this was a great book. One of my favourites I’ve read this year & and extremely easy to recommend. And will definitely be looking for the authors other books, time to seek out her previous ones.

Wowwwwwweeee, Rachel Hawkins knows what’s up. I loved every minute of this book. I was gripped in all the right ways and wish I had had more time to read it faster.

Rachel Hawkins is back with murder, money and mystery. Ruby is the richest woman in North Carolina and also the most notorious. As a baby, she was kidnapped from her wealthy family. As an adult, she was widowed four times. Now Ruby’s estate has been left to her adopted son, Camden, who spurns the inheritance and all the family associated with it. When Camden returns with his wife 10 years later, secrets about Ruby come to light that will affect the whole family.

A family drama full of multiple points of view and plenty of twists. Suspense, scandal and intrigue will keep the pages turning and you won’t be able to put it down The Heiress. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced readers copy in return for my honest review.

A dash of WNC, a touch of old glamour, all mixed into a thriller? YES. Hawkins weaves multiple plot lines and perspectives to tell the story of an heiress with a troubled past and terrible family. Ruby’s story was well-fleshed out, but Jules’ and Camden’s was a little sparse. It made the plot feel a bit imbalanced. Somewhat slow paced, I enjoyed the writing style nonetheless. I will saw, Hawkins writes in long-winding sentences that border run-on sentences… kinda irks me. But I would recommend this book for anyone who loves this genre!

Genres I will always read: ones dedicated to WNC, thrillers, and old glamour/gilded era history/historical fiction. So you KNOW I was so excited to get this book early access!!

This is the latest release by Rachel Hawkins! While most readers are loving it and can’t say enough about it, for me it just missed the Wow factor A case of like not love!

Ruby McTavish was one of the wealthiest women in the Carolinas! Upon her passing she left the family home and her fortune to her son, Cam. Safe to say, the rest of the family were none too pleased with that decision!

Cam put as much distance between him and his dysfunctional family as possible. But now, maybe it’s time to return home, face his demons and take care of the family estate once and for all.

We learn about matriarch Ruby through letters she’d penned discussing her past marriages and the demise of all her husbands. Ya… there were more than a few!

Truth be told, his family had plenty of deeply buried secrets between them all. So don’t get too comfortable! These secrets are about to bubble up out of the ooze. And they are explosive! With aftershocks all the way to the end!

Personally, I had trouble connecting to the storyline until about 30% when it finally began clicking! And though I enjoyed the read and all the creatively placed twists, something prevented me from completely loving it. (Truthfully, I find that with most the books from this author).

Still a solid four-star read for me! But there are plenty of five-star reviews to be found. So be sure to peruse those as well!

A buddy read with Susanne!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

If you're a fan of Rachel Hawkins, you won't want to miss this one. It had all the elements that I love and appreciate in a thriller. Namely, rich people behaving badly, atmospheric manors, deeply buried family secrets and of course, twists and turns aplenty. It's hard to go into details without giving away the plot, but I highly recommend this if you're like me and enjoy these tropes. As usual, I didn't try to guess the plot and this did indeed surprise me in the end. I predict this will be THE thriller of 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

WOW. Rachel Hawkins at her best. I read this in one sitting and you won't want to put it down either. It's a quick read that keeps you enthralled right from the beginning. So many twists! The letters from Ruby added so much to the story. The multiple timelines and POVs really worked here. I loved the first 2 books I read by this author but hated the last one, The Villa, so I was hoping this would be another good one. Well, it wasn't good, it was great. Highly recommend.

absolutely loved the storyline and format! I felt like I was in the plotline, and it was one that kept giving me "Gone Girl" vibes at the end!

I’ve read all of Rachel Hawkins’ books but this one has me guessing the entire time. She crafted such an involved storyline. I had suspicions on a couple of characters but I didn’t have all the pieces so the characters continued to surprise me. By far, Hawkins’ best book! Loved it!!

