The whole mystery and suspense in this book was everything. Along with that eerie background set up. I enjoyed it so much

Talk about a dysfunctional family. Cam, and what I guess would be his cousins, Ben and Libby, have a rivalry that runs deeper than just simple jealousy and greed. There is the constant cloud that hangs over Cam’s head in that he is not connected to the family or its generational wealth by blood and thus does not have a right to the family inheritance that his adoptive mother leaves him and him alone, and this family is ruthless. Murder apparently is always an option on the table. There is a target on Cam’s back that even those in the small community warn him about, but what can anyone do when this family literally owns the town and the local government.

There are three things that I really liked about this story.

#1 - The complexity of the characters. They literally are all carrying secrets and have specific motivations and goals behind everything they say and do - and they are not honorable to say the least. The alternating POVs between Cam and his wife, Jules, creates insights that you wouldn’t have if it was a singular POV. I went through the whole book back and forth in my feelings about all the characters.

#2 - I am always a fan of supplemental and non-traditional structural elements. Ruby chooses to reveal the details of her sordid past through a series of letters that are placed throughout the novel. Hawkins is very clever and thoughtful in how she constructs these letters, it was my favorite aspect of the book. In addition to the letters, I loved the incorporation of various newspaper and magazine articles that were published throughout Ruby’s life.

#3 - The pacing and structure of the storyline creates everything needed to develop an engaging plot with a strong driving conflict that makes for a very quick read. It’s one of those books that you can lose yourself in.

I’m not a thriller connoisseur, so I can’t tell you all the ins and outs of tropes and how it molds to traditional expectations, but as a reader, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed Hawkins last book "The Villa" so I was very excited to get this ARC of "The Heiress" I loved the setting of Ashby House and the family drama was spectacular! Thankfully, Jules stands up for herself and her husband as his horrible relatives attack them. I really didn't know what would happen with Camden and the secrets his mother Ruby left behind. But the story is so enthralling and reeled me in. I didn't want it to end. And the twists were very satisfying and shocked me! Very well written and probably my new favorite from this author! Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book!! In fact, I can't remember the last time I read a book so fast! I love a book that can keep me turning the pages, and not worry about anything else but the book! This storyline was fast-paced, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!
This story is about Ruby McTavish, a wealthy little girl who was lost in the woods near her home in North Carolina at only three years old. Ruby was found eight months later in another state and returned home. As Ruby grows up in her mansion known as the Ashby House, she often feels that some things about her aren't quite right.
Ruby writes letters prior to her death at an elderly age, and through these letters we see what transpired during her years growing up and her four marriages. Ruby also had an adopted son named Camden, who is set to inherit all of the McTavish fortune. Camden wants nothing to do with the family money and he has stayed away from his cold and unkind family members for years. However, he gets notified by his cousin that he should come to Ashby House after the passing of his uncle, and Camden's wife Jules thinks it would be a great idea to visit.
When Camden and Jules arrive at Ashby House, the fun really begins! This was a very dysfunctional family. I loved getting the different POV's from Camden, Jules, and Ruby. And while getting all these different viewpoints, we can question what really makes a family?
I highly recommend this book! As I've mentioned before I read for entertainment and enjoyment - and that's what this book gave me! This book also had short chapters (my favorite), which made for a quick read.

4.5 stars. This was such an ideal and fun vacation read that I immensely enjoyed.

The story centers around Ruby McTavish, an heiress, who not only was kidnapped and later returned in her childhood, but also had four marriages end with the suspicious deaths of each husband. We get to know her through the letters she wrote prior to her death ten years ago. Most of the story alternates between the POV of her adopted son, Camden, and his wife, Jules. They have recently been lured back to the McTavish mansion, Ashby house, where a whole slew of long buried family secrets will be revealed in a quite entertaining fashion.

It’s soapy, slightly gothic, and full of twists and turns. Another great read from Hawkins.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin's Press and author for an ARC copy of this book. I read it in two sittings.

