📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 320 / Genre: Psychological Thriller

Happy Pub Day to my my first 5-star read of the year!

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore lived her life her way despite all the crazy events that happened in her life. The heiress to the McTavish family fortune, Ruby was kidnapped at the age of three and widowed four times over—which earned her the notorious moniker Ruby Kill-more. Her remaining family members—Aunt Nelle and cousins Ben and Libby—are aptly described as “a bag of dicks.” So, she leaves everything to her adopted son Camden, who has distanced himself from said bag of dicks and wants nothing to do with any of them including the family fortune until he’s called home and must face them all with his loving wife in tow. What follows is a twisty series of shocking events and revealed family secrets and I just loved every minute of this juicy book!

Thank you @NetGalley, @stmartinspress, and @ladyhawkins for the advanced copy of this book. I could not put it down!

I really liked this one! I thought the beginning was a little slow on the twists but it really picked up around the 40% mark and the rest was twist after twist. The pacing of the reveals was good and I liked the way the chapters alternated perspectives and it had the letter and news articles mixed it!

Another hit by Rachel Hawkins, full of twists and turns, kept me guessing and a non stop, didn't want to put down read. Quick paced and easy to read without being predictable.

Wow, such a great story! THE HEIRESS was the first novel I have read by the remarkable Rachel Hawkins and it definitely won't be the last. In this novel, Hawkins shares the story of a long-estranged family, a surprising inheritance, and the impact of a complicated and murky past foisted upon the happy couple living far from the North Carolina hills where it all began. Through the eyes of Jules and Cam, the complex events and fascinating outcomes of a single email upon their happy life in Golden, Colorado unfurl fast through emails, newspaper articles, and direct encounters with the past that will change their futures forever. For myself, the characters, the settings, the entire story were an immersive joy -- with my total fan girl adoration focused on Cam and her unique style of expressing and loving. Engrossing, wonderfully intricate, this is a book that kept me reading way past my bedtime -- and I couldn't be happier about yawns the next morning. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I really enjoyed The Heiress. I was surprised by some of the twists that occurred. Really didn’t trust or know the motives of several characters. Really great read.

This is the fourth ARC I have by Rachel Hawkins, and I think this one is her best yet, hands down!

ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ: Ruby and Camden return to the lavish estate that Cam grew up on and inherited to settle the property, but both are still hiding secrets.

ᴍʏ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴄᴇɴᴛs: This was such an interesting domestic thriller because there were so many layers to the suspense and it wasn’t straight-forward as far as a crime having been committed.

I loved how it portrayed all of the family dynamics and the lengths to which people with too much money can go to believe they have everything they want. The story also called into question the big nature vs. nurture debate, and what makes someone a decent person.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪs ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ:
💎domestic thrillers
💎family secrets
💎rich family owns small town stories

The Heiress was such a good thriller. I loved the way it mixed dual POV with letters and news articles to complete the history. The book wove a complex story with each character and there were moments where I was truly surprised (hard to do when you read as much as I do). The rich history of a family so elite it is known as southern royalty, set against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina (close to the Biltmore Estate) set the scene of decades of power, manipulation, and murder. Money is such a powerful thing; it makes people do utterly stupid and evil things. The McTavish family is no exception.

If you enjoy thrillers, I can not recommend this enough. Ruby, the heiress and Camden's adopted mother is a force of nature. Her life alone made a compelling read. Add some disgruntled, entitled extended family, an adopted son, and some murder, you are left with an enticing read.

This book had me hooked from beginning to end. I loved the different POVs and timelines. So much suspense and twists. Rachel Hawkins has done it again!

While this novel started a bit slow for me, by the end I couldn't put it down. We slowly get pulled into the McTavish world, through two characters in present day, plus letters written 10 years prior. We get all the tea about the life of a wealthy heiress of a leading family in North Carolina, from her kindnapping as a child to her death, her fascinating life was unraveled before our eyes. Though not huge twists and turns, the woman had the most interesting life and the author revealed it to us flawlessly. A great read!

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is completely fantastic. To fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- The Heiress will be your new favorite thriller. Dark, edgy, twisty and absolutely juicy, The Heiress pulled me in from page one and still hasn’t let me go days later.

