4 stars...

Fast paced and an easy thrilling read! I enjoyed how this was written in alternating POV - Cameron & Jules, with also excerpts from Ruby's letters, magazine articles, newspapers, etc.

My favorite by this author is still The Wife Upstairs (or Reckless Girls), but I enjoyed this better than last year's The Villa.

I really like Rachel Hawkins and have read several of her books. This is the first one to my knowledge that isn't a reimagining or based on a classic story. The pace is great and keeps you hooked without giving away too much too early on. RH is an autobuy for me, And I know this is silly, but I also really like the visuals of her book jackets and how they look together on my shelf. A small thing for some, but a big deal for avid book collectors and readers.

This book was DAZZLING!! This book has gothic vibes and it very multifaceted. It was addictive and kept me in a chokehold until the very end. Take an abandoned mansion and throw in some family drama, lies, and deception, and you have a creepy masterpiece. This book is told from multiple POVs and in a multi media format, and I loved it!

While listening, I thought I had it figured out early and wondered where the story would go. Yet I was so wrong. There were twists and secrets galore. The plot developed at a fast pace and there was such well thought-out character development. I really got to know these characters.

I listened to the audiobook, and it was a whole VIBE! I love a great mixed media audiobook. This one was like listening to a movie. I was engrossed!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I wasn't able to read this book because life has been extremely busy, so I will rate this 5 stars to compensate. The blurb looked very promising though, and I will read this when I get the chance and I will edit my review

I said to myself that this year I would branch out and try some new to me author's and books I wouldn't normally think I would enjoy. I "Knew" I had to try this one because it's a very popular author and has many reviews. What the heck, I'll try it I thought.
I know my opinions are in the minority here, but I wasn't interested in it. I'll clarify by saying I didn't think it was a bad book and I didn't dislike it but it didn't hold my interest though I did read it the whole way through. Are her other books a different writing style or basically the same as this?
I wasn't impressed with the writing style. To me it felt disjointed and chaotic, the story was not continuous, it was jumbled and all over the place. Going back and forth of topics, modern then back in time then slipping back to modern and having newspaper articles too. I know a lot of people enjoy reading this author, but I was not the right audience for it.

Pub Date 09 Jan 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This is my favourite Rachel Hawkins book by far! I listened to the audiobook in two days. I just couldn't stop. I highly recommend!

Read Completed 12/19/23 | 2.75 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for the audiobook review copy. This free copy did not affect my review in any way.

I'm becoming less and less connected to Rachel Hawkins' thrillers and that bums me out! But each one is a little bit different and I don't think I've connected to one as much as THE WIFE UPSTAIRS. I don't love rich inheritance stories but I still had hope that I would connect with it based on my previous experience with the author. This one just didn't do it.

For a long time in this book, it felt much more like a family drama than a thriller. The majority of the interest in wrapped up in the letters from Ruby, telling her history and the story of her husbands. I felt like this really brought the book down. It was supposed to be, thrilling, I think? To hear about how she killed them all, but it wasn't the point of the book at all and was really a different concept entirely. I didn't even feel like it was a sinister thing -- at least the tone allowed for you to feel sympathy for Ruby.

The beginning of this was also excruciating for me. I didn't want to give up quickly -- again, based on my past experience with the author -- and then I had gone too far and didn't want to quit. I didn't know that Ruby's POV was going to be a POV throughout the whole book and her part was longer than Cam's and Jules' so it felt like their story kept getting cut short. I just wanted to be in the present, and this was also an issue that I had with THE VILLA so I was getting irritated by the same writing style again.

The twists were.... okay. Not enough for me to love the book or change my mind about the beginning. I can't stand the spoiled, entitled rich family and I liked the juxtaposition of Camden being the good person, not wanting the inheritance. I just wish we had gotten more from him. I guess I felt like things weren't very balanced, story-wise. The POVs didn't seem balanced until closer to the middle when we spent more time with Cam & Jules, but even then, Ruby's letters kept cutting long portions into the story. It made more sense later on when she moved past the husbands and got into more family drama & secrets. I guess I just felt mostly disconnected from everything that was going on.

I can see why people like this book but ultimately, it wasn't my style. I DO like trying to read different thriller vibes and I always like to try to read the books of authors I've enjoyed in the past, but this one just didn't click for me. (It actually happens a lot for me and thriller authors.) I'm glad I finished it to see what it was all about, but the beginning was so hard to overcome, and the finale just wasn't really that exciting for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Heiress
By: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: 1/9/24
Ruby McTavish is a very wealthy woman who comes from a long line of very wealthy people who live in a small town Tavistock, North Carolina. Ruby has grown up with the whole world knowing she was kidnapped at just two years old. She disappeared from a picnic when the nanny thought her mother had her and her mother thought the nanny had her. That has left her with big life questions. Is she really the little girl who was kidnapped? Is she really a McTavish?
She married four times but all her husbands died under suspicious circumstances. Was she killing these men or was she just unlucky in love?
After her 4th and final husband died she knew that her family would end up inheriting her fortune if she didn’t have an heir. Camden was foster child she adopted. The rest of the family hated Camden from the start. They all understood he was going to inherit his mother’s fortune and they would get nothing. By the time he was 18 years old he couldn’t wait to escape. He wanted nothing to do with his inheritance or the mansion that comes with it. Ruby believed it was his duty to stay in North Carolina. When he announced he was going to college in California she cut him off, made sure he lost every job he had. His last visit home before leaving she tragically died in her sleep or did she?
Camden ended up in California where he met Jules, his now wife. Cam teaches at an all boys school. They live a normal life. But Jules wants more. She reaches out to Cam’s cousin to get him to reach out. This time he’s more receptive to his cousin's request and they pack up and head for Travistock. What Cam doesn’t know is Jules has her own agenda, she wants it all. The mansion and then inheritance that came with it. But she has her own secrets too. Will Camden ever know who she really is?

