Rachel Hawkins' "The Heiress" is a captivating and twist-filled thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Set against the backdrop of a wealthy and dysfunctional family, the story unravels with a series of shocking revelations that expose the dark secrets and hidden motivations of its characters.

Camden, the adopted son of the late heiress Ruby McTavish, is reluctantly drawn back into the lives of his estranged relatives when he inherits Ashby House, the family's grand estate. As he delves into the history of his family and the circumstances surrounding his adoption, he uncovers a web of deceit, betrayal, and long-held grudges.

Hawkins masterfully weaves together multiple timelines and perspectives, creating a seamless narrative that keeps the reader constantly engaged. The past and present collide as Camden's investigation leads him to question everything he thought he knew about his family and himself.

The characters in "The Heiress" are complex and well-developed, each with their own hidden agendas and motivations. Ruby, the enigmatic matriarch, is a particularly compelling figure, her life marked by tragedy and resilience.

The plot is expertly paced, with twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. Hawkins skillfully builds suspense, gradually revealing the truth behind the family's dark secrets.

"The Heiress" is a gripping and suspenseful read that will appeal to fans of mystery, thriller, and family drama genres. Hawkins' masterful storytelling and well-crafted characters make for an unforgettable reading experience.

Highly recommended for readers seeking a thrilling and thought-provoking novel that explores the complexities of family relationships, the power of secrets, and the resilience of the human spirit.

A multi-layered, suspenseful novel with more twists and turns than I could have imagined! This tells the story of Camden McTavish, the adopted son of Ruby McTavish (who is from North Carolina and part of one of the wealthiest families in the country), and his wife Jules. Camden has been estranged from his family for more than a decade, and although he and Jules have a pleasant, simple life in Colorado, he returns home as the heir to the family fortune to assist with family matters. What follows is an action-packed, page-turning thriller, told in multiple POVs (mainly Camden, Jules, and Ruby).

This is a quick, engrossing and very enjoyable read. I have read a couple of other books by Rachel Hawkins, but this one was definitely the best.

Does killing someone mean that you’re a bad person?

At least one character in this latest novel by Rachel Hawkins must ponder this question. The McTavish family of the town of Tavistock, in the Blue Mountains of North Carolina, has plenty of many things….money, land, power, and prestige to name just a few. But they also have had tragedies and traumas, and more than a bit of jealousy, bitterness and hostility amongst the family members. Ruby McTavish (Callahan Woodward Miller) Kenmore was the head of the family until her passing, and she led a life that was equal parts Lindbergh baby and Barbara Hutton. At the age of three she wandered into the mountainous wilderness surrounding the family estate, Ashby House, while out for a picnic with her parents and her nanny Grace. As one of the wealthiest families in North Carolina, and the de facto rulers of Tavistock, the McTavishes demanded and received an all-encompassing search of the area and offered the largest reward ever known for information leading to young Ruby’s return. No sign of her was found, and most assumed that she fell victim to the dangers of the wilderness where she was last seen. The family retained a private investigator to keep looking, and a year later the miracle for which the McTavish family had prayed occurred. Ruby was found living in Alabama with the impoverished Darnell family. Mr. Darnell was an itinerant worker who had been laboring in the Tavistock area at the time of Ruby’s disappearance, and it was believed that he snatched Ruby to take the place of his daughter Dora who had died. Rumors persist, though, that the young girl brought back to Ashby House was not the missing Ruby, but rather was truly Dora Darnell. That would be enough notoriety for any person, but Ruby was destined for even more headlines and gossip. She married the wealthy tobacco heir Duke Callahan at 21, and he was shot dead on their honeymoon in Paris. Three more husbands followed, and each suffered a premature and accidental death. Childless even after four marriages, Ruby decided to adopt a young boy named Camden and raise him as her heir….much to the displeasure of the remaining “true” McTavishes, Ruby’s sister Nelle, Nelle’s son Howell, and his children Ben and LIbby. Camden grew up in unimaginable wealth, but was surrounded by a family that didn’t accept him and did their best to make him miserable. He wanted nothing more than to escape, which Ruby blocked at every turn, but when she passed away Camden left everything….Ashby House, the McTavish fortune, and the angry relations who believed the inheritance should be their’s…behind and headed out to California. While attending college and tending bar to meet expenses, he met and fell in love with Jules, a beautiful girl escaping her own troubled past life in Florida. They eventually moved to Colorado and led a fairly ordinary life, until Camden receives an email from his cousin Ben asking him to come back to North Carolina and see to the maintenance of Ashby House, as Ruby would have wanted. Camden is reluctant to go, but Jules (more than a little curious about Camden’s past, about which he has not been forthcoming) persuades him to go. Once there, Camden knows it was a big mistake to go back….Nelle, Ben and Libby still hate him, and still regard him as an undeserving interloper…but he hopes that, with the feisty Jules at his side, maybe he can get through this visit unscathed. Or can he?
The Heiress is an addictive read, told from the points of view of Camden, Jules and (through letters she left behind) Ruby herself. The more I learned about Ruby and the life she led, the more intriguing she became. Strong willed and smart, she seized control of the McTavish empire and ruled it with an iron fist. With so many questions about her (is she really Ruby? Why did she adopt Camden? Why was she so unlucky in her choices of spouse?), she really is the main character of the tale. She is not the only person who held truths close to her vest, though….Camden has kept his past life a secret from Jules, and Jules herself may have a few details hidden up her sleeve. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and couldn’t put it down. As I found with Ms Hawkins previous novel, The Villa, it became more apparent as I read deeper into the book that I could not assume that any character was exactly who they appeared to be, or could be presumed to tell the truth. Wading through the partial truths, the out-and-out lies, and the generally dark miasma that enveloped Ashby House, I took the sudden plot twists in stride and made my own guesses as to what the truth of Ruby’s life story would be, and how Camden would resolve the complications of his life. I did reasonable well in my guesses, but not until the book was almost done. Readers of Ms Hawkins previous novels, as well as fans of authors like LIsa Unger, Megan MIranda and Mary Kubica, should grab a copy of The Heiress right away. Curl up in your favorite spot, and be prepared to binge on this one! Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of The Heiress in return for my honest review.

