Rachel Hawkins, I love you so much - but this wasn't the best. I missed the grit of The Family Upstairs and The Villa.

The Heiress wasn't particularly groundbreaking or new but I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The setting was luxurious and the family was scandalous and intriguing.

At times, however, it felt a bit too much like Rachel Hawkins was taking inspiration from the 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo with the famous green formal dress, multiple husbands, and 'wealthy woman from a poor background' narrative but the plot was different enough and I found it interesting if not phenomenal.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy domestic thriller to read on vacation. It'll hold your attention and there are no plot holes or loose ends.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review. RACHEL HAWKINS HAS DONE IT AGAIN! This was an incredibly addictive dark domestic family thriller. Certainly an engrossing page turner!
The story is told through three main characters; Ruby, Cam and Jules.
Ruby was an incredibly wealthy member of the McTavish family who was kidnapped as a child and goes on to marry four times. Upon her death her adopted son Cam turns away from from the immense inheritance. However ten years later following the death of an uncle he and his wife Jules must return to the family mansion and address the inheritance and the maintenance of the estate.
What follows is a twisty ride with death certainly bringing out the worst in a family. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the story were the tell all letters as told through Ruby’s voice.
I would have to say that the ending was a bit of a surprise and extremely clever. All in all very captivating and addictive!

My initial thoughts when I first started this book were: Wow I am loving the format and it kind of has Evelyn Hugo vibes with a prominent female telling her story.

We get a dual POV, plus the story telling, PLUS articles about the Heiress and her family.

This one definitely kept me on my toes and had a few twists I didn’t see coming at all. There’s nothing more you can ask from a thriller really.

If you’re into secrets, deception, and females who do what they want no matter the costs, you’ll love this one.

Definitely a book I’ll be recommending to friends and family!

Rachel Hawkins’ books are kinda hit or miss for me. THE WIFE UPSTAIRS and THE VILLA were okay and i thoroughly enjoyed RECKLESS GIRLS. I am always intrigued to see what she does next.

I strongly suggest that readers go into THE HEIRESS without expecting a twisty, fast paced thriller. if you enjoy slow burn type of thrillers, you may enjoy this! The last quarter of the book definitely picks up and I appreciated the twists when they were revealed. I don’t think that this book would fall on my list of favorites from this author, but would still recommend to slow burn mystery enjoyers!

Thank you St Martin's Press for the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

This story had me hooked from the very beginning. The idea to keep Ruby in the story with the letters was genius. The twists and turns were unexpected and delicious. This story is probably my favorite by Rachel Hawkins so far! It is such a unique story and keeps you wanting to keep reading. I enjoyed that we saw it from Camden and Jules perspectives as a married couple coming back to the family home.

Synopsis:
When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

Content: major swearing (f words), murder, domestic assault/abuse, lies, family abuse, manipulation
Read if you enjoy:
Twists
Suspense
Murder mysteries
Old Money stories

A distant heir to his adoptive mother is called home by “family” he would rather not associate with. Encouraged by his wife, Camden reluctantly travels back to his old home to confront those from his past that don’t think the money is rightfully his. This story is about how far people will go to get what they want. In the end, money changes everything.

This was such a good time! I loved how we got letters from Ruby in between chapters! The twists and turns the McTavish family had together and at the Ashby House were insane! Definitely can't wait to pick up a finished copy! Rachel Hawkins has made her way on to my top thriller authors list and I'm not mad about it!

WOW. Rachel outdid herself on this book. I loved the different pov, the letters it flashed to giving us more information but not everything, leaving us getting up till the end. It was very well written keeping me engaged and wanting to just plow through it to the end. Than wrapping the ending up with a pretty twisted little bow! Highly recommend this book. 5 stars from me and can’t wait to tell my book club and friends to grab their copy and read it!

Twisty and dark. I really enjoyed the characters and the story. There’s nothing like a death to bring out the worst in a family, especially when there's tons of money involved.

I loved the alternating narrative between Cam and his wife, Jules, who have very different agendas when it comes to Cam's inheritance and Ashby House. Interspersed throughout are letters from Ruby written just prior to her death and news articles about her kidnapping that rocked the nation when she was just three-years-old.

Each character has something to hide and as the story progresses, their web of secrets and lies starts to unravel. This was really a very fun book and once I got really into it, I didn't want to put it down!

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this brilliant read in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I enjoyed this thriller. It kept me engaged throughout but I did find it easy to guess the plot throughout the book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

4.5⭐️ rounded up…I’m picky about my thrillers but really enjoyed this one. This is my first Rachel Hawkins book, although I’ve already enjoyed her writing as Erin Sterling (The Ex Hex & The Kiss Curse). It definitely won’t be my last!

