Rachel Hawkins does it again! Although I don’t think it tops The Villa, The Heiress was a satisfying and believable read. I read through it quickly due to the book being very engaging and fast paced. Would definitely recommend this one!

I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this family saga! A dysfunctional family is divided EVEN MORE when a large estate is left to an adopted son….or so it seems…. Nestled in a wooded lot, family secrets are revealed and it will leave you guessing all the way through.

𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙆 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙩𝙤 @netgalley @stmartinspress 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠!

I tried her other book, The Villas, through NetGalley, and DNF'd it because it was not working for me. I think the author's writing style and I just don't mix. I do not want to spite read this, so I am not finishing the book, unfortunately. I will not be requesting her books in the future, to make sure they my spot can go to someone else who may enjoy this author and be excited to have access to the ARC. I wish I had more positive things to say.

I loved this one! What a fun tale of family drama, money, deception, lies....all the juicy stuff rolled up into one! It had a lot of different POV's and made it fun to see the story from multiples sides. This was definitely a page turner for me, I had to know where things would end up. I think this might be my favourite offering from Rachel Hawkins. I would love to see this one made into a movie!

Admittedly, I hesitated to claim this book as an ARC, the author's previous book was so disappointing, but when all is said and done, I'm so glad I did. This is a quick little book, with a quick moving plot, multiple points of view, and lots of dirty family secrets.

The book opens with the tale about how NC heiress Ruby McTavish was kidnapped as a young toddler, and re-discovered over a year later with a family in AL. As she grows into adulthood, she leads a life of financial success, but romantic disaster as her 4 husbands all meet tragic and early ends.

The two main points of view we are given are Camden McTavish and Jules Brewster. Camden McTavish is Ruby's adopted son, heir to her fortune after her death, but choosing to shun his family from a young age after finding that he is fed up with being ostracized and treated as less than by his aunt and cousins. Jules Brewster is his wife of 10 years, devoted to him, but also eager to return to his ancestral family home in NC to set things to rights. Through conniving and convincing, Jules and Camden decide to return to NC early on in the book, with the main plot alternating between present day as they return to Ashby House, and letters Ruby has written about her life to an unknown recipient.

As previously mentioned, this book is full of dark family secrets, and is deftly plotted. There is only one "reveal" that was easy to predict from early on, but otherwise the secrets revealed were shocking, but not so shocking that one had to suspend disbelief, which is honestly a huge red flag for me with thriller/mystery novels. This one was a romping good time from start to finish, absolutely earning a solid 4 star rating from me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

I think this may be my favorite one by this author. I loved the characters and the mind fuck that each character plays a part in. Everyone is connected and not in ways you would expect. Can’t wait to read what is next!

The Heiress is a suspenseful novel about the richest woman in North Carolina and her family. Ruby McTavish has ruled Tavistock, North Carolina where her residence, Ashby House, is located. Ruby has had quite the life. She was kidnapped as a three year old for eight months and then returned to her family. Ruby was married four times and each husband had a tragic death. Ruby has an adopted son, Cam, who she has left her entire estate too, leaving other family members to rely on Cam to get their bills paid. Meanwhile, Cam wants nothing to do with his family or their money.

Eventually Cam is forced to return to Ashby House to take care of matters that have been neglected. There is a lot going on at Ashby House, not to mention that a lot has happened over the years. The story of Ruby is told through several viewpoints, Cam's, his wife's, Jules and letters that Ruby has left behind.

While there were some twists that I saw coming, there are a lot of twists, as there always are in Rachel Hawkins books. I found myself wanting to keep coming back to The Heiress to see what was going to happen next.

I received an ARC of The Heiress in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one and it hooked me in from the start! I should have wrote a review right after reading it, as it's been a long time now and hard to remember, but I remember that I couldn't put it down and was intrigued through it all.
Worth the read!

Rachel Hawkins just keeps getting better and better! I loved this book.
The different POVs, the speaking to the reader, the guessing, the secrets, the mystery.
Easy 5 stars.