The Heiress follows Camden McTavish and his wife Jules as they journey back to North Carolina and Cam's family home following the death of his uncle. As a child Cam was adopted by Ruby McTavish, a very wealthy widow with no kids of her own. All four of Ruby's husbands have died in mysterious circumstances and she herself went missing as a child. After her death Cam inherited both the family estate, Ashby House, and Ruby's massive fortune. Cam distanced himself from the family and the money after Ruby's death until called back by his uncle's death. Back with his family secrets start to reveal themselves and the fight for the inheritance by Cam's cousins come to a head.

This book moved quickly and definitely kept my attention. The ending seemed a little abrupt, but it wrapped everything up and tied all the loose ends together. The Villa by Rachel Hawkins made her a favorite author of mine and this book will keep her on the list. I would recommend this book to someone looking for a twisty mystery that isn't too intense or scary.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced e-copy of this book.

I enjoyed this thoroughly, though it was a little more soapy and a little less mysterious than I hoped. But I was totally there for all the drama. I was very into the gothic vibes and all the secrets and lies. Gotta love a toxic family.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance reader copy for my honest review. Who doesn't like a good family story? What about dysfunctional family story? This family story is full of secrets, murders and complicated relationships. Rachel Hawkins has a great writing style, and I couldn't put this book down. Ruby McTavish's character was developed very well, and you either like her or hate her. You would cheer for her and be disappointed with her in the next chapter. She is a rich lady who gets to do anything she wants... I mean ANYTHING. She had four husbands (impressive, right?) and one adopted child Camden. Camdem is a very likable character, and I could have read more stories about his childhood. I also wanted to know more details about his relationship with Libby. Was there more romance than one little episode? I didn't expect the twist at the end, and I loved it! Solid 3.5 stars! This was my first Rachel Hawkins's book, but I am interested to read author's previous works now.

A Family Drama Full of Secrets and Revenge

SUMMARY
Camden is the adopted son of Ruby McTavish, the wealthiest woman in North Carolina. When Ruby died, Camden did not want anything to do with her money, her family, or the family estate in the Blue Ridge mountains. He left North Carolina for good and is now an English teacher in Colorado, happily married to Jules and living a simple life.

