Well this definitely wasn't what it was expecting when I opened the book. No I didn't reread the summary before I read it. Because ya girl likes to punish herself and go in blind. That is the most funw ay to enjoy a thriller or suspense novel IMO.

I annotated at least half of the book because things were getting so wild. I kept thinking yeah this is going to crop back up at some point and I'm going to need to know this. And it sure as hell came back. With a vengeance. I wasn't expecting half of what this book had to offer. But I sure as hell read through it like a mad woman. Because I ate up the DRAMA, HONEY. Family drama is always something that I seem to either love or hate. And I was seriously straddling that line throughout the whole book. But it kept getting more and more complicated. And I couldn't stop reading. I HAD TO KNOW.

Well, I know now. I know what happened. And I loved every torturous page. It game me the drama, the murder, the back stabbing. I was in a perpetual state of shock and awe. And I loved it. So. Much.

I’ve thought about Rachel Hawkins’ newest novel, The Heiress, for weeks after finishing it! This novel is filled with interesting characters, complicated family dynamics and a thrilling story. It was the perfect mix of suspense and drama without being horror-ish. Camden has spent his adult life trying to put his childhood behind him. Living in Colorado, teaching school and marrying Jules, he’s made a life that makes him happy. When his adopted grandmother, famous Ruby McTavish, dies. Camden is forced to return to North Carolina and face his cousins and his complicated past. Jules has no idea what is waiting for them when they arrive and how many secrets that Camden has been keeping from her over the years. I really enjoyed the back story of Ruby and the Ashby House. Jules and Camden are enjoyable characters and The Heiress was one of my favorite thriller’s I’ve read!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like author Rachel Hawkins has done it again! This was a very clever, twisty story that combined a gothic mystery, family drama, a small town and of course a mystery. The details in the world building were not confusing and easy for any reader to understand. I felt this read like what could be, a TV series script. Sometimes I wished it has a little more action to be classified as a thriller, but overall a very satisfactory read. A strong 4 of 5 stars for me!

I really loved this gothic mystery from Rachel Hawkins. I loved all of it: from the multiple POVs, multiple marriages and murders, Ruby's letters, Ashby House, the dysfunctional family, and all the twists and turns that left me guessing (and gasping) until the very last page. This one is probably my favorite from this author and I can't wait until her next one! A great way to start off 2024!

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins 🖼️

Official rating: 4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Page turner rating: 5 stars 📄📄📄📄📄

Rachel Hawkins is back! I have loved most of her books, and this is definitely one not to miss! I thought this was going to be my first book of 2024, but after picking up to just get started early on, I read it all before the New Year. Highly recommend you are into thrillers. Don't worry about the synopsis, you will get attached right when you open the first page.

Read if you:
🪞Like an atmospheric suspense/thriller
🪞Think old mansions are always spooky
🪞Liked A Flicker in the Dark

Looking for a sinister, twisty, disastrous story about wealthy people and their ostentatious behavior? Look no further! Rachel Hawkins has managed to write a book that keeps the reader guessing and shaking our head throughout the entire wild ride. Is suspension of disbelief needed, well, yes and no... because although 🎶"money can't buy me love"🎶, it can apparently buy plenty of alibis!

Pick this one up if you're looking for a wildly dysfunctional family drama and get ready to dispense a healthy portion of eye rolls at the characters' entitlement, lol🙄😆! I would call this a gothic drama with an entwined murder mystery - certainly a genre I don't generally gravitate toward - but somehow, the absurdity of it all had me hooked, which speaks to Ms. Hawkins' skill.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this wild novel!

Holy cow, this one was a wild ride! I have read two books by Rachel Hawkins (Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs) and liked them both but her latest takes the cake!! I was hooked throughout— the plot, the characters, the atmosphere; everything was just right. It’s truly unique, unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Secrets, lies, family drama, rich people behaving badly, murder— what more could a suspense lover ask for?! It’s possible these morally gray characters are intended to be unlikeable but I actually really liked them, lol. I found them utterly fascinating!! Ruby’s letters were probably my favorite part of this story. That’ll make sense once you read it, which I highly recommend you do!!! It’s suspenseful but not scary, so don’t let that hold you back if that’s something you typical steer clear of. It reads more like a slow burn, twisty family drama than a thriller, in my opinion.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
* The Only One Left by Riley Sager
* Look Closer by David Ellis
* Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
* The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

I decided to pick this one up yesterday to distract myself from all of the essays I need to grade for semesters, and my god. I absolutely devoured this book. I turned on the audiobook while I cleaned my classroom, I listened to it on my short drive home from work, and then I continued to listen to it while I did dishes and made dinner. I did not stop listening to this book until I finished.

