My favorite Rachel Hawkins book to date (I’ve read Reckless Girls and The Villa). I really enjoyed the audiobook of the Heiress - narrations were fantastic! The Heiress will be released 1/9/24!

The story begins in North Carolina with Camden, a boy who was adopted by Ruby McTavish, a wealthy woman 4 times a widow. Camden’s childhood was difficult because Ruby’s other family fear that Cam would take away from their inheritance. Eventually Cam flees from North Carolina and the Ashby house all the way to California. Even after Ruby dies and he inherits her entire fortune and estate, he stays away for many years. He eventually marries Jules 10 years after Ruby dies he finally returns to Ashby House to settle things once and for all but the secrets start to come out…..

It’s full of mystery and secrets, this book will keep you wanting more and more. I love the way it was written with stories and letters, past/present povs. Her best writing yet!

This was a wild ride! I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and loved the twisty ending. If you are a sucker for unlikable characters and/or you've enjoyed other books by Rachel Hawkins, this will be another good one to add to your list!

My first read of 2024 was such a good way to start the year!

The first half of this book had me absolutely hooked! It’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but with more thriller components, and it was giving 4+ star vibes from the start.

Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the setting provided the perfect backdrop to Ashby House. It was gothic and atmospheric from the second our characters pulled up to the wrought iron gates, and you just knew there had to be secrets abound hiding behind those stone walls.

I loved how the author uncovered those secrets spanning multiple generations through different points of view. And the format choices to include magazine articles and especially letters worked really well for me! Ruby is a piece of work, and I was eating up all her salacious confessions in her letters. I read this on my Kindle, but I personally think the formatting would be way better in a physical copy for this book!

Despite such an intriguing and compelling lead-up, the last half of the book fizzled out for me. The twists were a little too predictable once I finished, but it was still really good! I’d absolutely recommend picking it up, especially if you like reading about rich people behaving poorly, notoriously infamous old ladies with plenty of secrets to go around and lots of scheming going on behind the scenes.

This was my first from Rachel Hawkins and it certainly won’t be my last! Although, I did read The Ex Hex by her other pen name, Erin Sterling, which I loved!

3.5 Stars (rounded up here!) Will be sharing the review above on pub day!

I think I would’ve liked this book a whole lot better if every single character wasn’t awful. I understand that’s kinda the point, but I couldn’t care less what happened to any of them. What I would’ve been more interested in, is more about Ruby and her life/marriages. Almost like an Evenly Hugo type thing.

Camden McTavish is called by his estranged family back to the infamous Ashby House after a recent death in the family. As they gather, tensions rise and secrets are revealed.

Any time I dive into a new Rachel Hawkins book, I’m always surprised - no two of her books are the same - and THE HEIRESS was no different!

This book alternated POVs between Camden and his wife Jules (and we also got some mysterious letters from the heiress herself, Ruby McTavish), which made for a quick read.

The mystery and setting (a gothic mansion!!) were intriguing and the book was really fun overall.

Definitely a hit when it comes to Hawkins’ work!

Huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: January 9

Wow, what a story, what a family.

Drama, secrets, lies, and so much tragedy. This was an interesting story, told from multiple points of view, that kept me turning pages well past bedtime. The characters are well developed, although many are not all that likable. The plot moved along nicely and there were plenty of twists and turns.

Another great Rachel Hawkins read.

Thanks Netgalley, Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read in exchange for honest opinion.

The Heiress might be my favorite (so far!) of Rachael Hawkins novels! You can always count on a good mystery and some chilling twists and turns, but Rachael really crafted a masterpiece with this one.

The basic preface of the Heiress tells the story of Ruby McTavish a now elderly woman who is heiress to the great McTavish fortune and Estate — Ashby House. Here’s the thing: Is she really Ruby McTavish? From here, there is 3 narratives moving forward. Camden - Ruby’s adopted son,
Jules, Camden’s wife and Rubie’s; in the form of letters. I absolutely loved the multiple POVs and trying to piece things together from each character. While there was a main, driving plot to the storyline, there were several sub plots that I found really enjoyable, too.

Definitely pick this one up if you love a twisty thrillers and mysteries!

***Trigger warning: domestic abuse***

The Heiress follows Ruby who is North Carolina’s richest woman. She was also a victim of a childhood kidnapping. She was also a widow four times. She adopts Cam. When she does her house and money go to Cam but he wants nothing to do with it. But now ten years later he has to go back to the house because of his uncles passing. Cam doesn’t want to go but his wife Jules convinces him. Soon both Cam and Jules learn secrets behind Cam‘s family and realize they might be better off not knowing.

I am a huge fan of Rachel Hawkins. I have rated all her books five stars. But this one just felt so flat and did not seem like it was written by the same person. This book didn’t have much of a thriller vibe to me. It seemed like more of a book to do with family drama. I truly found myself not really caring about what happened in this book. But I am happy that I have loved all of Rachel Hawkins other books. I do not suggest this one but her others I do.