Jules and Camden have been married for ten years, and she is intrigued by Camden's family legacy. She would love to see the McTavish mansion and convinces Camden to return to Tavistock, North Carolina. Things do not go as she expected.

Ruby McTavish had lived quite an infamous life. She was kidnapped as a child of three and found alive eight months later. She was married four times but tragically lost each of her husbands. After her last husband died, Ruby devoted her life to charitable work and adopted Camden. She died in 2013, leaving Camden everything and angering the rest of her family.

REVIEW
The Heiress is a family drama full of secrets and revenge and told from three perspectives. Camden and Jule's characters are nicely developed. But it is Ruby who steals the show. Ruby tells her story and her deep, dark secrets through letters addressed to Camden. Ruby's story is entertaining but is so far-fetched it requires the suspension of disbelief. Overall, the story is nicely-paced and interesting read.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martine Press for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Publisher St. Martins Press
Published January 9, 2024
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Ruby McTavish Kenmore is an heiress with a very checkered past, Notoriety from a kidnapping when she was a toddler, several dead husbands and ongoing drama makes her a very rich and interesting woman. After her death her adopted son wants nothing to do with the family as he has built a life far away with his wife. He stays away from the family home for ten years, until he is drawn back in and returns home. The twists and turns in this book are fun and fast-paced. Who can he trust, what is the truth behind all those dead husbands and what really happened when Ruby was kidnapped? So much to unravel and so much fun.

The McTavish family is old money and will do anything to keep it that way. This story explores the merciless process of inheritance and wealth. Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is possibly the most interesting character I have met all year.

I could not put this book down. It sucks you in right from the beginning and never lets go. The plot, setting and characters were all enthralling, mysterious and captivating. All the characters were cryptic and fascinating. Every character had an important part to play. Hawkins perfectly balanced the pace with the tension and reveals. This story is so twisty and delicious. Well fitting read for a cold and gloomy fall day, preferably in your very famous and loaded estate library wing. Definitely worth picking up and exploring old family secrets, some worth dying for.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful story. All opinions are my own.

(It’s possible I watched a lot of soap operas with my mom as a kid.)

If you are a person of a certain age, there’s a chance you grew up watching Dallas . . . and Dynasty . . . and Falcon Crest . . . and Knot's Landing (you get the drift). If so, this may be one to keep on your radar for release day. But PLEASE don’t let the Goodreads' tags fool you. This is not a “thriller” by any stretch of the imagination and the mysteries revealed can all be seen coming from a mile away. No, this is a nighttime soap opera from my childhood featuring a rich family and a lot of murder confessions. So tasty. Rachel Hawkins has definitely become a go-to author for me. I’ve enjoyed all of her stuff that wasn’t in the YA genre.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-book copy of this brilliantly written novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This novel will keep you guessing with each page with lots of plot twist ranging from kidnapping, murder, deception, family estrangement and more. Told in 3 POV in alternating chapters we learn of the sorted secrets that take place in the Ashbury House.

Ruby McTavish, heiress and wife of four husbands who all died under suspicious circumstances, is one of the POVs told in the letters she left behind. But is she a husband killer or a kidnapped child returned? Then there is Camden who was once an orphan and inherits the McTavish fortune but turns it down, cutting all contact with the family until he is forced to return. The third POV is Jules, Camden's wife who grew up in poverty.

This book has it all; murder, suspense, unexpected twist, unreliable narrator, kidnapping, deception, a creepy house and the fortune of a family full of snakes.

Having enjoyed The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls and The Villa, I was thrilled to see that Rachel Hawkins has a new book coming out in January 2024, titled The Heiress. The Heiress is the story of a woman named Ruby who was born into the wealthy McTavish family and raised on the familial estate in the North Carolina mountains until the age of three when she disappeared on a family picnic. The Heiress follows Ruby’s life as she is returned to her family a year after her disappearance through her four ill-fated marriages and her eventual inheritance of the McTavish estate.