The notorious life of Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is told through dual timelines and multiple points of view. The format and the pacing make The Heiress the perfect book to binge on a cold winter’s day… or hot summer day by the pool, or really any day ever. Just trust me and read it.

I'm torn on this book, as there were moments and aspects I did enjoy, but overall this wasn't for me. While there is definitely a mystery (upon a mystery upon a mystery), the writing and tone really tampered that sort of building anxiety that I enjoy in a mystery or a thriller. Its written very matter of fact, especially some of the flashbacks. Ultimately there are so many thrown in twists, it turned for me into a more completely unbelievable, and because there were so many it felt even more predictable. I think if you're perhaps new to mystery or thriller category, and want something that doesn't build as much and is more slow paced, you may enjoy this. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is out today and it is soooooo good! The McTavish family is a wealthy bunch who own and run the town of Tavistock from their palatial Ashby House. When Ruby is kidnapped and returned as a child, it’s just the beginning of the tragedies that befall the family. The bodies and secrets start to pile as high as their beloved North Carolina mountains.

Rachel Hawkins strikes again and IMHO, The Heiress is her best book yet. The McTavish family is packed full of characters who are deplorable and you just love to hate them. You simply won’t be able to put this book down until you have devoured the entire thing. It’s so perfect for fans of gothic novels.

I was a bit on the fence about The Wife Upstairs and all the comparisons to Jane Eyre. However, I found The Heiress to be a much better hat tip to an older piece of writing. (If you are a well read of classics and plays, I’m sure you will pick up on the retelling within the first quarter of the book.)

Original #bookclub questions are available in my Insta The Blog highlights.

#theheiress #rachelhawkins #stmartinspress #mystery #thriller #gothicfiction #mysterynovels #thrillernovels #suspense #netgalley #bookreview #fivestarbook

Another quick read by Rachel Hawkins.! 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4. I enjoyed the back and forth of husband and wife viewpoints. I felt it was a little lacking in character development and slightly confusing in the family relationships toward the end. Left me wanting more from the viewpoints of the people in Tavistock. Will read this author again.


I received this as an ARC from Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press.

For some reason this book felt really short to me! I felt like I was flying through it every time I picked it up. The story moved quickly and kept my interest the entire time. This is a solid mystery/thriller that leans more toward mystery. Like a cross between The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and a gothic inheritance mystery. So far I’ve liked all of the Rachel Hawkins books that I’ve read with all of them being 4 stars for me!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for this ARC ebook. The Heiress will be published January 9, 2024.

This might be my favorite Rachel Hawkins book! I love any book set in an old gothic mansion that kind of becomes a character of its own. Ashby House is just that. This story takes many twists and I did figure out a couple but then they just kept coming and I found myself flipping through these pages quickly to see how it all would be tied up. I loved the writing structure of this one. I always enjoy different POVs and any book that has letters. I also loved the inclusion of the news stories throughout. Ruby and all her husbands along with the writing structure gave me a bit of a “Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but make it thriller” vibes! I definitely recommend this one!

Read if you like:
▫️letters
▫️multi-pov
▫️unreliable narrators
▫️gothic mansion settings

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book releases TODAY January 9 so make sure you get your copy!

Fun fact: Over the past few years, my first read of each New Year has been a mystery/thriller by author Rachel Hawkins and I wanted to do the same this year to ring in 2024, to keep this tradition going. There’s just something about her books that capture me from the start, making them the perfect binge reads, and The Heiress was no exception.

I loved the multiple POVs, the twists I didn’t see coming, and the various formats that include articles and letters. Each chapter is told in first person POV, and I loved getting insight this way.

🎧I paired the physical book with the audiobook, and completely immersed myself in my happy reading bubble. I thought the narration with a multiple cast was great, and really added to each character with plenty of family drama.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧
💚multiple POVs
👑unlikeable characters
✨ dark and twisted
💚family drama
👑full of twists

*many thanks to St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Out tomorrow (1/9) - thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC to review!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Ruby McTavish is a local legend in her North Carolina hometown…both for her fortune and her tendency to marry men who die mysteriously. When Ruby dies, her adopted son is her only heir—but he wants nothing to do with her house or fortune until family events force him back to a place filled with secrets.

