Wow, so this was a fun read. If you’re looking for a twisty-but-not-too-dark palate-cleansing thriller, The Heiress is your book.

I’ve read all of Rachel Hawkins’ thrillers, and while they’re all typically pretty entertaining, this one is probably her best executed one from beginning to end. I did feel like The Heiress treads a lot of the same ground as The Wife Upstairs, but The Heiress didn’t have the baggage of having been inspired by a classic novel. (My main gripe with The Wife Upstairs was how the ending completely crapped on the ending to Jane Eyre. I enjoy retellings, but if you’re going to completely change the plot/ending, it should at least be in the spirit of the original work….but I digress.).

Hawkins does well with multiple timelines/POVs, and The Heiress is no exception. I particularly enjoyed the letters from Ruby McTavish to an unnamed recipient that tell Ruby’s backstory throughout the book. (Having watched too much Bridgerton, I couldn’t not hear Ruby’s voice as Julie Andrews with a posh southern accent.) Jules and Camden are a lot more likeable (if still flawed) as co-protagonists than some of Hawkins’ previous protagonists, and their actions make sense, even when they’re keeping secrets from other characters.

If you’re looking for a fun book to binge on a rainy weekend or a trip to the beach, I recommend giving The Heiress a try.

I’m not a fan of dual timelines but this book was very easy to follow even though it also had multiple POV’s as well. Thoroughly enjoyed the twists and the ending.

3.5 stars

A nice quick read by Rachel Hawkins. An adopted son returns to his lavish North Carolina home with his wife in tow. Cameron McTavish has rejected the enormous fortune left to him by his adopted mother. But now's he back to deal with the remnants of his hateful family. A lot of twists and turns in this book and a nice little one in the epilogue.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for an advanced copy of this book.

I have read and enjoyed all of Rachel Hawkins’ books, but this one is my favorite yet.
I really enjoyed the dual timelines and multiple points of view. The Heiress had me hooked the very beginning. The story was well paced and I thought the two timelines flowed together nicely.
I highly recommend picking this one up when it debuts in January 2024. Thank you #netgalley and St.Martins Press for this advanced copy of the Heiress

Ahh, I loved this so much! This gave me Knives Out vibes in the best of ways and I ALWAYS love myself an unreliable character. Rachel Hawkins has been delivering some great thrillers since The Wife Upstairs, I can't get enough. Always one of my first recommendations!

I love a good, slow burn with twists and unreliable characters and this fit the bill perfectly. The Gothic setting and dual timelines told through letters from Ruby to Cam created a slow but steady build to a draw dropping climax. As with any book I get from Netgalley that I rate four stars or above, I'll be buying a copy on release day to support the author. Happy reading!

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.

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's hard to write about without spoiling anything, so I'm just going to say, no one is who you think they are.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in two days! It's a Must Read and I give it a 10 out of 10.

This book was so dark and twisty — some twists you see coming, and others build throughout.

I usually struggle to enjoy books without a character to root for— I won’t get into why that wasn’t this book, for spoiler related reasons. Everyone had a slightly villainous bent, but where that usually puts me off, I found I really wanted to know how the story would unfold, so found myself reading it whenever I could.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the mountains of NC and the author gets the the feel and the mannerisms completely right in my mind. If she hadn’t specified, I probably still would have linked it to that area in my mind.

I loved that she punctuated first person narrated chapters with letters, newspaper clippings, magazine interviews.

While I can’t say the characters felt particularly fleshed out, more like caricatures of grasping, dilettante relatives, that didn’t feel like the point. It felt more like the generational wealth of Ashby House itself was a character, corrupting everyone who touched it, in their own ways. The main driver of the plot is the way each of the characters is plotting against and for others; and watching that maneuvering play out was the major payoff.

I’d recommend this to people who like books that include correspondence, unreliable narrators, gothic horror, a whodunit vibe, and who don’t mind casual mariticide (none of the descriptions are particularly gruesome for what that’s worth). I would not recommend this to people looking for lovable or charmingly flawed characters — that’s just not this book. But gosh I sure couldn’t put it down!

Gothic Mystery in Modern Day. The story is told from three perspectives: Ruby McTavish, the ruling matriarch, until her death story through news clippings and letters that she is writing to someone, but as the reader, we don’t know who. Ruby has lived many lives and many husbands. Second is her adopted son, Camden. He is called back to his inheritance and to deal with his past, along with his Wife, Jules, who is the third perspective. All three have generational secrets, and once everyone is back at the house, letters and secrets are revealed, and decisions are made.

I found it a fast read, but nothing surprising jumped out. Well written.

Ebook/Mystery: I want to thank Netgalley for a copy of the book. It doesn't come out for a few more weeks, so no spoilers, just how I felt.
Rachel Hawkins plots and writing is flourishing with every book. I loved this book. It was a fun thrill ride from the beginning. The ending part of the novel was too much plot and could be more simple with motive just being naked greed.
I definitely recommend it.

I went into the book ready for a fast-paced thriller with an atmospheric setting. I got an atmospheric setting with a slow burn family drama. There were moments it was hard to track who was who and who was related. I wanted more thrill from this book. All the twist seemed to come in the last quarter of the book. The pacing was too slow for an advertised mystery thriller.

Pros of the book: atmospheric, southern family drama with a dash of death.

Anything by Rachel Hawkins is a must-read for me. The Heiress is a good 4 star read with several good twists. About halfway in, it seemed like a 3 star read because not much happened but it definitely got better. Rich family living in a huge home story. It gave The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes with one of the main characters having 4 husbands and telling the stories about each of them.

