Member Reviews
Rachel Hawkins this is the best one yet! I love that there is drama in the present and drama in the past! I was intrigued by Ruby’s story and even though she was kind of awful I found myself rooting for her! Also, the cover is awesome.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ REVIEW
RACHEL HAWKINS DOES IT AGAIN! She is such a dynamic writer and The Heiress, like all her other books, did not disappoint. Out in January 2024, The Heiress in question, Ruby, is North Carolina royalty with an infamous and scandalous past from victim of a childhood kidnapping to a 4 time widower. But with fame and status come vulture-esque family ties, an adopted son who wants nothing to do with the cut throat inheritance and Ruby who still reigns as matriarch well beyond the grave.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and thoughts/review are all my own.
This was a great thriller. There was twists and turns. The story kept me guessing till the end! It was a slow burn but I loved the story line from each point of view. Rachel Hawkins’ books don’t disappoint
I was totally shocked to see Rachel Hawkins newest book, AVAILABLE to immediately download and review!!
I have enjoyed her past novels. I know The Wife Upstairs gets mixed reviews, but I thought it was a wonderful retelling of Jane Eyre! (Anyone who rated that one low probably didn't realize that 🤣). In addition to her other works, including ones under a pen name, I also recently enjoyed the audio version of The Villa - almost a little too much! ☺️🫢
So back to The Heiress!
I absolutely loved this one! Fast paced! Very interesting, unlikeable characters all around 🤣.
I really enjoy her style of writing, and I love the shock value in her thrillers!
Another well done book!! I would recommend this one.
I was excited to read Rachel Hawkins’ upcoming thriller, The Heiress, which I received from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.
This story is told from the perspectives of Ruby McTavish’s adopted son Camden and his wife Jules, alternating with excerpts from news articles surrounding the kidnapping of Ruby who was missing for 8 months as a child, before being returned to her family. There is also a whole story line with letters written by Ruby to an unknown person which contain very dark confessions about her life.
The story begins with Camden being called back to the family home, which has been willed to him, to deal with some family problems. We hit all the high points of books I enjoy including a seriously creepy house, problematic family members, and so many secrets and lies you will think your head can’t take any more of it.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one, it’s a fun, quick read that keeps you guessing. The expected release date for this is January of 2024 and I think it will be successful. 4 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I’ve read a few of Rachel Hawkins books but this one is by far my favourite. It was extremely addictive and kept me wanting more. I couldn’t guess the twists and it was such a fast paced and brilliantly written novel. Can’t wait to read more by Rachel Hawkins!
I love Rachel Hawkins! She’s done it again. I read this book so quickly, it immediately draws you in and makes you not want to put it down.
Ruby McTavish has a whirlwind past everyone in the town of Tavistock can’t help but whisper about, starting at 3 years old when she went missing from her family home, Ashby House’s treacherous mountains, leading through 4 perished husbands, and ending leaving the enormous McTavish family fortune to a young son she adopted at 3 years old, Camden. Ruby McTavish has secrets she needs to confide in someone though, her life has never been what it seemed.
Camden is married to Jules, having walked away from the McTavish family, fortune, and home, a decade ago, despite owning it all. They live a modest life in Colorado until Camden receives an email from his cousin, pleading with him to come home. The McTavishes have dwindled down to just four, and they need him, Tavistock and Ashby House need him. We quickly learn this dysfunctional family, has secrets, all of them.
Camden and Jules have no idea what they have walked into at Ashby House, and the remaining McTavishes have no idea what they have invited to their home upon their arrival, but all secrets come out eventually. Whether everyone survives the secrets is a different story.
The multiple POVs from Camden, Jules, and Ruby via handwritten letters to her confidant really work in telling this twisty, turning, secretive story over and over! It draws you in and keeps you immersed until the very end.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Rachel Hawkins for this thoroughly enjoyed ARC!
Publication date January 9, 2024
I was hooked from the start. This is not a slow burn where you have to "keep going" to make it to the juicy parts. The book follows an old money family and the tumultuous relationship between the relatives that are born into the family and the sole heir of their money, an adopted son. The son is dragged back to his childhood home with a letter from his "brother." Once Camden (the adopted son) and his wife, Jules arrive at Camden's former home all the reasons he fleed the home come rushing back.
There are multiple twists and turns in this book. I was not prepared nor expecting many of them. Most books give you a twist to latch onto and gasp in surprise. "The Heiress" gives you one, then another, then another, and end on a twist that leaves you wanting more. There is one twist that I expected/predicted due to a statement in the beginning of the book. Despite expecting it, I was still shocked by it.
Once again, Rachel Hawkins delivers a book that leaves me scrambling for more.
I am usually a Rachel Hawkins fan (have LOVED all her other books) but this fell a bit flat for me. I found there was not a ton of character development (except for Ruby), so when the ending came, it didn't seem so crazy to me since I felt that I didn't really know them. Still interesting premise and plot. Thanks for the advanced copy!
The Heiress is told from three different points of view: Jules, Camden (Jules's wife), and Ruby (Cam's deceased mother, through letters she wrote right before her death). I had so much fun reading this novel! Jules and Cam head back to Camden's family home toward remaining family - very wealthy and extremely dysfunctional. Every one is keeping secrets and tensions rise to the breaking point as those secrets begin coming to light. This is definitely my favorite of Rachel Hawkins's novels so far!
A big thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!
