Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ebook version of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. In exchange, I'm providing a free and fair review. The author chose to have each main character tell their own story; it felt like each of them was talking to me personally. The "news articles" and letters from Ruby, interspersed throughout, provided much insight into this family. An infamous heiress and very complicated inheritance see left to her adopted son, Camden. In addition, I found that I never quite knew what the truth of this family was, with Hawkins leading me to devour this book in 24 hours. I was kept guessing through much of the book, except for the "letters" Ruby wrote to Cam, which gradually laid things out for him. Each character had their own demons that haunted them. Many of them came to light eventually, with a few remaining secret. Along the way, I found Hawkins dropping subtle hints about each character and their role in this sordid tale. But, I never quite put it all together until she revealed the details when the characters were ready to share therm. Many times, the descriptions that Hawkins provides through her writing, made me feel like I was right there with the characters. Taking in the beauty of Ashby House and the mystique surrounding it. What twisted secrets do each of these family members hold? I have given this book 5 stars. One of the best suspense novels I've read this year.

Another banger from Rachel Hawkins! The Heiress kept me up late at night, frantically reading to find out what happened with Ruby, Camden, and Jules.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital arc! As always, Rachel Hawkins does not disappoint!

The Heiress follows Ruby McTavish, who goes missing as a child after being kidnapped and then is later miraculously reunited with her family. Ruby does not remember anything from her time away, so no one can be sure what truly happened to her. The mystery surrounding Ruby does not stop there though- Ruby is a four time widow, with rumors swirling about the circumstances of all of her husbands’ deaths.

If uncovering Ruby’s story wasn’t enticing enough, add in her crazy, selfish family who lived with her at the family estate, Ashby House. Upon Ruby’s death, the entire McTavish fortune, including the expansive Ashby House, was all left to Ruby’s adopted son, Camden,- which the McTavishes were very upset about, to say the least.

Cam is estranged from his family and wants nothing to do with them or the money, until a death in the family brings Cam and his wife, Jules, to Ashby House. During their time back, it is clear that Ashby House brings out something in its residents, and that no one is really as they seem.

This book immediately hooked me with the mystery of Ruby McTavish! I really enjoyed reading about Ruby’s whole life throughout the entire novel and was glad to learn about her and her family through letters and newspaper articles. The whole family (and Ashby house itself) are very intriguing, and I enjoyed the twists and surprises. If you like mysteries or novels about scandalous wealthy families, I definitely recommend picking this one up!

The Heiress is full of secrets and twists you won't see coming and it helps keep the book interesting! I enjoyed the different POV's and that Camden and Jules had each others backs. I especially liked that Camden and Jules each had their own little secrets. Ruby was a kick even from the grave and I thoroughly enjoyed the mess she made for everyone. The large and exquisite was a perfect setting for all the drama and the past leaping out to bite everyone's butts. Overall this was a really good read with some interesting and unforgettable twists!

This book felt like Blanche Deveraux does a Murder, She Wrote version of Auntie Mame. The duplicitous main characters were likable and forgivable because they had one another. And the rest? Like The real life Murdaughs, you wish them all dead 😂

This book is just a fun ride--with all of the typical Rachel Hawkins twists and turns in the road.

Ruby McTavish disappears in the woods as a toddler, and is discovered almost a year later living with another family who have been calling her their daughter. Is she the "real" Ruby? This becomes one of the central mysteries to the story.

Fast forward, and Ruby's adopted son, Camden, who was estranged from her, comes with his wife back to the family estate to (reluctantly) claim his inheritance.

The novel toggles back and forth between the present with Camden, his wife Jules, the rest of the McTavish family, and the past, that is revealed through a series of letters Ruby left behind addressed to an unnamed person that tells the "real" story of her life.

Thank you so much for the ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Thriller/Rich Family Drama & Family Secrets/Murders/LARGE Inheritance/Creepy Mansion/Suspense. Once you think you know where it's going it takes a sharp left, leaving you wanting more with each page turned.

I just adore Rachel Hawkins. I loved the combination of letters, news articles and multiple POVs. This kept me reading late into the night!

