The Heiress is a thriller centering around a prodigal son and his wife coming back to his childhood home to check on his inheritance. I enjoyed the plot and all of the family secrets, but by the end of the novel, I was slightly disappointed that none of the characters were good people.

I enjoyed this book, but did not enjoy all of the fictional "Southern" names and places. It made the story feel extremely fictional and I had a hard time getting past it.

Best one yet!! Oh gosh!! Where to begin? Rachel Hawkins is an author who gets consistently better with each book. I could not put this one down! SO many secrets! Layers and layers of them! Ruby is a rich heiress. She is part of a horrible family, and they all want the millions left solely to her. She dies and leaves all to her adopted son, Camden. He's not even a true McTavish!! See where this is going? Enter Jules, wife of Camden. Jules wants Cam to return home and help Cousin Ben fix up Ashby house, the family home. Never mind that Cam left over 10 years ago and swore to never go back. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out everyone has an agenda as each short chapter reveals something new. Told from Jules and Cam's Pov's with letters from Ruby herself, thrown in this one had me on the edge of my seat throughout! And I loved the nod to last year's The Villa! This was super fast-paced and one of my favorites so far this year!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin's Press for this MUCH appreciated ARC! All opinions are my own.
I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and various other retail and social media sites upon publication.

All I can say is excellent. I have enjoyed 2 of Rachel Hawkins past books but this may be my favorite yet. The back story integrated into the present time was well done. The way the twists are delivered are seamless. Its almost as if when you read it, its like it was always known and you question your own memory. Although Cam and Jules have been together for 10 years , do they really know each other?

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is everything a thriller/mystery needs. Interesting characters, spooky setting, and lots of unseen twists and turns. 4 out of 5 stars.

Overall I liked this book but with some notes. The good: I really enjoyed the characterization, and thought the book’s themes were interesting without bogging the book down too much. I did think the book had some serious pacing issues howe er, especially in the first half.

This was such a great read! I loved the characters and not
knowing who you could fully trust. There were some cut-
throat women in this story, and I loved it. Even if they were in
the wrong side of the law.
Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is famous
in North Carolina, not only for her wealth, her kidnapping as a
child, but for her bad luck at losing husbands to death. She
leaves the famed Ashby house and her fortune to her
adopted son, Camden, leaving the rest of her family livid.
Camden wants nothing to do with the family or wealth until
he's drawn back to Ashby house by his cousin Ben.
Camden and Jules, his wife of ten years, return to the great
Ashby House to sort out the mess and destruction of years
of neglect. Jules is in awe of the house and wealth and tries
to convince Camden to secure his place as heir and keep it
all, but he still wants nothing to do with it. During their visit,
secrets pour from everyone's past including the late Ruby.
More questions come to surface as the reader is sent reeling
by confessions from Camden, Jules and even Ruby from the
grave when letters are found in Ashby house.
This was such a great domestic thriller of a dysfunctional
family grasping for the notoriety and wealth of their family
name. The relationships between the family dynamics were
so interesting and kept you intrigued from the beginning. As
you learn Ruby's secrets of her past and the truth behind her
4 marriages you start to wonder if the evil has poured to her
son Camden. Then you realize he and Jules have some
secrets of their own.
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a copy of
this book. All opinions are my own.

I am a big fan of Rachel Hawkins books, so I was thrilled to read her newest. This book follows members of a wealthy, well-to-do family throughout various timelines. It is definitely more family drama than thriller. The current day plot line I found to be far-fetched or reaching, but I really enjoyed reading Ruby’s letters that detailed her storied history—these portions reminded me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. If not for the letters and old press releases, I would find this book to be too typical to so many other of this genre. Thank you for NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Rachel Hawkins for the ARC!

Family drama AND murder?? Yes please! This is my first Rachel Hawkins and I flew through it! I loved the format of this book. The chapters were quick and having news articles and letters mixed throughout made it even more suspenseful. I always love multiple perspectives in a book, and having each person carrying a secret made me excited to read each of their chapters.

I’m not one of those people who tries to figure out the twists before they happen, but wow I never saw that one coming. Hawkins tied everything together so nicely at the end while still leaving the mystery wide open. It’s not easy to make a satisfying ending but this one was 10/10.

I absolutely loved this one. It is my favorite so far by this author. She kept the twists coming. It kept me guessing.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for my honest opinion

Rachel Hawkins knows what her readers want...great big Gothic houses dripping with mystery, and she delivers that once again in "The Heiress." In fact, the North Carolina mansion where this story takes place is filled with so much cozy, spooky charm that Ashby House itself may as well be one of the main characters. Speaking of main characters, I loved trying to tease out their motivations and unraveling their histories, and I felt like every time I thought I figured out what was going on, the rug was pulled out from under me again -- all the way up until the very end. I liked hearing the story told from so many different viewpoints and timelines, with newspaper clippings and letters thrown in to spice things up, and yet I was never confused about the who was telling the story or what year it was in each chapter.