I absolutely love a good Rachel Hawkins thriller and WOW = this was one of the best! I thought I knew what was going on, I really did, but boy was I wrong (in the best way possible). This was twisty, weird, and totally untrustable from the very first page, and I couldn't put it down until I figured it out. I loved Jules and Camden, despite their flaws, and absolutely did hate the rest of the family with a burning passion. What a fantastic book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my review! Another day, another @ladyhawkins ARC review! This book will be out in the world January 9, 2024! Similarly to The Villa, this book uses multiple POVs and varying timelines to tell the story. While not all of the revelations were shocking, the final pieces were! This was a quick read, full of secrets and some loathsome characters. My favorite parts were the letters written by Ruby, who was such an interesting character. There were parts that were perhaps left open to interpretation towards the end, but I think they were done well. What keeps me coming back to Rachel Hawkins’ books-aside from the GORGEOUS covers-are the way the characters are all written in way that why aren’t completely bad, not completely good, and you can’t help but be invested.

The Heiress was a highly addictive book. This is one I couldn't put down. The format for this one was unique. This was written in a few POV's, including letters from the deceased heiress of Ashby House. I liked this better than Hawkins's previous book, The Wife Upstairs.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore kicks the bucket, she's not only the richest woman in North Carolina, but also the town's juiciest piece of gossip. Kidnapped as a kid and married four times, Ruby ran the show from her swanky family estate in the Blue Ridge mountains. After she bites the dust, her adopted son, Camden, inherits her massive fortune and the whole McTavish mess.

But Camden couldn't care less about the fancy house or the money. He ditches the inheritance, becomes a regular English teacher in Colorado, and ties the knot with Jules, who's running from her own past.

Ten years later, a family funeral summons Cam and Jules back to Ashby House. It's still pretty, but Cam quickly remembers why he bailed in the first place.

Jules, though, has other ideas. The more she learns about Cam's quirky family and their twisted secrets, the more she's determined to get Cam what Ruby intended for him.

But Ruby's plans were more than meets the eye. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Cam, questions about the infamous heiress resurface. Did she really get kidnapped as a kid? What's the deal with her four dead husbands? And why did she adopt Cam?

Jules and Cam find out that an inheritance isn't just what's written in a will. Family ties go beyond the grave.

This one had me turning page till the end to find out who was hiding what secrets. The characters were all a little shady and made me question them. Ashby House gave me Rebecca (Daphne du Mauier) vibes, like being at Manderly. The twists in this one were unexpected.

A special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this brilliant read in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Money, money, money.....money, money, money!

I've had my issues with Rachel Hawkins. I did NOT like The Wife Upstairs. In fact, I believe, I hated it. Reckless Girls was mid, but The Villa, I quite liked. The Heiress....The Heiress, might be the best one, yet.

Camden and Jules are a couple in love. They are living in Colorado, scraping by on his teacher's salary when they are summoned by his family. See, Cam is a McTavish.

Ruby McTavish was not only one of North Carolina's most richest women but one of the most notorious. Kidnapped at the age of three, and returned a year later, Ruby was later married, widowed, married, widowed, married, widowed, married....and widowed. She adopted Cam as one last effort to establish a legacy, and one more way to stick it to her sister Nelle, and her offspring.

Now, Cam (and Jules) must contend with his cousins and his Great Aunt Nelle while they fight over the McTavish fortune. But, as with all families, not all things are simple and the house and Ruby were full of secrets.
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This is a page-turner to the nth degree. I wanted to find out Ruby's secrets the minute I read her first letter! I wanted to know about each husband and to find out about each of her marriages. This is the kind of book that I've been wanting from Rachel Hawkins.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I've read enough thrillers to know a good one from an average one, and "The Heiress" is a good thriller. The storyline sucked me in from the beginning and kept my attention until the very end.

After the death of Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, North Carolina's wealthiest and most notorious woman, her estate and fortune passed to her adopted son, Camden. Surprisingly, Camden has no interest in the wealth, the family estate, or the McTavish name. He opts for a simple life as an English teacher in Colorado and marries Jules, who wishes to escape her own troubled past.

