Rachel Hawkins has done it again! Another page turner with a perfectly intertwined plot. I loved the dimensional way that the characters were developed; it allowed for the unveiling to be so much better. I truly felt that I was at the Ashby House seeing this all unfold first-hand. I will spare the details and highly encourage everyone to read this one. Five stars for me!

Another amazing book by this auther! Definitely kept be engaged throughout the book and wondering what would be happening next. Definitely would recommend reading this one!

This was not my favorite of Rachel Hawkins book that I have had the opportunity of reading, but I think because of this storyline I was able to guess a lot of what shocks there were. I have a family very similar to the McTavish family and I think because I personally know these types of people I was able to guess a lot of what was about to happen. Although with that said I think that people would highly enjoy this book because of how quick of a read it is and that Hawkins creates a good character that you will enjoy reading about and understanding.

The layout of the book was my favorite part of the novel because it transported the reader from present to past every so often so that you could learn about Ruby McTavish and how her past leads to the events of the present between the last of the McTavish family and their old money lifestyles. Camden returns to Ashby house with his wife to get money and household settled 10 years after the death of his adoptive mother, which is something he never thought he would be doing. This leads to a lot of stories and actions to play out between the members of this old family against someone they believe should not have any control of a family that Camden is not blood related to.

I recommend this book for a fun and easy to read thriller with a bit of mix media and complicated family dynamics.

Ruby McTavish - eccentric, old, and richer than God. After burying four husbands (and really getting the rumor mill going), she decided that she hated her family so much that she would adopt a child just so she had a way to keep her family from getting her money. Like that wasn’t going to cause trouble?

Camden McTavish, grown and married to Jules, renting a house, working as a teacher, pretending he isn’t rich. Until his cousin asks him to come home and “patch things up.” Again, like that wasn’t going to cause trouble?

It’s not a spoiler to say that trouble ensues.

I liked the book well enough. I enjoy Rachel Hawkins novels for a quick read on a road trip, a beach read, something quick that doesn’t require a lot of thought and doesn’t elicit any feelings. This definitely checked all those boxes. The characters were shallow and quite annoying, but that tends to be my opinion with most thrillers, so this isn’t a criticism. It was on par with my expectations. Overall, a fun quick read.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!!!

WOW.
I don’t even know where to begin? But this is going to be one of the best books of 2024, no doubt. What a twisted ride full of drama and secrets..
The writing, the plot, the characters and their development, every single aspect of The Heiress surpasses all expectations!
Although I did have a small inkling as to the biggest twist in the plot, it still played out better than I could have imagined it. Rachel Hawkins outdid herself.
I drenched and immersed myself in this book until I was finished!
5/5- a straight banger

The twists and turns in this story will keep you on your feet! Rachel Hawkins does it again and the anticipation of each page turn keeps your blood moving. Such a great story of family and what’s actually considered family…blood or loyalty?

This wasn’t my fave of hers but also wasn’t my least fave. I read it in a day so it was obviously very compelling, I just saw like 90% of the twists coming. I do wish that she dove more into the people going missing in the mountains because why was it mentioned other than to set a ~spooky scene~. Like the family could have been the reason the people were going missing in the mountains or something.

Ruby's storyline/her letters were more interesting to me than anything else going on here. I didn't care much for Cam's relationships with his adoptive family as they felt like under developed villains.

I always look forward to a RH thriller! This was different than others I read as it is a good slow-burn mystery. It always kept me guessing what was going to happen next and making it hard to put down. I loved the dual POVs that always surprised me. Definitely recommend!

Eat the rich or just supply them with spoons and watch them devour themselves. This book was fantastic from beginning to end, by far my favorite Rachel Hawkins to date.

Told from multiple points of view

Cam- the adopted son of a generationally wealthy family

Jules- Cam’s wife

Ruby- Cam’s mom through letters

Family, inheritance and secrets revealed slowly make for a very good read.

Rachel Hawkins always writes a good mystery. I really like how she develops her characters and how she describes scenes. They give plenty of description to get this view in my head and not too much that it draws on and on. Lately, it seems other books i've been reading have just gone over kill so this was a breath of fresh air. She writes in an easy to understand and fast paced way.

Rachel Hawkins is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! I find her books to be well written, full of surprises and characters I love to hate. The heiress gives us this and so much more. Told from 3 points of view, your loyalties will change throughout the story as you realize no one is who you think they are. Mass inheritance, scorned family members, intrigue and murder are just a few of the topics covered. Everyone is truly hiding something and nothing is as it seems. Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for providing me with an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was fast paced and very addictive read that was extremely hard to put down. I really enjoyed the multiple POV's and the main characters really drew me in.