If I could, I would have given this book 4.5 stars. The only thing keeping it back from being 5 stars was that it felt too short, and the story progressed too quickly. I would have liked to see it fleshed out just a bit more so I could savor this setting, these characters and that grand old house just a little longer.

4.5 rounded up

Multigenerational mayhem! Everyone in the McTavish family is out for themselves, except one. Camden, the heir to the estate. I unravelled this multilayered thriller quickly. Loved it. I may still think The Villa is my fave, but this has to be second. Very twisty, which is what I love to read in a good thriller. Everyone in this book has secrets and I loved every one of them. That ending! WOWZA!

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and the author for this arc copy in exchange for my review.

The Heiress is a very enjoyable thriller about family secrets that are capable of great destruction.

Lately, many of the thrillers I've read have been formulaic and predictable, but not this one. I did easily guess one of the twists, but the story kept me intrigued throughout and interested until the very end. It's possible that the author plans a sequel because the ending was left a little bit open.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good mystery/thriller that is layered and builds on suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!
I've read other books by Rachel Hawkins so I was very excited to have the opportunity to read this ARC.

If you like some MESSY rich family drama, then this is the book for you! This story is told in multiple perspectives as it flips back and forth between a married couple, Cam and Jules, Cam's very wealthy adoptive mother has passed away and left Cam her whole estate. The story follows Cam and Jules as they return to Cam's childhood mansion and deal with the messy family he left behind.

I loved the way the book was written in excerpts of letters, articles, emails, etc. Rachel Hawkins is a phenomenal writer and she keeps you hooked by hinting that there are secrets just around the corner if you'll just keep reading.

It started off kind of slow and there were lots of character introductions. The storyline fell a little flat for me in the end, but it was an easy read and I don't regret my time with it.

I enjoyed The Villa, and am so happy I was able to get a NetGalley ARC copy of Rachel Hawkin’s new book!

From the publisher: 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.

Cam doesn’t want anything to do with his family, so bringing his wife, Jules, to the family estate to sort out the aftermath of the death is truly the last thing he wants to do. However, it seems no distance will keep the family secrets safe forever and the other family members who want to get at the inheritance are not going to stay quiet either.

This book was quick as I couldn’t put it down. The multiple perspectives gave you just a little hint for each of the characters secrets and learning about what they all went through was a true page turner. If you like lots of family drama and dark secrets, this will be right up your alley!

Great author! I really enjoyed reading this book. The writing is concise. There were no needless sections that dragged on. I liked the twists, and I actually didn’t see the main one heading my way. I have read several books by Rachel Hawkins, and she will continue to be another must read selection whenever a new book comes out.

The story follows a family of generational wealth, and the trappings that come with it. It takes place in the family estate, following the return of the "prodigal son" Cam and his wife, Jules. As Cam returns to the family home to settle his mother's affairs and deal with the house falling apart, we slowly unearth secrets that have been held there for generations. We watch as the illness of the house infects all who reside there, including Jules.

The book starts off slow, with lots of character introductions. We see the story unfold from Jules and Cam's point of view, as well as an archive of letters and news clippings. It is certainly a unique way to tell the story and gives us multiple perspectives. The plot does not pick up until 2/3 of the way through, and some revelations seem predictable. The character development left much to be desired as you don't feel too invested in any one person. You are told rather than shown each character's personalities. The ending should have been shocking, but felt too rushed considering all the lead up.

Overall, an entertaining if shallow read.

The twists and turns in “The Heiress” are fabulous! This is an interesting multi-generational family saga chock full of drama. The heiress of the title is Ruby McTavish, a woman infamous for a few reasons: the fact that she went missing as a toddler and then was found, that she married 4 times and all of her husbands died, and that she inherited a fortune—and a magnificent mansion in the North Carolina mountains—from her father. The book is set up in chapters alternating between the voices of her adopted son (and heir) and his wife, and letters Ruby wrote outlining her life. Thus, the reader learns, bit by bit, about Ruby and what transpired after her death, that is, the conflict between her sister’s family and her son. The characters are intriguing, although not especially likable, and the multiple twists near the end are amazing. I loved how all of this played out and I highly recommend this book! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review “The Heiress.”

Wowie. This was some messy family drama. And since it wasn't mine, I was all here for it.
First, I have to admit I considered giving up this read because I was a bit confused those first chapters. But I persevered and I'm so glad I did, because of course, OF COURSE, it's all going to unravel as each piece of the puzzle is gifted to us as the chapters progress.

If you have read a Rachel Hawkins book before, you'll know we are usually gifted a few plot twists. This one? I feel like it was the Christmas morning of plot twists. I rather enjoyed not knowing what was going to be opened up to us next. Just when you thought it was all figured here came another. And the little tid bit at the end? On the one had it's nice it was left open to assume. On the other? That was all I wanted to know about each turn of the page!

A great book that I'm sure I'll be left thinking about for a bit, even as I start another. It's definitely left a mark on me.

The Heiress was my first Rachel Hawkins book and sent me quickly adding her others to my collection. It was fast-paced, and although none of the twists were all that shocking, it kept me interested the whole way through. I didn’t love any of the characters, but that may have been the point. I am ready for more by this author!