Rachel Hawkins has written another wonderfully twist-filled tale! Usually when a novel has this many secrets revealed I get lost in the details, but not with this book. I was right there following every turn of the plot and gleefully enjoying the intrigue. Some of her delightful descriptions were so good I read them out loud to my husband.

It’s hit or miss for me with Rachel’s books. This one fell right in the middle. I was drawn in at some spots and bored at others. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Three stars.

i loved this book. It was fun, spicy, and had a few twists I enjoyed. The ending and alternate ending given were fun to read., cant wait to read more from this author.

Absolutely fabulous. Could not put this book down. The story, told by three people, kept me guessing until the very last page.

Twisty and turny just like I expect from Ms. Hawkins!! Great characters and unique plot. Highly recommend!

Another well done story by Rachel Hawkins! While lots of secrets (for both Cam and Jules) are alluded to, they will get slowly revealed thanks to chapters voiced by each of them as well as Cam's long dead mother. Great cast of characters, great setting in the family home, and lots of intertwining stories. Recommend!

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
*********************************************************
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—passed 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 an everyday 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.

You gotta love a book about a possibly dirty, nefarious black widow and her family dynamics … and when it is the daughter-in-law doing the digging in hopes of a much wealthier life, you can expect some fireworks and explosive news. I love the description of how an inheritance can reach beyond a will and a grave…this is one messed up family and its secrets are delightfully DIRTY. This is not a woman you ever wanted to wrong or get on the bad side of.

If you are like me and you go down rabbit holes with Google over real-life things, you will spend a lot of time there. Just at the beginning of the book The Wineville Murders, Bridget Cleary and Bobby Dunbar?...well, that was three hours gone. Their stories and those of the characters in this book will stick with you for a very long time it is haunting it is spooky it is scary. What a book.

A perfect Rachel Hawkins book, as always, to say the least … highly recommended to anyone with a messed up family or in search of a really good read.

Plot twists at their finest, Rachel Hawkins has created an extraordinary thriller in The Heiress. Hawkins perfectly captures the wealth and privilege that shapes the people of Ashby house and the town of Tavistock. The plot and the characters are incredibly believable, in spite of some very unbelievable circumstances. The lies, scandals, hidden identities, and selfish motivations of each character are expertly revealed by Hawkins through the format of letters, published articles, and alternating points of view. It is up to the reader to determine what is truth and Hawkins leaves you guessing until the final pages.

I could not put this one down! A must read!

The twist and turns. I really enjoyed this book., I couldn't put it down!!! I recommend reading this one! Thank you NetGalley!

Wow. This book took me by surprise. I loved how this was written. The characters were talking at you, the reader, so it felt very natural. Almost like watching a documentary & you couldn’t change the channel. There is so much drama in this family. Not in a bad way, it was entertaining. Plus, talk about secrets. Those will not stop till you finish the last page. This was an excellent read, one that you will not want to put down.

Rachel Hawkins has been hit or miss for me, and I really liked this one.

We follow Jules and Camden, a married couple going back to Cam’s family home where he stands to inherit his late mother Ruby’s fortune, but he has declined it for years. Ruby is semi-famous, having been kidnapped and returned as a child, and having 4 husbands who have all died. What lengths is a family willing to go to protect its secrets?

I will say - a couple of the twists I saw coming. But that didn’t make the journey less interesting getting there. Toward the end, the family web got a little complicated, but I loved how this story was told in dual POV, along with letters from Ruby to *someone* and news stories. It made for good storytelling and I was satisfied by the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic from beginning to end! I read the whole thing in one sitting (thank you vacation!) and found every twist creative and fun. I love how the author used so many different mediums to tell the story. Emails, news articles, letters, and one character speaking directly to the reader like she’s a friend. Definitely the author’s best book so far!

This is a twists-on-twists-on-twists multi-POV story about the ultra wealthy McTavish family. The McTavish clan lives in the beautifully rotting Ashby House, on a North Carolina mountainside above Tavistock, the town that sprung from the family's industry. The decrepit house is a metaphor for everything about the family: stunning on the outside, full of secrets, and rotten to the core.

At the center of it all is Ruby, the deceased, four-times-a-widow oldest McTavish daughter, and her adopted son, Cam. Upon Ruby's death, Cam has gotten as far away from Ashby House as he possibly could, meeting his wife Jules and settling down into an unassuming suburban life in Colorado. But now, his uncle's death means he has to return to Ashby House to finally things with the family.

When Cam and Jules return to Ashby House, old hurts are unearthed and Cam is reminded of why he's stayed away for so long. But there are still so many questions about his family, and about his mother, Ruby.

This story was so well-crafted. There are several different storylines that are woven together in a way that makes each one stand on its own, but if/when later they intersect, it makes perfect sense. And, each of the characters had a distinctive voice so this helped each of the POVs stand.

The characters are richly painted and totally believable, especially the obnoxious Libby. We all know someone like her - when you look too closely things just aren't right.

