This book is all about secrets, lies, and how far a family will go to keep their wealth and notoriety. The multi POV & dual timeline kept me on the edge of my seat and I loved how the letters and news articles were incorporated to support the storyline of the characters. I was completely enthralled by the life of Ruby, and the experience Camden and Jules have when returning to Ashby House.

Although I wasn’t surprised by most of the twists, I couldn’t imagine the story going any different and 100% recommend.

A huge thank you to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own!

Rachel Hawkins newest book is a gothic thriller that delivers twists and turns. Many years ago Cam left home to escape his family who are as dangerous as the secrets they keep. He never planned to return, but when his uncle dies, his wife urges him to go home. The estate and wealth all belong to Cam after his adoptive mother Ruby died years before, but Cam hasn't wanted to strings attached to that inheritance. His family does not welcome his return and he is met with animosity. In his time there, deep kept secrets are revealed and not everyone will escape the home alive.

While somewhat of a slow burn, the story will keep you turning the pages as the plot is told through Ruby, Cam and Jules' perspectives. Everyone has secrets and they aren't always what you expect. I didn't really like any of the characters. They all are sullied by greed and self interest that can often be expected of dysfunctional families with this kind of wealth, but that makes a great murder story!

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Idk how to feel right now

What a huge mind f#ck this book was & I loved every minute of it . Perfect example of Mo Money Mo insane Problems 😂
& The grass isn't also greener .

I feel going into this book you have some knowledge what it's about from the title page & dedicated but oh man there's so much more!!!
I know at the end of this book we're suppose to be like damn that ain't right .... But idk I see both well all sides & idk what is right here . Either way you look at it , this situation is MESSED up !!!
Incredible story that keeps u wanting more & more !! I devoured this book . Brilliant !

Thank you #NetGalley for an incredible first Arc of the year ❤️

3.5 stars. This book was a quick read. It was a fast paced suspense and filled with family drama & secrets with a very interesting premise.

This story follows the McTavish family, specifically Ruby McTavish (the richest & most notorious woman in NC- a kidnapping victim & widow 4 times over), her adopted son Camden (who just wants to leave the family behind) and his wife, Jules. Ruby McTavish gave Evelyn Hugo vibes- but if Evelyn Hugo had a darker past & was rumored to have killed all of her ex husbands. Everyone in this family is awful (more money, more problems I guess) and they all have their own secrets that are slowly revealed through the multiple POVs.

That said, none of the twists in this story were very shocking and I tend to prefer a thriller that keeps me on the edge of my seat guessing!

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

BOOK REVIEW: THE HEIRESS

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Drink rec: Dom Pérignon🍾

THIS BOOK!!! I was absolutely hooked straight from the beginning! It was like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (which y’all know is my fav book) but wayyyy darker!

Ruby McTavish is North Carolina’s richest and most notorious woman. Back in the 1940s, she was kidnapped at age 4 and then miraculously found and returned to her family a year later. Ruby ruled the small NC town where she lived, and when she passed away she left her family fortune and the esteemed Ashby House to her son Cameron, who didn’t want anything to do with the money or the McTavish family. 10 years later, Cam and his wife Jules are drawn back to Ashby House due to the passing of his uncle.

I loved how the story was told with 3 POVs: Camden, Jules, and a series of letters written by Ruby. Multiple POVs allowed the reader to really get in the mind of each of these characters. The atmospheric setting, pacing, and layers of the story will have you staying up all night to read more! I could not put this one down!

If you’re looking for a slow burn featuring lots of shady characters with ulterior motives, twists and turns, family drama, and murder, this one is for you! Out 1/9/24!

This book kept me engaged from the very beginning. I loved the variety in storytelling formats (different character POVs, letters, and newspaper clippings) to tell the story. I kept finding myself trying to figure out what the twist was going to be, and it had my guess changing every few chapters. The more you found out, the more interesting and interconnected everything came to be.

The characters were well developed and had their own little quirks. Ruby and her reasoning for doing the things she did had me laughing at times and gasping at others. I loved the mystery of learning the truth little by little as the letters got revealed.

