This is my favorite Rachel Hawkins novel to date (I've also read The Villa and The Wife Upstairs). It's a domestic thriller about Camden and his wife Jules who return to Ashby House to settle Cam's estate left to him by his adoptive mother, Ruby.

It is told in 3 POVs - Cam, Jules, and letters written by Ruby. The thriller slowly builds as we read Ruby's letters and Camden clashes with the cousins and Aunt. Cam was hands down my favorite character. I liked the conclusion and the twist around Jules. I could have done without the epilogue.

4.5⭐ (I really liked it)

This is my first book by Rachel Hawkins even though I have seen so many recommended over the years.

I really liked this one for a few reasons-
🏠 old house and family with money and secrets
🏠 the title and who it truly refers to
🏠 how the backstory was revealed through letters

Jules and Cam live a simple life in Colorado. They have been married a full decade now and rent a sweet little house while working jobs they are content with. When Camden is called home to North Carolina to take care of family affairs, he dreads it and Jules can’t wait. Cam is the heir to a fortune and the esteemed Ashby House. The problem is he doesn’t want any of it. There is too much pain and too many secrets tied up with his family. When they return to Ashby the secrets start pouring out and not everyone will make it out alive.

Hawkins is always hit or miss with me. Some of her book I absolutely love and others have been just ok. This was a hit! I was super invested in the story of Cam’s family and I loved all the secrets everyone was keeping! Fantastic book!

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than a lot of stuff I have read, but once I got into the meat of the story it really captured my attention and I couldn’t wait to know it what happened next. Due to the slower start I’m giving it four stars, but I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for her next book!

I felt like nothing really happened in this book. I wanted more of Ruby’s perspectives. Her letters were the most interesting part of the book.

This one is slow burn that drags a little at the beginning but gets so much better if you stick with it! At 30% of the way in, I finally got hooked! At the center of the story is Ruby McTavish, the young daughter of a rich couple. As a child she vanished in the Blue Ridge mountains and after a massive manhunt she was found living with a family in Alabama.
Decades later, after Ruby’s death and the death of her son, her only living heir, Cam McTavish, is summoned back to the mansion, His wife, Jules, is really excited to see Ashby Manor. She has a plan to make it their own.
Jealousy, secrets, lies, and murder- Who is entitled to the McTavish fortune and what will they do to get it? I enjoyed and appreciated how all the loose ends got tied up at the end of the book. But overall I feel like too many secrets were revealed on the last few pages.

This is my third book by Rachel Hawkins and my favorite. This book has dual POVs, letters from Ruby and newspaper article clippings. I really enjoyed all of this and I felt like it make the story a fun and easy read. Overall, an enjoyable book if you want someone just fun and easy.

Thank you to publisher for giving my an ARC through netgalley in return for my honest review.

The Heiress was the first book I have read by Rachel Hawkins. Its twist and turns keep the reader guessing. It was a book that I didn't enjoy as much as other thrillers similar in style. While I am not a prude, I didn't enjoy the amount of strong language that was frequent, and I struggled to relate to any characters.
I received a complimentary copy of this book thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

Wow, This is a fantastic mystery! I thought I had an idea of how it would end, but I was sooo wrong. Normally, I find jumping from different character perspectives PLUS past/current timelines to be confusing, but the author played this storyline perfectly. Jules was my favorite character. She had the perfect about of unknown and her plot twist really added an element of surprise.

Honestly, ’m not sure how I feel. I have enjoyed every novel by Rachel Hawkins that I have read so far, this novel was no exception. I just almost felt that we got too much of Jules throughout the novel. I was easily able to guess the ending and I felt that it lacked that shock for me. She was dropping too many hints to not pick them up, if you know what I mean.

Rachel Hawkins is just one of those authors though that I will recommend every single time. If you’re looking for a good mystery/thriller you really can’t go wrong with one of her novels!

this was a great fun, and fast paced read! i loved that the twists just kept coming and they didnt stop until the very last page. i loved the MC's and how they were connected through family secrets but also a little bit of fate. family secrets and revenge plots always make for a good storyline in my opinion. the pacing was great and had me turning the pages so quick! a little info was revealed but not too much, just enough to draw you back in. the different POV's really sold the story and i enjoyed that aspect a lot! overall, it was a great thriller/mystery.