No one involved with the McTavishes can escape the effects of their massive fortune…greed, fear, and desperation have led nearly every member of the family to embrace their morally grey impulses - or worse. Narrated in turn by adopted heir Camden, his bubbly outsider wife Jules, and (from the grave!) - the matriarch herself, Ruby McTavish, in the form of dark, snarky confessional letters - this one kept me mesmerized right up to the satisfying ending. EVERYONE in this story was keeping deeply buried secrets…I could kind of foresee what was coming, but watching this twisted family story unfold literally kept me up reading till 3am.

As a North Carolinian myself, it didn’t hurt that I’ve personally known old-money folks with dark pasts and a ruthless streak…it just made the setting and vivid cast of characters that much more compelling.

When it’s all said and done, you could argue - who was the titular heiress after all??

Thanks to Rachel Hawkins, St Martin’s, & Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

3/5 stars

I found this to be a very interesting read. I was expecting a more cynical thriller and while this was not that, it was still a good gothic mystery. Even though I only rate this book 3 starts (maybe 3.5), I enjoy her writing style so much that I couldn't put it down and I easily finished this in a day.

This is definitely a smart page-turner! Lots of complicated relationships and a foreboding gothic-like setting keep tensions high---and everyone seems to have a secret. I love mysteries, but have trouble finding ones I really enjoy. This is one of those rare gems! Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

RATING: 4.5 STARS
PAGE COUNT: 294

Thank you, NetGalley for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I love Rachel Hawkins and the characters that she creates. If you haven't read Reckless Girls or The Villa then please do so!

First of all, the cover is beautiful and eye-catching. The Heiress is the perfect book for you if you enjoy multiple povs, family drama, greed, and past/present timelines. I did half audiobook and half physical copy. The audiobook now available on Spotify has the perfect narrators for each character. The book is also now available on Kindle Unlimited. It is the perfect quick read (I wish I saved it to read by the pool).

I enjoyed this book, but it did not give me that 5-star feeling. The twist did not shock me as much as I was hoping. I still highly recommend this quick read. Still is a 4.5 stars read!!

This book was absolutely phenomenal. Rachel Hawkins books have been hit and miss for me but I absolutely loved this one. I loved all the characters, I loved learning about Ruby's past, I love learning why Camden left everything behind, and the twist at the end was great! Really really enjoyed this one and would recommend it!

Amazing as always! A definite go to writer when you want an amazing thriller to cozy up with. Love the setting and characters she gave us with this novel.

THE HEIRESS • Rachel Hawkins • Pub Date: January 9, 2024 • 3.5 stars, rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I have found myself enjoying mysteries/thrillers less and less these days, but Rachel Hawkins is an auto-buy author for me. This book did not disappoint!

Abridged Goodreads Synopsis: When Ruby McTavish dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. In the aftermath of her death, her sprawling estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden. But to everyone’s surprise, Cam rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life in Colorado and marrying Jules. Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Unfortunately, coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place. Jules, however, has other ideas. But as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

First of all, I think it's a glowing recommendation alone to say that I read this book in two days. Considering the fact that the last book I read took me an entire month to get through, that says a lot! But if my inability to put this book down does not sway you to pick it up, Hawkins' writing definitely should. She is CLEVER. Not only do we get a twisty plot told through alternating POVS, but we also get newspaper clippings and diary entries. Everything in this plot ties together beautifully as well, so the ending was extremely satisfying.

TL;DR: Go into this book blind, and enjoy every second of it.

Every so often I come across a book where I just can’t stand any of the characters. Like every single one of them is just annoying and just not good people. You start to find yourself rooting for their downfall or demise. You wonder how much further they can stoop. And while this book is full of those types of people, I actually was rooting for the two main characters.

Without giving too much away, trust me when I say they were not 100% without fault. These two were not great people. But honestly their families were way worse.

This one has multiple POVs, a little bit of the backstory given to you chunks at a time, reads super fast and short chapters.

All in all, it was a good one!

Ok I think this is my new favorite from the author, it was twisty and clever and just such a fun time. I was sucked into this one from the start but as things progressed and the tangled web of secrets began to unravel I was super invested. This was short and super fast paced with so many smart twists, both big and small that really kept me engaged. The audio version was excellent and was narrated by Patti Murin, Dan Bittner, Eliza Foss and John Pirhalla making it such a great multicast listen by some true pros. Definitely pick this up when you want a popcorn read that feels smart and super entertaining.