"The Heiress" by Rachel Hawkins delves into the intriguing world of a wealthy and notorious woman, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, whose life and legacy cast a long shadow over her family and the small town of Tavistock. Despite her wealth and influence, Ruby's past is marred by a famous kidnapping and a string of four marriages ending in mysterious deaths.

Following Ruby's death, her adopted son Camden, along with his wife Jules, tries to distance themselves from the family and its complicated history. However, when his uncle's passing draws them back to the family estate of Ashby House, they find themselves confronted with Ruby's legacy and the secrets it holds.

As Jules and Camden navigate the complexities of their family's history, they are drawn into a web of rumors, mysteries, and unanswered questions surrounding Ruby's life. From the circumstances of her disappearance as a child to the suspicious deaths of her husbands, the truth behind Ruby's enigmatic persona gradually comes to light.

"The Heiress" explores themes of family, inheritance, and the enduring impact of the past on the present. With its richly drawn characters, atmospheric setting, and gripping plot, the novel offers a compelling exploration of wealth, power, and the secrets that lie hidden beneath the surface of privilege.

Meh, not my favorite. I did like the ending quite a bit and how it all came together, but the storyline itself was kind of slow and boring.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenwood was a larger than life figure in a small town of North Carolina. She was widowed four times (all under mysterious circumstances), was kidnapped as a toddler and left her vast inheritance and grand home to her adopted son Camden. However, Cam didn't want anything to do with the estate or money or Ruby's relatives.

Cam and his wife Jules come back to the house to deal with some issues and Jules hopes to get Cam to stay.

I enjoyed the book, especially when it went back in Ruby's POV. Fun mystery with lots of twists.

It is a lovely, fast-paced, modern gothic that is filled with Southern charm and deeply flawed characters. Fans of Rachel Hawkins will be not disappointed.

Many months ago when I requested an ARC I had a sinking suspicion based on nothing but the title that this would be a Monte book™ and I am happy to report that even though I didn't get to it until well after its release, it was indeed a Monte book™.

Told from three distinct POVs I wouldn't say this is like most thrillers or mysteries that I've read. Sure, there are characters that are hiding things from each other while dropping little hints to the reader, but the book isn't trying to beat you over the head with reveals. The experience is more akin to hearing your friend tell you their own convoluted family history over lunch; or them recapping the plot of a particularly messy episode of TV in order to convince you to watch it. The character work is mostly done in broad strokes, the ideas of who these people are and the role they play in the story being told. Again, more like a family history than a high octane plot propelled novel. Still, it works. The book reads like it knows that it's short, that it's been meticulously trimmed of any fat to keep only what is strictly necessary. It's possible that this approach won't be for every reader, but it was for me and I appreciated not only the story itself but how it was told.

This was my second Rachel Hawkins novel and just like the first one, I became obsessed. She has a great talent for writing thrillers that keep you at the edge of the seat. Like her previous book, the story unfolds in the most engaging way by giving us 3 points of view. There is so many left on the table from the very beginning that makes so much sense at the end and the journey to figure out the truth is the most exciting.

Camden is an orphan who is left fortune by his heiress mom. He was adopted by Ruby McTavish who despised her family. Jules is married to Cam and they both return to the Ashby House to tie up some loose ends. The story is intertwined with dark humor, estranged family members looking to sabotage each other, and the truth that is bursting to come out.

There were so many twists and turns that I couldn’t see where it was going. As the story progressed, I was terrified to find out the truth and when it finally came out, I was shocked. I think one of the reasons I was so invested in the story was because the characters were always up to something and the ending was the best way to finish the story.

Rachel Hawkins has become an auto buy author for me. I can’t wait to read all of her books because they are so fun and I truly believe she writes the best thrillers that can mess with your head.

This was so twisty and fun!! I love an insane family drama so much. So creative and engaging, twisty and dysfunctional and a wild ride from start to finish! Thank you for the arc.

If you enjoy smart, twisty thrillers with interesting points of view, big surprises, and chilling characters, this is for you! I love a story where no one can be trusted. The way Ruby's story was weaved in through her letters kept me wanting to know her more, and how the characters journeys all tied together in the end was really fun. I'm a Rachel Hawkins fan already, and this one did not miss.

This was not what I expected but stil
Good I will say the other books were better but still kept me guessing

Unfortunately, The Heiress just didn’t do it for me. The only characters I found interesting were Jules and Camden. The other characters were just lacking in my opinion. The twists were there, but they were a bit predictable.

I will continue to read Rachel Hawkins since I loved her last 3 books!

This was a fun read! It felt a little bit like Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo because of Ruby's personality and her recounting of her several marriages but with a lot more thriller/suspense with the added childhood kidnapping angle.

Ruby was a fantastic enigmatic character even from beyond the grave, more so than the main characters to be honest. It took me a while to get fully invested in the Cam/Jules but I was immediately interested in learning more about Ruby, her kidnapping, her marriages, her life, and the other family members, their backstories and relationships with each other. I found myself very eager to read Ruby's POV while I definitely rushed through some of the Cam/Jules chapters. My other gripe was how similar the voices of Cam and Jules were. There were some chapters where I would come back to read and be like, who is speaking again? On top of that, while I don't mind profanities (let's be honest, I use them daily myself) there was some major overuse of the same profanities across characters, which got annoying after a while and didn't help with differentiating between POVs. Just a little more variety in those choices would've been appreciated.