After a day to reflect on the book, however, I have developed some mixed feelings. I will keep this spoiler free but as always, I recommend going into thrillers blind unless there are certain tropes you know you dislike. I will say, do not go into this expecting an action-packed thriller. After reading previous books from Hawkins, I was expecting more stakes. However, The Heiress reads more like a psychological family drama.

The Characters
Jules and Cam, a couple married for ten years, have spent most of their years together living modestly in Colorado. Despite Cam's hidden wealth of millions, he shuns it due to a troubled past and strained relationship with his adoptive mother, Ruby. After her death, Cam left and never returned, but he's still tied to Ashby House. When his uncle dies, Cam is called back to handle the neglected estate. Initially reluctant, Cam agrees to a brief visit, while Jules secretly hopes for a permanent stay.

The book follows three different perspectives: Jules (the wife of Camden), Camden (the adopted son of Ruby), and Ruby (the rich--and dead--mother who was famous for being kidnapped as a child and for having four husbands in her lifetime). This is all I can really say without giving anything away.

The most unique part of this book was the reveal of the past through Ruby's "perspective," which was letters to an unknown person where she SPILLS SOME TEA. Reading the letters of Ruby's was probably my favorite part of this book! She was a complicated, but interesting character, and I found myself wishing she was alive so that I could have more.

The Plot
Part of the reason I requested this book, besides the author, was that the premise sounded great! A huge house in North Carolina, rich snobs, and family secrets...What's not to love!? The story was fast-paced, and while the suspense wasn't intense (like I said, this was not really action-packed), I still wanted to know what happened!

However, I have extremely mixed feelings about the story as a whole. When I was 85% through the book, I had loved every aspect of the story to that point. But by the time I finished, all I could think was, "What was the point?" It felt like everything that the book built up to didn't matter because of some actions that were revealed on the last page. It was, quite literally, the last thing the reader is left with.

Now, I think this might be a bit of an unpopular opinion for this book because I have seen people rave about this (including the ending). But sadly, it brought down the overall rating for me. I am looking forward to reading more thoughts on the book as more people read it.

Overall Thoughts
While the ending fell short for me, I am not upset that I decided to pick this one up. Everything leading up to the end was fantastic, and Rachel Hawkins always has been a strong writer.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves reading family dramas and unlikable characters. It is definitely the most important and most entertaining aspect of the book.

Final rating: 3.5/5

This was so entertaining! Absolute page-turner with a great twist! It hooked me from page one and held my interest until the very end. 5 stars! I found Ruby to be one of the most interesting characters I’ve met in a long time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for proving me with a free copy.

Wanna know how to sell me on reading a book? Tell me the characters are horrible and family drama runs amok.

In “The Heiress” we have alternating POVs — Cam, Jules and the words of Rudy’s via her letters. Which at about 65% I figured out who she was writing to and y’all, it’s a game changer for the plot.

When Cam is called home to Ashby House to handle McTavish family business, he is bombarded with much of the same drama, death and dishonesty of his childhood — the very things he ran away from years ago. What unfolds is a truth no McTavish ever sees coming.

Simply put, I’m a fan of Hawkins. Her novels are packed full of shady characters with little to no moral compass and they always take me by surprise.

Okay first let me add a thriller this was not!!! It gave lots of suspense and was a good mystery but I didn’t get thriller from this. Maybe I don’t know what a thriller really is LOL but this wasn’t it in my opinion. To truly be a thriller in my eyes it should have me on the edge of my seat rapidly turning pages craving more.

Now I did enjoy the book it had a nice twist and loved how the letters were incorporated to reveal some of the family secrets. But I really wanted a little bit more from this; something to really wow me. All we get is a dysfunctional family full of drama, a woman who has a long list of secrets, an adopted son who could careless about the family or the money he inherited, and a wife who’s intentions weren’t as pure as they seemed. One thing I can say is not one character had an issue with killing anybody. There was really a “you get in my way I’ll kill you” type thing going.

Ruby was definitely something else the title should’ve been How the Heiress Got Away With Murder. Killing the first husband I definitely understood but the reasoning for the others not so much. The twist involving Jules was definitely clever but did create a little confusion in the last chapters.

Overall, the book was pretty good a few hit and misses here and there but well-written enough to keep you interested. If it weren’t for the letters Ruby wrote I probably would’ve lost interest before I hit the halfway mark. It was fast-paced, the character development was meh didn’t really connect with any of them, but the drama and secrets kept me going. Special thanks to the author & @stmartinspress for my gifted copy!!!

I really enjoyed this book. The subplots were relevant and well integrated into the main story, the writing was smooth and natural, and the plot moved along at a pretty steady pace. While there are a few well-worn tropes, they were well executed, with plenty of twists to keep them feeling fresh and interesting. Ruby was such an intriguing character considering she spent the entire book dead, and the dynamics in her relationship with Cam are mind boggling. The masterful execution of her plans and manipulations made the final reveal so unbelievably good.