So many twists and turns that will keep you thinking about this one for a long time. 2024 is turning into the year for stellar thrillers!

This was a book full deception, greed and full of family drama. It had some great characters as well as great twists. I highly recommend it!

I really loved the back and forth timelines, the book was just a little too slow moving for me in the middle!

This book was an absolute page turner. Rachel Hawkins continues to be a must read author for me. The Heiress follows a young married couple as they make a trip back to Cam's family home after the passing of his adopted mother. What follows is a story of his adoptive mother's life and family dynamics. What uncovers in this story is a real nail biter and with risk of giving anything away I would suggest you just pick it up.

Ruby McTavish was kidnapped as a young child but was miraculously recovered and returned to her family. When her father died she became the sole heiress of a huge fortune, leaving the rest of the McTavish family out in the cold. Their resentment grew when Ruby decided to leave all of her wealth to her adopted son Camden. Camden decided that having to deal with his hostile family was too difficult, so he fled from his inheritance and eventually married Jules. Now Camden and Jules are forced to return to the McTavish estate to handle problems with the property.

The story is told from the points of view of Camden (a pretty boring man), Jules (who has her eyes on the prize), and Ruby (told in the form of letters). Ruby’s story was really delicious. The way she related the details of her four disastrous marriages was amusing. Each of her husbands came to a bad end, leaving Ruby with the taint of being a black widow. I didn’t like Jules at all. And Camden was so limp that I didn’t care what happened to him. The McTavish relatives were cartoon villains. There were some twists in the story that were entertaining but predictable. The Ruby story is what made the book for me.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I always receive and read Rachel Hawkins books and they are usually a miss for me but not this one! I read this in one sitting and could not put it down! I hope she write more like this book specifically!

have been a fan of Hawkins since reading Reckless Girls a few years back. Incidently, I need to go back and read The Wife Upstairs that was one of my first BOTM purchases. The Heriess did not disappoint. Thiis book held plenty of secrets and surprises.

Synopsis:

Ruby McTavish died as North Carolina’s richest and most Notorious woman. She was the victim of a famous kidnapping and a four time widow. Ruby ruled the town of Tavistock in her family’s estate, the Ashby House that rested high in the Blue Ridge Mountains. After Ruby’s death the estate was left to her adoped son, Camden. Camden had want not part of the fortune and the complications of being a McTavish. He was living a simple life in Californai as a teacher and married to Jules. Beckoned by the remaining family to come home, Camden and Jules travel back to the Ashby house to claim what was rightfully Camden’s.

My thoughts:
I liked the way the story unflolded from multlilple POV; Camden, Jules and Ruby. We hear from Ruby from a series of letters she has left Camden. There were plenty of secrets from Ruby about the fate of her four dead husbands, and the shenanigans from the rest of the McTavish family to uncover. Everyone in the book is hiding something! I also really enjoyed the setting because I love that area of NC close to Asheville! I hgily recommend adding this one to your TBR!

I love this author and this book did not disappoint. It kept me interested and intrigued until the very last page. Such strong and descriptive writing from an amazing author. Thank you so very much for the opportunity to read this book early.!!!

This book was completely addicting. It was so twisty and suspenseful. Secrets everywhere. Kept me guessing right to the end. I also loved that the house was almost a character itself. The characters were all flawed, but not so much that I didn’t like them.

The book was so good that I could not put it down!

5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book.

I was grateful to read Hawkin's latest book, though I did not enjoy this one. I felt it was slow and predictable

Kudos to Rachel Hawkins for another great read. With gothic flair, she has successfully given us a tale of mystery and drama that proved to be a page turner I didn't want to put down. I highly recommend.

When the wealthy heiress dies, leaving everything including her estate to her adopted son, Cameron, he is forced to come home and deal with the problematic family members. Although he doesn't want anything to do with the estate, his wife, Jules, pushes him to go home. Is there more to the situation? Why are bizarre things happening? Cam works so hard to get out of town, but not before he takes back control.

Whew! I LOVED this book! Well done Lady Hawkins!!

Wow this book was so good I took me no time to read it. I'm a huge fan of this author and I recommend going into this book knowing as little as possible. I can't wait to read what she comes with next.