I can't believe I've never read a book by Rachel Hawkins before, and it certainly won't be my last. Thank you St. Martin's Press for introducing me to this author and letting me read the ARC for NetGalley. This book has everything, family drama, wealth, suspense, love, and twists you don't see coming. I wasn't surprised by the end nor by how Jules and Camden found each other but it didn't take anything away from the brilliant story telling.

Definitely keep your eye out for this book in 2024! I got an early copy from @netgalley

Cam wants nothing to do with the McTavishes, the rich family who adopted him. But when is he summoned back to the Ashby House with his wife, he may decide to change his mind. Written with letters that reveal twisted secrets, is anything really how it seems in this house?

I loved the letters from Ruby. And I never saw the twist at the end coming! Rachel Hawkins is one of my favorite authors and continues to be book after book!

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Rachel Hawkins, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

Camden McTavish and his wife Jules return to his childhood home to attend to family business. Cam has inherited a fortune from Ruby McTavish, the woman who adopted him. Ruby has a storied past: she was kidnapped as a child and she is a widow several times over. As Cam and Jules return to Ashby House, they are faced with Ruby's disgruntled family who don’t want Cam to get her money. Secrets are revealed through the multiple perspective narration of Cam, Jules and Ruby.

After devouring Rachel Hawkins’ other three novels, I was excited to get an early copy of The Heiress. Each time the POV shifted, I kept reading to get back to that perspective! Hawkins writes interesting characters and I enjoyed The Heiress. I love that I get a novel with some sort of twist when I read one of her books!

Rachel Hawkins knows how to write a fast-paced book that's full of twists! The Heiress is the story of the impossibly rich Ruby McTavish, who was once kidnapped as a toddler, lost four husbands in mysterious circumstances, and finally ended up adopting a son later in life. Now, Ruby is dead, and her adopted son, Cam, comes back to their North Carolina estate to claim his inheritance. The problem is that the "real" McTavishes don't want to share any of the McTavish money with Cam, the interloper. Cam and his wife, Jules, have their work cut out for them navigating the cutthroat world of this powerful family. When Jules discovers letters that Ruby wrote before her death, the two start to unravel a truly sordid tale of rich people behaving very badly. This quick read will keep you turning the pages with its combination of short chapters and its multi-genre format that includes letters, emails, and articles that all tell the story of Ruby's fascinating life. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the librarian preview copy!

Hawkins' books are quickly becoming my favorite and some of my most popular titles. The twists she seamlessly interweaves are excellently crafted and offer such entertaining and engaging stories. The suspense throughout kept me constantly guessing and wondering where I would take my thoughts next. I think this book will be a massive hit and I cannot wait to get into the hands of many readers!

Rachel Hawkins does it again with another twisty thriller. She has such a unique way of revealing all you need to know about the characters and always drops that unexpected twist at the end! I highly recommend this book for all psychological thriller and domestic suspense fans!

I have always enjoyed reading Rachel Hawkin’s books, and this one certainly did not disappoint! It’s a Gothic tale of a rich family and is full of lots of twists and turns so you really don’t know how it will turn out. Just when I thought I had figured it out, something would happen that I wasn’t expecting at all. If you like reading a good thriller full of mystery and mayhem this is the book for you!

Camden was adopted into an extremely wealthy family. That family is also a mess, and a decade ago after his adoptive mother Ruby died, leaving everything to him, he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with them or the money. He settled in Colorado and became a teacher and married Jules.

After his uncle’s death, he’s called home to North Carolina. Ruby was notorious because all four of her husbands died. Were the deaths truly accidents or causes of nature, or did she have something to do with them as the local gossips think?

Through a series of letters written by Ruby just before her death, we learn the truth. Every character in this novel has secrets and more secrets. It’s a fun and twisty story.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this book, which RELEASES JANUARY 9, 2024.

Yesssss! A mystery/thriller that you’ll want to start 2024 with! Not only did I enjoy the flipping back and forth between Ruby McTavish letters to Camden and to Jules, but I LOVED the ending! Suspenseful and kept me on my toes so ready to find out what would happen next but also an ending I was actually happy for.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for the E-ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!I’m

Ruby McTavish is the wealthiest woman in North Carolina. Kidnapped at age 3 then later returned, she was the sole heir of her family’s fortune. After a string of husbands all died, she adopts Camden and he becomes heir to the fortune. This causes tension amongst his cousins and other family who feel that they are entitled as they are related by blood. Camden wants nothing to do with North Carolina or the family fortune and after his mother’s death, moves out west and marries Jules. They live a simple life in Colorado until his cousins reach out and say they need his help back home.

Whew. There’s a lot packed into this book! First of all, I like the author, Rachel Hawkins, but felt like her last book was a miss. I hesitated to read this one but I’m so glad I did. This is her best work yet! Total redemption.