I have read other books by Rachel Hawkins before, so I knew that there would be mystery and intrigue, but I was not expecting it to be as much fun as it was! This is probably my favorite one of hers yet! A book that is going to keep you guessing until the end. 4.5/5

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

In solidarity with Readers for Accountability, I will be withholding my review here and on social media until an agreement is reached.

THE HEIRESS is the latest suspense novel by Rachel Hawkins and it is my favorite of hers yet. At only three-years-old, Ruby McTavish, a little girl from a very wealthy family, disappears in the woods near her North Carolina home. Eight months later, she is located with a couple in another state and returned home. Ruby grows up in Ashby House, her family’s mountain estate. Decades later, after four husbands who have all died mysteriously, Ruby herself dies, leaving her estate and most of her vast fortune to her adopted son, Camden. But Camden wants nothing to do with the inheritance or the other living McTavishes. He is living a modest life in Colorado with his wife, Jules, who has also escaped a troubling past. Ten years later, when his uncle dies, Cam is summoned back to Ashby House. Jules convinces a reluctant Cam to go back and soon they are embroiled in a family drama full of secrets, lies and betrayals. The story is told from the viewpoints of Cam, Jules and Ruby. The tension rises as all is slowly revealed. The story is full of twists and turns right up to the shocking ending. I enjoyed this cleverly-plotted and fast-paced book and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review and early copy.

Reading this book was like reading a gothic novel by VC Andrews because they share a lot of the same components. Deep sick secrets, a depraved warped family, and a house with a personality all of its own.
The only person I liked for most of the book was Camden. All the others were miserable lots. I figured out the interconnecting puzzle pieces fairly early on.
Ruby was a sinister witch who deserved what she got and the rest of the family were just despicable.
Although most of the characters were unlikable, it’s an engrossing story of power, greed, wealth, and murder.

I don't read many thrillers, but when I do I want one with twists and turns where you can't easily guess the mystery. The Heiress did not disappoint and I loved the gothic theming. The setting was believable and felt like you were immersed in the mountains of North Carolina. What I enjoyed most was the mixed media of newspaper clippings, letters, and different points of view that slowly weave all the mysteries together. Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Rachel Hawkins never let's me down. The Heiress is no exception. Talk about a eating the rich book. GIIIIIIRL. The Saltburn crowd going to be eating good. I loved it. 10 out of 10. Thanks for the galley!

Thank you net gallery and Macmillan for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: camaden left his family years ago but now is called back to the family mansion in the blue ridge mountains. This family has years and years of family drama to unpack.

What I liked: Rachel Hawkins writes thrillers that are clever and smart. This one was a slow burn where you learn about the family history and drama while dealing with the current crises. The characters are all flawed and very questionable but you do get sucked into their drama. She presents such interesting characters and really writes about the wealthy in a way that makes you root against them. Ruby was the matriarch and she had a very sorted past. It was interesting to see her arc throughout the book. Jules was the newest addition to the family as Camaden’s wife. However she is not as innocent as she seems. Camaden starts out as the outsider and you feel sorry for him but then you learn more. That’s what I like about her writing style is that each of the characters have great arcs that you get to experience. The ending did surprise me especially with a slow burn book but was worth the wait.

This book was so interesting and fun. I loved the different perspectives, the hidden surprises around every corner, from the beginning until the end. Some of the book was written in letter form, the chapters were short and engaging. I loved the way the book was written. I really enjoyed the different characters - they were dynamic and they were all hard to trust. It was dramatic and engaging from the first page - the story telling switched between the past and present and it was done seamlessly and enjoyably. I was able to predict the ending, but it did not stop me from loving this book and continuing to read. I wanted to know how it would play out in the end. I really enjoyed the ever changing dynamics of the book!

Thank you Netgalley from my advanced reader copy.

My review as posted on Goodreads and Instagram:

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this book. This was another great twisty novel by Rachel Hawkins! Camden and his wife Jules return to his childhood estate after he has spent many years trying to put his past behind him. He grew up as the adoptive son of the infamous “Baby Ruby,” the richest woman in the county who had been abducted as a toddler from the woods around their property. As he returns to his childhood home, he is confronted by his money and power hungry cousins who have nursed a grudge for many years. What follows is a twisty story told through the viewpoints of Jules and Camden, as well as letters from Ruby, articles, and newsletters. It definitely kept me guessing all the way to the epilogue! I’d highly recommend this book if you enjoy psychological thrillers with lots of family secrets and bad guys you will totally root for

I have started each new year since 2022 with a Rachel Hawkins. And I have loved everyone that I have read.