For any fans of Rachel Hawkins you do not want to sleep on this domestic thriller that gives all of the twists and turns.

I’m not quite sure how this book got placed on my radar but I am glad that it did. I want to thank Net Galley and St Martins Press for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The description reads: “When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.”

Now ai will say that I am glad when the approval for the ARC copy came through that I didn’t reread the description and instead just dove in. Why? Because honestly the description gives a bit too much of the book away. As you read you have the feeling of “I already know this, Why are you telling me this again?” Then realizing it was from the book jacket. But, oh well…

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit more unique from the plot stand point that had some nice plot twists and turns as you read on. However, some plot points meant to be surprises ended up being easily sorted out before they were revealed. It wasn’t exactly overly predictable where it ruined the experience nor did the book make you feel a sense of urgency to figure things out.

The biggest negative about the book is it goes along giving all these descriptive paragraphs and smartly interjects letters and new clippings throughout but then you get near the end and it rushes the climax for no reason. It’s a relatively short book for adult fiction so it easily could have given a lot more to the ending and created some much needed suspense for a few situations.

So I’m all it was like a really good outline of the book or first draft that has the potential to be so much more. Despite those challenges, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others. It is a medium paced read that you don’t mind putting down and coming back to.

*I may come back and add more to this review after I have digested it a bit more!

This was easily my favorite Rachel Hawkins book so far (and I really enjoyed all the previous ones). It was hard to put down and the story was very well written. I appreciated how the different perspectives all came together in the end but also with a few twists along the way. Highly recommend this one!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
What a wonderfully twisty ride!
This fast paced thriller keeps you guessing until the very end.
The Heiress follows the now deceased Ruby McTravish and her adoptive son and his wife, Cam and Jules.
It’s split between the POV of Jules and Cam in present day and Ruby’s POV through letters written before she died.
The different perspectives and dual timelines worked really well and I loved the suspenseful and gothic vibes through the story.
It takes place at the sprawling estate of Ashby House in North Carolina as we learn about Ruby’s life as the heiress of the estate. Ruby made headlines at only 3 years old when she went missing on a family picnic only to be brought home safe and sound a year later.
But the mystery never seemed to be solved for Ruby. We see how this has effected her and the woman she becomes and what really happened to those four dead husbands she leaves in her wake.

Loved this book as it has a convoluted storyline involving multiple family members who are all interested in perpetrating the stories they've been told--or believe--about their ancestry and their wealth. It opens when Cam and wife Jules are summoned to Cam's family home as its matriarch and heiress, Ruby has died and he has inherited the multi-million dollar house. Interspersed with the plot, are letters that Ruby had written exposing oh so many secrets about her husbands and the ways they died, as well as the in-fighting now happening as everyone is interested in her fortune. Another one that kept my head spinning as I never would have figured it out!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is about Cameron, who is the adopted son of Ruby and who inherits the infamous Ashbury House when Ruby dies. Cameron has been avoiding the house, and its occupants who are his aunt and two cousins, for years until he has to head back to resolve some matters and brings his wife Jules, but this family feud goes way deeper than any of them realize.

This was an incredibly fast paced, addictive story. I found myself with trouble being able to turn the pages quickly enough, and it was really easy to get lost in. The unreliable narrator storyline builds for some incredible tension, and left me wondering the entire story who I could trust.. if anyone at all??

While some parts were predictable, I still really enjoyed reading along as they all played out, and would recommend this one. However without giving away any spoilers.. there was a plot between Libby and Cameron that I feel like left more room for drama than the one scene we got.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s not her typical thriller feel, but I love the family drama and the mystery. It’s a tangled web of lies and murder that is slowly unraveled as the book goes on. I won’t say that there are big surprises, but it has a creepy house and a VERY dysfunctional family which makes for a great read!

Without a doubt, this is one of the finest gothic fiction novels I have encountered this year. The way the characters evolved and the gradual revelation of their hidden motives were impeccably timed. I thoroughly appreciated how each piece of the puzzle seamlessly fell into place. The inclusion of news articles and letters created an added layer of suspense. The chapters concluded with gripping cliffhangers in a truly psychological fashion. Furthermore, the presence of red herrings and an unreliable narrator enhanced my overall enjoyment. Ultimately, this is a truly exceptional book that I cannot recommend highly enough. It deserves a full five-star rating and I will definitely be encouraging others to read it.