This is my 4th book by Rachel Hawkins and it did not disappoint. My favorite one yet! So many great twists and turns in a story set in my home state of NC! It read very fast and left me wanting more. Surprises all the way through the epilogue. I highly recommend this quick new gem by Rachel Hawkins.

Thankyou to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC and chance to review.

This might be my favorite book by Rachel Hawkins so far! The Heiress is about Ruby McTavish, infamous heiress of Ashby House. Kidnapped when she was three years old and then found and returned to her family, Ruby grew up and went on to marry four times and become a widow four times. Now her adopted son Camden is back home to take care of the fortune and house that Ruby left him. But what secrets are Ashby House and the McTavish clan hiding?

I loved the concept of The Heiress and thought it played out well. The plot was interesting and seemed like something new and fresh compared to all the mysteries and thrillers out there. Ruby was a fascinating character and seeing her side of things from letters she wrote made the story all the more unique. I tend to read books faster and get into them easier when you can get to know the characters, and this was no exception. I had NO idea how the story would end up, but was definitely curious to find out what happened to Camden, his wife Jules, and the crazy McTavish family. Definitely check this one out if you’re interested in stories about interesting family relationships!

This is not the first book I read by Rachel Hawkins. Among their adult fiction, I’ve read both ‘Reckless Girls’ and ‘The Villa’. I enjoyed ‘The Villa’ a lot as it gave me a cozy gothic mystery set in an Italian villa. I have a weakness for gothic tales so when I heard about ‘The Heiress’ I was intrigued and requested the advanced readers copy. There were many elements of a gothic mystery novel in ‘The Heiress’. A rich mysterious family, an old house and many secrets held between the characters. While there have been a lot of books with these same elements, I wanted to see what Rachel Hawkins could add to this genre.

The atmosphere and set up for this book was really enjoyable. Camden, who is part of the McTavish family, has come back to the Ashby estate after the death of his uncle. He brings along his wife Jules and she meets him family for the first time. Camden does not get along with his family members. Camden was adopted by the head of the house Ruby before she died and in her will, she does not leave the estate to any of her blood relatives but to Camden. This adds a lot of tension between the family members.

Out of all the characters, I found Jules to be quite funny and refreshing. The character Ruby was also very interesting to me as her life is revealed through a series of letters. The other characters I found to be flat and stereotypical for this type of book. As the book went on, I found it hard to keep track of all the characters relations. As each secret was revealed it felt as though the story just got more confusing. I felt as though if the book was longer, it may have helped with the pacing of the story. Everything was revealed on after the other that it made it hard to follow the story. There were also a lot of backstories of the characters I would have liked to learn more about.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Hawkins does it again! Somehow every book she writes is amazing! The Heiress is definitely one of my favorites of hers and of 2023! Secrets, secrets and more secrets! Everybody in this book has a secret or two (or three or ten!) The writing is fantastic, it flows nicely. The pace is perfect and I never wanted to put the book down! When I say I wanted to read it at stoplights when I had to leave the house I am not exaggerating! (Don’t worry, I fought the urge!) The characters are all well developed. I loved getting bits and pieces of the truth and the past in the letters Ruby wrote. There were so many bits and pieces all over the place that all fit together by the end! Perfection!!

Short chapter books are my favorite. It seems to make books go by faster. But this was also a great read. I was addicted and couldn’t put it down. I was skeptical going in as this was my first Rachel Hawkins books because her others haven’t had the greatest reviews. But this one exceeded my expectations.

A fabulous mystery from start to finish and another home run for Hawkins! I loved Reckless Girls and The Villa, and The Heiress definitely does not disappoint. Ruby's tale perfectly mirrors and intertwines with Cam and Jules modern-day issues, while telling the illicit story of her past (RIP all the husbands). This is one you won't want to put down the moment you pick it up!

You might think you know where this is going, but you don’t. A fun read that sucks you in. Will definitely be looking for more of her books to read!

What an atmospheric, dark, and twisted ride!

Camden, the son of the infamous Ruby McTavish and Heir to Ashby house and the McTavish family wealth, is called back home to take care of the deteriorating estate. There, with his wife, he must face his estranged family and come clean on some of his secrets. Turns out, he's not the only one hiding some big things.

This was a quick read with alternating viewpoints, letters, and newspaper articles that each kept me wanting to read more. I really enjoyed the historical fiction part of this book written through Ruby's letters, and the dark tones of this story. Overall, a great read and I think my favorite Hawkins read thus far!

Holy smokes, this book blew me away. I loved everything about it. The pacing was top notch, the different formats and POV's were expertly done and the tension was *chef's kiss*.

The ending was perfect as well... I love characters with a bit of grit, and although I don't love when an ending feels too wrapped up in a bow, I don't mind when it feels like there is a bit of a seedy underbelly to that perfect bow-wrapped ending. This delivered that for me.

I have read a couple of Hawkins' other books but haven't read all of them. This one makes me want to go back and devour the rest of her backlist!

‘There’s nothing as good as the rich gone bad.’

The Heiress, told from alternating POV’s, will have you asking the question: Are humans born evil or made evil?

This whole family, some of which were family by blood, others by bond, but all together making an evil and manipulative flock of humans.

I mean, murder, backstabbing, murder, murder, murder, lies, greed to the nth and murder again. Their pedestals seemingly all posted way up high in that mountain that surrounds the oh so posh and coveted Ashby House.

Twisty and twisted to the very last page. You won’t see any of it coming. Read it!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 1.9.2024

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me an early copy of the eARC to read and review.**

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book. I bought a copy of The Wife Upstairs from the bargain section of my local BAM! last year, but I haven't gotten around to it. After reading The Heiress, I'll be sure to pick it up sooner rather than later.