Two things in particular that I really liked were:
- using different modes to move the story along. the author inserted newspaper articles or magazine clippings from different events in Ruby's life to share an outsider's perspective. This also gave an opportunity to show an outside perspective of Ruby. And, having another voice in the story was another opportunity to have each characters voice stand up on its own. I think this was a clever device that was NOT overused, and part of why it worked so well was because the characters had such rich voices on their own. The publications used were also good clues about where geographically or socially Ruby was at the time.
- the pacing. WOW. the core action in the story takes place in less than a week, but the backstory is decades long. it is all covered so nimbly and I never felt bogged down while reading it.

Fantastic. Rachel Hawkins expertly wove a great tale, different timelines and different perspectives. It was a bit of a slow start but really picked up a quarter of the way through.

I always love a good Rachel Hawkins book, this is no exception.

This is a story about Ruby McTavish, a wealthy woman and soul beneficiary to her family's abundant wealth. Her bitter younger sister and her family are upset that not only did she get the key to the kingdom, but the beautiful mansion as well. When Ruby was three she went missing for almost an entire year. Her sister, clearly a replacement child until Ruby was found, hated her for most of her life and was convinced the family she was found with was actually her biological family, she was not actually a mctavish. So when Ruby adopts a small child and raises him to be the soul heir, her sister once again finds a reason to hate her..

But that is just backstory, the real story lies when her son returns to North Carolina and all the secrets start to come out. Ruby and the unfortunate deaths of four husbands, secrets between cousins, aunts, and even his wife.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this book, everyone in the family had one secret or another. A couple of them were a bit obvious, but a few really stunned me. If you enjoyed other Rachel Hawkins books, this is right up your alley. I was so excited to read it that it went to the top of my TBR pile immediately.

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was hesitant to read this book since I didn't really enjoy her last two novels, but I am so happy that I did because I absolutely loved it! This story was literally bursting with dirty secrets, devious plot schemes, and several unexpected twists that blew me away. It's a short read with mostly short chapters and very fast-paced. I finished in like six hours, I just couldn't put it down! My favorite parts of the book were the letters from Ruby, who gave off major Evelyn Hugo vibes. Her no-nonsense words laced with humorous sarcasm were fun to read. The ending was bittersweet and I was pleased with the outcome. There are quite a few interesting characters here that you will love to hate and you simply can't trust any of them. In my opinion, this is Hawkins' best book to date. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to the author, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for allowing me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

I started this book yesterday and plowed through it. Rachel Hawkins books are must-reads for me, so when I saw the chance to get an ARC of her upcoming book (thank you, @netgalley 🙌🏼), I went for it.

The Heiress follows the perspectives of Camden and Jules, as they head back to Ashby House, Cam’s inheritance. His extended family harbors much resentment about him being sole heir, and many secrets are being kept.

I really enjoyed the alternating chapters with Cam and Jules, as well as the past news stories and letters from Ruby that slowly parsed out little nuggets of info. This is a fast-paced slow burn if that even makes sense: I read it quickly, but the details roll out slowly. Add it to your TBR!

This was an interesting and engaging read about a couple's trip back to the husband's estranged home to settle some issues with his rich and awful family. It has a few different layers and stories to tell: his own, his adopted mother Ruby's, his wife Jules's. It's a thriller with a pleasing dash of Southern Gothic.

There were small hints about the twist throughout the novel, and when it was revealed, it was satisfying. This is the third book that I have read by Rachel Hawkins, and at this point, I think I am a big fan of her writing style and intriguing plots! Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC,

Hawkins killed it! I want to say so much yet fear I’ll give stuff away. I’ll say everything unfolds masterfully all the way to the closing of the book. You’re like well, dang! It’s witty and so so bad at the same time. I love a Hawkins book and she did not disappoint with this latest one!

Ruby McTavish was just a little girl when she was kidnapped and later found. Her story was well known due to her wealthy and powerful family. After being widowed four times and never having children of her own, she adopts a little boy and names him Camden. Ruby ruled over the town of Tavistock in North Carolina, and her family estate, Ashby House. When Ruby dies, she leaves the estate as well as a nine-figure fortune to Cam. But Cam doesn't want anything from the family at all. So he ends up settling down in Colorado and marries a woman named Jules. Ten years later, when his uncle dies, his cousin Ben asks him to come back to Ashby House. Jules is all too excited to go. But when they arrive, Cam remembers why he left in the first place. Soon after, secrets are revealed and shocking discoveries are made.

THE HEIRESS was an enticing story. I really enjoyed the newspaper articles written about Ruby and her letters that she had written to someone throughout the story about her life. I thought I knew who the receiver of the letters was, but I was later proven wrong. The family members were of course all horrible people and none of the could be trusted. The secrets revealed were quite shocking and I loved every minute of it. I would recommend grabbing a copy of THE HEIRESS, as it was very entertaining and different than Rachel Hawkins' other books.

4.5 stars rounding up to 5 stars!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) close to or on publication date.