The Heiress was a fabulous, suspenseful read with a similar draw as Girl on a Train. The book drew me in within the first chapter wanting to learn more about the web the author had made for the characters she had written. While the conclusion was not quite as shocking as other great suspense novels, it was a satisfying ending, and I would recommend others to read it and enjoy.
I received a free copy of, The Heiress, by Rachel Hawkins, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmor was North Carolina's richest and notorious woman. With that many names on her she had a wild life, being married four times with suspicions around their deaths. Ruby had an adopted son Cam who inherits her fortunes, but he does not want it. This book has so much family drama and secrets in it, I expected a thriller and it was not, but it was a good read.
Camden McTavish, heir to the McTavish fortune and mansion (Ashby House), wants nothing to do with his remaining family or their problems. Growing up at Ashby House he always felt like an outsider and as an adult, nothing has changed. When he visits the estate with his wife (Jules), his late mother’s secrets begin to surface and Cam will learn how it is he came to be adopted by the McTavish matriarch. Maybe Cam is more like his family than he previously thought.
The Heiress had an interesting historical plot filled with twists and turns throughout. It included alternative formatting like newspaper articles and journal entries, which I always love because it breaks up the monotony of a chapter-based novel. I loved getting to read about the life of Ruby McTavish in the journal format because it put me in her headspace. The characters, while certainly not examples of morally upstanding individuals, were interesting and had a unique point of view.
My criticism of the book is that the main plot began fairly late in the novel for my taste, and by the end, things felt slightly rushed. But overall, I enjoyed The Heiress and will likely pick it up when it releases next year.
An intergenerational exploration of the twisted, complicated privileges of wealth, contrasted against the tragedy that overshadows the whole family.
When three-year-old Ruby is kidnapped, her wealthy parents spare no expense to get her back. When she's returned months later, she grows up to have no memory of the incident, only what newspaper clippings tell her. She lives a long and notorious life, leaving four dead husbands in her wake.
Meanwhile, her adopted son Camden, despite inheriting her entire fortune, wants nothing to do with his palatial estate or his relatives, who still live there. But when an appeal from a long-lost cousin finally brings him home, he and his wife have to face his secret past, plus the secrets they're currently keeping from each other.
This book brings memorable characters to life. Ruby is especially interesting, from her journey from young debutante to matriarch of a family line powerful enough to keep the whispers about the suspicious circumstances of the husband's deaths at bay. I sympathized with Camden's wife, who wants him to take his place as heir. Every character makes questionable choices, which makes them all the more fascinating.
It's also an interesting consideration of nurture over nature.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It's no secret that I'm obsessed with Rachel Hawkins based on my other reviews of her books, so needless to say I stayed up all night to read The Heiress the second I received my ARC. Once again, Rachel Hawkins did not disappoint! The only disappointment is how quickly I finished the book and now have to wait impatiently for her next one to come out!
I've talked about this book (and her others) to my friends and have tried my best to articulate why I love her writing style so much -- ultimately, Rachel Hawkins writes how I speak, which is a lot harder than it sounds. I am not one to shy away from cursing, and she has a way of weaving curse words into her prose that just work and are not just there for the sake of cursing. I don't know how else to explain it. I also truly enjoyed the storyline of The Heiress, including the various narrators and methods for giving the readers information (ie. letters, news articles). The story was both practical and fantastical at the same time but it worked. Overall, I loved it and cannot wait to see what else Rachel Hawkins has in store for us!
Murder. Mystery. Family drama!
All rolled in one! Lots of twists and really good ending!
Started a little slow for me but picked up and kept me turning the pages!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!
Rachel Hawkins tends to make you either love or hate her well drawn characters, all the while drawing you in to a plot that you grow to love. I call this more of a “who is it” than a “whodunit”, as the crimes are revealed as you go along by the person who committed them. This is an interesting new take on a mystery for me, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. With rich characters, surprises along the way, and an engaging style of writing, I would highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.
Always an auto buy author for me. Love it so much and can’t wait to read more from her! I would recommend this book to everyone and I think it’s one of her best yet!
Thank you Netgalley for this Arc!
Family drama, death, and love! What else could you ask for with Rachel Hawkins new novel? I absolutely love a good family drama story and she brought her A game. Jules is adamant on getting her husband Cam back to the old Ashby House because just the name alone sounds memorizing! Little does she know all the secrets hidden there. Once you think you have heard the plot twist you are wrong. This is a page turner and you will not be able to stop reading.
When Ruby McTavish, the richest woman in North Carolina, was a toddler, she went missing from her family’s sprawling estate of Ashby House and reappeared several months later living with the Darnell family in Alabama. And while that is harrowing, it isn’t nearly the most interesting thing about her. Ruby was widowed four times before adopting a son, Camden, to pass down her inheritance to rather than let it revert to her wicked sister Nelle and Nelle’s equally wicked son and grandchildren. Camden left Ashby House the moment he could for California and settled down with Jules, cutting his family out completely. When his uncle dies, Camden begrudgingly returns to Ashby House to sort out the estate but Jules seems a little too excited to enter a home her husband dreads. Soon, secrets are revealed and Ashby House yet again brings out the worst in everyone involved.
This was a pretty good thriller. There were several twists I was surprised by but there were also a few minor storylines that I felt could’ve been wrapped up more. The ending felt almost like Gone Girl which was a pleasant surprise. I love a messy ending to a messy thriller.