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pace of The Heiress is fast.

POV: The Heiress is told from two POVs. It is told from 1st person POV through Jules and Camden’s chapters and 2nd person POV through Ruby’s letters to an unknown person. There are also snippets told from newspaper/magazine articles.

Trigger/Content Warning: The Heiress has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Murder
Domestic Abuse
Death
Suicide
Kidnapping
Death of a parent
Classism
Alcoholism
Gun Violence
Physical Abuse
Toxic Relationship
Violence
Injury/Injury Detail
Bullying
Grief
Pregnancy
Child Abuse
Blood
Grief
Fire/Fire Injury
Gaslighting
Abandonment
Alcohol
Adoption
Anxiety & Anxiety Attacks
Boating Accident
Electrocution
Poisoning
Sexual Content: There is mild and implied sexual content in The Heiress.

Language: There is moderate swearing in The Heiress. There is also language that could be triggering to some people and considered offensive.

Setting: The Heiress is set in Tavistock, North Carolina. Some chapters are also in Denver, Colorado, Paris, and South Carolina.

Age Range: I recommend The Heiress to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When his adoptive mother died, Camden McTavish became her sole heir, which angered his great-aunt, uncle, and cousins. But, to their surprise, he refused to do anything with the money, the house, or the town where he grew up. That all changes when he finds out that his uncle has died, and his cousin emails him and asks him to come home. With the support of his wife, Jules, Cam goes home. There, he is reminded of exactly why he left ten years earlier.

Jules, Cam’s wife, has her own mysterious and messy past that she must deal with. She is also determined for him to claim the inheritance he rejected. As she gets to know his cousins and great-aunt and uncovers secrets they would rather keep buried, Jules becomes even more determined for Cam to claim the inheritance. But Jules’s secrets and her past threaten her plan and her marriage.

On the other hand, Ruby remains the mysterious woman she was while alive. But her secrets threaten to be exposed by her nephew, great-nephew, and great-niece. What are these secrets, and how do they connect to Cam and Jules? Will Cam keep Ruby’s deepest secret? Will Jules’s past and secrets destroy her marriage? Will Ruby’s relatives get her inheritance?

Main Characters:

The main characters of The Heiress are Ruby, Cam, and Jules. These characters were either battling echoes of their pasts, were deeply flawed, or had secrets they could and would not let come out. They were each well-written and well-fleshed out.

My favorite character in the book was Ruby. The letters she wrote, explaining the situation around her kidnapping, the deaths of her four husbands, and her relationships with her family and Cam, were tabloid-worthy. She was smart, proved by how she made money and other things I can’t mention because of spoilers.

The secondary characters did flush out an already great storyline. I couldn’t stand them, but I could understand where they were coming from. Except for the hatred of Cam. That baffled me because he was the only true innocent (well, up until Ruby’s death) in this book.

My review:

I can’t even express how excited I was to read this book. Rachel Hawkins has been on my radar since I reviewed The Villa. So, when I saw The Heiress start showing up on blogs, I knew I wanted to read it. And when St. Martin’s Press sent me the widget, I was over the freaking moon. Now that I have read The Heiress, Rachel Hawkins has become one of my favorite authors.

There are two storylines in The Heiress. One takes place in the present day and features Cam, Jules, Cam’s family, and why Cam came back. The other storyline is letters Ruby wrote that explain everything from her kidnapping to events right before her death. Those two storylines were intertwined but kept separate (if that makes sense). They came together at the end of the book in a way that I didn’t see coming. It was a huge twist that surprised the heck out of me.

The mystery angle of the book was interesting. The author was upfront with everything that had happened (with Ruby) and what was going on (with Cam, Jules, and the family). It was unconventional, but I liked it. I saw everything with Ruby unfold as Cam dealt with the house and his treacherous relatives. A couple of twists in both storylines took me by surprise. One involved who the letters were to (and no, it is not who you think it is), and the other involved the events at the end of the book and what Cam and Jules did afterward.

I do want to mention Jules’s mystery. The author was sneaky about slipping Jules’s past and secrets into the storyline. I was surprised (but nothing like what I said in the above paragraph). But it did explain why Jules was so gung-ho about restoring the house and staying in North Carolina.

