Rachel Hawkins has done it again! I was a big fan of THE WOMAN UPSTAIRS so I was very excited to get this one early. It was soooo good! I was totally hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. The characters were so delightful in their own horrible ways. I also would have run far away from the Ashby House if I was Cam! This had so many juicy parts and I would love to see it adapted into a limited series. The audiobook was expertly narrated with a cast of characters.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is a story about power, greed, and deception. It’s a tale of a little girl who goes missing and is miraculously found a year later. Immersive, atmospheric, Hawkins had me from Colorado and carried me to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Simply unputdownable.

Cam reluctantly returns to the small North Carolina town of Tavistock when Ruby, his mother, dies. Although he’s heir to her fortune and Ashby house he left ten years ago making clear he wanted none of it. He’s built a happy life with his wife Jules in Colorado and they’re staying just long enough to tie up loose ends. As he tackles a few repairs it becomes clear his extended family members still living at Ashby house, and perhaps even Jules, have an agenda.

Told from flashbacks at different points in time, as well as present day, Hawkins fills in a puzzle keeping the full picture unclear. We gain new insights to characters motives but this often serves to further complicate before it explains. Full of signature twists, turns, unreliable narrators, and set amid a moody backdrop I got lost in. I wasn’t sure who to trust, how things connected, until the very end.

This may just be my favorite Rachel Hawkins book yet! Perfect for readers that love gothic vibes but want a contemporary timeline.

I received an early review copy from the publisher, St Martin’s Press.

I loved this book. Great thriller. Not too scary. Kept me entertained the whole time. I wanted to pick it up and keep reading.

This was sooooo freaking good! Omg! Rachel Hawkins does it again, ya’ll!!!
This has two of my favorite tropes: dysfunctional rich family & inheritance.
We have multiple POVs as well as a story told inside letters.
Lots of characters to either love or hate. Maybe some you’re not sure what you’re supposed to think of them.
DRAMA!!! Lots of delicious drama. Family drama. RICH family drama.
I was so invested to find out the details of Ruby’s life (reminded me a little bit of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but wayyy better in my opinion) and I just loved how everything was connected somehow and wrapped up beautifully.

The Heiress, by Rachel Hawkins

Quick Bite: I should know better than to open a Rachel Hawkins book when I have plans.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Good morning! Today is Monday, and that usually means lots of grumping and grumbling from yours truly, but you know what? I have some small but satisfying things planned for this week (like getting back on the treadmill after a too-long hiatus), and I’m really looking forward to feeling productive again. And check it out, I’m even publishing a review today!

In 1943, three-year-old Ruby McTavish (the titular Heiress) went missing. Her super-wealthy, mega-powerful parents used every resource they had, and located her eight months later. Ruby went on to have quite a life - four husbands, one adopted son, and too many scandals to list.

In the present day, her son Camden is going back to the family’s crumbling mansion to settle his inheritance, and hopefully, leave the house and his terrible relatives once and for all. He’s taking his wife Jules, and although Jules loves Camden more than anything, the mansion and money are pretty darn enticing.

Duckies, I have a weird relationship with Rachel Hawkins’ books. To be bluntly honest, I tend to forget about her as a writer, as I’m constantly inundated with new books, and well, my brain can only hold so much. But then one of her books crosses my desk, and I think “oh, this looks good, and I know I liked the last one” and next thing I know, it’s 12 hours later, my eyeballs are aching, and I’m trying to reacclimate to reality. She just has a way of completely sucking me in every freaking time, and The Heiress was no exception.

I absolutely loved Ruby, that crafty, kind-of-crazy old broad (ok, maybe more than kind-of, but she was a killer character). And I’m a total sucker for flipping timelines when it’s done well, and oh my word, is it ever done perfectly in this book. The pace is relentless, the twists and turns do their directional shenanigans beautifully, and the setting is an absolute chef’s kiss.

I also loved Camden & Jules & their relationship (ulterior motives and all), but I just kept getting stuck on Camden’s cousins, Ben & Libby. They are caricatures of spoiled rich bratty children who grow up to be selfish, mean adults. I get that they are minor side characters, and as such don’t really need a lot of development, but I would have liked a bit more nuance to them.

But overall, The Heiress is another home run for Ms. Hawkins. And I loved the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to The Villa (which you should also read ASAP).

The Nerd’s Rating: FIVE HAPPY NEURONS (and a glamorous beaded gown from the 60’s. I’ll never actually wear it, but I can hold it up & pretend.)

Would recommend for fans of…
🎩 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
🎩 Chicago (specifically “Cell Block Tango”)
🎩 Crimson Peak

I always look forward to a new Rachel Hawkins book. She’s the best when it comes to haunting, Gothic suspense with a modern twist and The Heiress is no exception.

The story includes three different POVs — Jules, her husband Camden, and his adoptive mother, the infamous Ruby McTavish. The Heiress is structured like an elaborate puzzle with each chapter building on a reveal made in the previous one until the final page. It does lean more towards what I’d describe as gentle suspense rather than pulse pounding thriller and those vibes are perfect for an early winter read.

One thing that stuck out to me while reading this is how funny the otherwise dark story was. If you follow Rachel Hawkins on any social platform, you know she’s hilarious and she manages to weave that humor into the story in a way that really works. I absolutely loved it and look forward to seeing more of that in her future books.

The Heiress hits shelves tomorrow. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Complex, intense, and gripping!

The Heiress is a charged, unpredictable mystery that sweeps you away to North Carolina and into the life of Camden McTavish, who are receiving an email from an estranged cousin, reluctantly heads home after ten years away to deal with the inheritance he never wanted, introduce his wife to the dysfunctional, multigenerational McTavish family he willingly disowned, and finally discover all the long-buried secrets that his adopted mother, the infamous Ruby McTavish tried for a long time to keep hidden and buried for good.

The prose is powerful and polished. The characters are flawed, self-absorbed, and ruthless. And the plot, using a mixture of letters, news articles, and dual perspective narration, is a captivating, menacing tale of life, loss, secrets, deception, privilege, resentments, greed, corruption, violence, familial drama, surprises, and despicable truths.

Overall, The Heiress is a gritty, provocative, twisty novel by Hawkins that’s a must-read for anyone who loves a well-written mystery interlaced with a dramatic family saga all mired in the dark, toxic history of the past.

The nitty-gritty: Scandals, secrets and lies abound in this twisty, tension-filled thriller about a dysfunctional family and the multi-million dollar inheritance they’re fighting over.

Last year I read my first Rachel Hawkins book (The Villa), and really enjoyed it. But wow, The Heiress is on another level altogether! I’m so glad this was one of my first reads of 2024, because the year is now off to an excellent start. Full of twists and surprises, this is a complex, layered story about a very messed up family and is definitely one of the most entertaining books I’ve read in a while.

Camden was an orphan until he was adopted by the very wealthy Ruby McTavish, and ten years before our story begins, Ruby died and left her entire estate to her adopted son. You can imagine this didn’t sit well with the other McTavish family members, who each received a sizable nest egg and permission to continue living in Ashby House, Ruby’s rambling mansion, but who don’t have access to the bulk of the inheritance. Cam never wanted anything to do with his toxic family, and he left soon after Ruby died.

Ashby House needs serious repairs, however, and it isn’t until Camden’s cousin Ben reaches out to him with news of his father’s death (Camden’s uncle Howell) that Camden decides to make a trip to North Carolina to assess the situation. Jules, Camden’s wife, is beyond excited to finally get a glimpse into the vast wealth of her husband’s family and the inheritance he refused to accept. Ashby House is infamous (and has a Wikipedia entry to prove it) for the shocking disappearance of Ruby in 1943 when she was three years old. Ruby wandered off during a family picnic and was lost for almost a year—most thought she had tumbled off a nearby cliff and drowned in the ocean—but a family came forward saying they had found the little girl and kept her all those months. The mystery of Ruby’s disappearance and supposed kidnapping has been talked about for many years, ensuring that Ashby House and the McTavish family remain an irresistible topic of conversation and speculation.

Cam and Jules receive a cold reception when they arrive, but it’s nothing compared to what’s in store for them. Every person in Ashby House, including Cam and Jules, is hiding a big secret, and when those secrets come out, everything Cam believed about his family will be turned on its head. 

The Heiress might appear to be about Cam and Jules and how they resolve the inheritance issues with Cam’s family, but it’s also a riveting story about Ruby and her four husbands and how they died. And wow what a story it is. Hawkins delves into the pasts of each character, using a variety of letters, newspaper articles and excerpts from books to fill in the past, especially the dramatic events surrounding Ruby. Central to the story are letters written by Ruby to someone, just before she’s found dead. Ruby’s wry voice dominates the narrative, as she confesses all to her audience, whoever they may be. From her early childhood when she was lost and then found again, to detailed accounts of each husband, why she married them, and how they ended up dead, all this backstory sets the stage for an explosive confrontation among the McTavish family members, as long buried secrets come to light. I was riveted by Ruby’s fascinating life, and shocked by some of her actions. Ruby isn’t always the easiest person to like, but boy did I hang on her every word!

The other chapters alternate between Cam and Jules, who have completely different agendas when it comes to Ashby House and Cam’s inheritance. Cam wants nothing more than to turn his back on the unsavory members of his family and go back to his comfortable teaching job, but Jules is imagining a life of ease, roaming the vast halls of the mansion and not having to worry about money. Both characters are keeping big secrets, from each other and the rest of the family, and my favorite parts of the story were the shocking reveals that left my head spinning.

Rounding out the cast, I can’t fail to mention Ruby’s other relatives: the hateful, bitter Nelle, Ruby’s sister, and Ben and Libby, Cam’s cousins. The three of them have been hunkering down in Ashby House for years, even though Cam owns the house, and they are doing everything they can to make Cam feel like an interloper. Hawkins did a great job of painting all three as crazy relatives who are pissed off at the adopted son for getting all the money, and their presence added lots of extra tension to the story.

The climax spirals out of control a bit, with a few events that seem over-the-top. But by that time I was fully invested in the story and didn’t really care. After all the final reveals and twists, there’s even an epilogue that goes one step further and answers a question that didn’t even occur to me while I was reading. In a way, the story reminded me of Daisy Darker, not in the plot, but rather the way Hawkins' tale unfolds. If you’re a fan of that book, I have a feeling you’ll love this as well. This is a smart, well written, perfectly paced and plotted story, both thrilling and satisfying, and in my opinion, Rachel Hawkins’ best book yet.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

We have a typical story of the wealthy family being affluent in all of their glory, while there's one black sheep in the mix that's there to be a thorn in their side. In a triple POV tale, we're introduced to a deceased Ruby McTavish, her adopted son Camden, and his wife, Jules. Throughout the story, we get Ruby's "manifesto" of how and why her life turned out the way it did, all while figuring out why her son didn't want anything to do with it. And as the happy wife, Jules is here to push and discover why.

I enjoyed myself with this book. The plot was easy to guess, and I figured out the whodunnit effortlessly, but how Hawkins weaved the story together made me stay for the ride. I was fortunate enough to listen to the audio, so the 8-hour listen turned out even-paced. The only thing that turned me off was the ending. It wrapped up abruptly and was too convenient.

Holding my review until the SMP boycott is resolved.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

4.5 stars.

This was definitely one of those “I cannot put down” books. I flew through it. I was intrigued from the very first page all the way to the end (legit finished the last half of the book in one day). Which doesn’t surprise me, given I love Hawkins’ macabre, and slightly gothic, storytelling. And talk about an ending — damn, what a wild ride. Took me by surprise for sure. I definitely loved this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Could it be? Have I found my favorite Rachel Hawkins book and my first 5-star read of the year??

I'm not going to lie, it took me a second to get into this because of other books I was reading, but this morning I was only a third of the way through the book and I devoured the rest of it since then.

This book is told from Camden and, his wife, Jules' POV, but Ruby's letters and some articles are sprinkled throughout the story. Camden, along with Jules, begrudgingly returns to Ashby House, a decade after rejecting his inheritance and the rest of his terrible family. As he's there dealing with the estate, secrets are revealed and I just could not put this down!

Ruby's letters were fascinating! Ruby was kidnapped, and later returned, when she was just a toddler. She had four husbands who died under mysterious circumstances. She later adopted Camden, and left him Ashby House and all of the money, which added even more tension between the remaining family members.

I know I said way too much about the plot but I promise there are so many juicy secrets in this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really truly enjoyed this. I really liked the characters and the idea that a heiress hates her family so much she screws them all over for her favorite person. And while I am not always the biggest fan of epistolary use in novels, this was done really well. I know we aren't supposed to love all the characters, but I found them actually worthwhile to the story where in some books they are just there to be the worst person you have ever heard of.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for sending me the pre-approved widget of The Heiress! This review is entirely my own and is based off an advance copy of The Heiress.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

The Heiress is the story of a family, a family that comes from money and lots of it. It's a story of secrets, the kind the ridiculously wealthy are able to keep. Cam is the sole heir to the Ashby House and McTavish fortune, and he has absolutely no desire to claim the inheritance his adoptive mother left him. But a summons brings him and his wife of ten years, Jules, back to North Carolina, where truths start coming out.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

OVERALL: 5/5🌟
STORY: 4.5/5🌟
WRITING: 5/5🌟
CHARACTERS: 5/5🌟
ENJOYMENT: 10/10🌟

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

STORY:
Humanity is a complicated thing, isn't it? What makes a person, themselves? What makes our actions good or bad? Do the circumstances of our births pre-determine who will we turn out to be?
In a delightfully, morally grey and thrilling way, Hawkins tackles these questions in her thriller, The Heiress. She tells the story in the most delightful of ways. While the primary point of views are Cam and Jules, the story is also weaved through a series of letters from Ruby, Cam's adoptive mother, and a series of newspaper, magazine, and tabloid articles.

It is through the letters that we learn a significant amount about Ruby. And its through the article clippings that we learn even more about the McTavishes and the public's reactions to the scandals and news that surrounded the family. I greatly enjoyed this creative use of storytelling. So much so, this was a one day read for me. I sat down and i didnt' come up for air until I hit 100% on my kindle.

This story kept me on my toes. While I did certainly guess a couple of the reveals, they always happened in a way that I didn't expect. This book's plot weaved up and down, dropping hints and red herrings, it truely was a fantastic ride.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

WRITING:
Hawkin's writing is incredibly addictive to read. It really did not take me long to get sucked into her story, in her ability to change her writer's voice depending on whose POV we are reading, or whether its a Ruby letter or article clipping. And don't get me started on the way Hawkins keeps you hooked, with cliff hanging chapters that hint at questions being answered, only to be thwarted by a change in POV or another Ruby letter appearing (which is always, ALWAYS a tantalizing read). Through all the different POVs and deliveries, Hawkin's writer's voice maintained a simple elegance that was easy and comforting to read, while also having me diving for the dictionary only a couple times. (Now I know the fancy long word for someone in their 70s)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

CHARACTERS:
There was no in between. I either loved or despised the characters. And I feel that was the intention of the author. Cam and Jules were easily likable, same with Ruby. Even with all the grey morality that surrounded them, they were easy to love and easy to feel for.
Cam's extended family tho... ooo they were pieces of works. Ben and Libby were written to be someone we all knew growing up. Those rich kids at your school who had too much money and not enough humanity in them. Disliking them was easy. Very easy. Nelle was even easier to dislike from what Ruby had written about her in her letters.
All in all, these characters were incredibly well written to have been able to draw such black and white reactions from me. There was no wishy washy-ness from me. I knew exactly how I felt about each character.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

ENJOYMENT:
All in all, I quite enjoyed this book. It took me for loops I never expected and kept me on my toes. I hungered for more with every page turn. Even the epilogue kept the surprises coming. Fantastic read.

This was such an Addictive and Captivating Book! I just could not put it down. I started it last night and just finished it tonight. It is definitely filled with tons of family drama. I just had to find out what would happen next. It has many twists and turns and often I was left wondering if anyone could be trusted. Excellent Thriller! Definitely worth Reading and you will be turning the pages fast.

Thank you NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin’s Press for granting me a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read.

From the beginning this book sucked me in. I caught myself wanting to Google to learn more about the characters, and then reminding myself that it is fiction. It felt so real and so interesting, that I was ready to go down a wormhole!

The tension builds slowly in the beginning, as the reader is introduced to a happily married couple who are about to go through something life changing. The circumstances seem normal enough, the husband was adopted into a wealthy family, full of tension, and his adoptive mom has some untimely deaths in her past. But nothing that seems absolutely horrifying, which leaves me wondering why I am filled with dread as I get deeper into the story?

I love the setting in the Appalachian mountains (as a Georgia girl) and how wonderfully they are described.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the kind of book that you wish you could keep on reading. A satisfying end, and at the same time an unfinished story.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

What a rollercoaster! Hidden behind the huge beautiful Ashby house lies layers of lies and secrets! I did not want to put this book down and I didn’t guess any of the twists! So good. Preorder this one and start your 2024 out right! Pub date: January 9th

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was like a mix between The seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Thirteen Tale. It was super fun to read, my favorite part were the Ruby letters, this is my first time reading this author and I’m sure it won’t be my last.

The synopsis of this sounded so good, I was excited to get to it! I love reading about rich people problems, that it included letters from the deceased, and that it had articles from the deaths and kidnappings. It made it all the more fun!

I DNF’d her book last year, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I ended up really liking this one!

I loved that there were sooo many mysteries. From the past and the present! I was continually shocked and stayed up late cause I could not put it down!

This book is told from the perspective of three people: First, there’s Camden, an orphan who was adopted by a very wealthy widow with a very scandalous past. While there are those who think he was a lucky boy, his new life is not without its drawbacks, so when he enters college, he leaves his family and their fortune behind to strike out on his own, eventually getting married and becoming a teacher.

Second, there’s Camden’s supportive wife, Jules, who works a dead-end job as a historical figure churning butter for tourists at a local historical attraction. After years without contact, Camden’s estranged family finally convinces him to return to the family estate to settle the family’s financial problems, and Jules secretly could not be more excited at the prospect of moving into the family estate and finally living the life they deserve.

The third perspective is Camden’s adoptive mother, Ruby, revealed through a series of letters she wrote prior to her death. These by far are the most interesting, full of secrets and unexpected twists, adding to the suspenseful plot that already kept me guessing til the end.

St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley kindly provided me an ARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.