Wow! I'm not usually a thriller person, but every now and then I get sucked into one. And this one didn't disappoint one bit.

Like watching a car accident, I couldn't look away. In the best way possible.

Like having all the puzzle pieces but the box with the picture is missing, and you're trying to make sense of all the pieces. I was drawn in by the engaging writing, and I couldn't put it down until the whole thing made sense.

I was certain I was going to dread the ending, but I was pleasantly surprised by how sympathy I was toward the characters. While some were unquestionably terrible, others had more complexity and despite the glaring flaws, I was hesitant to judge them too harshly.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this complimentary copy in advance.

I have read several titles by Rachel Hawkins, and they all had a dark, twisty vibe to then. The Heiress began differently, and it made me wonder if Hawkins was looking to start writing in a different direction. But oh, was I wrong! Midway through, the dark, twisty vibes presented themselves, although a bit differently, but they were there. I had to get through the book to find out how it was all going to tie together...

You will not be disappointed with Hawkins' latest thrilling mystery. This is a family saga full of lies, deceit, murder, and love in a convoluted way only they know how to display it. Presented in real time through two different characters, readers are regaled with juicy details through a series of letters from the title character. Only, you are not sure to whom she is writing to...

The language can be a bit coarse, just as a warning. That was the only negative I can say about this novel!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Consistently reliable for a good read, Hawkins builds suspense with memorable characters. Characters flawed and easy to dislike. A ridiculously wealthy family estate in the mountains of North Carolina houses many secrets. I enjoyed the letters and articles in between chapters and reading about the wealthy young heiress and her adopted son. a page turner for sure!

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

A large inheritance, an estranged family, a mansion, and some questionable deaths.

This was a fun ride with a lot of mysterious characters. I enjoyed Jules and Cams POVs along with the letters throughout the book, it definitely added to the story and made things entertaining to read!

The twist at the end wasn’t very surprising but I still really enjoyed the story itself, and was 100% happy with the way all of the characters ended up at the end!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. This story is about the rich and their entitlement to not be accountable for anything. Money can save you! There were quite a few twists and plenty of tension in this novel. The story is told through 3 different points of view. Parts of the book did tend to drag on a little but all in all it was quite good. I gave it a 4 star rating and I would recommend this book to others.

4.5 stars. I flew through this book. Some twists were predictable, but some were a surprise. This was a fun one!

Read if you like:
-Fast paced mystery
-Rich people behaving badly
-Atmospheric setting
-Multiple POV
-Tidy ending

I enjoyed The Villa by Rachel Hawkins, so I was excited to receive an ARC for this book. Big thanks to St. Martin's Press and the author for letting me review this book early.
I thought this story was fine. The story was intriguing, but I felt myself losing interest during several portions of the story. It felt a bit predictable at times and wasn't as thrilling as I hoped it would be. It felt more like a story about rich people being bad and treating those without money like trash. It also felt more like a mystery than a thriller. There was one bit of the story that did grab me back in, but the reveals felt lackluster. I just wanted more in the end.

I absolutely tore through this mystery and had a hard time putting it down! It felt very fitting to make The Heiress one of my first reads of 2024, when The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was the first I read in 2023 — I can’t pit two queens against each other, but there were some parallels.

I’d rate this book 4.5 stars!

I really enjoyed the way the truth was unveiled through Ruby’s letters, interwoven between the perspectives from Jules and Camden. While I was able to anticipate some of the twists, I was still surprised by a couple! I love a mystery that gets my wheels spinning, thinking about it even after I’ve had to put it down.

This was the first book I’ve read by Rachel Hawkins, and I look forward to reading more of her work!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC to read & review.

Rachel Hawkin's newest book The Heiress is a compulsively bingeable, good-for-her thriller. The individual components and tropes are not super unique to many popular thrillers out there right now (the rich behaving badly, an estate with a creepy past, unhinged women etc.), but they are put to together so well and you'll find yourself rooting for questionable characters. There are several twists interwoven right through to the end, and while I could see some of them early on, there were still some surprises and it was just a super fun time. Content wise, I would consider this a lighter/cozy thriller, nothing too scary! Pick this up if you've enjoyed books like The Family Game, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and The Guest List.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for the advance copy

What a great read....

This book was like reading a diary from someone in the past while people in the current give their own updates with their monologue.

Books like this keep me intrigued and keep reading. I started and finished this book in just a few days.

Did I see that end coming? Heck no!

Such a great great great read!!! Def one to beat in 2024!

The Heiress is a multi-generational twisted tale of a wealthy family in the North Carolina mountains. Tragedy seems to follow Ruby McTavish from the time of her disappearance from the woods surrounding her home at 3 years old until her death many years later. The tale is told through letters from Ruby, newspaper clippings and TV interviews, and from the perspectives of Cam, Ruby's adopted son who inherited everything, and his wife Jules. When Cam and Jules have to travel from their home in California to NC at the behest of his cousin to facilitate the repair of several things in the house things from the past and newer issues in the family begin to come to a head. You think you know what is going to happen, but once again Hawkins has woven a twisty tale where it seems that everyone has something to hide. You won't want to put it down until the end.

The Heiress was about murder, family rivalries and a gorgeous but creepy mansion. This book was not one I loved by this author like I did others but it was still a great book to enjoy. The author does a great job with the twist and turns in this book and has intriguing characters. I would still recommend this to other readers especially if you like a good mystery thriller. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review.

¡really love Rachel Hawkins' writing and this book might just be my fav from her!!
this book gave me total Seven Husbands of Evelyn
Hugo vibes but make it thriller!!!
a twisty psychological thriller full with rich people problems, family drama, and of course some mysterious happenings around the estate
didn't want to put this one down & loved how it was told in both present tense & past tense through letters.
if you're looking for a fast paced book with so many interconnecting mysteries, this one is for you! go pick it up Jan 9 when it releases everywhere!

I have loved Hawkins thrillers and this is no exception. I do have to say that the alternating POVs were a bit hard to follow since the voices were similar, but I loved how Hawkins incorporated journals and articles. I also really enjoyed how the book was paced and uncovering the family's secrets. I'll be recommending this one!

This story sucked me into its world from page 1!

Ruby McTavish, the sole heiress to her father's estate, was the victim of a notorious kidnapping as a child and has since grown into a widow 4 times over. In her 40's, she adopts a child and raises him to be the sole heir of her fortune, basically thumbing her nose at the rest of the family. Her plan doesn't work out as she desired when her adopted son, Cam wants nothing to do with his inheritance. Cam's wife, Jules has other plans in regard to the money and they return to Ashby house 10 years after the death of Ruby to finally address the inheritance.

The McTavish family were intriguing. Born into a lives of prestige, no one ever had to face the consequences of their actions, leading to recklessness, cruelty, and even murder.
"I had gotten away with murder, and I was glad for it"

I really enjoyed this novel. It was full of unlikeable characters but the twists and turns kept me guessing and I found myself rooting for some of the people involved.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Hawkins is one of my favorite authors and her books will forever keep me coming back. Dare i say this is one of my favorites? Her twist and turns and emotional roller coasters truly make for the best kind of thrillers. I love the back and forth between characters throughout the chapters giving you many different point of views. I may be bias, but this book was my favorite and a great way to start 2024.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6133276473

Many thanks to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t hate this, but I also didn’t love it.

Honestly, there’s not much to the plot, but at the same time, this book felt all over the place.

The twists were not shocking because of the obvious foreshadowing to what was coming. The characters are extremely unlikable, but most rich characters are so that’s to be expected.

It’s not my new favorite but it was a step up from The Villa. The Heiress was intriguing enough to finish in 24 hours but nothing new or spectacular. If you’re a fan of Hawkins’ books, I do think you should give it a chance.

The Heiress is told from multiple POVs, including letters from deceased Ruby McTavish, her son Camden, and Camden’s wife Jules. Wanting nothing to do with the super wealthy McTavish family or the money he inherited, Camden has stayed away from his relatives. Now that his uncle has passed away, and at the urging of his wife, he decides to return to the house that holds more mysteries than anyone realizes.

There is a ton of family drama to unpack and so many secrets that kept me guessing who, if anyone, could be trusted. I also loved the ending; it made me want more!

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

This was SO MUCH FUN!

I actually went into this one not even reading the synopsis which was kind of great since I didn't really know what to expect. I read The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins and really enjoyed that but this one definitely is my favorite so far - although I do need to get to her other books at some point!

I have seen this one compared to a mix of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (which I loved) with the revealing letters about the many husbands of the matriarch in this story and Verity (which I have very mixed feelings about) and I definitely agree with that comparison.

I love a rich people behaving badly story so this did not disappoint! Basically everyone in the story was an unreliable character which really upped the "who should I trust factor. Even those that ended up being "good" did bad things but I was still rooting for them to come out of this unscathed. There were definitely twists and turns in this one - I saw them coming unfortunately from a mile away, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this one! It's like I figured it out before some of the characters did but I was still anticipating THEIR reactions once they uncovered those twists as well.

Just a super entertaining, quick, page turning read!

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

I loved this book! There were so many twists and turns that kept me guessing; I didn’t want to put my Kindle down.

Hawkins’ choice to divulge important details in Ruby’s letters is genius. It adds a unique dimension to the plot development, and the fact that we don’t know who they were written to makes them all the more mysterious.

Both Camden and Jules are very complex (and I would argue, morally grey) characters, and we see just how much one is willing to do to live life on their own terms. Their actions resemble those of Ruby’s and leaves me wondering, nature or nurture?