This is a really good book. If you like a bit of gothic, domestic fiction, and family ghosts this read is for you. Twists and turns abound until family is no longer family. Or are they? The main character, Ruby McTavish, has been dead for a decade or more. Her sister, grandniece and grandnephew are still living in the McTavish mansion and financially dependent upon a trust controlled by Ruby’s adopted son Camden who left home ten years prior. The mansion sits atop a mountainside outside Ashville, NC and looks down on the town owned by the family where the grandnephew rides roughshod over the townspeople. Ruby’s adopted son Camden and his wife Jules arrive from Colorado at the request of the family (or was it?) to loosen the purse strings of which he (Camden) has control. Everyone has a secret in this book and the meaning of family is up for debate. Sparks fly, history is revealed and well, sparks fly.

As another reviewer stated, I read for pure enjoyment. I even retired early to read more. The Heiress captivated me from the start, and I never stopped reading it until I fell asleep and woke up to finish the book. I love to read, and I loved this book. This is Rachel Hawkins' best yet. Enjoy!

The McTavish family has been North Carolina royalty in for many decades. Ruby vanished when she was just a toddler but miraculously was found and returned to her privileged life. Ruby's adult life was just as eventful as her childhood - having buried 4 husbands. Now that she has passed on, her adopted son Carmen is the sole heir to the family fortune...much to the chagrin of Ruby's sister and her descendants.

After many years away from the family and the McTavish manor- the once beating Ashby House - Carmen returns, along with his bride, to find Ruby's relatives want what they feel they are owed.

The Heiress is gripping and twisty novel from Rachel Hawkins. I did find it a little predictable but also quite enjoyable. This was a quick read with alternating narrators - which I favor. Overall a solid story - I gave this one 4 stars and would recommend it!

Love love love this book. A twisty story about a family and a mansion full of secrets. I adore how the author used alternating viewpoints along with letters and news clippings to give us the full story bit by bit. Rachel Hawkins is becoming one of my favorite authors!

Initially, I wasn't sure that the story of Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was really one for me, but I quickly became engrossed in The Heiress and read most of it in an afternoon. Ruby had been kidnapped as a child, but thankfully she is returned to her very wealthy North Carolina family several months later. She and he family live at Ashby House, their large estate in the mountains. Ruby has been married four times and through letters she has written to an unknown recipient, we learn the story of those four marriages, what happened to her four husbands, and why she adopted a child, Camden. As an adult Camden wants nothing to do with the family and their money, but when his uncle dies, Camden and his wife Jules return to Ashby House. Then the convoluted plot really takes off! There are lots of twists, double-crosses, and secrets in this family drama, and it's not over until almost the very last page.

"I know this may sound insane to you, but you have to understand, the sins of my family - my sins included - were too great for reasonable measures."

I could have used a family tree to clarify who was who, and several of the plot points require some suspension of disbelief, but overall, The Heiress was a fun and entertaining read. Three and a half stars rounded up.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. This book will be published on January 9, 2024.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
Wow! What did I just read?!?! The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is the story of Cam McTavish. Cam returns home after the death of his adoptive mother, the infamous Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. The story is told
from multiple perspectives and through emails, newspaper, and magazine articles. It was intriguing from the very beginning and it quickly becomes obvious that nothing is what it seems. There were so many twists and turns that my head was spinning! A great, very fast paced thriller!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely love @ladyhawkins books, I’ve read every single one of them. But, this book, this one right here is my all time favorite! It was giving 7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but with murder involved.

I loved the telling of Ruby’s love life through letters, honestly, I could read a whole book just based on her past life any day. Not to mention, this entire book takes place in the mountains of North Carolina, right outside of Asheville. The Biltmore House is mentioned, Duke, UNC and Raleigh are all mentioned too. I absolutely love when I book is based in my home state! Also, The twist and turns this book took too, the end I did not see coming. 🤌🏻

The different point of views, and the looks into the past, is perfect for Hist Fic lovers.

