The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. I’ve read several Rachel Hawkins book and usually like them but this one has been the BEST by far! The drama started on the first page and never stopped. So many twists that the ending was impossible to guess! Definitely one of my favorite books of the year. You’ll love characters and hate them at the same time. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC! This book was amazing!

Another very fun, twisty read from Rachel Hawkins. She has a real talent for making you not just care about people who objectively do some pretty terrible things, but actively root for them to get away with it. I devoured this in a day and a half because I needed to know what happened and who got away with it.

Rachel Hawkins, what to say what to say? I loved her ability to suck me in with Reckless Girls, I was literally addicted to turning the page. My next swing was The Villa, somehow between Yawns and constant put downs of that book I was able to finish it. So The Heiress was the straw that would break the camels back or make it stronger.....she barely eeked out a positive review.

I was completely in love with most of this book. Jules and Cam were the ultimate cute couple and I loved their relationship. They were so normal and cute with each other, but at the same time there was this HUGE TITANIC secret family drama going on. I was dying to know.
Hawkins was creating the slow burn of all slow burns, it felt like she was trying to cook Thanksgiving turkey in an easy bake oven.
Like an easy bake oven you stare at that little light bulb and love watching the tiny little pastry bake and bake, building your anticipation of a sweet treat. But in reality when you pull that hot scalding cake out of your little slow roaster only to be dissapointed. This book was building and building and heading in the right direction but the ending just totally fell flat (again like your easy bake pastry)
The ending just got too complicated and I had to literally write down who was who and how they were related and what they were hiding. It felt like Hawkins had built this great story, and realized she did not have a nice tidy way of concluding this juicy family drama so she threw in a lot of twist and turns and it ended up a hot mess. Like she tried to make a 10 layer cake from scratch in her easy bake. In reality she should have stuck with the Pilsbury White Cake Mix Boxed cake-simple yet perfect. That aside once I was able to untangle the family tree and make sense of what was going on, the book was good. I enjoyed the HA TAKE THAT SUCKERS ending! The message about how money can spoil people and relationships is a strong theme throughout this book. I really would have liked for the ending to be less complicated along with the twist. But the journey was slow, but fun, totally worth a read. So I guess Hawkins remains as an author I will continue to read!\

Thank you Net Galley for this advance copy read of The Heiress. I was not influenced or paid for this honest review. Make sure to get this when it Publishes January 9, 2024!

A fascinating tale of a woman who lived a complicated life as a heiress and was kidnapped as a child, as well as her descendants that have to deal with her legacy. An absolute delight of a thriller!

Holy hell! Here’s the new Gone Girl for 2024 and it’s a DOOZY. Hawkins has delivered an unforgettable tale of suspense, family intrigue, deception, betrayal, and ultimately love (although love without trust). You will read this one in a single sitting, so arm yourself with plenty of tasty beverages and snacks and settle in for a bumpy ride.

A psychological thriller full of secrets. Camden, Ruby's adopted son, the heir to all the family money, has rejected everything and made an entirely new life far away. Communicating scarcely with his relatives. When Ruby passes he's brought back to where he least wants to be and the chaos around Ruby's life, her death, and all her money. Ruby has been widowed four times. Each time she gains more money from each passing. Ruby was already well known because she was kidnapped as a child and brought back. Ashby House is where all the secrets and drama takes place, an old family estate in the North Carolina mountains. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

DNF around 50%. I’m bored. Her two previous thrillers were not amazing but at least held my attention. This one has bored me and it’s time to move on. I’m intrigued by the high reviews though and will update this review if I ever come back to finish.

I love Rachel Hawkins and their writing style I’ve read every book they’ve released as they’ve released them so I was incredibly excited for this newest novel. I feel the beginning was a bit slow to start but the premise and plot were both interesting and unique. The storyline kept you guessing and the suspense built up perfectly. Hawkins endings are always a little different than I expect and that same was true here. Another hit for the books.

