The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is a Southern Gothic noir tale hat begins with Ruby, North Carolina’s wealthiest woman who was kidnapped as a child and suspiciously widowed four times all while living in a massive family estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her son Cam and his wife Jules live a normal life in Colorado where he rejects his inheritance after his mother’s death, but when his uncle dies, he and Jules return to Ashley House. Why did Ruby adopt Cam, who can you trust. Filled with unreliable narrators, this is a clever mystery with clever twists.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

This is a hard one to rate for me! At 9%, I almost gave up on it. The first 1/3 of it I struggled through, but once I got past the midway point, I was absolutely enthralled by this book and the twists! Especially the last section, I couldn’t turn the page fast enough.

Ruby McTavish is notorious in North Carolina for having gone missing when she was just a toddler. She and her family are wealthy, famous, and well known and respected in their community where they live at the Ashby House estate. We learn about Ruby’s many husbands who all died under mysterious circumstances. When Ruby dies, she leaves the entire inheritance to her adopted son, Camden, who wants nothing to do with the estate or family and the ties that come with it. Then, Cam gets word that he needs to return to the estate, and Jules wants to go.

This book alternates from the perspectives of Cam and Jules, and then there are letters from Ruby McTavish to an unknown recipient, and newspaper articles as well.

Again, I almost gave up on this book. I’m so glad I didn’t! Even after I finished, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I also can’t get over what I learned this week, that Rachel Hawkins - who you may know from The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, and The Villa - also writes under the name Erin Sterling and wrote The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse 🤯. Talk about a wide range of writing talent - I think all of her psych thrillers are all so different but then to throw in some romance too is just damn impressive! 😂

Overall I’d definitely recommend reading this book - it’s the perfect gothic suspense for fall/winter.

It hits shelves January 9, so get your library request or preorder in, or just mark your calendars! I think this is going to be on a lot of people’s lists for 2024!

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

Last year I was lucky enough to also preview an early copy of her book, the villa. This time it was the heiress. I devoured this book. She is such an engaging writer who makes it so hard to put a book down. The twists left me guessing and wanting more. I have read many books by this author and have only been pleased. Check this one out when it’s released on January 9, 2024.

I am in love with Rachel Hawkins books!! The Heiress is probably the best yet. I adored the back and forth time lines as we explore Ruby’s upbringing, and all those husbands(!), and the wreckage her death left in its wake. I love a good historical fiction and this has the best of both worlds as we explore the world that was and contrast it with the world in front of us. Camden and Jules were such great characters and felt so real to me. Not a single punch was pulled and every twist left me reeling. I finished this in one day because I had to know how it ended.

I’ll admit it, although she wasn’t perfect. I love Ruby 😂

The ending confused me trying to connect everyone, but overall I really enjoyed this! I always love rich people behaving badly. The short chapters, changes in POV, inclusion of the articles, etc made it fun!

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

The Heiress intensely sucked me into the story within just a few chapters, much like last year’s The Villa by the same author.

The characters were so captivating and the slowly unravelling mystery was compelling.

I enjoy the writing style, and the historical side of the story told through Ruby was stunning. Although, things seemed to get messy with the current timeline. I think it could have done with being a little longer for clarity’s sake. Especially the “big reveal” concerning Ruby’s death seemed a little far fetched and unclear.

Libby and Ben came across as one-note. As did Cam and Jules if I’m being honest but they at least had secrets to uncover.

The mid-points were the highest and my suspension of disbelief was wearing out toward the end. Something just started falling flat after the death of Ruby’s third husband.

But I enjoyed my read and flew through it. Can’t wait for the next mystery/thriller from Rachel Hawkins.

This book was so good. I definitely recommend. Perfect blend of past and present without being too overwhelming. Verryyy witty in the best way. Such a down to earth writing style, I love it and the story was chefs kiss

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy ebook of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins.

I really enjoyed Hawkins' "The Wife Upstairs" that I blindly read "Wreckless Girls" without reading the synopsis. I honestly didn't enjoy the author's second book. When I saw "The Heiress", it gave me "Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" vibes. I didn't want to ruin Seven Husbands as I have not read it yet, but I went ahead and read the Heiress anyways.

Ruby McTavish, once a kidnapped toddler, now has died leaving behind a massive fortune. She also leaves behind letters detailing how each one of her four husbands tragically died. Her only adopted child, had cut ties with Ruby several years prior and wants nothing to do with the family fortune. However, distant family members still residing in the McTavish house wants a piece of the fortune that they are not entitled to.

Overall, I was disappointed with this book. The book was very bland and very predictable. Typical family drama fighting over an estate that was left behind. Unfortunately, I will have to think twice about reading another one of Rachel Hawkin's books.

Thank you NetGallery and St. Martins Press for this ARC! This story revolves around the multi-generational McTavish family, the richest most influential family in the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains. When Ruby was kidnapped at 3 years old and returned months later, something’s just never seemed right again. I loved the different point of views in this story with all of them speaking to you! Between the 4 husbands that Ruby had that all died in an “accident “ and the family forever arguing over power and money. Rubys adopted son Camden is in the middle of all the feuding and left the entire inheritance that he wants no part of in any way shape or form. Having to come back 10 years later Camden comes back with wife Jules to help fix up the family mansion and ends up coming face to face with long ago demons. I found this hard to put down, fast paced with plenty of twists and turns to make your head spin and loved the little Easter Egg from Rachel’s book the Villa!