The different husbands and the MCs love story is perfect for romance lovers.

And the multiple deaths and twists is perfect for all my mystery/thriller lovers.

Basically what I’m saying, is this book is for EVERYBODY. I loved this book so much and will be buying a physical copy when it is published in January.

🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻/5

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the story of Cam and Jules who go back to Cam's birthplace in North Carolina. He is from the richest family with a notorious adoptive mother, Ruby, who has "lost" all four of her husbands to different accidents.

Cam has never wanted to go back but Ruby's death and his cousins imploring finally bring the wedded couple back to Cam's childhood home and, as expected, things unravel, secrets emerge and things are never what they seem.

While I enjoyed reading this story, I didn't like Jules' voice or the way she spoke. I wasn't crazy about any of the characters and the revelations, when they happened, were interesting but because I just wasn't invested in the characters, I found myself not caring too much.

It was a pleasant enough read, just not one of my favorites.

with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

A fast pasted book that you do not want to put down. You immediately become immersed in the story.

It is is about Ruby McTavish, who at age three goes missing and is found months later in another state and is returned home. Ruby grows up in a wealthy household and lives in a mansions known as Ashby House. Ruby is married and widowed four times . She also adopted a boy she names Cameron.

Cameron ,now an adult is living in Colorado with his wife Jules and wants nothing to do with the dysfunctional McTavish family , the house or fortune he inherited at Ruby’s death.

When Cameron is asked to return by the McTavishes, he finally agrees and he and Jules travel to Ashby House, where the mystery begins.

Prior to her death, Ruby wrote a series of letters which tells the reader what happened during her life and how her husband’s died.
The story is told by these letters, Cameron and Jules.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an opportunity to read.

5 stars. Read in less than 24 hours. Fast paced with lots of twists and turns. May be my favorite book by this author. She has become an auto read. Loved The Villa too.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Rachel Hawkins for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book really built up suspense and the second half of it played out in my mind like a movie! It was so descriptive and had enough twists to keep me guessing. The different timelines were seemless and not confusing, which is not always the case for some books.

This book truly shows that people aren’t always what they seem and how much happens behind closed doors. Highly recommend!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Camden and Jules have a happy marriage. Camden prefers to live in the present and not think about his past. When Camden can no longer ignore the past, things start occurring. I liked this book.

*ARC Review* Very fun read, better than the two other Hawkins novels I've read, although I still wasn't satisfied with the ending because it was more of the lesser bad people not getting their comeuppance. She tends to write characters that are all terrible people with very few (if any) redeeming qualities, and this was no different. Even though there was no one to root for per se, and many (but not all) the twists and turns were rather predictable, I still gobbled it up wanting to know the why and motivations behind each character's actions. The story is told via first person narration from Cam and Jules's perspective interspersed with letters written by Ruby and media articles. Well-paced and with beautiful descriptive imagery of the Appalachians, definitely recommend this for mystery fans!

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. If you enjoyed the other books by this author, you will not be disappointed. I enjoyed the different points of view and timeframes and also the setting of the North Carolina mountains seems like another character in a way. Very enjoyable, fast read!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Heiress, my favorite book by Rachel Hawkins, so far. All of her titles have received five-star reviews from Bayside Book Reviews, and those stars are well deserved.

Hawkins has a brilliant creative mind. Her stories are compelling, flawlessly plotted, and beautifully written. The Heiress takes readers into the minds and hearts of a dangerously dysfunctional wealthy family, and just when we think we know where the story is going, she sends a plot twist to make us rethink the path. The plot lines are intricately woven, and the characters are never exactly who they appear to be. Cunning or innocent, I enjoyed them all.

This reviewer absolutely loved this book. The Heiress is bound to make the Best Books of 2024 lists. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing an ARC to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

Hawkins delivers another hearty thriller, complicated and complex, this is a perfect book club read. Lots to unpack and discover.