Drama. Mystery. History. Plot twist! I did not have this one figured out! I liked seeing the different points of view to help weave the story.

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress @ladyhawkins for the #gifted eArc copy of this book!

Sometimes when you get approved for a book you just have to stop what you’re doing to immediately read it. 😅

This is my 4th book by this author and I was curious how this one would end up overall. Her last book (The Villa) I did enjoy but did feel it was more of a slow burn mystery vs. thriller. This one had me flipping the pages quicker and I was more easily immersed into this storyline. I think it’s because it felt more suspense driven and I certainly was not able to guess all of the twists!

Synopsis:
This book starts out where a young girl, Ruby, who belongs to a very wealthy family goes missing in the woods of North Carolina. Months later she is eventually found however rumors never cease to stop swirling around her.

Now grown and the owner of Ashby House Ruby has amassed quite the large amount of wealth and has left her riches to her adoptive son Cam after she passes. Ruby has quite the history, 4 dead spouses…all who have died in tragic accidents. 🤔 Cam is called back to settle the estate however wants nothing to do with his siblings or the estate. As soon as he was of age he left Ashby House and all of its dark secrets behind. Can now married doesn’t want to subject Jules, his wife to his family but feels he has no choice. As time passes, secrets are revealed and the family will never be the same!

As I mentioned I enjoyed this page turning suspenseful novel. I loved the big reveal and the twists that came along the way. I especially enjoyed the letters Ruby wrote to Cam which were scattered throughout the chapters. They were my favorite part and made the story much more interesting! I will certainly keep buying Ms. Hawkins books! Thank you for sharing these conniving characters with me!

I think this is less a thriller, more of a domestic drama. But - don’t let that keep you from diving into this one! It was so entertaining, I flew right through it! This was by far my favorite book by Hawkins. I loved how dysfunctional this family was, and the eerie feel around the Ashby House. Don’t go in expecting plot twist after plot twist, and you’ll be good!

A rich, dead heiress - with plenty of secrets - an adopted heir who wants nothing to do with the money and a bunch of greedy, spoiled family members. What could go wrong!? My favorite of Rachel Hawkins books yet! I love her writing It always sucks me in, but sometimes her endings fall a little flat. Not this one. This one is more of a slow build with so many twists along the way. I love stories told in different formats like this one - it’s told in the forms of narratives, letters and news articles. Very Taylor Jenkins Reid and Evelyn Hugo vibes.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

The lengths others will go to to keep secrets many... many secrets are in this book.
Family drama at its best even better than you would find out about as you keep reading.
Loved everything about this book.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

A light thriller - it took awhile for The Heiress to really get going. The current drama starts to unfold in the last 40% of the book. I love a thriller set in an old house, so I was slightly disappointed that the house wasn't more of its own character, since it's built up to be mythical.

Overall a quick and easy read, but I was hoping for a little more depth to the story and characters.

So this is why I love / dislike netgalley . I love getting ARCs of books . But I dislike writing reviews. Probably why I don't get very many acceptances lol . I am capable of giving stars but when it comes to putting into words all the feels of a book I fail ... spectacularly. I will tell you , I definitely recommend this book (4 stars), but you can read it for yourself and decide what you think.

I always love Rachel Hawkins' thrillers! I especially liked the multiple POVs as well as the two different timelines in this one. A lot of the time, Ruby's narrative letters were even more engaging than the current timeline and Jules' and Camden's POVs. I would love to read an entire book about Ruby's life. I definitely didn't catch the twist beforehand, but I always like being able to look back and see the hints I missed while reading.

Mo' money mo' secrets! 
I'm a sucker for rich housewife mystery, but the old money Appalachia mountain vibes took this to a whole new level. 
The twisty storyline pulled me in right away and I really enjoyed the way Rachel Hawkins told the story from a two person perspective, letters from the past, news articles, and even a few asides where the characters speak directly to the reader. The character building felt very natural, I had fun trying to suss out everyone's motives. 

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of The Heiress in exchange for an honest review.
Publication date: January 9, 2024.

Another fantastic historical fiction novel by this talented writer. Lots of drama, action and excitement lead you on a journey to the very end,
Well written and easy to read, I highly recommend this book to everyone.

This book was SO GOOD! Man do I love a thriller set in an old fancy mansion, and this book delivers. I was captivated from the very beginning, and couldn’t set it down once I was on the second half of the book. Multiple points of view (including letters from beyond the grave), clever twists, this book had everything. Definitely a great beach read for this upcoming summer, but would honestly be incredible anytime of year. Five star read!