Camden McTavish was not born into the McTavish name, but was given the name by his adopted mother, and heiress to the McTavish fortune, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. But once Ruby died, Cam took off, leaving the family, fortune, and mansion behind. Told in alternating POVs and letters describing Ruby's past, Cam returns home with his wife. The reader, along with the family, unravel the past, in order to decide who will have control in the future.

***

This was SO, SO close to being a 5 star read for me. Hawkins knows how to tell a story, and Ruby's was absolutely captivating and jaw dropping. The kind of flawed character that you cannot help but love. I loved listening to her unravel her past.

Meanwhile, in the present day back at Ashby House, tension builds. Everyone has secrets and ulterior motives that are slowly, but masterfully revealed. Thriller writers can take note how Hawkins makes reveals from different POVs without having to constantly rehash the plot.

My only gripe is that the ending fell flat for me. I definitely predicted some of the twists, but I would have loved something a bit deeper. Everything came at you fast, and then it just ended.

<spoiler>It was the Jules twist that just didn't work for me. It was all too nice and sweet in the end. </spoiler>

Definitely one of Hawkins best and a worthy follow up to The Villa. I cannot wait to see what she puts out next.

Rachel Hawkins tells a good story I liked this book way better the last. She seems to be growing as a writer and I look forward to future books. This for sure is a great beach read

I am a huge fan of Rachel Hawkins. I loved her book Reckless Girls, so I was very excited to read The Heiress! This book was so good.

Jules and Camden have been married for 10 years when they end up heading to his estate that he inherited when his mother passed, The Ashby House. The story is told from split POV’s of Jules and Camden, along with letters from Ruby (Camden’s mother) and newspaper articles. The book is filled with family secrets, drama and greed. Ruby was famous because she was the infamous missing baby Ruby who disappeared in the woods. She then is found and returned to her family where she ends up having 4 husbands who all have mysteriously died while all married to Ruby. Could there be a connection or just poor luck? Camden and Jules soon learn a lot about Ruby, the house and each other. Will they be able to make it through this trip? I could not put down this book and it was full of twists. I definitely was not expecting the ending at all.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ruby McTavish is no stranger to rumors and speculation. Born into a very wealthy family in an Appalachian town in South Carolina, she was destined to be the center of attention from birth. Life events (disappearing at the age of three, reuniting with her family, and entering into four marriages that all ended tragically) led to increasing notoriety. Cam, her adopted son, left long ago to escape the resentment of Ruby's relatives, who hate that Ruby brought him into their family and left everything to him when she died. But now, Cam's family is begging him to come back to help with the upkeep of the family estate. And his wife, Jules, is all for it, because it means she'll finally get to know a new side of her husband's life.

But like most families, everyone has secrets that they've tried to keep buried for far too long. Told from the perspectives of Cam, Jules, and letters written by Ruby before her death, this family finally comes face to face with things they've been running from for a long time. With twists and turns throughout the entire story, this one was hard to put down.

The Heiress was an incredible, highly entertaining book! Fast-paced with bombshell after bombshell keeping me turning pages late into the night. I was so intrigued by Ruby McTavish. Her character was written with depth and an air of mystery. The story is told through alternating points of view from Ruby's letters (the family matriarch), Camden (Ruby's adopted son), Jules (Camden's wife), and newspaper reports and lifestyle articles about Ruby and the McTavish family. This book really had everything - a southern family so wealthy and powerful they were practically royalty, mysterious deaths, estranged family dynamic, backstabbing...I got completely drawn into the story and just had to keep reading until the last of Ruby's secrets was revealed. Definitely recommend for those who love family sagas and thrillers. The only criticism I have of this book is that, like with the author's previous books, she likes to drop F bombs every other sentence. I have no problem with profanity in books when it is necessary (helps define a character, sets the tone for a scene, triggers a laugh) but it always feels like the author just throws them in wherever and it becomes a distraction. Other than that, I loved it!

I received an early review copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was everything I needed in a thriller. I'd call it Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets I don't know what, but creepy, fun, speed-reading thriller about summarizes it. Set in Ashby House, a giant mansion out in the woods, this book is multi POV with letters from Ruby McTavish, who was a child kidnapped and recovered when she was 3. Now she's passed away, and her adopted son is returning home for the first time in a decade with his wife who has secrets of her own. I read this book SO fast and highly recommend you do, too!

