If I had to describe this in one line it would be: Evelyn Hugo but with more murder. I really enjoyed this one. It’s dark and twisty and all the things I love in a thriller. I don’t always love domestic thrillers but this is a good one. The characters are all hiding things (the best kind of story) and the cards aren’t all on the table til the very end.

Yet another gem from Rachel Hawkins. She never fails to disappoint with her intriguing and distinctive characters along with a great storytelling ability. Ruby MacTavish is such an intriguing character and the mystery surrounding her is so superbly executed. I highly recommend this book for fans of classic domestic thriller/suspense.

Well written but just wasn’t for me. Too much drama and I was left just feeling bored. The twist didn’t give me the wow factor I hoped for.

This is my first book by Rachel Hawkins but I will immediately be reading her backlist.

The Heiress was an incredibly atmospheric, twisty domestic thriller. It felt like it ran in the vein of Evelyn Hugo but with a darker side. The characters were all unlikeable and manipulative but Hawkins made it so easy to root for the ones you needed to root for. I never knew who to trust.

With a mix of POVs, letters and newspaper clippings, this story was told so well. I couldn’t put it down once I picked it up. I would definitely recommend this book to any and everyone

I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins as an author, so I was afraid that my personal expectations would make this fall flat—it’s happened a time or two before—but it delivered.

Despite the fact that the Heiress, Ruby McTavish, has been deceased for over a decade at the beginning of the narrative, she comes alive on the page through the letters and newspaper accounts of her life. The story begins as her adopted son, Cameron, and his wife, Jules, are called back to the family estate, Ashby House. With shades of Manderly, Ashby house and its inhabitants are filled with secrets and lies just waiting to be discovered.

I really liked that the reader doesn’t have all of the details of the story until the very last page and you are left wondering if there are still things that have been left out. While I didn’t feel like Cam and Jules are the most exciting characters, the story was like an avalanche that picks up speed as it goes and it carried the action all the way to the end.

While I wouldn’t really consider this a thriller, think of it like The Nest or Pineapple Street but more gothic and full of revenge.

Ooh this was a good thriller. It had me on the edge of my seat and I absolutely couldn't put it down. I loved that we got an insider perspective on the family from Cam, even though he's adopted and didn't have the happiest time growing up in that house, and an external perspective from Jules, who has married into the family and doesn't know them.

There were so many questions in the story. What really happened to Ruby as a baby - and did the right baby come home? Why did she adopt Cam? How did she die? And what happened to all of Ruby's husbands? What secrets is Jules keeping?

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by Rachel Hawkins, with the audio perfectly narrated by Dan Bittner; Eliza Foss; John Pirhalla; Patti Murin - 5 stars!

Toddler Ruby McTavish was lost as a child and returned back from another family. Her life has continued to be quite an adventure ever since. She writes letters telling about those adventures and all her husbands before she dies at an elderly age. Her adopted son, Cam, and his wife, Jules, leave their home in CO to go back to NC after being summoned by a cousin. Cam is the rightful heir to Ashby House, a decision that has made the rest of the family upset. Cam never wanted anything to do with his greedy family, but Jules convinced him to go back.

Told from the viewpoints of Cam, Jules and Ruby (through her letters), this is such a wild and twisty ride. Hawkins takes so many different events and time periods and seamlessly weaves them together into such a tale of family, greed, jealousy, power. You will love to hate these characters! And just when I thought the last twist was over, the ending blew me away. Highly recommended!

I have loved Rachel Hawkins past work, The Wife Upstairs is still one of my favorites. But this book was so hard for me to get into, all the main characters bothered me. I finally DNFed at 70% because I couldn’t read it any more.

Reading Between the Wines book review #144/115(met goal in Sept!) for 2023:
Rating: 3 ½ 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: The Heiress
Author: Rachel Hawkins
RELEASES on January 9, 2024!!!

Sipping thoughts: I love Rachel Hawkins and have been able to read a new release from her in December every year. I did not realize it until I looked back but I read The Woman Upstairs in Dec 2020 (4⭐), Reckless Girls in Dec 2021 (4⭐), The Villa in Dec 2022 (3⭐), and now The Heiress in Dec 2023. I enjoyed this book and almost gave it 4 stars but something stopped me but it doesn’t take away the fact that I enjoyed it. I did figure out the twist after reading the first few chapters. So, I enjoyed pushing through to see how it would come out.

Cheers and thank you to @StMartinsPress and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheHeiress.

#TheHeiress #RachelHawkins #StMartinPress #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

The Heiress was a bit of a slow start for me, but once I got maybe 25% into it, I couldn’t put it down! Ruby is an outstanding character, and I was absolutely sucked in by her letters and story. Ashby House takes center stage in this gothic tale of a young man who doesn’t want the hefty inheritance left to him by Ruby, his mother. Nor do his other surviving family members want him to have it either. Little does Cam realize, Jules, his wife, wants the money and house. What follows is Ruby’s story told in the form of personal letters to who we think might be Cam….but is it?

Of all of the Rachel Hawkins books I’ve read so far, this one might be one of my favorites. It was a little slower to take off than some others, but readers will be rewarded for sticking with the story!

Great book. I would definitely recommend. Enjoyed the storyline and characters. The story did not fall flat. 4 stars

Thank you to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm going to be honest here I got to 20%, and I wanted to DNF this one multiple times. The reason I didn't was because of Ruby's letters. The beginning dragged and was quite boring to me. It was hard to keep up with. The "chapters inside the chapters" were hard to decipher sometimes. But then I got to the middle of the book, and I couldn't put it down.