All that aside, I think the secluded estate setting was perfect, I enjoyed having multiple POVs, and the character development was engrossing. Pacing was somewhat inconsistent but it didn't keep me from wanting to keep reading. This was one of those stories where none of the characters are necessarily "good", in the traditional hero/protagonist vs villain way--everyone is conniving and a bit (or a lot) selfish and the entire family is dysfunctional because of the competition to get Ruby's money. But those types of characters tend to be so intriguing and that was the case here. I enjoyed many of the plot twists and they got us to a satisfying final showdown.

All in all a great read that I would recommend to those who enjoy interpersonal drama, family secrets, and mysteries/thrillers.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

Oh my goodness! This book is a brilliantly smart and extremely addictive read that you won't be able to put down. With unexpected twists and heart-throbbing pacing, it draws you into a captivating mystery.

Hawkins novels get better and better with each one she writes. I am blown away by this twisty, plot-driven novel that I devoured in record speed. As I turned the pages, the plot just became thicker and thicker.

Oh this was great. I postponed reading it thinking it would be a thriller and I’m glad it wasn’t. It was suspenseful but only because I was trying to figure out all the secrets. Reminded me of Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo, which I absolutely adored, just darker. I guess someone can get away with a lot if they have the money to cover it up. I had a feeling early on that Jules wasn’t who she said she was, but I thought the letter telling and different POV made that reveal much more surprising. And the ending with the painting?! 🤔 However, I did learn my mama heart doesn’t want to read about missing toddlers, even if they are found.

I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley (THANK YOU) and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

T͓̽H͓̽E͓̽ H͓̽E͓̽I͓̽R͓̽E͓̽S͓̽S͓̽
By Rachel Hawkins
Release date 01/09/2024


1. What was your favorite part of the book? * Ruby’s letters and the newspaper article 📰📝

2. How quickly did you guess the twist? * no I wouldn’t have ever guessed this puzzle, it def made and worked for the book.

3. Discuss the point of view and whether it worked for this book. *The different
5. points of view make this book even better. It’s told by Ruby, Jules, Cam, and old newspaper articles from the past.

4. Which characters in the book did you like best? * Jules all day. She was an enigma

5. Did you find the author’s writing style easy to read or hard to read? Why? How long did it take you to get into the book? * I’ve enjoyed several of Miss Hawkins's books, I read this book easily in one day. I was hooked by the first page. Def one of her best yet.

5 out 5 S⃣t⃣a⃣r⃣s⃣⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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This one actually caught me offguard. The first couple chapters didn't really draw me and I wasn't sure what to expect from this story. I am so glad I kept going because WoW! I loved these characters! The secret twists and turns - the letters weaved through. Evem when I thought there couldn't be more - another twist is thrown at you. This author just keeps you guessing.

I loved the way it all connect in the end and found myself re reading the letters just to get another glimpse with the full understanding. These are characters you love to hate and I loved how they were speaking to me as the reader.

This will be one I highly recommend to others!!

When Ruby McTavish dies and leaves her estate to Camden, her adopted son, he wants very little to do with it. It isn’t until his uncle’s death that Camden gets summoned back with his wife Jules to deal with the affairs.

Rachel Hawkins always writes the most entertaining books! They’re all vastly different but l just as good! I loved this one, I really didn’t know what to expect going in and it was a wild ride with a surprising ending! I would definitely recommend going in blind if you can! Can’t wait to see what she comes out with next

I mean, this is a thriller book. If you like thrillers you'll probably enjoy this book. The plot was a little predictable I think, but then again there were some elements I did not see coming at all. This book has a couple false endings but it's also tackling a lot of plot elements that the author has to wrap up. I didn't find this book hard to follow, but it did drag at some points. We have a couple different POVs to follow, one of those being flashbacks in the form of letters. I found the letter sections to be a little boring, though they played a huge role in carrying the plot forward.

I also really didn't like the two main characters. I don't see why they stayed together or even got together in the first place. I didn't see any connection between them. We got a lot of backstory showing their love, but none of that translated to the current events.

On a scale of other thrillers I read, this one just didn't land as well as others that impacted me more. The audio was fun though, and this book did make my long drives feel short. If you're into thrillers, I'd suggest grabbing this one through a library rather than buying your own copy.

A twisty tale of murder, greed, and the ways that we are bound to one another, Hawkins offers readers a fun, well-paced, and consistently surprising look at a family full of secrets and hidden desires. The letters are the book's strongest selling point - the other chapters, narrated in the present day, don't hit quite as hard as when the book delves into the past. There's also an aside near the beginning that seems to give away the book's big twist that took some of the suspense out of the story for this reader, but mileage may vary there. A perfectly serviceable thriller that will make for a great read at the beach or the pool.

I really enjoyed this one! While nothing that happens or is revealed was outright shocking, there were still plenty of twists and turns to keep me engaged and wanting to know more. I like the interspersed letters that gave us a glimpse into Ruby's mind and actions. While none of these characters should have been likeable considering some of their actions, I did find myself rooting for Cam & Jules at the end.