In the Heiress, Hawkins, who is not surprisingly a former high school English teacher, shines as always in creating a plot that grabs the reader’s interest from the first page. Of the books that I’ve read by Hawkins, The Heiress is my favorite. I was as interested in the storyline of the missing McTavish child as I was in the four ill-fated marriages of Ruby McTavish. As a former North Carolinian, I loved spending time with Ruby in the North Carolina mountains and enjoyed the references to UNC and Raleigh. I especially enjoyed the company of Ruby McTavish, who reminded me of Great Expectations’ Miss Havisham in her strained familial relationships, questionable parenting practices, and sinister schemes. I enjoyed The Heiress and would recommend it to readers who enjoyed Dickens’ Great Expectations, Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and Hawkins’ previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance reader copy for review.

Upon Cam and Jules' arrival at Cam's childhood home Ashby House, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, secret after secret begins to unearth themselves. The book uses a mix of letters written by Ruby, news blurbs, and alternating points of view (Cam and Jules). There were so many twists and turns throughout this book —many of which I didn't see coming! For those of you who like historical/gothic thrillers, this is worth checking out. I went into reading this book somewhat blind as my primary motive for reading this was based on how much I loved Rachel Hawkins' other books such as Reckless Girls and The Villa. The Heiress did not disappoint.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite Rachel Hawkin's book to date! This was a fast-paced, page turner full of family drama, greed and lies!

The story is told in alternating chapters by Camden, an adopted son and unwilling heir to a family fortune who returns to his childhood home following the death of a family member, Camden's wife and Camden's deceased mother, Ruby. Ruby, is quite a character, having been kidnapped as a child and later found by her family, as well as having married and widowed four times, with each death being under suspicious circumstances. Ruby's story is told through letters that she wrote prior to her death. I really enjoyed learning about her life through these letters and Rachel Hawkins did a wonderful job of weaving the present-day life of Camden into Ruby's past.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me an advanced reader copy of this book!

Power and money are the center of this family drama and what some would do to keep it all. Like all families the drama is at an all time high when a large inheritance is on the line. Just when you think you know and understand Ruby and her choices about the family estate a long held secret reveals itself and makes you question everything you thought you knew.

Ruby is a fascinating character and Rachel Hawkins keeps the suspense building on every page. Ruby, now deceased, was the richest woman in North Carolina. But that doesn't tell the whole story. She's buried four husbands and her life is shrouded in mystery--a mystery that comes unravelled when her adopted son Camden and his wife Jules come to visit. What happened to her husbands? Why did she adopt Camden? Why is Camden so eager to escape the family and forego his inheritance. A fabulous book, highly recommend.

I loved this book!! Such a refreshing thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn’t predict the ending, such a great feeling. Well done!

I had a really hard time getting into this. Life is too short for books that you are a chore to get through. DNF @ 25%

First off, the cover of this book is gorgeous, the color combination is perfect and the wall paper gives it an old money look to this book. I was so intrigued by the description of this book and it did not disappoint, the Heiress Ruby McTanish, kidnapped as a child, widowed multiple times and rich as could be with an adopted son. I loved that this book was written in the perspective of 3 main characters, having Ruby's perspective be given through her written letters, added to that air of mystery and allowed you to see who she really was. The other points of view were her son Camden and his wife Jule as they visited the family. There were so many secrets, drama and the very dysfunctional family. This is a book I could not put down.

5⭐️

Man, I really enjoyed this book a lot. I have only read one other book from this author and it wasn't my favorite, but this one blew it out of the water. I really enjoyed the writing style writing where it was told in different types of media from journal entries to present day. This also is told I'm multiple POVs and timelines.

I also loved that the all the characters were pretty morally gray. It's none of them were really great people and they all had their own secrets. They're all kind of terrible but enjoyable to read. However, some were definitely much worse than others. The matriarch of this book was super fascinating. She was also very scary as she has no guilt.

There was only one thing that I saw coming, but everything else I was honestly surprised by. The pacing of this book was pretty perfect. The book read really fast and I blew through it.

After reading this book, I will probably go back and read some of the authors previous works. I would highly recommend this book to previous fans of this author or fans of Lisa Jewell.


Thank you to NetGalley and Saint Martin's press for this advanced readers copy. My review is voluntarily my own

I will be posting my review to major retail sites and my Instagram page near or on the day of publication.