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.

4/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Not my favorite Rachel Hawkins book, but still worth the read. I would say this is a slow burn read. Ruby passes away and leaves her estate to her son, who is quickly reminded why he moved away. I would say the first half was slow, and then halfway through is when it picked up.

Another home run from the divine Rachel Hawkins. She’s created the perfect villain we love with Ruby McTavish, the wealthy heiress who mysteriously lost four husbands before adopting a son and leaving her entire fortune to him. Wow, this story has it all: suspense, murder, backstabbing and blackmail, and every other thrilling trope that will have you unable to put it down. I loved the twists and turns, the writing style with various POVs, and the characters.

It’s safe to say that if Rachel writes it, I’m going to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I'm torn on this one. On one hand I flew through it and couldn't put it down. On the other hand, I feel like not a lot happened. The letters written by the deceased head of the family felt a lot like Evelyn Hugo to me, which distracted me from the story. It wasn't really a mystery or suspense novel, but there's a heavy tone full of family drama, in a Gothic mansion setting.

If you enjoy complicated family dramas, unlikeable characters, and an atmospheric setting involving an old mansion, then you will love Rachel Hawkins new novel, the Heiress. The story centers around the death of the matriarch, Ruby McTavish, and the scandals that ensue in regards to her inheritance. There are alternating points of view, including Ruby’s backstory told through a series of letters she has left behind. This book gave me some similar vibes to Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so if you enjoyed that, you might like this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rachel Hawkins has done it again. I devoured this book in one day – literally couldn’t put it down. The Heiress delivers a crazy cast of characters – none of them who they seem, a creepy old mansion with a past and truckloads of old money at stake. What’s not to love?

Much like her previous novel, “The Villa”, this story is told by two different narrators in addition to news articles, interviews, and letters. Once again, Hawkins weaves all of these elements together seamlessly in a way that makes it so much more interesting than just one POV.

I loved that as soon as I thought I knew where things were headed, they veered in a totally different direction toward an ending that didn't tie things up with a bow. A+!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a different story than what I was expecting! With Rachel Hawkins I was expecting much more of a thriller than this family drama, but it was a really interesting read. It is a slow burn, but even with that I read the whole thing in a day. Frankly, the entire family is unlikeable, but you do build up some respect and awe for Ruby as things are revealed. The last 25% really turned the whole story around, many twists and reveals as you near conclusion. You can never go wrong with Rachel Hawkins, always a good time and a good read!

Thanks so much to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the early release to read, I'm a little sad I'll have to wait awhile for another book as this one doesn't come out until next year!

Rachel Hawkins always writes amazing books, and this was one of them! I was captivated from the beginning and devoured it in one sitting.