Rachel Hawkins has done it yet again. I love everything she writes. I devoured this book. I’m looking forward to what she has in store for us next.

And Rachel Hawkins does it again! This one hooked me early on and was a real page turner. A fabulous character study. Lots of moving parts to this story and they were carefully woven and executed.
Thank you NetGalley and Rachel Hawkins for the opportunity to read and review this book.

As with every Rachel Hawkins book, I absolutely loved this story. My favorite thing is her jumps between present time, past letters, interviews & articles. It makes for such an intriguing plot and makes it almost impossible to put down.

Oh Wow another book that leaves you guessing until the end. A very wealthy family with so many secrets and back stories that it can become hard to keep them straight. Camden is called home to take care of the estate that his family lives in but that he owns. He lives a quiet life with his wife in Colorado They both travel home to see what needs to be done and the story within the story about Camden’s mother and her background. Griping tale with twists and turns that will give you whiplash. Thank you MacMillan audio and #NetGalley for my ARC.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

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

Oh boy ya’ll … Rachel Hawkins has given us another unputdownable book! Fast paced, twisty, dramatic and super addictive, this clever little read has everything you could want from a thriller! It grabs ya from page one and will not let go until you find out all the things! Masterfully written with the perfect level of mystery and suspense about a greedy and toxic family that you will love to hate! UGH! Absolutely recommend!

Well this one was gripping, gothic, opulent and creepy, the type of slow burn thriller that kept me flipping through the pages as quickly as possible. It’s probably my favorite from Rachel Hawkins yet. It’s an atmospheric generational saga thriller that is character driven by the McTavish family and those who they use around them.

I really enjoyed the multi narrator framing of this one, something I don’t always enjoy in thrillers. Particularly enjoyed the letters from Ruby McTavish, who seemed to be the puppet master for most of the book.

I wouldn’t say this was a heart pounding thriller, as there wasn’t a clear antagonist creating havoc in the novel. It was filled with slow reveals and a tangled web that felt great to unravel. I felt satisfied at the end that the mysteries were all closed out. Overall a great read to ring in the new year.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for the ARC.

I have really been digging Rachel Hawkin's writing lately. I loved The Villa and all it's Helter Skelter vibes. Then came Reckless Girls, the quintessential beach read for thriller readers. And now, The Heiress, where Hawkins artfully weaves stories of dark past with an even more terrifying present-day.

There's a lot of history and complicated family relationships in the home that Cam grew up in, and although Jules and Cam have been together for ten years, she has never before visited the house, or met Cam's family. They've settled into a very average life, but even if Cam is willing to leave his past behind, Jules knows that an inheritance could be a real game changer for them. It makes sense for them to travel to Cam's childhood home to figure out the inheritance after the death of his uncle.

As the family reunion gets underway, there are lots of secrets that are revealed, and everyone has a different idea of who should get the inheritance.

The Heiress is a wonderful, sweeping tale that reveals secrets into the lives of 3 generations of McTavishes. It's a must read. Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-galley of the book in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now!

👑 The Heiress 👑

Plot twist after plot twist in this book! Rachel did an amazing job of keeping pacing, while adding in multiple layers of storyline. While I could guess some plot points, I couldn’t guess them all, and it didn’t detract from the story for me.

Ruby certainly is quite the puppet master, isn’t she? But Cam isn’t so malleable himself. You get to know them and the rest of this intense family throughout the book, and I’m not sure there is an entirely likable character in the whole thing, but somehow that makes it even better.

It kept me engaged, was well thought-out, and twisted in the best ways.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. This was such a wild ride. Loved the engaging writing style, the twists and this book also gave me Evelyn Hugo vibes. I hadn’t predicted any of the twists so I really enjoyed reading this book!

The Heiress delivered a propulsive, fast paced, and twisted thriller featuring a truly devious family. There are lots of twists and surprises here -- almost too many to be believable, but still it was an entertaining story to start the new year. Very satisfying read as always from Rachel Hawkins!

This story revolves around a rich family and the fight over the estate. When we join them, Cam has been living away from them for a long time. He is the sole inheritor after his adopted mother, Ruby passes. The blood descendants of the family feel as if the estate should be theirs and for the most part, Cam just lets them run things. He is forced back following his uncle's death bringing his wife with him for the first time. There he must reckon with the truths of the family and decide whether he will be pulled into the incessant drama or give in to the madness.

I liked the structure of the story with letters from Ruby and newspaper clippings interspersed with the present day story. You know something is not right all along but the author does a good job of making you suspicious of everyone. The ending definitely surprised me and left me shaking my head. I liked that. 

The last few Hawkins books were good and fast paced but a little implausible, this is definitely my favorite of hers so far.

Thanks to St Martins Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.