I guess I expected more of a thriller than what I got in reading The Heiress. Instead of mystery and suspense, it was more family drama. Sure, there was the unknown aspect of who was who and what really happened, but it wasn't suspenseful, and it sure wasn't thrilling.

Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed reading this book. Had I gone into it thinking it was more like contemporary or literary fiction, I think it would have hit the mark better.

Note: Content, including a full review and other mentions of this book, will be posted to my TikTok account within a month of publication.

Despite her popularity, Rachel Hawkins is a new-to-me author. Releasing in January I grabbed a digital arc for The Heiress.

The Heiress is a story about a dysfunctional family, greed and mayhem. It was twisty with a somewhat Gothic setting and unsavory characters. It's literally a book full of secrets.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was well written with its many twists and turns. The chapters were actually nice and short as it alternated between Camden and Jules - the perfect setting for JustOneMoreChapter. It was very much a character driven story and though it didn't have as much of a Gothic feel that I was hoping for the plot made up for that. As well, it had an ending that I liked.

An addictive, entertaining read. I'm off now to check out other books by Rachel Hawkins now.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.

There are secrets and then there are the McTavish secrets!!! The beginning of the book drew me in, and the second half of the book blew me away.

The McTavish family is one of the richest families in North Carolina. They live in Ashby House, their beautiful estate, with sprawling grounds and woods with hiking trails.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, the richest woman in North Carolina, died she left everything to her adopted son, Camden (Cam). Cam, the sole heir, doesn't want the money. He wants to be free of the dysfunctional McTavish family and live happily with his wife, Jules.

But when he is summoned to return, Cam goes back to Ashby house, and the rest as they say is history...…

This was such a well thought out book. The first half of the book had me wanting more. I was intrigued by Ruby's letters and what they revealed. Rachel Hawkins had my attention from the very beginning and the book kept getting more interesting, more addictive, and more shocking as more was revealed. There is drama, secrets, and twists galore! Just when I thought this book could not get any better, it did! I enjoyed both Cam and Jules POV's in addition to reading about Ruby through her journal entries.

Gripping, shocking, well written and dramatic. I can't wait to read what Rachel Hawkins writes next!

A big thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. I haven't read a book this fast in awhile! SO GOOD! Rachel Hawkins is slowly becoming one of my faves...I'll read whatever she puts out after this! I loved how each chapter was told by a different person and the twist at the end...chef's kiss! I would love to see this one be a movie someday.

took awhile to get into but it was fun. i liked ruby and the way all the characters connected in the end

Wow! This story is about the heiress Ruby, her wretched family and her redeeming son. I loved all the twists and turns this story took, I was hooked and had a hard time putting it down. The letters that Ruby wrote intertwined with Cam and Jules story, perfection! This book will be a top read for me this year!

This was incredibly good! I could see it being picked up by some book clubs for sure. Highly recommend from me! Rachel Hawkins does it again!

This was my first book by Rachel Hawkins and boy it did NOT disappoint! I absolutely loved every minute of this suspenseful delight. It reminded me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid) but with a dark twist- if all of Evelyn’s husbands had died, and she was rumored to have killed them all. But that is just part of what’s going on in this book! Additional plots enter in with the points of view of Camden and Jules, who both seem to be hiding something as well. Sometimes different stories/plots mixing can make things messy or confusing, but Hawkins pulled this off flawlessly.

I hated having to put this book down, and I would highly recommend it if you’re a fan of mysteries/suspense. And it’s a must read if you check off the below items, too.

📖 Read if 📖 :
✔️ You liked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but wished it was a thriller instead
✔️ Villainous (and sometimes justified) and morally gray characters
✔️ Real page-turners
✔️ Family drama (especially among extremely wealthy families)
✔️ Main characters keeping secrets from you

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

⭐ 4.5/5

➡It's been ten years since Camden McTavish set foot in Ashby House, the sprawling North Carolina estate he inherited from his adoptive mother, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, the richest woman in North Carolina. In those ten years, Cam has moved across the country, married the love of his life and become an English teacher in a small Colorado mountain town, distancing himself as much as possible from the ostentatious life of the McTavish family.

Pulled back to Ashby House by obligation, he'll have to face the family he left behind, the secrets each of them is harboring and Ruby's complicated history if he ever has any hope of moving past the past.
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💭 "There was this darkness that seemed to cling to me, a past that people only ever spoke about in whispers. A suspicion, even inside my own heart, that I had been placed in the wrong life, living out a role written for someone else."
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🙏 Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Heiress. All opinions are my own.

🎯 What I loved: This book was deliciously twisty and intensely engrossing. The McTavish family was concealing more secrets and deceptions than there are cheerios in a box. At times, it felt like a game of clue had come to life with the number of people killed in crazy ways in this book, but it was so very entertaining and the characters were juicy. Ashby House was as much a character as it was a setting and I couldn't tear my eyes away until the very last page. It was absorbing and satisfying and Rachel Hawkins, true to form, has again crafted a perfect harmony of characters and a blended letter/dual POV narrative that is simply impossible to put down.

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: Nothing. This was so well done! It was character driven vs. action driven but was extremely interesting- I found myself playing a fun game of connect the dots with the characters and their generational connections.
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Read if you love:
* twisty family history
* dual POV chapters with letters interspersed in the story
* inheritance drama
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See also: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Golden Couple, The Family Game

This book was filled with family drama, lies, secrets, and murder. This book goes between Camden, his wife Jules, and a few letters from the deceased Ruby McTavish, the heiress of Ashby house and richest woman in North Carolina, Camden is Ruby’s son and the heir to everything but wants nothing. When him and his wife return to Ashby house to deal with some family issues the drama starts and doesn’t end until the last page. This book is a great read with some very unexpected twist! I am so happy I was chosen to read an advance readers copy through NetGalley. I would definitely recommend this book!