Every Rachel Hawkins book is better than the last and The Heiress is her best yet! The book follows Camden and Jules as they return to Camden’s childhood estate after the death of his uncle. While Camden and Jules tell their story in alternating povs, We hear from the infamous Ruby McTavish through letters. She is the heir to Ashby House and the McTavish fortune, infamous for having four dead husbands, and Camden’s adoptive mother. Ruby is already dead when the story starts but I found myself loving her voice the most and wishing she were part of the present day story. The Heiress has all the Hallmarks of a classic gothic novel, an old manor house as a character, sinister family members, and everyone is keeping a secret. The Heiress was a fast paced gothic mystery with so many twists and turns that fans of Hawkins previous work should not miss!

I literally couldn’t put this book down from the moment I picked it up. A victim of a kidnapping at a young age - her ability to survive and try to pass along the money of the family to someone who wants nothing to do with her. Why? What is stopping them from wanting the riches? And what other secrets is the family hiding? This book has so many twists and turns it left my head spinning and holding my breath to find out what happened! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

There are quite a few characters to keep track of in this book. All have secrets. I very much liked the way Ms. Hawkins used Ruby's letters to an unknown recipient. (You may think you know who she is writing to, but you'd be wrong. I was.) There are so many reveals in this book it's almost unbelievable. Ms. Hawkins writing skill is what makes all these revelations compelling. Overall, this was quite a story and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a touch of mystery mixed with Southern Gothic.
Thank you to #RachelHawkins#St.Martin'sPress#NetGalley for an ARC of the Heiress.

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Gothic/Family Drama
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: Jan. 23, 2024

I can’t help but wonder why I find devilishly twisted gothic stories so much fun to read when gothic literature tends to emphasize ominous settings, melodrama, omens, the weird, sometimes the paranormal, and always someone in crisis. Hmm, what does that say about this reader and reviewer? If you enjoyed the original novel and movie “Dracula,” you will get what I mean. Another great example of a classic gothic novel is the 1938 novel, "Rebecca," later made into a film. Didn’t we all love to hate Mrs. Danvers? The book’s protagonist Ruby McTavish of the “Asbury House” estate, has the same manipulating skills.

In “The Heiress,” you will meet a very wealthy and highly warped family. The heiress is Ruby. She has been a widow four times. All of her husbands have had mysterious deaths. People in town call her "Mrs. Killmore." Ruby gets a kick out of her nickname, which says much about the character’s personality. When she dies, her adopted son Cam inherits all of her estate. Cam’s loving wife, Jules, has a few secrets of her own. Some of them, when revealed in the end, are entirely depraved.

Rachel Hawkins captures the essence of bullying with Cam’s cousins and their mother, his aunt, who encourages their abusive behaviors toward her nephew. As an adult, Cam remembers the purple bruises his cousin Ben, two years older than Cam, gave him when they were boys. Ben, with his brightest smile and hardest eyes, would say that it was all in fun, just guy stuff, leaving Ben to feel like a fool if he complained, but even if he did, no adult in that house would have protected him. No wonder Cam never returned when he left home to attend college. He had no contact with his family members again until Ben calls him back to prepare Ruby’s funeral arrangements—or so he says.

If you enjoy the gothic genre, you will love this one. But, if you are not a fan, the soap opera-like plot might drive you crazy. I can buy into these over-the-top tales because gothic literature taps into genuine human fears and anxieties. Many of us can have a fear of reckoning, even if our sins are minor ones. Here, Hawkins gives us letters from beyond the grave, backstabbing, kidnapping, and dead husbands, all written with mystery, suspense, and darkness. In other words, a fun gothic read that I recommend.

Absolutely mesmerizing! The fusion of past and present narratives, interspersed with newspaper clippings, letters, and multiple points of view, created a captivating tapestry of storytelling. This book ensnared my attention from the outset and never once relinquished its hold. The level of suspense and mystery was truly exceptional, and the revelations in the concluding chapters took me by delightful surprise. With a blend of family drama, royal intrigue, and thrilling mystery, this book stands out as a literary masterpiece.

I did enjoy this book, but not as much as Rachel Hawkin’s previous stories. It almost felt like she dropped more hints in this one so I knew what to expect. With that being said, she’s still such a fun storyteller and I wanted to see how the story played out!

I was a late arrival to reading books by Rachel Hawkins, when, having just finished The Villa, I was offered the chance to read an advance copy of The Heiress. To say I jumped at it is an understatement, and this book definitely doesn’t disappoint. Told by Ruby, Camden and Jules, as well as newspaper stories, the multiple narratives weave an ever more dark and twisted story. I particularly loved Ruby’s stories, speaking to us through letters she wrote before her death. With the control of hundreds of millions of dollars, and the family mansion perched high in the North Carolina mountains at stake, everyone has secrets, and the way they slowly emerge kept me from wanting to put this book down for even a minute, until I reached the ending that I thought was perfect.
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and especially the author for such a well plotted book with characters who I won’t soon forget. I’ll be eagerly watching for future books from Ms. Hawkins.

Southern Gothic vibes with a mystery, inheritance, kidnapping, and family ties from the grave. I’m not sure what more could have been packed into this book, but it was quite the ride with rich descriptions, great characters, and a decent pace.

When this releases, thriller fans can curl up with the newest Rachel Hawkins release and forget about the cold, but not the chills.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.