The Heiress is an enjoyable read with multiple twists and turns. The story is told from the POV of Camden, Jules and confessional letters from Ruby, the heiress. Though the storyline was somewhat predictable the writing style keeps you engrossed wanting to find out how the story ends.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina lies Ashby House, the opulent estate of the late and notorious heiress Ruby McTavish. Widowed four times under most mysterious circumstances, Ruby's glittering life was hardly immune from scandal. Kidnapped by a still-unknown perpetrator as a young child and later rescued from the south, Ruby assumed center stage amongst the wealthy McTavish family and never left. As the years ticked by and husband after husband dropped dead before any children appeared, one would think that Ruby's fortune was likely to pass to a relative.

Until Ruby yet again makes headlines by adopting a young orphan boy named Camden, and makes him her sole heir to the McTavish fortune.

Flash forward decades, and "The Heiress" begins with Ruby's (timely? untimely?) death, and Camden being summoned back to Ashby House with his wife, Jules. While the backstory and setup of Rachel Hawkins' latest promised something of a mix between "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and a "Knives Out" sort of whodunit mystery, I'm sad to say that with this latest novel, I think my time reading Hawkins' work is over for good.

The surface-level, poorly-paced plot was noticeable enough in "The Heiress," but the real culprit here was how underdeveloped and almost-cartoonish the characters seemed. Jules, who maintains a POV in alternating chapters with Camden and also past-written letters from Ruby, was the insufferably kind of self-aware character whose prose was basically: "You who's reading this? Yeah, you. Listen, you might think you know what happens, but I'm here to tell you there's another side to this story, so buckle up." Consequently, her chapters--which likely were intended to have a quirky effect--were like nails on a chalkboard in the worst fashion.

Ultimately, Hawkins has been on a slow descent for me since "The Wife Upstairs," which was one of my favorite books of the year at the time. I enjoyed "Reckless Girls" enough, found "The Villa" hopelessly-convoluted, and now can unfortunately say that "The Heiress" was a superficial swing-and-miss lacking in any thrills or twists whatsoever. With so many similar titles out there today, this is one I'd recommend readers skip.

✨ARC REVIEW!✨
I want to thank @stmartinspress for allowing me to read this arc! @netgalley is new to me, and I am so grateful to have been able to read The Heiress by @ladyhawkins before it publishes on January 9th. The cover is absolutely gorgeous! I’m sure I’ll still get a physical copy. It could be a @bookofthemonth pick for January 2024….at least I’m really hoping it will be. 😁
This is definitely one you’ll want to read! As soon as I was approved for a copy, I started reading and couldn’t stop! There were so many secrets, and the way they slowly unfolded was delicious. I truly didn’t want it to end! You won’t be too surprised that I’m giving this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

Read this is you like…
✌🏻dual-pov (sort of 3)
📝letters/articles in story
🏡 setting is like a character
🤫 so many secrets & lies
😶‍🌫️ mystery
☠️ many deaths/murders 😏
💰 wealthy family
🔪 backstabbing
🍎 good vs. evil & nature vs. nurture
💕meaning of love
👩‍👦complicated family relationships

#stmartinspress #netgalley #ladyhawkins #theheiress #thrillermystery #arcreview #january2024book #newreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagram

I had a hard time getting into this book, I got into it around 60%. I think the first ¾ of the book was a little slow.

Things I liked vs didn't like :

Liked

1. I thought the letters were a great addition. I enjoyed reading those and finding out Ruby's dark secrets that she held from everyone.

2. I liked that Cam knew more than he led on. Especially when it came to Jules secrets.

Didn't care for

1. I thought the story leading up to "the twist" was lacking a little bit. I think other than the letters, there wasn't much to keep me reading. The banter in the family was typical but annoying at times.

2. I kind of hoped there would be more coming, I felt like page after page I was waiting for things to happen and nothing did.

Overall I'd give this a 3 star.

I love Rachel Hawkins' books, and this one is no exception! As someone who loves reading about family drama/relationships, I ate this one UP. I can't wait to talk about it with patrons when it comes out!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I loved the storytelling in this book so much. It was so easy to like Cam and Jules, to be emotionally connected with them. The parts of the book that were Ruby’s letter were a great addition.