I was totally engrossed by this novel. The characters:
Camden, the sole heir to the McTavish fortune, but refuses to touch it. He grew up in a mansion, with family but left as soon as he was able.
Jules, wife of Camden, works two jobs and encourages Camden to return to Ashby House. Does she have ulterior motives?
Ruby McTavish, mother of Camden, deceased. The fortune came through her to Camden. Was there a problem between Camden and his mother? What is the story behind her four marriages and the rumors about "Lady Killmore."
More Questions to be answered:
Why are Aunt Nell, Libby and Ben so very hateful toward Camden?
What is the full story of Ruby's kidnapping as a three year old?

There is so much going on in The Heiress but, surprisingly, it is not TOO much. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC. This is my own honest opinion.

I loved this book. It seems to be a story about a family and the secrets that are covered up , but it also weaves together greed, ,lust , lies , hate and the ultimates betrayal, murder. The twists didn’t stop and I will read it again it was so good. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the arc read in exchange for my honest review .

If you’re a fan of the Roy family in Succession or really any other rich dysfunctional family with a mystery or three thrown in, this one is for you. I think it’s my favorite of Hawkins’ books. I loved the dual POVs and also Ruby’s letters and the news articles about the McTavishes. There were so many twists and turns, right up until the very last page. I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller, more like domestic suspense, but it was still intriguing and had me hooked. At the beginning I had more interest in Ruby’s letters than Jules and Cam’s POVS because theirs were a bit of a slow burn (still good though!), but once things started moving, oh boy, did they move! I had such a hard time putting it down and enjoyed every little surprise Hawkins threw in for us.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Listen, is this book original? No. Are some of the twists predictable? Yes. BUT! Did I have a fun time? Absolutely!

I've learned that with Rachel Hawkins' thrillers, it is best to go in with no expectations and just get swept away. They are never as deep or dark as I would like them to be, but they are always a fun time. The Heiress is no expectation to that; we've got rich people being rich people, mysterious letters from a deceased matriarch, the poisonous Southern good old boy mentality being challenged, and much more! The addition of mixed media elements along with some great snark from the leading couple make this a fast-paced read that you can bang out in a weekend.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review! I will be withholding my review from Goodreads and my other social media platforms until St. Martin's Press holds their employees accountable for their racist and antisemitic actions.

Wow!
This is the 3rd thriller I’ve read by this author and The Heiress is by far my most favorite!

The story revolves around an Heiress named Ruby, who was kidnapped at the age of about 3, and returned to her family 8 months later. She grows up, makes a lot of money, and ends up with 4 dead husbands.

Enter Cam, a boy Ruby adopts as an heir to her fortune. Cam hates everything the money comes with- including the McTavish name. When he meets his eventual wife Jules, all the lies Ruby has told comes back to haunt him.

There are so many big reveals in this book, I truly couldn’t put it down!
5Stars! Loved it!

Thank you Net Galley, the publisher and the Rachel Hawkins for the opportunity to read this book!

The latest novel from Rachel Hawkins, The Heiress, is, in my opinion, her best yet. This has been my thought with every new novel she has released, a sign she is only getting better. The Heiress contained great characters, a steady, balanced story progression that kept my interest with twists throughout.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! The beginning reminded me of another certain book where the main character has many dead husbands- I won’t name the title- and it was hard to get the similarities out of my head. But luckily after the first third of the book, I was able to focus on the plot and I enjoyed the rest.

Ruby leaves her adopted son, Camden, all the family riches. Camden must return to the family home and settle some old family drama. You slowly find out the truth about Ruby and her devious choices in life.

It’s hard to describe this book. A lot happens but everything is an important detail. I enjoyed the plot twist towards the end. It was a well told book and I definitely recommend if you like a drama thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is published on January 9, 2024.

Quick, engaging page turner. I loved the setting! The house acted as an additional character. The story kept me guessing. Another hit from Rachel Hawkins!