Even better than The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo are the Four Dead Husbands of Ruby McTavish! The McTavish family have woven such a web of lies that as it unravels, you’re left speechless. What a GEM!

This book is so good! It’s def giving The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, but clearly a darker version. I could not put this book down! So many twists, so much family drama—it just pulls you in right away.

The wealthy McTavish family live in the Ashby House in North Carolina. Toddler, Ruby McTavish, is kidnapped, but months later is found and reunited with her family. Rumors fill the town that Ruby may not actually be Ruby.

Ruby is unlucky in love—several husbands dead, sparking more town rumors on their causes of death. Ruby adopts a son, Camden, who then becomes the rightful heir to the estate after Ruby’s death. What unfolds during the Will and Estate talks, will leave your jaw on the floor! So much drama in the McTavish family, you do not want to miss!

You can grab this book on January 9, 2024! Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC!

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press and the author for the ARC.

I loved this book! It was fast paced and I did not want to put it down.

The book is about heiress, Ruby McTavish. When she was three years old, she went missing from the woods near her house. Her ultra wealthy parents offer a hefty reward for her return. She is found eight months later. She grows up in the famous Ashby house with her parents and her jealous younger sister, Nelle.

The story is told from multiple POV's including Ruby, her adopted son Camden and his wife, Jules. Ruby POV is through a series of letters written prior to her death. They take us through her childhood and her four tumultuous marriages.

Although Camden was Ruby sole heir, he wants nothing to do with her fortune or the family attached to it. When his uncle passes, he and Jules reluctantly return to Ashby House. There we encounter his dysfunctional family and lots of secrets.

This book kept me guessing. I was never sure who I could trust. The chapters are short and end with a bang that make you want to keep reading.

I read this book after seeing an ARC review online stating that it gave them Evelyn Hugo vibes. I typically read thrillers and loved Evelyn Hugo so I thought this book would encompass both of those at the same time, however this book fell flat for me. The characters were very flat and while we had a lot of background on Ruby randomly placed throughout the book the other characters were unlikable and boring. I continued reading hoping that each chapter would be the one that hooked me in, however I didn’t get excited until the last few chapters which felt rushed.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of thriller about family, obligation, wealth, and secrets that even death can't stop.

Wealthy families and their secrets have always been a rich material for writers. The antics of the very rich, the venal ways they live their lives, the foolishness that one thinks they should be above, can make for humorous stories a la Wodehouse, or satire, a la French film directors. And can make for some circumstances and events, events that even death can't protect people from. In The Heiress, best selling author Rachel Hawkins has created one of her most interesting and memorable characters a very wealthy and very widowed woman whose hand on her family and relations continues well past her death, along with her hold on many secrets that could destroy everything she left behind.

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is the grand doyenne of a powerful family in South Carolina mistress of a vast estate, Ashby House, in South Carolina, and power broker for the nearby town Tavistock. Ruby treats her family as she treats everything, under her dominion, but her death has left much in flux. Ruby's adopted son Camden has left the area, his inheritance, and his family behind, fleeing to Colorado to become a teacher, and marrying a woman who also has a past that she would rather forget Jules. Camden's uncle dying ten years after Rudy forces Camden back to the home and the orbit of his family, not a place where he wants to be, and one that is getting uglier an uglier. Stories about Ruby and how she was once kidnapped are starting to be told again. And the fact that all four of her husbands died well before her are being discussion. Camden is learning that one can go home again, but something is looking back in anger, and things might be ugly. Or murderous.

A big sprawling gothic tale that spans many years and is told in a epistolary style, and from the point of view of three different narrators. And yes they can't be trusted. A different kind of style for Hawkins, one which works well, and really helps keep the story moving and interesting. Ruby is a character, and one that really stands out as she should as she is the locus of this story. There is some humor, some horror, and a lot of tension which keeps the story tight and a page-flipper. There is a lot of atmosphere, a few red herrings, but this is not the usual oh I see where the story is going, oh cleaver writer you took this in another direction. This is a well plotted out story about wealth, power, and what some people do with it, sometimes for more wealth, sometimes out of malice and sometimes just because.

