I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love all of Rachel Hawkins stories and this one did not disappoint either. This book has complicated plotlines, alternating between letters to mysterious figure and current characters' perspectives. It was definitely a page turner.

The plot reminded me of the 7 Husband of Evelyn Hugo,

I enjoyed the story very much.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets The Family Upstairs.

Ruby McTavish was born into a picturesque life on Easy Street, and enjoyed it for all of three years before tragedy stuck and she became the victim of a kidnapping.

Luckily enough, she was shorty found and returned to her family, and the odds were once again on her side. (Until they weren’t.)

The stress of multiple marriages, envious family members, and a trying teenage son lead to Rubys life coming to an abrupt end.


Fast forward 10 years, and that son and his wife have been summoned to the home he’s avoided since his mothers death.

He has to face the demands of his estranged family members while trying to prevent his mothers secrets from coming to light.

This is my FAVORITE book by Rachel Hawkins thus far.

Loved the opening of the story introducing stories of people disappearing in the united states and famous cases. It is such a captivating way to intrigue the reader and become hooked to the story. I love the idea of multiple POV and letter/email formats.

Definitely an interesting concept, and the writing was well done. I think it was a bit slow for me and there were parts where it just felt that the author was talking at us, rather than telling a story, but I still liked it.

It’s an OTT book for sure but I like how everything goes back together in the end - the ending made up for the slower pace.

This was a quick, fun and easy read. I had my first audible “gasp” around page 45. From there it quickly went into the story and wrapped up just as quick. I loved that there was not a lot of fluff and got to the point. After reading so many books, the ending didn’t shock me but I was intrigued by how it would go. Overall a read that I recommend

I loved this book from the start! This is a solid 4 star rating! Outside of a few instances of predictability it was captivating all the way to the last page. I enjoyed the style it was written; from the character perspectives of Camden and Jules mixed with letters from Ruby of her past.

If you are in search for a fast-paced family psychological thriller and suspense, this book is for you!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for an review.

I have to say this was not one of my favorites by Rachel Hawkins. I was expecting a little more. I am not that much into gothic so I think it through me off a little. I felt this a little slow but picked up about three quarters of the way through.
I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book. If you enjoy family drama and revenge give this one
a try.

I look foward to her next one.

I truly believe that Rachel Hawkins is becoming a better and better writer with each new book that she releases. This is my favorite of hers yet! The pacing was impeccable and it was a page turner that I could not put down. I loved learning about Ruby through her letter writings. The ending caught me off guard, which is always my favorite as a reader.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

Wow. I truly was so excited to read this book and with good reason.
The cover was the first thing that caught my attention. It gave me "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" vibes and I still stand by that after reading it. The story of Ruby and all of her husbands deaths definitely play off of that vibe and I LOVED it. The way that Hawkins breaks the fourth wall and has the characters talk directly to the reader is so unique.
Throughout the time I was reading, I was wondering who Jules is talking to when I read her chapters, and once I got to the end, I was under the impression that she is writing to her future daughter, which would be such a good twist considering how she and Ruby were writing back and forth.

This book is FULL of twists and turns and the way that the chapters are set up, you read about one big plot twist and then have to wait two chapters to figure out what happens next so it really keeps readers immersed into the story. It can lead to the reader being confused at times, but it quickly resolves. I got a bit confused when learning that Ruby is actually Dora but the more I read, the more I began to put the pieces together.

This book is a rollercoaster but it is one I would gladly recommend anyone to read!

Do you enjoy books filled with dark, family secrets and bickering? This one is chocked full of them!

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars. While there was a lot of drama happening between family members, there was an over-abundance of foul language that was a real turnoff for me. Honestly, the majority of it wasn't even really necessary.

A couple times I felt like it was similar to the movie Knives Out, in that the family didn't like who had inherited Ruby's home and money and they definitely made their opinions known. I did enjoy the letters from Ruby throughout the book and the ending was one I never saw coming.

Overall, it's a good mystery and I think a lot of people will end up enjoying it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

What would you do if you found out your husband was heir to a large estate? What would you do to be the next lady of the manor?

I enjoyed the story, but could have done with more tension. Most of the scandals of the past were relayed through letters, which made them less shocking than if they would have been revealed firsthand. It also seemed like many of the characters had already figured out the secrets themselves anyway. Overall, a fun read that makes you wonder how far back the secrets really go and if there are any left to be discovered.

First, this book became very real to me as I have a cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains, not in Tavistock which is a fictional town (I think), but still in the mountains so I loved the visual scenery descriptions.
Although the plot was a bit complicated and tricky, the book was intriguing and keeps the reader guessing and on their toes. If you like a book that twists and turns, vacillates between good and evil, has complicated families then this is the book for you. And the writing is clear and clever with one character portrayed through her diary instead of real life. Consider buying a diary and documenting your life and including your favorite books.


Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Review Copy.

Not quite sure what I was expecting, but this was a lot of fun! Every time I thought I had figured which way the story would go, it zigzagged in a different direction. A clever slow burn that combines some of my favorite themes--the gothic house, a mysterious family history, a changeling. This is the first Rachel Hawkins I have ever read and will look into her other books.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I feel like book is more of a family drama than a thriller. With that being said this book was middle of the road for me.

Ruby McTavish, the wealthiest most infamous woman of Tavistock, victim of a high profile kidnapping, widowed 4 times and has an adopted son Camden, is the leading character of The Heiress! Up on a mountain top in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina Ruby lived in the most exquisite estate, Ashby House. Upon Ruby's death, she wills her estate and inheritance to her adopted son, Camden, not the McTavish family that still resides at the Ashby Estate. Camden for many reasons doesn’t want the inheritance or anything to do with The McTavish family. He leaves and moves to Colorado becoming an English teacher when he meets and marries his wife, Jules! Camden receives an email disclosing his Uncles death and is requested to Ashby Estate. He has absolutely no intention or desire to return but Jules is curious and would love to see what is behind the stories and history of the Ashby Estate and the McTavish family, so they go!
Upon their arrival, the familiar resentment and hatred is apparent when Camden sees Ben, Nelle and Libby. They despise his patriarch in the family because he is not “their blood”. Having been gone for 10 years, the Ashby Estate needs work. Over the next week , family drama, secrecy, lies and truths are all revealed. This twisting psychological drama takes us back to a century old era.

If you enjoy a twisted novel filled with a story of a family whose bonds stretch far beyond the grave, this book is for you.
I enjoyed it! Great character development. Surprises ! I actually think It would be a good “ Bookclub” choice! Lots to discuss and unwind and question .
Thanks to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for this ARC!

I really liked this twisty tale. There were a couple of twists that became obvious as they were about to be revealed, but in this case I dont feel like it took anything away from the story.

I'll be honest, I approached this book with trepidation. After reading "The Wife Upstairs" I didn't think I could stomach a Hawkins book. I hated that book. I haven't read a Hawkins book since. But the premise of this book was interesting enough to bring me back into the fold. There was a brief moment in the beginning when I groaned to myself and thought "here we go again..." but I was pleasantly surprised. Hawkins created a truly interesting story with some pretty interesting characters. I can see (from two books) that she likes to write women who can be abrasive or who are just very... "i did ~something~ but it was worth it."

The mythos of this story is strong and in some ways it reminds me of Seven Husbands because of the story structure, but if it is derivative its in a good way. I really enjoyed reading from Ruby's POV and I wish she had been involved in the story more.

Surprisingly, to me, Hawkins says a lot about nurture versus nature in this book, along with how the elite can (or can't) make amends for the things their ancestors might have done. I found the idea that these people didn't have to do anything because centuries ago their ancestors did a lot of things... a very cool idea in this book.

This had such a great premise! The survivor of a famous kidnapping became a widow four times over and then dies. Her estate is huge and we're off!

We get to see the POV of Camden (Ruby's adopted son), Jules, (Camden's wife), and Ruby (through a series of letters). I really liked the change of the POVs as we uncovered the story.

I got to say the ending of this was fantastic and had me thinking about it for days afterwards! I feel like this would make an awesome movie!

I really love reading this author’s books. There is so much mystery surrounding the heiress of the McTavish fortune and her family. I was interested through the entire book. The family drama and the wild twists made this a quick read. Definitely recommend for fans of the author and people who like multiple POV, rich people family drama and secrecy family history and scandals.

The Heiress is a simple story at it's core; someone inherited a fortune, wants nothing to do with the family, but must go back and right the ship. Or so we thought...

This novel has such great turns, unexpected plot twists and surprising character development. Just when you think you know who did what and why, you're completely wrong. The character development is so fun.
It was told from three perspectives: Jules, Camden, and Ruby. I thought that may get distracting or confusing, but as I read, the story sucked me in, and I didn’t want to put it down. I loved learning the complicated pasts of the characters. Although I was able to predict one twist in the story, it in no way impacted my surprise at the the story’s resolution. I would definitely recommend reading this book.

The gothic family drama with a side order of ‘rich people behaving badly’ will have you rolling your eyes and emitting evil cackles and gasps!

This will appeal to a wide range of genre lovers, has fantastic tension, great twists, and is shared through three different POVs.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review

While I am a fan of Rachel Hawkins, this book was not my favorite. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the articles interspersed throughout. This was really well done and helped the reader to understand the background of the family and characters. This is a story of family drama, wealth, inheritance, and backstabbing. The pacing was slow for me and the storyline did not stick with me. I will definitely still be reading all of her books, so I do recommend giving this one a try if it sounds like your vibe!