This took me FOREVER to read. I kept putting it down to read other things. I would go back to it and sometimes feel drawn in but othertimes just be bored. I didn't feel satisfied by the ending and it just felt slow to me. But I am definitely in the minority as most people love it. 2.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't as gripping as I was hoping for. It was a slow burn for me, but the ending made it worth it! It was a really great ending. It had a lot of twists that I wasn't expecting, and it made it worth reading until the end. Overall, it was a good story!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Rachel Hawkins has finally given me a 5 star book to devour. I wasn't even sure it was 5 stars until the very end because when I thought the twists were done twisting , she gave me one more. The reason it worked was because of how she tied the past with the present and future and didn't leave a stone unturned.

Camden and Jules have been married 10 years, and finally, he heeds the summons home to Ashby House. Cam was adopted by Mrs. Ruby McTavish, as a 3 year old, dubbed the luckiest boy in North Carolina. Except why did he run from everything at age 20? Then we get these letters, sent from Ruby to an anonymous person, confessing how her 4 previous marriages ended. All 4 of her husbands died while married to her. After Ruby, as an infant was disappeared and re appeared 8 months later. Another twist was she really Ruby, or a poor child named Dora Darnell? If you look too closely at the main characters, you will wonder who they really are. The letters provided a glimpse to the past while the current day events had enough action, especially toward the end to qualify as a thriller. I didn't quite expect the ending, but it was better than I could imagine and left a question for the reader to ponder.

4.8 rounded up to 5 stars, out Jan 9, 2024.

Camden has been trying to escape his past since he turned 18. The adopted son of the infamous heiress Ruby McTavish, he's learned that everything the McTavish family touches rots. He's happy with his life, his wife, Jules, and being as far away from North Carolina as possible.

But circumstances force him to return to the lavish estate he hates, and with it, the twisted games his family plays. Little does he know, his wife is playing games herself.

This was such a fun book. It kept me guessing the entire time, and it was very sharp and witty. There were lots of different storylines, but they all kept the thread in a really nice way. The characters were flawed but still likable, and I found myself rooting for them to do awful things (this is the mark of good writing, I think). I loved the letters from Ruby, the dual POV with Jules and Cam, and the delicious descriptions of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Heiress centers around the McTavish family old money from North Carolina. Ruby McTavish now deceased was kidnapped as a baby and miraculously found living with another family before she was returned. She went on to marry four times and all of her husbands died mysteriously. Ruby's adopted son, who became the sole heir to the entire fortune, and his wife are now coming back to the family home for the first time since her death. Of course nothing is as it seems at the estate and there are family members who doubt the real Ruby ever came back. This was more of a family mystery/domestic suspense than thriller and while entertaining I wasn't as invested in the outcome as I wanted to be. It was a quick read had short chapters and alternating POV between Camden, his wife, and old letters from Ruby herself. I would rate this 3/3.5 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Talk about a twist in the last act! The Heiress is about blue blood til you die, and then giving it from the grave!

That is... if you are who you say you are...

The cast of characters are Schitt's Creek meets richest-person-in-town-but-I've-lived-here-forever-and-own-you Southern Living. The Tavistock's own the town, and own you... but they don't actually have money or spend it. They live off the idea of a trust they are trying to hack into.

Ruby, if she is who she says, has the money, and she'll die before she gives it over to anyone she is (allegedly) related to.

The biggest lesson in the book is sometimes, those with nothing to lose have everything to gain, but don't want to reach beyond their dreams. Whereas those with everything to lose will do anything to gain... and they can lose dearly.

The Heiress was absolutely incredible. Giving "7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo" vibes but MUCH darker. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I loved all the secrets and connections. Ashby house is a character in an of itself, with creepy paintings watching you at all hours. Rachel Hawkins always works for me, and this was no exception, I just LOVED this book!

Ruby McTavish, North Carolina “old money” and known in the press as Mrs. Kill-more, may be quite unlucky or she may be something else entirely. She was kidnapped as a child and later, as an adult, widowed 4x. To spite her family, she adopts a child, Cameron, and leaves her entire fortune to him before she passes. After 10 years of estrangement from his remaining family, he’s going back home and this visit might just be more than he bargained for.

I found the premise of this book intriguing. The questions prompted throughout the story had me wondering how it would end. I enjoyed speculating on how things would be explained and how it would turn out for the characters.

I have only read one other Rachel Hawkins book, The Wife Upstairs. If you enjoyed that book, you may enjoy this as well.

For me, both The Wife Upstairs and The Heiress were fun for the ride but fell flat in the end. I predicted several of the “twists” and was underwhelmed by others. I think I expected the resolution to have more of a bang than it did. So, overall its’s a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating for me.

Big thanks to St Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Rachel Hawkins for the ARC!

I loved this. The writing, the various points of view, the letters and articles interspersed between the chapters. It kept me turning the pages and just when I thought I had everything figured out or everything that could be revealed, had been, another twist came and surprised me, in the best way! This was a great read!

Twisty gothic novel with dual point of view and narrative. All the characters have secrets, and they are slowly teased out until the last page. It really kept me reading, and was very enjoyable!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!