Camden decides he finally should go back home when his cousin emails yet again about repairs that are needed to the family home. Camden hasn't wanted to come home since his adopted mothers passing..

While. I did love the book I felt like it took me forever to get into. I did figure out what happened with the husbands fairly quickly. It gave me the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes but twisty.

Thank you MacMillan for the advance copy

Well executed mystery. Rich people behaving badly, but not formulaic. The characters were complex, and the twists well-done. Loved the letter component.

Rachel Hawkin's The Heiress is an entertaining mystery full of suspense and all of the usual twists and turns one would expect. Told in the POV of three separate characters: Camden, an orphan plucked from obscurity to become the sole heir to the McTavish fortune, his wife Jules, and of course the infamous Ruby McTavish herself whose claim to fame was that she was kidnapped and subsequently returned as a toddler...oh, and all four of her husbands died under mysterious circumstances.

I particularly liked the character of Jules and thought her snarky attitude and witty comebacks was rather refreshing for a somewhat typical mystery novel While Camden was a bit cookie cutter and on the boring side, his adoped mother Ruby was a bit of a hoot in her POVs. Her calculating nature made the reader unsure of what cards she had up her sleeve at any given moment. Also at play also is the old family estate trope and discovering what secrets each family member is holding on to. The writing is sharp and kept the pages turning and the total plot line was believable enough that I was completely satisfied with the ending.

Recommended for fans of clean, suspenseful mysteries with sharp turns and hidden secrets. This was an entertaining read and I will gladly pick up another one of her novels.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rachel Hawkins for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is my fourth Rachel Hawkins' thriller and it did not disappoint! She writes such compulsively readable popcorn thrillers, perfect for getting out of a reading slump. The Heiress is a multi-perspective mystery about a wealthy, isolated North Carolina family with a complicated history. Ruby is the departed matriarch who oversaw a vast family property. Her adopted son, Cam, and his wife, Jules, return to the property ten years after her death to settle estate issues. The story focuses on Cam and Jules in the present day with letters written near the end of her life interspersed. I was so enthralled by Ruby's letters about her complicated life and many husbands. I listened to the audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Dan Bittner, Eliza Foss, John Pirhalla, and Patti Murin. A fun, twisty thriller!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook and audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

"The Heiress" by Rachel Hawkins presents a captivating exploration of family secrets, inherited legacies, and the enigmatic figure of Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. The novel offers a blend of mystery, family drama, and a touch of Southern Gothic ambiance, creating a narrative that unfolds against the backdrop of the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains.

The strengths of the novel lie in its atmospheric setting and the author's ability to weave a compelling mystery. The descriptions of Ashby House, perched in the mountains, are vivid, immersing the reader in its grandeur and mysterious allure. The dual timelines, shifting between Ruby's past and the present-day experiences of Cam and Jules, add depth to the narrative, gradually revealing the layers of the McTavish family history.

The characters, particularly Cam and Jules, are well-crafted, each grappling with their own past and trying to make sense of the tangled web of family secrets. The complexities of their relationships, both with each other and with the other McTavishes, contribute to the emotional resonance of the story.

The central mystery surrounding Ruby McTavish is intriguing, with questions about her past, her marriages, and her motivations creating a sense of suspense. The author effectively builds tension, keeping the reader engaged in unraveling the enigma of Ruby.

"The Heiress" is a solid entry in the genre of Southern family sagas and mysteries, with Rachel Hawkins demonstrating her skill in crafting an atmospheric tale with intriguing characters. Fans of family dramas with a mystery at their core will likely enjoy the exploration of the McTavish family's hidden past and the secrets that linger within the walls of Ashby House.

I loved the writing style of this one, I felt the narrators were just telling me their story and I was fully immersed. For me, the wow factor is certainly there, lots going on and I certainly couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Expect the unexpected while reading this book, I think it’s going to keep you on your toes!
**Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review. **