A decade later, Camden and Jules receive a summons following his uncle's death, compelling them to return to Ashby House, the McTavish family's mountain estate. Despite the breathtaking views and elegant rooms, returning home reminds Camden of why he left in the first place.

Jules, however, is determined to make the McTavish family her own and unravel their dark secrets. She becomes increasingly obsessed with claiming everything Ruby intended for Camden. But as they delve deeper into Ruby's history, they unearth persistent rumors from her childhood, mysteries surrounding the deaths of her four husbands, and questions about why she adopted Camden in the first place.

Jules and Camden soon realize that their inheritance goes beyond Ruby's will and that the family bonds have a haunting and lasting power that transcends death.

As I reflect on the novel, there isn't a piece of it I didn't enjoy. It was written from three different viewpoints, and the three narrators were all enjoyable. We also get introduced to a few other characters who aren't likable at all, but they do serve a purpose. In addition to the characters, I enjoyed the novel's plot and setting.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this copy.
Publication date: January 9, 2024.

Thank you, St Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of The Heiress.

Rachel Hawkins has done it again. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Give me a well-executed story of a notorious heiress with a conniving family and a huge estate to fight over any day of the week! I didn't want to put this one down. The Heiress is told from multiple POVs with dips back into the past, but it's easy to follow and not repetitive like some multiple POV novels seem to be.

Camden inherited the McTavish fortune and Ashby house when his adoptive mother, Ruby, died. With the house falling into shambles, the remaining McTavish family convinces Cam to come home and deal with the repairs of the house. His fiance, Jules, is determined to make Cam see that they should stay at the house that he owns and claim what is rightfully his. The truths that Cam uncovers at the house has the potential to ruin his and Jules' worlds.

There are so many secrets and lies in this intriguing family drama! This one will keep you on the edge of your seat .It's the story of the McTavish family of North Carolina. This wealthy family rules the small town of Tavistock. Cam is the sole heir to their huge mansion and estate in the mountains He has been summoned back to the family home when his uncle passes away. The estate is just as elegant as ever but he is reminded of why he left it years ago. His wife Jules thinks she wants to stay there but soon both of them find themselves wanting to leave as soon as possible. Every character in this book has secrets and it is very interesting to see them all come to light. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I loved it!

Really great novel from Rachel Hawkins. We are given three different viewpoints: two in present day and one in the past. This is gothic with a capital G. I was getting like V.C. Andrews vibes a bit. Tons of secrets all the way up until the ending.

From Amazon:
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.

But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, 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, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.

More from me:
You know me, I love me some family drama and suspense and this book delivers. I've read all of the novels that Rachel Hawkins has released since The Wife Upstairs and I must say this one is as good as The Wife Upstairs was (her other two pale in comparison to this one). I love how nothing was as it seems. I love how it speaks a bit about nature vs. nurture.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The novel will be published on January 9, 2023 and is available for pre-order right away. Check it out!

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for Rachel Hawkin’s latest book coming out in January 2024, The Heiress. The world’s richest heiress dies and leaves everything to her adopted son, yet he doesn’t want it. She’s left him some letters to read and it was so slow paced, I could not get into it at all. I think I’m not the audience for this book as I see others have loved it.

The amount of times my jaw dropped reading this book. The twists and turns were awesome and not suspected. I really enjoyed the book and was not expecting how it ended but would highly recommend to my reader friends. If you enjoy sitting in the edge of your seat reading this book is for you.

Rachel Hawkins does it again! She has crafted a fun, unique, twisty and laugh-out-loud funny thriller to start off the new year. This thriller is like Evelyn Hugo meets Verity but add some of Lady Hawkins witty banter. I also love her beautiful portrayal of the Highlands area of NC, it is so accurate! I highly recommend her newest thriller, The Heiress! Thank you to NetGalley & St Martin's press for the gifted eARC in exchange for my thoughts.