I'll read anything Rachel Hawkins writes, but I truly loved this book. The premise was unique and the twists were well-spaced throughout the story, which had me up and reading well into the night. Her prose is witty and smart, with just the right amount if character development. Just when I thought I had this book figured out, it threw me a curveball in the best possible way. A must-read for sure.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Rachel Hawkins, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Rachel Hawkins will always be an author that no matter the title or synopsis, I will be reading that book. Unfortunately, with that comes reading some stories that just did not do it for me. (Reckless Girls and The Villa). BUT, I always have hope and hope won out today. The Heiress showed up and showed out! I binged this one because I just had to know what each character brought to the table and what they were really scheming. It was a good mix of twists without them being unrealistic or confusing. I would definitely consider this book to be more alike her writing in The Wife Upstairs, so definitely give it a read and remember why we all fell in love with Rachel Hawkins storytelling!

The Heiress is a fast paced family drama thriller full of murder, corruption, & revenge.

Ruby McTavish is the wealthiest woman in North Carolina. When she was young she went missing but was found a few months later. She is a four time widow with no biological children of her own. She adopts a boy she hopes to pass her inheritance to. The McTavish family does not approve & fights for what they believe is theirs.

We follow pov of Camden who is the adopted son of Ruby & his wife Jules. We also get letters from Ruby which are more of a confession of her past crimes. To be honest the characters are not likeable at all. They are selfish, entitled, & will not stop to get what they want. I loved that they were all hiding something!

I thought it was great how the book also delved into the nature vs nurture upbringing. I was also introduced to the true story of Bobby Dunbar which was really interesting.

If you enjoyed Rachel Hawkins other thrillers, I highly recommend picking The Heiress up next!

Wow I really loved this book. It has been awhile since a book captured my attention so completely, but The Heiress had me hooked with so many twists and turns.
It was addicting and kept me on the edge of my seat!

The Heiress is a twisty story that gives little ideas of what you think is going to happen to keep you reading. It's not so twisty that it's hard to follow, just enough to keep you interested and guessing. The synopsis is different from the typical tropes in this genre. It is nice to not have a lead character that is constantly letting out held breaths, dropping things that were being held, digging fingernails into palm, etc, and just generally being over dramatic. It's not so descriptive to be repeatative, just enough to let the reader fill in the details. You really hate the antagonists and I found myself chuckling with "they deserved that" moments. Another Great quick read from Hawkins. Excited for the release to read the final copy.

I enjoyed this book so very much. I enjoyed the short chapters and the different points of views. It was interesting as it all came to light of what really happen.

First and foremost I want to thank Netgalley and the publishing company for allowing me to read the ARC of this book. Thank you!

When the mysterious Ruby dies deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina; her life is once again back in the papers.

As a child Ruby was kidnapped, married and divorced four times, and became North Carolina’s richest woman.

Being the richest woman in a whole state suddenly becomes a problem because ruby’s adopted son wants nothing to do with her estate and wealth.

Will Ruby’s heir come to his senses? Will family secrets come to light?

I really enjoyed the plot twists in this story. It was perfectly written and the character development was wonderful.

Rachel Hawkins is incredible and crafting thrillers starring characters who are flawed and sneaky. This aids her in crafting clever twists you don’t see coming because everyone is flawed, everyone is a suspect.

I loved the “trapped in a mansion” setting and the horrible people who live there. The mystery of who Ruby is and what she’s done unfolds as you read about the current day plots that make as much sense. I guessed the main twist about the wrong character, but it was super satisfying in the end anyway. Another excellent thriller from Rachel Hawkins!

At first, I found the various characters confusing or difficult to remember, but it helped having the excerpts of newspaper articles scattered throughout the present chapters. It offered a new perspective into the life of the McTavishs, which was necessary in order to understand the premise of the story, in my opinion.
As the story went on, I started seeing similarities between The Heiress and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Both stories are about a rich woman that confesses things about her life she had never told anyone before. Both characters’ lives end in suicide. Although the stories have a bunch of differences, I still caught myself comparing both plots multiple times.
I absolutely loved the twist of Dora being bought as a child to replace the lost Ruby, it explained so many things about the references to secrets and Mrs.McTavish’s drinking habits.
Around the 200 pages mark, I started suspecting the letters were not addressed to Camden, but to Jules.
Although the concept is something that I had already read before (old rich woman confessing her crimes before her passing), I enjoyed reading the book. 3.5/5

What a fun read! Husbands of Eveline Hugo meets Inheritance Games meets Knives out! Super fun. Dark without being horror or thriller, more mystery and history. Really enjoyed it and the plot twists kept coming!

