Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

The story is wrote from various perspectives. We learn about Ruby McTavish, the late estate owner and adopted mother of Camden. We learn about her past life, childhood, her four failed marriages and her reputation all via letters. We also learn about Camden, Ruby's adopted son and his wife, Jules.

The title is ironic as Camden is the "Heir". Much of the storylines revolve around Camden's gold digging, survived family members who are upset that he is the only one entitled to Ruby's estate and money despite not being a blood relative.

I felt like this story was okay, but there wasn't much excitement or twists to it and it didn't make me want to keep reading "just another page before bed".

4.5 stars
Received as an ARC eBook courtesy of netgalley! Rachel Hawkins doesnt disappoint with her thrillers with her newest novel, The Heiress! I loved how I could keep guessing and theorizing in my head what happened and how everyone was connected, and i only put two and two together for final connection between camden and jules at the very last minute. what confused me was how often “daddy” was talked about, but it seemed like there were a few different “daddy” figures in play, that part was a little confusing (and weird when adults say “daddy” IMO) but i got the gist the McTavishes were using all of “daddy’s money” so it wasn’t too bad. i just didnt know WHO daddy was lol. but overall, I really enjoyed reading the story, it was very quick to read!

Let's just drive right in because I LOVED this book!

What I enjoyed:
- Great audio narration with dual narrators
- Multiple POVs interspersed with newspaper articles and other mixed media
- Short chapters
- Family drama, murder, and intrigue

I had so much fun reading this and once I got to 50%, I finished it in a day. The first half of the book sets us up so the last half of this book can be absolute twisty non-stop blast!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this title!

I really enjoyed this plot… twists and turns and super easy to read. I loved the grandness of Ruby and how she took no prisoners in her life’s story.
I was happy to read the ending. I won’t spoil anything!
I felt like I knew the characters fairly well and I wanted a specific ending… it wasn’t exactly the ending I thought but Rachel Hawkins had an even better one in mind!

I love this type of book. It's a dual POV, extra twisty domestic suspense, multi media, family heir/estate dramas, and murder. It's like if Evelyn Hugo was more of a thriller. I adored the letters and past POVs from the lady of the house, Ruby.

There were a ton of twists, and they were spaced throughout the book so you're never bored. The last 15% is pretty bananas though and I had to slow down my reading so I made sure I was understanding what was going on.

My favorite part was the alternation between POVs and letters about the past. I didn't know if we were being gaslit or what. Very fun to read.

Addictive and such an easy read. Not surprised given this author’s ability for story. Captivated from go with a fast race tot he finish. Thank you for allowing me to read!

This book was a fun take on and a fun read. I liked the this book had male main character i have not read this book by this author with that before. I liked the whole way this story was consructued and it had some mixed media elements attached. I however did see the twist comin but i liked how it wrapped up!!

This book is jaw-droppingly good! Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is filthy rich. Married four times to men who all died under mysterious circumstances, she is better known as Mrs. Killmore. When she dies, she leaves behind an adopted son, who doesn't want anything to do with the inherited fortune or the sprawling estate in the North Carolina mountains where his aunt and two grown cousins reside. The characters all have something to hide and hidden agendas, and Ruby's letters written before her passing reveal she had secrets of her own. I love twisty suspense novels that make me root for the baddies!

Loved this one! It had so many layers to it and a ton of twists that made you think back and retrace your steps. I love a thinker and this was definitely that. I loved that it traded off point of views and sometimes the character would talk directly to you as the reader. I also enjoyed the back and forth between present day and letters from the past. It was quick, catchy, and very easy to binge. My thriller lovers, you need to get your hands on this one!

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.

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 a normal 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.

Well I did like this one but I didn't love it. It was more of a domestic family drama with some suspense. I always feel different when a book isn't really a thriller. I am more in for the thrill and this one didn't thrill me.

There are lots of letters in the book and I did enjoy reading those. There are also lots of secrets along with unlikable characters. I did enjoy the first half more than the second half. The second half was just too depressing and left me with an unsettling feeling that stayed with me for awhile. I did enjoy the ending along with the twists.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you SMP for the ARC. I liked the cover but it wasn't for me. I think she has a very specific storytelling structure and writing style that resonates with a certain group of people

This book had so many twists and turns! There were so many things going on but they all tied together in the end.
I liked how Ruby's story was told in the form of a letter and we don't find out who she is writing to until the end. That was an interesting twist.
The Ruby twist was a bit predictable.
I loved the dual POV because both Cam and Jules had a story to tell. I liked how their inner darkness was explored.
It was interesting that all the main characters had an inner darkness and it's basically up to the reader to determine if it's something they were genetically predisposed to or born with, of if it was something they developed due to their upbringing.
They all had some sort of trauma in their lives.
This was overall a really good read and I would reccomend it!

The McTavish's of North Carolina are as infamous as they are rich, and none more then the heiress herself Ruby. Kidnapped as a child only to be returned almost a year later and married, then widowed four times over; Ruby is shrouded in mystery. When she dies the entirety of the inheritance goes to her adopted son, Camden, except he doesn't want it and leaves to the other side of the country to escape Ashby house and his family. 10 years later he finally comes back with his wife Jules to quickly take care of affairs. Except Ruby had plans, and even from the grave the infamous woman is the puppet master of the household. The inheritance is far more than just money, and the ties to the past keep pulling.