I absolutely LOVED this one, which is absolutely my favorite Rachel Hawkins. Imagine if you were reading Evelyn Hugo but no one was quite sure whether she’d murdered her husbands and you’ve got something a lot like this book, which I found captivating and super fun. It’s definitely heavy on moral greyness and “women’s wrongs,” which I personally love, and the ending made me gasp more than once.

This is more mystery/suspense than “thriller” in my opinion, so know going in that it’s a bit of a slow burn as things unfold…but I was genuinely hooked from the beginning, and I highly recommend this one!

CW: Death/murder; domestic abuse/physical abuse; kidnapping/missing child; mentions of suicide

This is the story of Ruby McTavishes, a rich socialite from North Carolina, and her adopted child Camden. Ruby rose to fame when she was kidnapped at 3 years old and continued her notoriety by marrying and becoming a widow during her honeymoon. She then went to lose another 3 husbands, some of them in what could only be called suspicious circumstances.

The story begins after Ruby has passed away and has left all her money, including Ashby House, her family's estate, to her estranged son Cam. Told in different points of views, we get to hear from Cam, his wife Jules and the infamous Ruby, through her letters to Cam. Page by page we start learning about their lives, the reasons why Cam left Ashby House and why he decided not to ever come back.

With beautiful descriptions and engaging story telling, Rachel Hawkins brings us into Ashby House making us feel like we are a part of the family. At the same time she doesn't shy away from dealing with stronger issues like kidnapping, alcoholism and the effects that both can have in someone's upbringing and the people around them.

Twist after twist and full of intrigue, you realize from the beginning that everybody is keeping secrets. Although I admit I was able to figure out the last twist, that didn't take away from the story. A very fast read, this book will keep you engaged until the end!

My thanks to author and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was North Carolina richest woman, she was also known for being the victim of a famous kidnapping as a small child.
Ruby and the McTavish family ruled their tiny town, from the Ashby House, to most of the business centre in the Blue Ridge mountains. After the deaths of her husbands, Ruby finds herself childless - and decides to adopt a son, Camden.
Ruby has given everything to Camden, to find to her surprise that he wants nothing to do with the family or the money. He is rejecting his inheritance.
Moving himself as far as possible across the country not only from Ruby but the Ashby House and everyone in it.

Years have passed, Cam finds himself working as a bartender in a dive bar, when in walks Jules.
They instantly hit it off, and the rest is history. Or so one would think.

Camden has been receiving emails from his family back in Blue Ridge mountains, he must come home and face his family and his inheritance. But there are things about his past he isn’t ready to face, things he hasn’t even mentioned to Jules.

Will Jules still love the person she married once they arrive?
Is the McTavish family honestly as bad as Cam has made them out to be?
Will the Ashby House be everything Jules has dream about?

I’ve read a few thrillers written by Rachel Hawkins, and this one is my favorite by far! A wealthy and privileged family with a large estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a prodigal adopted son who returns home, the wife who wants more for him, and the mysterious heiress with secrets spanning decades...honestly, this book lured me in and had me racing towards the end to finish it!

Told from multiple perspectives, the reader gets a glimpse into the privilege and lengths that the McTavish family will take in order to get what they want. In the midst of it all, the reader uncovers what Ruby’s true intentions have been all along, and how her choices have shaped the McTavish family as a whole. When Cam and Jules are thrown into this web of power, wealth, and deceit, they must decide if being back at the legendary Ashby House is worth it. Or if it could also be the end for them. How much is a life of money and power worth? And what are they willing to lose for it? What secrets will they need to hide?

The twists and turns in this book kept me guessing the whole time. I loved the multiple perspectives and how all of the pieces of the puzzle came together at the end. The author also leaves a bit to wonder in the epilogue, and I liked that uncertainty. This is a quick read that will keep you engaged! I definitely recommend it!

Read if you like:
-stories/movies about wealthy family dynasties
-complicated relationships
-twists and turns
-multiple perspectives

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review.