Solid start. Hawkins drew me in with this storyline. I was most intrigued by the storyline and characters. I was immediately interested in knowing the main characters background and how his adoptive mother’s past unleashed the course of events leading to present time.

I have long been a fan of Hawkins and this book did not disappoint. It was not my favorite of hers but was a solid read that kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next!

The Heiress was good, but not great. It was easy to read and kept my interest. There were a few twists and turns, but no major surprises. I usually enjoy Rachel Hawkins books, and the Heiress did not disappoint.

“Family is a complicated word – more complicated for me than a lot of people…I’ve spent so much of my life trying to figure out what that word even means to me,” says one of the book’s main characters.
But every character in this twisty, plotted novel from a master of contemporary thrillers is figuring out family, partly due to a character who always feels “this darkness that seemed tocling to me... .” The suspense is intensified by a secluded, mountainous setting in North Carolina.
I’ve read a lot of books by Rachel Hawkins, and I think this one is my favorite to date. There are enough characters to keep it interesting and unpredictable most of the time without so many that a reader needs a running list of names. I also liked the realistic plot basis, opening with the disappearance of an extremely wealthy family’s 3-year-old daughter, Ruby. As the story unfolds with alternating first-person narration, it is very clear that the power struggle for control of the wealth has created a toxic environment of dangerous animosity. An environment so unsettling that one character wants out and seems willing to forgo all connections to the family fortune to live an unspectacular but calm life. However, just like in real life, a death in the family forces people to come together to settle legal matters. All the local people know about this family and the miasma that makes up their family tree, and a warning goes out to a returning family member to sleep with one eye open. There is lots of despicable behavior, but we have all seen news reports with equally shocking details, so readers do not have to suspend belief to enjoy this mystery.
The only time I paused and temporarily felt removed from the story was when a description of the family’s emerald earrings included the name of a historical, world-famous previous owner; this North Carolina family’s extreme wealth and power over the regions police force, newspaper reporters, etc. had been clearly established already. That is a small, probably-too-picky detail that others may not even notice. Read and enjoy. For this genre (contemporary family-drama thriller), it was an enjoyable 4.5 for me and rounded to 5 for this star system.

Damn, this was good. I truly was kept guessing until the last few pages. Rachel Hawkins truly as a gift of writing morally ambiguous characters you end up rooting for either way. After a family trip to Asheville, the setting of this book was perfect- it immediately made me think of the Vanderbilts and Biltmore, and I wonder how much inspiration Hawkins took from that setting.

I received this Arc from NetGalley and I am so happy I did. This is my first book by this author but it definitely won't be my last. I really love her writing style and the differing perspectives of the main characters. This was a very engrossing story with surprises around every corner. It really kept me guessing until the shocking final page. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend it to anyone who is a fan of pychological suspense. I can honestly say Rachel Hawkins is one of my new favorite authors. I can't wait to read her next one.

I appreciated getting an ARC for this book. Rachel Hawkins never lets me down on a fun and interesting story!

This one features am heiress who went missing when she was three and then was found. She also has a bunch of rumors about her and how she killed her four husbands.

Then there's her adopted son who she had inherit all of the money, but he doesn't really want it.

All of these things seem random, but they work in this new book. I personally loved the letters from Ruby about her perspective on the events of her life. I liked the articles and news reports thrown in as well.

Camden and Jules were the other perspectives. I liked them, but I wished they had a little more umph with them. Camden could have been anyone in my opinion. Jules was a little more intriguing, but I still needed more.

The story wraps up well with some fun twists and turns.

I haven’t read a book this quickly in years. The Heiress was fast paced and kept me second guessing everything I thought I knew until the end. I HIGHLY recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!

What an amazing book. Just when you think it is over you get more twists and turns. Cam travels back to his family home in the mountains of North Carolina. He is forced to reunite with his very dysfunctional and wealthy family. Every time I thought I had everything figured out I was shocked with how wrong I had it.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is the best book I’ve read so far this year. It kept me entertained through the novel and always on the edge of my seat. The story reminded me of Knives Out meets Evelyn Hugo. It has family drama, flashbacks, mystery and even more on every page. I loved how the story was told through multiple points of view to give the reader a greater understanding of all the characters and their histories that brought them together.

This book will keep you guessing until the very end. Absolute amazing novel and couldn’t recommend it more!