I have enjoyed other Rachel Hawkins pieces but this is the wildest ride she's thought up and I enjoyed every twisted minute! Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to preview #TheHeiress which is my first 5☆ review of the year!! Can't wait for her next release.

Camden reluctantly returns to his childhood home, with wife in tow, to deal with the large estate left to him by his adoptive mother. He’s been estranged from all surviving relatives for years and none of them are happy to see him again. Just about everyone in the family has secrets and ulterior motives, and as usual, money is at the heart of all of it.
I enjoyed this, particularly the flashbacks of Camden’s mother as a young woman.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #theheiress in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. From the beginning, I struggled to connect with any of the characters. They were all unlikable to me, and therefore, I struggled to enjoy this book. Yes, it was twisty. There were unexpected secrets revealed. But I just didn't love it.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the e-arc.

This author is always an auto-buy author for me. I know I can rely on her for quick thrillers that pull me right in.

I've heard comparisons to Evelyn Hugo, and I see the parallels- rich older woman, accounting her lives, including many husbands. The empathy that I had for Evelyn was not present for Ruby. She was not written to be a likable character. I honestly didn't like any of the characters. Camden was a bit whiny about the family and the house, but didn't do anything to change his situation (other than leave). Jules was fine until she wasn't, and I just thought it was gross. Not to mention money hungry family... it was quite the group in this home.

I felt there were some things missing and some plot lines that got forgotten. I wanted more from Cecilia, the housekeeper. I wanted something more climactic to happen at the house- it felt like an afterthought. There was a lot of talk about this dangerous hike, but it never came to be relevant. Also the Libby plot line never felt addressed, either.

While I enjoyed this story for entertainment purposes, it isn't my favorite book from Rachel Hawkins.

This is one of Hawkins' stronger books. The rich and mysterious family and their rich and mysterious home is a gleefully dark and lush setting for the mysteries at hand. As we learn about Ruby through letters it feels a bit like a murder mystery version of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. As if often the case in Hawkins' books, class and the role of money in how safely or comfortably one gets to live is explored, offering interesting motivations for all the characters. Once you think you've enjoyed the final twist or final reveal, there's yet one more. Satisfying and fun.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending the ARC of Rachel Hawkins’s The Heiress for review. All opinions are my own.

The Heiress was quick to grab my attention and held it all the way through in one sitting. There are multiple POVs in different timelines, keeping the reader addicted throughout. There are unexpected twists and a satisfying conclusion.

Ruby McTavish, an uber-rich North Carolina widow, dies, leaving her fortune to her adopted son, Camden. Camden has no use for the fortune, but ten years after Ruby’s death, returns home to the isolated Ashby House (Ruby’s estate), in the wake of his uncle’s death. Camden brings his wife, Jules, along for the visit to the grand estate. Camden and Jules dig into Ruby’s past, unlocking various pieces of the puzzle of her life along the way.

Read if you like themes of the power of money, family drama, long held secrets, possible truths, gothic suspense, to name a few.
Publication date: 1/9/24

Rachel Hawkins, you've done it again! I binged this book in a day, dying to know Ruby and Camden's stories and how they would play out. There were more twists than I expected. While it checked a lot of your typical thriller boxes - unlikable characters, twists and turns, and a few more that I won't give away - it was still compulsively readable and I did not want to put it down. So glad I picked this one up from NetGalley!

Fast paced mystery who run it thriller. Full of money and murder.

Not my most favorite book from this author. It did not grip me and the twists weren’t surprising.

It was well written and it had its clever moments.

Thank you Netgallery and the publisher for letting me read and review this book.

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is the richest women in North Carolina when she dies, leaving her fortune to her adopted son, Cameron. Ruby was from a wealthy, prominent family who was kidnapped as a child and was widowed four times. Cameron reluctantly agrees to come home to Ashby House to deal with the aftermath of her death and brings his wife Jules. She falls in love with the mansion and the idea of millions of dollars but Cameron does not want anything to do with his crazy family and wants to leave as soon as possible. But secrets start coming out. What really happened to Ruby as a child and what really happened to her four husbands?

This one was better than her previous books for me but was still just okay. It pulled me in and I flew through it fast but in the end I was not satisfied. I did like the way it told Rubys story through her letters and some news articles. Very Evelyn Hugo-ish. It also was told from Jules and Cameron’s POVs. All of the characters were unlikable and unreliable and I just didn’t care about them. It was rich people behaving badly and fighting for an inheritance and the family control of the town. In the end, I wasn’t really shocked by anything and while I was somewhat happy with the ending, I wish it was more show than tell.

Thanks to @netgalley for the arc for review.

4 stars.

Overall really enjoyed this book. I think this is Rachel Hawkin's best book yet. I found the plot to be so intriguing and bingeable and I just couldn't put it down. I hope she continues to write amazing stories like this in the future.

The perfect book to pull me out of my reading slump! Full of suspense, family drama, inheritance disputes, with a hint of Rebecca vibes.
Ruby McTavish grew up in a life of luxury at her family’s estate in the North Carolina mountains. Having gone missing under suspicious tones as a child and After four suspicious dead husbands, people quietly wonder the truth behind both.
Told from the various characters viewpoints, we read Ruby’s story, Camden(the adopted son’s version) plus his wife(Jules) version.
Unputdownable and another home run for Rachel Hawkins!