The end of The Heiress was jaw-dropping. The author revealed things that I did not see coming. Events also happened that I did not see coming. It was chaotic, and you know what, it suited the book perfectly. Of course, there was the colossal bombshell dropped about Ruby. I liked how the book ended when the dust settled from everything. The author wrapped everything up nicely.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Rachel Hawkins for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Heiress. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Thank you NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC of The Heiress for an honest review!!
Description:
Ruby McTavish is the Heiress of the McTavish fortune including the famous Ashby House, but her life hasn't always been easy. She was the victim of a kidnapping when she was a young child and her 4 husbands all died under mysterious circumstances. The Heiress follows Ruby's adopted son, Camden, and his wife, Jules, after Ruby's death. Cam doesn't want anything to do with the McTavish family or the Ashby house, but when his uncle dies, he is forced to reconnect with his family and revisit the Ashby house for the first time in 10 years. But when you reconnect with family and a lot of money is involved, a secret or two or ten end up coming to light.
Review:
I really loved this family drama thriller! The Heiress has 3 different POVs: Camden, Jules, and Ruby (letters). It also featured news articles that I really enjoyed! My favorite POV was definitely Ruby's letters that tell her story through her marriages and her life. I loved how they were written and how you got such a great sense of her personality. I also really loved that there were characters you loved and ones you hated! Overall, this book was really well written and captured my attention right from the start. I kept wanting to pick up this book to find out what new crazy family secret was going to be revealed next. I will say that I did predict all of the twists/secrets. I was hoping for a big one that would catch me off guard, but I didn't get that (I'm sure they will surprise a lot of people though). However, I really loved this book and highly recommend it!! 4.75 stars rounded up to 5.

I adore Rachel Hawkins, and "The Heiress" is another fantastic contribution to her catalogue. Told from 3 different perspectives, the pieces of this story begin a mystery and slowly put themselves together over the course of the book. With her trademark savvy storytelling and unpredictable surprises, Hawkins weaves yet another smart and exciting story.

When Ruby McTavish died she was the richest woman in North Carolina and her estate passed to her adopted son, Camden, but he wants little to do with Ashby House, the family home, or the money. Ten years later Cam and his wife Jules return to Ashby House in the wake of his uncle's death.

The story is told from the points of view of the main characters including letters written by Ruby to an unknown someone before her death. It flips back and forth between past and present and also includes some newspaper clippings from past events surrounding the family. The characters are well developed and there are some amazing twists and revelations in the story and I was totally engrossed in it. This is the third book by Rachel Hawkins that I've read and I think it's safe to say it's my favourite so far.

TW: The f-bomb is dropped quite a bit although not as often as in one of the author's previous books. Personally I didn't find it offensive and in some cases the use of it was quite amusing.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication: January 9, 2024

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC! After loving The Villa (also by Rachel Hawkins) in 2023, which was one of my top books of the year, I was so excited to jump into this. Many of the things I loved about the Villa also showed up in this book, so I would highly recommend this to people who enjoyed that. It bounces between past and present timelines and multiple POVs with short chapters. Rachel Hawkins work is perfect to get out of reading slumps. The only reason that did not reach 5 stars for me was not being able to connect to the characters. I think this may be due to how many characters and family relationships there are to keep track of early on in this book, but this was very strong. I'm excited to read any of Rachel Hawkins releases in the future.

THE HEIRESS
Rachel Hawkins, Author Mystery/Thriller

It has been 10 years since Camden has been home to see his family. Now it is only to settle his mother’s estate. With his wife, Cam makes the trip to his childhood home. Only to find out shocking things about the past.

Rachel Hawkins does not disappoint her fans with her newest book. With enough twist’s and turns to give you whiplash and a shocking ending, you will not be disappointed. I give this book a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmor is a force to be reckoned with! At age 4, she goes missing and then is mysteriously found months later. She is raised in the lap of luxury and becomes one of the wealthiest women. Her story unfolds with letters written detailing shocking secrets about her 4 husbands and family life.

A twisty, crazy family drama that I thoroughly enjoyed. Storyline was fast paced to keep you informed. Some twists were hinted at, others hit you in the face. Characters that you love to hate and hate to love. You just got to love a book about the wealthy behaving worse than their backwood neighbors. I’ve read a few books by this author, and this is by far my favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It will definitely not be my last. This book - Wow! Wow! Wow!

The heiress is Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. After the death of her father, she inherits the family wealth and home, Ashby House. The mansion is deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. After Ruby’s death, everything now belongs to her adopted son, Camden. Camden left North Carolina ten years ago after his mother died. He is living in Colorado with his wife, Jules.

Camden has been summoned back to Ashby House to oversee the upkeep of the family home. He returns reluctantly. Jules is eager to become immersed in the family wealth.

The McTavish family is a dysfunctional group of people. Everyone has secrets to hide.

Sprinkled throughout the book are newspaper clippings and letters Ruby wrote explaining the circumstances surrounding her four marriages and the untimely deaths of her four husbands.

The moral of this story - Don’t. Trust. Anyone!

“We’re family, right? We keep each other’s secrets. Until we don’t.”
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