4.5 stars

Rachel Hawkins never disappoints. This is a perfect family drama/thriller. Lots of good twists, lots of little reveals and clues along the way. I read it in a single sitting. She just can’t write fast enough for me 🤭

What a gem of a book! The Heiress is a story of abduction, murder and scandal in the south. There’s also rich people behaving badly. Unreliable narrators. Toss in some family drama and you’ve got the best book Rachel Hawkins has written to date! The dark humor in this book was done so well. I loved the parts from Ruby’s point of view the most but I was never once bored! Flew through this one in two sittings! Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the ARC of this novel.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of The Heiress in exchange for an honest review. Infamous heiress Ruby McTavish the victim of a kidnapping left her fortune to her adopted son Camden much to the displeasure of the rest of the family. This was a slow burn of a thriller but it kept me engaged. At times the style was difficult to follow shifting between letters from the past, newspaper excerpts and then chapters from the point of view of the two main characters. The twists were satisfying and made me want to keep reading. It just goes to show money can make people do crazy things especially when it comes to family.!! Another great read form Rachel Hawkins.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller—Kenmore, North Carolina’s richest woman—dies, her adapted son, Camden, wants nothing to do with his inheritance. Neither Ashley House or the money. And nothing is going to change that . . . or is it?

Just when I would figure out where the story was going it would turn out to be going in an entirely different direction. It was full of surprises, right up to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in return for an honest review.

The best Rachel Hawkins book I’ve read! I enjoyed all of the twists and characters in this book. It kept me guessing the whole way through.

5 *****

Secrets within secrets within secrets, right up until the final page. Family drama! All very well crafted, well built on solid foundations, so no revelation sounded a false note. And the character (mettle?) of the characters was nicely revealed in bits and pieces of action and dialogue.

The main characters were well drawn and their actions always consistent, even as they layers peeled back faster and faster. We could empathize with their actions and choices, most of the time, given their upbringing.

I liked the structure, with the point of view alternating between the two main characters along with correspondence.

I’ve only previously read one other book by this author, and for me this one was much better, and I read it in two sittings.

My thanks to NetGalley for a free preview copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rachel Hawkins delivers a gripping and atmospheric thriller in "The Heiress." From the very first page, readers are drawn into the complex world of Ruby McTavish and her wealthy, notorious family. The story follows Camden, Ruby's adopted son, who has distanced himself from his inheritance and the McTavish name. However, circumstances bring him and his wife, Jules, back to Ashby House, where they confront the dark secrets and mysteries surrounding Ruby's life.

Hawkins masterfully crafts a narrative that keeps readers guessing until the very end. The twists and turns are unexpected, and the pacing is relentless, making it difficult to put the book down. The setting, with its Blue Ridge mountains and the grandeur of Ashby House, adds a palpable sense of atmosphere and adds depth to the story.

The characters are richly developed, and the dynamic between Camden and Jules is compelling. Jules, in particular, shines as a determined and resourceful protagonist. As the layers of Ruby's past are peeled away, the true extent of her plans and the McTavish family's secrets are revealed.

"The Heiress" is a thrilling and captivating novel that explores the lengths to which families will go to protect their legacies. Rachel Hawkins' writing is engrossing, and her ability to create suspense and tension is masterful. Fans of mysteries and psychological thrillers will find themselves fully immersed in this gripping tale.

Thank you NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel.

This book was so good I was screaming (really loudly in my head since I was on public transportation)! Lots of money leads to lots of dark family secrets. So JUICY!!! I ate it up!

It would be an understatement to say Ruby McTavish has had an eventful life. Kidnapped as a young child, widowed four times over and she is the richest woman in North Carolina who residents in her lush family estate, Ashby House. When Ruby dies, her inheritance passes to her adopted son Camden, who wants nothing to do with the remaining McTavishes nor the family fortune. A decade later Camden has established a happy life for himself across the country with his wife Jules. After receiving messages from his aunt and cousin, he returns to Ashby House to make repairs to the estate and settle things with his family who see him as not a real McTavish. Jules is in awe of the family estate and is making plans to stay permanently but Camden begins to realize he should have never returned. Who was Ruby really? What happened all those years ago when Ruby was kidnapped? Are the rumors about her husbands' deaths true?

This book took over the past 24 hours of my life. It is so addictive and fast paced. The author did a fantastic job weaving the plot and leaving little hints on what was going to happen. Some hints so small I didn't catch them. I did figure out the big twist of the story but I kept thinking "if this is what happens, it is genius." When the reveal finally came, that was when I screamed! There is also another surprising twist at the very end that I was not expecting.

Thanks to my cousin for telling me about this book on NetGalley + thanks, NetGalley, for making this a free read!