A very engaging psychological thriller with just enough twists to keep me reading. I very much enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes psychological thrillers.

I absolutely love Rachel Heiress’s novels! So as soon as I saw this one pop up on Netgalley, I immediately requested it! Unfortunately, this one just did not keep my interest. Jules was rude to me and I didn’t like her at all.

Superb. Another best seller by Rachel Hawkins. Lots of family drama, lots of,only and a whole lot of lies being told. Was not expecting half the plot twists … gasp worthy.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

The Heiress is the perfect book for those that loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and want to add a little mystery!

The story follows Jules and her husband Cam, as they receive an unexpected email that is about to change their lives. While Cam isn’t ready for his life to change, Jules is anxiously waiting to see where Cam grew up and to meet his family for the first time. A trip down memory lane can’t be that bad, can it? The story takes place over a couple of days as well as a couple of decades simultaneously through different narrators. Just when you think it can’t get worse another bomb drops.

This story kept me intrigued and interested and I loved that it was so different from her other books. I am a huge Rachel Hawkins fan as they all suck me and keep me guessing until the end!

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

I was excited to get an advanced reading copy of this book, because this was an author I heard of, but I’ve never read.

I love stories with Family Secrets and dysfunctional families always have the most secrets in the best stories.

This was a page turner from the get-go and I felt very engaged right from the beginning.

I don’t give spoilers, but I will say this it confirms my belief that money does not buy happiness

It was a wonderful read, and I would highly this recommend book.

It makes me realize I have to go back now and read all her previous work .

I was so excited to read this one because I absolutely love Rachel Hawkins! As usual, she delivered on an ominous thriller with an addicting writing style and untrustworthy characters.

This one was a bit of a lighter thriller and I found that it didn’t get really intense until later in the book. That’s when all of these twists were revealed that I did not see coming at all. But even before it started to pick up, it was still an interesting premise.

Ruby was an incredible character. I always love the story of an old woman that has an interesting past. Her letters were by far my favourite parts to read, but it was also cool to see things unfold from the POVs of Camden and Jules.

Overall, this is a solid thriller that I would recommend for anyone who enjoys the genre!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy!

Ruby McTavish has had a storied life. In the 1940s when she was only 4 years old, she was kidnapped. After a grueling year of being gone, her wealthy family finally brought her home. When she grew up, she married a total of 4 times and each of her husbands passed away. People said she just had bad luck.

After her death, her adopted son Camden, and his wife Jules, go home to North Carolina to the family mansion to settle the estate. The McTavish family has never accepted Camden, since he was adopted and therefore not a “real McTavish”. In fact, they never accepted Ruby totally since she was rescued from her kidnappers as a kid. So they have to navigate dealing with the family and getting affairs in order.

Rachel Hawkins does it again! This book was so freaking good! It kept me guessing, I thought I knew the twist (I knew part of it), but it definitely had my mind boggled.

I liked the way the story was written-told between Ruby’s letters and multiple points of view. The truth unfolded slowly throughout the length of the book.

I am definitely a fan, having read all Rachel Hawkins (and Erin Sterling’s) books! Can’t wait for the next one!

‘The Heiress’ by Rachel Hawkins is a masterful blend of gothic intrigue and dark family secrets, all set against the atmospheric backdrop of the McTavish family’s imposing estate, Ashby House. At the heart of this twisted tale is the enigmatic Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, whose life, shrouded in mystery and scandal, continues to echo through the halls of Ashby House long after her death.

As the story unfolds, we are drawn into the tangled web of Ruby’s legacy through the eyes of her adopted son, Camden, and his wife, Jules. Camden’s reluctance to embrace his inheritance is palpable, creating a tension that builds with every page turned. Jules, on the other hand, sees a world of possibility in Ashby House, setting the stage for a gripping narrative that delves deep into the heart of familial greed and ambition.

Rachel Hawkins skillfully crafts a narrative that is as chilling as it is captivating, with a setting that is a character in its own right. Ashby House, with its hidden passages and whispers of the past, is the perfect stage for this gothic drama to unfold. The alternating perspectives, including letters from Ruby herself, add layers of depth and mystery, making you question what you know at every turn.

The characters are brilliantly realized, from Camden’s inner turmoil to Jules’ ambition, and of course, the formidable Ruby, whose presence looms over the story even in death. The secondary characters, each with their own motives and secrets, add to the rich narrative, making ‘The Heiress’ a book that’s impossible to put down.

Hawkins’ writing is both elegant and suspenseful, with a knack for creating a mood that is simultaneously eerie and enthralling. The twists and turns are cleverly executed, keeping you guessing until the very end. It’s a story that weaves together the past and present, love and betrayal, truth and deception, in a way that is both haunting and utterly compelling.

‘The Heiress’ is a gothic thriller par excellence, a book that ensnares you with its dark charm and doesn’t let go. Rachel Hawkins has delivered a spellbinding tale that is as much about the ghosts of the past as it is about the choices that define our future. A must-read for fans of atmospheric mysteries and complex family dramas.

The Heiress is a really well done mystery thriller with lots of turns and twist that I didn't see coming. Told in 3 alternating POVs the story starts slow but culminates in a most interesting ending. Rachel Hawkins is quickly becoming one of my must-read authors. I did a tandem read with the audio and ebook at the same time, and highly recommend the audio if you love that format!