I felt for Cam. His dysfunctional family was just that, dysfunctional. All they cared about was their image and their money. They would do whatever they could to get their hands on Ruby's money.

There were a few twists, but one, I saw coming. There were hints here and there about it. The others made my mouth drop open.

This is worth the read and I am glad I stuck with it.

First, a big thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin's press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This story has 3 POV's: Ruby (told through a series of letters), Cam, and Jules. Ruby is easily the most captivating character with the most scandalous stories. Ruby has 4 dead husbands and reveals what happened through the letters (a la The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo style).

Cam and Jules are husband and wife who come back to Cam's family estate after Ruby's death. Cam very much does not want to come back but did so on Jules's encouragement. I don't like Jules - I didn't like her character, I didn't like her motivations, I didn't like her at all. Especially after a reveal towards the end of the book, it kind of made me doubt some aspects of their relationship on her part. However, it takes real skill to create a character that inspires this much emotion in readers (for good or bad).

There are lots of family secrets that get revealed along the way and I didn't start putting things together until about 30-40% of the way in, which is a good turning point in my opinion.

This family is wild - there is also a lot more drama than I was expecting but it is a story about a family so it doesn't take away from the story but adds to it. I prefer my books to have at least one likeable character that
I can root for and Cam probably takes that title but only because the other characters are all so unlikeable.

A captivating and engrossing read of wealth, greed, family, secrets, and murder - I recommend giving it a go if those are up your alley!

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is a twisty, gothic tale filled with lots of family drama, deception, greed, lies, and murder told in multiple points of view that kept me quickly turning the pages.

We get to read about the past and present from Cam (Ruby’s adopted son who she left all her fortune to), and from Jules, Cam’s wife. We also get to learn about the fabulously snarky Ruby, from letters and some newspaper articles. I thought the newspaper clippings were a great way to get to know more family history without it being a character doing an information dump.

If you’re looking for a book to keep you up late into the night, with some fun turns you may not see coming, then I highly recommend The Heiress!

Ruby is perhaps the nation’s most infamous heiress, having been kidnapped as a child and then found, as well as having been married to four husbands who all died in different ways. Her adopted son Camden wants nothing to do with the family after she dies, starting a new life with a wife and a teaching job. But Camden and his wife, Jules, find themselves pulled back in to the McTavish empire, with consequences far beyond what they could have imagined.

This book was so good, as is everything Hawkins writes. The mysteries around Ruby’s life are so intriguing, and so well laid out. And the twists! One actually had me gasping out loud. I would definitely recommend this book, and all of Hawkins’ works.

This is my favorite book by this author!

I loved how intricate the story was with multiple timelines and narrators. A lot of the characters are unlikable but still relatable which is a nice balance. There were so many twists and secrets packed into this story that I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an easy mystery book full of drama.

When a wealthy matriarch, Ruby McTavish, breathes her last, it sets the stage for a family dynamic that brings out the darkest facets of each member. The inheritance, bestowed upon Ruby's adopted son Camden, triggers a reluctant return to the toxic embrace of the McTavish clan. Having distanced himself from the family's vileness, Camden, accompanied by his wife Jules, is thrust into a whirlwind of secrets, betrayals, and lies that have festered over the years. The narrative unfolds through a series of revealing letters from Ruby, exposing explosive truths and the indomitable will of a woman who wouldn't be deterred, even by her four late husbands.

Narrated from the perspectives of Cam and Jules, the story takes a riveting turn as Jules's sharp-witted and snarky commentary adds an entertaining layer to the unraveling drama within the McTavish household. The complexity of characters is masterfully portrayed, with everyone concealing more than meets the eye. The narrative's wild twists and turns, coupled with the family's sordid history, create a captivating tapestry that kept me engrossed from start to finish. For enthusiasts of the genre, this novel promises a thrilling and enjoyable read, delving into the intricate web of familial intrigue and the hidden recesses of each character's past.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

I have read a few other books that this author has written and this, in my opinion, might be her best yet! Hooked from the beginning this book is a page turner with some twists. Highly recommend.

This book follows Cam and Juliet a married couple that must return to Cams family home to sort out a financial mess his family has gotten into. Cams family is rich and the mansion is his to own as well as the money. But will his family give up without a fight ? He is adopted and they don't believe is a rightful heir.

Cams mother has been writing letters to tell of her evil deeds. But why is she telling cam all this? There are so many secrets. But Ruth is spilling them all. Which one will be the most shocking? You will not be able to put this down.

This is Rachel's Hawkins best novel to date. You need to read this book. This book is the exact amount of crazy I've been looking for. There is nothing I love more than a story with an absolute nutter or two. This was an Absolute delight and I couldn't read it fast enough.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and st martins press for this arc.

"The Heiress" is more than just a gripping thriller; it's a roller coaster ride through the mind of a woman shaped by tragedy and money. Ruby McTavish's life is laced with secrets and shadows. The book delves deep into the motivations of a lady who is both compelling and perplexing.

The characters have their own desires, regrets, and goals. From the mysterious Ruby, who is plagued by the ghost of her childhood trauma, to her adopted son Camden, struggling to reconcile his past with his present, each character is a puzzle piece that slowly reveals the distorted picture of the McTavish legacy. And when Hawkins throws in a twist that makes you question everything you thought you knew, the suspense keeps you glued to the pages until the shocking climax.
“The Heiress" is a story that will stay with you. I urge you, don't just read "The Heiress," get lost in it. You won't regret it.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy.