Rachel Hawkins does it again! loved the use of mixed media and using flashbacks to the past. it was such a fun read.

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I just reading "The Heiress" by Rachel Hawkins. Thank to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This a book with an interesting in intriguing plot damaged characters and exposed secrets...and they all come together to create a wonderfully written story with a bang up ending.

The story centers around wealth status narcicism and of course love. Jules and her husband Cambden return to his childhood home to deal with his inheritance which he doesn't want because it is tainted with lies an deceit. He was adopted into the wealthy world of the McTavish family and his mother Ruby who had a storied past.
Camden has secrets that he is keeping from Jules and...Jules has. bigger secrets that she is keeping from Camden. When they return to the "Ashby House" slowly the secrets start to unravel and reveal themselves in a delicious and twisted way. Let's just say that no-one is innocent in this story.

What I liked about this book was the way the author crafted this mystery. She told the story through different narrators: Jules, Camden and a series of letters from Ruby McTavish which are written to who we don't know until the very end. I loved the character of Ruby McTavish and her story was fascinating: POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL! I liked how she tried to make ammends at the end of the novel

What I didn't like about the story was some of the characters were a bit cartoonish and some of the sub-plots were unecessary. But the story revealed perfectly the impact of money, wealth and power and how the rich can get away with way too much.

I read this book quickly and it was hard to put down, A great pace and a great mystery that was perfectly ended with a final perfect reveal.

Happy Reading

I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

2.5

This is the second book I’ve read by Rachel Hawkins–I read The Villa last year and it was a page turner. I found The Heiress less thrilling–it had the potential (the people in this family were truly messed up and amoral) but switching between first person narration to letters to emails to articles made for choppy storytelling and too fast pacing and clustered reveals. And I anticipated many of the twists anyways. Misdirects about who was being addressed weren’t thrilling enough to overcome the overall too fast pacing.

Not gonna lie: I highly recommend starting the year with a twisty, juicy domestic thriller. And Rachel Hawkins’s “The Heiress” not only delivers fun plot twists in her Southern-tinged tale, but a huge dose of toxic family dynamics and women behaving badly in this multi-POV, dual timeline story.

The book follows Camden and Jules, a happily married couple living in Colorado who travel to Cam’s family’s North Carolina home for the first time together to settle some matters – because though he was adopted, he is the heir to the vast family fortune and holds the pursestrings.

As Cam navigates his estranged family and Jules’s own motivations emerge, so too does the story of the titular heiress: Ruby McTavish, a woman wrapped in scandal after being kidnapped as a child and growing up to survive four husbands.

Though I didn’t think I was in the right ~mood~ for this book when I started it, I was quickly won over by Hawkins’s storytelling, her lively characters, and her ability to weave in irreverant humor. Though I saw one of the twists coming, there were others that took me by surprise, and the story kept me on my toes as I turned the pages.

Overall, The Heiress is the kind of thriller that is so much addicting fun it will likely keep you up at night so that you can finish it – and not because it’s given you nightmares.

4.25🌟

I don't read many thrillers, but I will always read a new Rachel Hawkins. The Heiress was incredibly fast-paced with delightful twists and turns.

Is there any better way to start off a new reading year than with the latest book from an author you love?

My pick was THE HEIRESS by RACHEL HAWKINS and let me skip to the best part - I loved it!

I always know I’m in great hands with RACHEL HAWKINS. Hands that are often dark + diabolical + surprising + twisty. Her characters are snarky and sometimes a little evil — and always in the best ways. All of her books are pure delight and totally page turning and while I hesitate to play favorites this might be my fave of her books yet.

I’m an advocate of the-less-you-know-the-better when it comes to thrillers, but I’ll set a bit of a scene in case you need some more enticement:

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is not only the richest woman in North Carolina, but when she dies, she’s also its most notorious.

Ruby’s adopted son, Cam, wants little to do with the family estate, Ashby House, with his massive inheritance or with the surviving McTavishes. But after ten years away from Ashby & another death in the family, Cam reluctantly returns home, this time with his wife Jules at his side.

The legacy of Ruby is inescapable, as are the rumors that surrounded her for her entire life. And the McTavish blood heirs are still beyond bitter that Cam is the sole inheritor of the fortune they believe they are entitled to, making this one very complicated homecoming.

This book delivers on so many things that I love: We mix past & present timeline and multiple POVs. We get a reluctant return home. Some 4th wall breaking. And a mixed storytelling style of narrative + epistolary + magazine & news articles. And so much rich family behaving badly + the outsider coming in. Secrets and mysteries and seriously so much goodness packed into a tight story. I devoured it. And for the jewel on top - can we talk about this cover?

I had the great fortune of receiving both the eARC and Audiobook ARC of the THE HEIRESS so sending huge thanks to St. Martins Press & Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to enjoy the book prior to its January 9th Pub Day. It’s the perfect addition to all the reading lists!

This story about a North Carolina family, its inheritance, a bunch of murders with (in)direct linkages was the perfect read to kick off the new year, especially during darker, gloomy days. It had me guessing what would happen (sometimes right, sometimes not) and not wanting to put it down!

Multiple viewpoints, multiple timelines, and characters you love to hate.... what's not to love?!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

This dual timeline story is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains at a sprawling, secluded mountain estate. The present-day story features the heir’s return with his wife to the town and the dysfunctional, toxic family he left behind to put his late mother’s affairs in order and repair the house.

Interspersed throughout the story are letters written by his mother, Ruby. Widowed 4 times over, she was known as Mrs. Kill-More by the end of her life. Within the pages of the letters, she reveals the courtship, marriage, and deaths of each of her husbands, as well as multiple family secrets. It’s glamorous and dark all at the same time.

Hawkins weaves a masterful story with twisted, flawed characters that I couldn’t put down. The secrets kept unfurling until the very last page. This is my favorite book of hers yet!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of THE HEIRESS by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for my review.

THE GOOD: The best part of this story comes after the 70% mark. I did not see the twist coming and loved everything after that point.

THE BAD: I think I might stick to this author's romances under her pen name, Erin Sterling, if I decide to keep reading books by her. I found the writing in this to be pretentious, even for a book called THE HEIRESS. It was a *very* slow-burn for a book just over 300 pages. The multiple husbands trope was giving Evelyn Hugo vibes, but sinister, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Ruby was also an unlikeable MC and I think that made reading this a bit daunting at times.

Kidnapping, possible baby switch, murders. Rich family mystery/drama reminiscent of prime time soaps. The ugly lives of the privileged. I liked the darkness of it and how nobody could trust each other. You never knew what was going to happen when 2 people were alone. And you sure should never turn your back on anyone in that house. A slow burn with a really good twist at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC.

Camden is called back to Tavistock, NC to deal with his inheritance from the richest woman in NC aka his adoptive mom who has been widowed 4 times. She’s also known as “Mrs. Killmore” due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding each husbands death. This time he’s not going back to his childhood home, Ashby House, alone, he’s bringing his wife Jules who has her own ideas of how to handle the inheritance.

If you’re looking for a thriller that’s told in a unique format, I think you would really enjoy this. You get two POVs, plus news articles and letters written by Ruby.

I got sucked into this one pretty early on, once I read the first letter by Ruby I was hooked. Although I don’t think this is really a “thriller”, more so a juicy, rich people family drama.

I really enjoyed Ruby as a character and loved the setting of the Blue Ridge Mountains in NC. Ashby house felt like another character in the book and I felt I could picture it perfectly.

The only thing I disliked was that it was pretty predictable and none of the twists or reveals blew me away, but I’d still recommend if you’re looking for a quick read about uncovering family secrets.

Rachel Hawkins is great at what she does, and she has done it again. This book entertains the age old debate of nature vs. nurture. How far would you be willing to go to protect yourself? Your family? A fortune you didn't want? Camden, the heir to the Ashby Estate, doesn't want anything to do with any of it. But, his wife of 10 years does, and she convinces him to respond when an estranged family member, cousin Ben, reaches out to him. Being adopted into the McTavish family, Cam's extended family doesn't think he has any right to the fortune. The issue is, while Cam doesn't want it, he doesn't want any of them to have it either. This book has murders, mystery, love, hate, marriages, long lost family members, and lots of chaos. It is twisty and told in varying perspectives: sometimes Cam's voice, sometimes Jules' voice (Cam's wife), sometimes letters from Cam's adoptive mom and original heir to the fortune (Ruby), and sometimes news articles. All the pieces come together nicely and believably.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

[ thank you @stmartinspress & @netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

PUB DATE: January 9, 2024

THOUGHTS:

This is my favorite Rachel Hawkins book I’ve read so far!!

I was hooked, curious about what was going to happen and time flew by every time I read it. I totally recommend not reading the synopsis (that’s what I did!) and it was so fun going in not really know the direction it was going to take.

I honestly loved the addition of the letters written by Ruby talking about her past in between the present chapters. And in the present we get two POVs — Jules & Camden, our married couple. It was the perfect amount of both stories mixed to tell the one!

I enjoyed the journey this took me on. The drama and the few twists & turns we got, it was definitely an entertaining read! 💚

Well that was a delight— a fast-paced and twisty thriller from one of my favorite authors! An heiress, a mansion in the mountains of North Carolina, and a bunch of spoiled rich people trying to cheat each other out of the family fortune. Told through alternating perspectives, this story had me turning pages faster as it went on. I really liked the twisted family history, all the revelations from the past, and the atmospheric setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains! This one is FUN. I read it in a weekend and I just might have to go back and reread The Wife Upstairs. This is one of Hawkins’ best!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ruby McTavish was notoriously known, and for more reasons than just her ast name. A member of the deeply wealthy McTavish family, Ruby spent her life living in Ashby House, the sprawling estate among the Carolina mountains. Ruby’s life was lavish, but far from easy. When she was three, she was abducted from the very land her family owned, only to be miraculously found states away, almost a year later. Ruby’s fascinating story did not stop there, as later the suspicious deaths of all four of her husbands kept her name in onlookers’ lips.

Ruby never had children of her own, just an adopted son Camden, who is the heir to the entire McTavish fortune - much to the dismay of Ruby’s sister Nelle, and her own lineage. Ten years after Ruby’s passing, Camden and his wife Jules head to Ashby House to help the remaining family sort out the estate. While Camden is skeptical, Jules is intrigued: will seeing the notoriety and wealth that Camden left behind lead then to a brighter future? Or will the McTavish family and Ruby’s dark legacy taint everything they’ve built on their own?

I’ve yet to meet a Rachel Hawkins book I didn’t enjoy (and one I didn’t almost finish in 24 hours). Her stories are always like onions, with many layers you have to peel back. It takes awhile, but the twisted web of the plot is not typically impossible to unravel. Figuring out the truth is always half the fun in her stories. The reader can make the connections, but then the rest of the hidden truths unfold and you’re left bewildered. While this story is very unique, fans of Riley Sager’s “The Only One Left” will enjoy the similar themes.

The Heiress is my second of Rachel Hawkins’s books and definitely my favorite. I loved the historical fiction and epistolary elements woven into the modern love story and family drama. I thought I saw where this was going but definitely did not see all of those twists coming! This was a quick read and a great option for someone who doesn’t like gotcha thrillers but enjoys a slow burn mystery.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader’s copy.

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This. Book. Full disclosure, I was approved for this months ago, and I HIGHLY regret waiting as long as I did to read this. It’s got mystery. It’s got wild family dynamics. It’s got murder. It’s got generational trauma. This book is WILD in the best way. I love the way it is written, with the flashbacks being letters from Ruby. Between that and the multiple POV’s it would be easy to lose the mystery of the book, but I truly didn’t see everything that happened at the end coming. All the stars.

Posted on Instagram, Goodreads, and StoryGraph 1/7

"I had gotten away with murder, and I was glad for it."

This fast paced, gothic suspense thriller, is about an infamous heiress and the complicated inheritance she left behind…insert family drama here. This story is full of lies, deceit, scandals and a whole lot of dysfunctional family drama where money truly is the root of all evil.

It is written from multiple POVs and uses letters and multimedia sources which help tell the backstory and the family’s history. I thought the use of these sources was a unique approach and made the story flow smoothly and made it more interesting. It was a little confusing at first due to the story having so many layers and, because it is multigenerational, there are several characters introduced or mentioned throughout the story. But it picks up real quick once you start to figure out the family tree.

It was a very engaging read and was hard to put down, I read it in one day. It is one of those that keeps you reading to find out what in the world is going on, like driving by a bad car wreck and not being able to look away, it’s a little chaotic and leaves you with missing pieces of information and questions, hence what makes it an addictive read.

I was fortunate enough to have an epub and audio version and appreciated having both. I listened to the entire story but was thankful to have the kindle version to look back on different characters and to see and understand the different forms of media that was being used to tell the backstory.

Rachel Hawkins’ books are always quick, entertaining reads and The Heiress is no different. Full of sly, untrustworthy characters and family feuds over fortunes. I enjoyed the North Carolina setting and the jumping between timelines, perspectives and formats.

If you’re looking for a good vacation, check this one out.

Cam is the only son *cough* adopted *cough* son of the notorious heiress that goes by many names - Baby Ruby, Mrs. Kill-more, and just plain Ruby McTavish. When she dies of old age (or does she?) and leaves her vast fortune to her adopted son, the pure-blood McTavishes are frothing with anger. When Jules, Cam's wife, encourages him to head back to the Ashby House estate we see that it wasn't just Ruby hiding secrets, because everyone's got them and most lead to death.

This story is reminiscent of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" if it took place at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. Hawkins threw me for a loop with the page about changelings before the narrative leading me to think there would be some magical realism popping into the story. Unfortunately that did not happen, but the real story of what happened to missing Baby Ruby was probably just as weird as a fae switching her out. Overall there were no really likeable characters in this entire story, save for Ruby herself who was more just a product of her circumstances. There are so many twists and turns in true Rachel Hawkins suspense form. If you liked "The Villa" (of which there was a nod in this book) and "Reckless Girls" then you'll probably like this one too as it follows the same topsy turvy time turning and POV narrative changes.