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!

I love author Rachel Hawkins and will read anything she writes. This book didn’t let me down! An intricate family drama filled with mystery, plot twists, and some questionable characters. I became invested in the story and everyone involved, rooted for some, hoped others would disappear. All in all, an entertaining read!

Ruby's adopted son, Camden, is the heir to all the family money, but when the novel opens, he's rejected that and made an entirely new life across the country, barely communicating with any relatives. When Ruby dies, though, he's pulled back to the estate that's technically his and the drama around Ruby's life, death, and all her money.

Camden's adopted mother Ruby is pure Southern Gothic. She's been widowed four times, becoming wealthier each time. But Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was already famous (and Southern-gothic) from childhood. She was kidnapped as a child, and then returned, a fictional arc that felt a lot like the historical case of Bobby Dunbar.

Most of Ruby's life of wealth, notoriety and secrets takes place within Ashby House, the family estate in North Carolina's Blue Ridge mountains. Every inheritance drama needs the isolated old family estate, full of treasures and secrets.  So good.

You guys know I love family stories, and I love thrillers with double-crossing and secrets, so of course I loved this one. I also loved how Ruby's parts of the story had her telling all kinds of dramatic secrets while being super shady about the big one. 

I enjoyed the setting and the overall vibes so much, and like I said, I wanted every major character to succeed, so it was a page-turning drama. So many over-the-top secrets (FOUR husbands all dying tragically, Ruby? That's not subtle! ) meshed with reasonable, believable family dynamics.  Even the jerks felt reasonable! And that worked so well with the wild secrets of this modern gothic.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC!

If you like the "Rich people behaving badly" trope, and a generational family mystery, this book is for you!

I'll admit I did predict most of the twists before they happened, but that didn't take away my enjoyment of the story.

Absolutely no one is doing southern gothic “can’t put it down” titles like Rachel Hawkins. I adore her writing style—as a southern woman, she makes me laugh out loud with her characters and I love all the little southern quirks and nuance that she writes into her books and characters.

The Heiress is no exception. And, honestly, might be her best work yet. So twisty, so interesting. The MacTavish family is a hot (literally? figuratively? both?) mess. Jules is a delight and sweet Cam is…Cam. But, Ruby, she is the shining star.

I loved the epistolary style that was included in the book. What a nice way to get deeper looks into the story. And the epilogue was exactly what I needed! 5/5, all the stars to The Heiress. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked this book! The beginning seemed a little tedious, but I was hooked by the end. I wish there had been a bit more character development, as I walked away not truly feeling like I knew any of them well.

I’ve read all other Rachel Hawkins books and I think this was my least favorite. Although it seems like it’s such a fast-paced, quick read, it fell short for me in the story telling and character development. I also wouldn’t say it was a page turner but does get suspenseful at the end. Overall it’s a three- star read for me as I did enjoy the twist ending. There was a bit of similarity with the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which I also enjoyed. 3⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this title via NetGalley.

With this being my first introduction to Rachel Hawkins's work, I enjoyed the multiple points of view from Ruby, Camden, and Jules. The way each character had their own voice and perspective enriched the story. I didn't like the constant profanity, but I made it through.

The Heiress isn't a book I'd recommend as it didn't hold my attention, nor was the story as developed as it could've been. It was a slow read. You had to really trudge through with irritated characters that were more annoying than intriguing. It may also be because it is an ARC and still needs some touching up, but it wasn't well organized. The newspaper excerpts felt thrown in out of nowhere, making for an odd read. My rating throughout the book was two stars, but the ending picked up, and I enjoyed how everything tied together, bumping it up to three stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for an arc of this book for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Content Rating:
Profanity: Adult
Drug + Alcohol Use: Mild
Sex + Nudity: Mild
Violence: Adult

#TheHeiress #NetGalley

So many twists and turns, which doesn’t always work in a book. But it definitely does in this one. As you are reading you feel like the characters are talking directly to you. Her description of the area and Ashby House were very vivid and allowed the reader to really feel like they are there.