The Heiress is a thrilling masterpiece, don't blink or you might miss something! There were so many twists and turns, subplots feeding the larger plot and with every truth revealed another mystery presents itself. If this sounds to you like it is too convoluted, then you are as dead wrong as Ruby's four husbands! This is the type of book where you finish it and sit there absolutely stunned, you rant to your friends about it and then want to immediately pick it back up to see all of the nuances that feed into the bigger puzzle. Rachel Hawkins just might have written the perfect mystery thriller!

The story is written from multiple POVs and timelines, with letters and newspaper clippings to follow along as the past unwinds itself. Sometimes this type of formatting doesn't work and is non-cohesive, not in this case though because it perfectly brings the mystery to life from all angles and makes it very fast-paced and exciting. How such an exciting read can come from a slow burn thriller blows my mind and is just a testament to how talented the author is.

I have nothing even slightly negative to say about this book. I loved everything about it! The Heiress launched itself into my top 10 of all time and I will be singing it praises and recommending forever. I now need to go read all of Rachel Hawkins other books and I can't wait to see what she has in store for me. If you are at all intrigued by this book you need to immediately go read this wild ride of a novel.

Give me a book set in North Carolina with an unreliable narrator and lots of twists and turns, I'm in! I loved this book and was impressed by how the story wove together.

Rachel Hawkins is one of those authors that I read and I either really love or just find them ok. I absolutely adored The Wife Upstairs but found The Villa just meh. The Heiress brings some of that deep family drama that holds some dark secrets right to the light for the reader.

I adored the characters in this one and spent the better portion of the book trying to piece together whether or not I should honestly trust anyone. The flashes of Ruby POV paired with modern day offered a deeper look into the family history and was an absolute wild ride.

This was a great domestic thriller that kept me on my toes.

I really enjoyed this slow burn of a mystery. I was definitely intrigued by the synopsis and I have family that lives in North Carolina and I thought it would be a fun read.

The Heiress is about Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore who lives in the town of Tavistock, North Carolina. She is very well known in her community and is the wealthiest person in North Carolina. She has a pretty notorious background from being kidnapped as a child and then returned to her family to being a 4x widow. When Ruby finally passes she leaves her famous estate the Ashby House and her fortune to her adopted son Camden who wants nothing to do with the fortune, but his wife Jules does.

This story was told by multiple POV - Camden's, Jules and Ruby's. It was a slow burn in the beginning but once it picked up I loved it and could not wait to see what happened. I definitely got Evelyn Hugo vibes (+ mystery) which I loved. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in domestic suspense, multiple POVs, slow burn mysteries and North Carolina settings.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is my second Rachel Hawkins book and while it's hard to beat The Stranger Upstairs, this one was also great. The only issue I had was the historical fiction touch as the letters look back in history. That really slowed the pace down for me and even made me put the book down. That's a personal issue though as it's weirdly hard for me to dive into anything historical fiction, even if it includes family drama. Outside of that everything else was perfect. The multiple POVs, the multiple husbands. and multiple deaths were *chefs kiss*.

I have read everything so far by Hawkins and she is truly the queen of a slow burn. Like her other novels, I love the settings she chooses for her books - this particular one had a gothic, atmospheric vibe. There are lots of twists and turns but her books are always fast and enjoyable reads for me!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for a review!

Jules and Cam have been married for 10 years and have an okay life. Still deeply in love, they live a pretty quiet life and make ends meet - even though Cam is the heir to Ruby McTavish, a wealthy socialite with four dead husbands. Since Ruby’s death 10 years ago, can has sworn off his inheritance, including the huge mountain mansion Ashby House. But when Cam’s estranged relatives contact him to help sort out the house and his inheritance, Jules convinces him to go. She immediately falls in love with Ashby House, but Cam’s complicated feelings of his upbringing and Ruby’s long dead secrets threaten to upend Jules and Cam’s relationship.

This took a me a little bit of time to get into, but once it started getting into Ruby’s sinister past it picked up. I enjoyed the southern gothic feel, and while the twists weren’t insane (I guessed both in the first few chapters) I enjoyed the ride. Rachel Hawkins is one of my go-to thriller writers because the settings/plots are always fun and the MCs aren’t squeaky clean. I enjoyed the letters from Ruby sprinkled throughout and how they played into the greater story.

If you’re a fan of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but with a thriller/mystery twist, you might want to give this one a try!

I really loved the fact the story was told from three perspectives: Jules, Cam and Ruby but the fact that Ruby’s was told from old letters and news clippings was fantastic! The setting of being in a remote mansion in the North Carolina mountains really helped to set up the dark and gothic, old money kind of setting. The string of dead husband’s and family members passing on really helped to set up the base of this mystery. It’s full of twists and turns. Some you might see coming but some.. maybe not, all the way through to the end of the story!

I will say I feel like there were some minor plot holes but overall, I had to pick up my jaw from the floor by the end of the book lol a solid mystery that I’d definitely recommend!