Yaaaas! Another amazing book by Rachel Hawkins 🔥

An inheritance can entail far more than just what’s written in the will…and the bonds of family can stretch far beyond the grave.

💚 Juicy family drama
💚 Secrets upon secrets
💚 Multiple POVs with letters and “historical”documents
💚Slow burn but compulsively readable

Highly recommended.

Thank you to @stmartinspress, @netgalley, and @macmillanaudio for the ARC and audio.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and I’m definitely gonna be reading her backlist. I got Evelyn Hugo vibes but with murder. Told from the POV of Jules, Camden, and Ruby - rich people doing bad things and I love that. The story showcases generational wealth and what one will do to get far away from it. But of course you can’t stay away from it forever… as Camden learns. All the characters have their own secrets, especially the sketchy members of Camden’s “family.” Now let’s talk Ashby House. There’s nothing like a creepy, gothic home that is its own character with secrets.

This sadly was my least favorite thriller from this author. I loved and devoured her first two books but this one took me way too long to read and mainly I just felt bored while reading it. The story didn't captivate me as much as I had hoped it would but I did enjoy the multiple POVs and the premise. All in all a decent book but definitely not her best work.

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for the gifted copy for my honest review!

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! And Happy Pub Day!

If you ever read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and kinda wished there was more murder and intrigue, then I suggest you pick up The Heiress.

Definitely as moody as the North Carolina setting and Hawkins does a great job creating the atmosphere in the first part of the book. The letters and the interspersed newspaper/magazine articles worked here but it did make for a SLOW pace so be prepared for that. Overall a solid read for me that was a little twisty in a domestic sort of way.

This book was absolutely amazing. One of the best I've read in a long time. I loved the way the multiple POV narration switched from characters in the past and present and wove a story with so many twists and turns I couldn't put it down. I'm not usually one to enjoy the family drama type stories, but it really worked with the thriller elements in this story and made this a book that is definitely worth reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin,s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are mine.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one- I loved The Wife Upstairs, but wasn’t a fan of The Villa or Reckless Girls. I’m happy to report it was much more like The Wife Upstairs! I loved how everything tied together in the last chunk of the book and I didn’t see the twist coming. I am a sucker for “letters from the past” woven through a story and this was done expertly. Really enjoyed this one.

Thank you for the ARC!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press And NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

A 4 star thriller which reminded me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but with some murder and mystery. This one is a a quick read which peels layer by layer like an onion (yes, I am quoting Shrek). It was entertaining , fast with depth. A winner for us mystery thriller fans!

Thank you @ladyhawkins & @stmartinspress for the eARC of The Heiress which is out NOW!

I’m not usually a thriller girlie but I LOVED this one! The Heiress is not scary but definitely creepy and oh so bingeable! I loved that it was a quick read, I loved the old money vibes, the fast pacing, the interesting cast of characters!

I found myself laughing, trying to guess the plot twists, and unable to put this one down.

Overall, The Heiress was a a fun thriller and a great quick read!

LIKES:
📝 Captivating writing
👥 Multiple POV
⏳ Dual timeline
📕 Short chapters
💵 Old money vibes
🩸 Murder mystery

I love Rachel Hawkins - her books are always so much fun to me, and The Heiress was no different. While I didn’t like it quite as much as some of her other books, this was still an enjoyable read that I’d recommend to anyone who likes mysterious books.

Unlike in Hawkins’ past books, I didn’t really care for any of the characters in this one. The storyline was intriguing enough to keep me entertained, but I would have liked a bit more from at least one character. I feel like Hawkins often shines in creating characters with some depth, but these ones just felt entirely too unlikable for me to really care about them.

I think this has also been her most predictable novel, which doesn’t bother me but might bother some readers. My guess toward the beginning of the novel was not far off from the conclusion at all. The journey to get there was fun, but definitely not the most compelling on the suspense end of things.

Those small complaints aside, I liked the storyline and enjoyed the way Hawkins used letters and newspaper articles to help develop the past timeline. Overall, this was an easy read and considering how heavy some of my other current reads are, it was a welcomed break!