So much detail put into this family and their secrets, with twists that I could not predict. Told in alternating POV of Camden, Jules, and letters written by Ruby before her death, this book had me hooked the whole time. Excellent writing, great storyline, and likeable characters. And a great ending I sure did not see coming’

Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. 4.5/5⭐️ Publication date Jan 9, 2024

This book. WOW. twists and turns, lies and secrets, confessions until literally the last page. I couldn’t read the last half of the book fast enough. Everyone has secrets, everyone has done things they shouldn’t.
Ruby McTavish is the heir to a fortune who was lost in the woods as a toddler, found months later in another state and returned home, or was she? Her adopted son is the heir to the fortune and refuses to use the money. And the way his wife fits into it all. Just so good!

Thank you the Rachel Hawkins, netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review

I would say the first 3/4 of this book was a five but the ending just seemed to lag out. I lived the way the author inserted the letters and stories about characters from magazines in it and kept me guessing most of the way through. This was my first book by this author but it will definitely not be my last.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the free eArc in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book despite thinking that the majority of the characters were despicable people. I was impressed with the way the author incorporated multiple POVs, newspaper articles, and letters from Ruby McTavish. Sometimes that style can make the flow feel choppy, but I feel the author executed it very well in this story. It really helped weave the plot line together - giving the reader just enough insight into each character while maintaining the mystery/twists. I would recommend picking this book up when it comes out 1/9/24.

I have mixed thoughts for sure. I was so excited to read this as I’ve loved others by the same author. I just found myself confused most of the time - and not in that “ooh I wonder how it ends” way. More in the “I can’t follow this” way. I will say the ending redeemed it a little for me but it just wasn’t my favorite by her. It never really kept me on my toes and wanting to keep reading - that’s probably why it took me so long. I just never quite got into it. Not a bad book by any means, just not my favorite!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC to read!

I’ll start by saying, Rachel Hawkins is back! I did not enjoy Recklass Girls but did LOVE This. I kept thinking I knew where the story was going, but she kept twisting and twisting it further away.
The characters were great, and very few characters so easy to keep the storyline straight. I loved the story being told really from the 3 main peoples point of view. A must read!

When his estranged cousins reach out to him, a happily married man and his wife agree to return - temporarily - to the home where he grew up as "The Luckiest Boy in the World." They say money is the root of all evil, but perhaps that is only partly true. The truth is slowly revealed through multiple perspectives in this twisty tale. Fans of domestic suspense will enjoy it.

My Thoughts

Known as an Heiress, a well-known Philanthropist, once-upon-a-time child kidnap victim, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore proved to be a character who came to life through letters that were scattered between the main chapters which were written using different viewpoints.

First, we meet Jules Brewster who becomes Camden’s wife and then we read using Camden himself as narrator.

Part past to present events mixed with gossip columns and letters Ruby had written to an unknown person the story is actually all over the place from start to finish.

The clues come from all directions and some are even spelled out as one reads what is happening at that point.

As far what happens when Cam and Jules return to his family estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains 10 years after he left the area at 18 let’s just say there are some major moments that make it clear he really should have stayed gone.

To say the McTavish family is dysfunctional would be an understatement and to say they’re somewhat terrifying at times is nothing but the truth from my personal perspective.

The many twists and turns, the family secrets, the lies, the deceptions all build to a final conclusion that was actually shocking as well as rather abrupt for me to be completely satisfied with it.

Wild read.
[EArc from Netgalley]

Pub date: 1/9/24
Genre: gothic suspense
Quick summary: Ruby, kidnapped as a child and married four times, died as North Carolina's richest woman. But when her adopted grandson Camden and his wife Jules return to her house, they'll discover even more secrets.

A rich family with secrets - yes please! I read this one over two days at the beach, and I think it will also be perfect for winter reading cozied up on the couch! The perspectives rotate from Ruby to Camden to Jules, and I was hooked. Ruby's story was especially absorbing - I loved hearing about her unorthodox life.

I really appreciate that Hawkins writes a short and sweet suspense that keeps the reader hooked. I think this is her best since THE WIFE UPSTAIRS!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first introduction to Rachel Hawkins as an author. This book seemed like it would be right up my ally in reading the blurb about the book.

Overall this was a good book a bit slow at times and some of the twists were predictable. . I enjoyed the different points of view. As a reader it helps me understand the characters more and get more into the story. Good choice overall if you are just getting into the thriller/suspense genre

I enjoyed this book. Some parts were a little slow but overall it held my attention and I wanted to keep reading to find out more. I loved the multiple timelines/POVs. Some of the twists were predictable but that didn’t take away from the story. My favorite parts were Ruby’s letters, I loved her attitude and sass!