A great book to read while inside while the weather is miserable. Hawkins is really trying new things here, which is refreshing as many authors are willing to coast on a formula that works. Quite an enjoyable story and I am interested in seeing where Hawkins will go next.

"The Heiress" was a twisty, sinister, thriller that kept me guessing until the final page. It had the glamour of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" stirred with the gothic intrigue of "Jane Eyre," and mixed with the game of "Clue." This is one of those books you read long into the night, unable to put it down until you know how it ends.

Ruby McTavish made headlines when she was kidnapped as a child. She lived a mysterious life, leaving a trail of husbands behind. A decade after Ruby's death, her son, Cameron, returns home with his wife to face the family he left behind. As Cameron navigates the McTavish's sinister legacy, he learns some secrets never stay buried.

Hawkins is a master at her craft. Her narrative style flows seamlessly and she has an uncanny sense of how to show without giving too much away. The book has a quick pace that builds to a satisfying crescendo. The threads between the past and present narratives alternated seamlessly. Characters were thoughtfully fleshed out with well-written motives. The multi-POV format worked well with the plotline, allowing me to see the characters' motivations and hidden tells. Each POV had a unique voice, making it easy to track whose narrative turn it was. Jules' dynamic with Camden's family was intriguing, as an outsider looking in with secrets of her own. This novel had twists abound, solving one mystery only to unravel another. Themes of class, inheritance, and family are explored with fine distinction.

Jules' POV was one of my favorites in the book. Her mysterious intentions and engaging dynamic with the major players made me eager to see events from her perspective.

With gothic undertones and layers of mystery to unravel, "The Heiress" is the perfect psychological thriller for a dark winter's eve. The book releases on January 9, 2024.

I don’t typically like the heiress/family tree type of stories but I was really sucked into this one. I think the story was unique and had a lot of moving parts, but never felt confusing. Overall, I love Rachel Hawkins and this was a great book.

Wow, I loved this book!

"The Heiress," by Rachel Hawkins caught my attention from the very first page. Told from 3 different POVs, I loved each of the narrators despite their faults, and trust me they have a lot of faults. My favorite character was definitely the heiress, Ruby. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say I can't believe I liked this woman so much after everything she did. Hawkins did a great job of making her root-able, even though you arguably should hate her,

The pacing of this book was perfect, and I was very satisfied with the ending. Though it is not out until January 9th, I would put this one on you pre-order list now! Thank you the author, publisher and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ruby McTavish wandered into the woods as a baby, and was never seen again. Until almost a year later when they found her alive in the home of someone who had worked on her parents estate.

After her death her adopted son, Camden inherits all of her wealth much to the dismay of Ruby's younger sister ( who once spread a rumour that Ruby was dead and the family they took her from was her real family). Camden has never wanted anything to do with his adoptive mothers money but some how finds himself forced to return home and at the centre of a scandal as his family tries to disinherit him.


This was such a face paced thriller that had me on the edge of my (airplane) seat the entire time. I wasn’t able to put it down in the few hours it took me to finish it. This book is the epitome of dysfunctional family and every twist and turn had me guessing how this was going to end. I ate this up. Between this one and The Villa, Hawkins is an auto buy for me!!

Thank you to St. Martins Press for this arc.

I was absolutely giddy when I got the email for this ARC! I absolutely love Rachel Hawkins and all of her books. I read this in maybe 2 sittings. Ruby's storyline with her and her sister growing up, and the stories about each of her husbands was my favorite besides the newspaper clippings about the kidnapping when she was a child! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Rachel Hawkins for this ARC.

I love rachel hawkins books she never disappoints. I LOVED THIS BOOK BEST OF ALL HER BOOKS. I love the characters and the plot it’s terrific.

I normally like Rachel Hawkins but this one fell flat for me. I wasn't sure about the character motivations and it felt confusing to have the overlapping perspectives. The letters from Ruby were my favorite part, the whole story could've been written from her letters.