I'm a big Rachel Hawkins fan, but I have to say this wasn't my favourite of her books.

It felt like the pacing was a bit too slow, and it took me a while to really get into the story. While I enjoyed the chapters cutting from Camden, Jules, and Ruby's letters--it was an interesting and fun way to splice up the narrative--they sometimes ended too frequently on cliffhangers or alluded to bigger secrets that were obviously meant to keep us turning the pages. Clearly I recognize this as a smart tactic by authors for thrillers, but I found it a bit frustrating here due to the overall pacing and writing style.

I will say I loved Ruby's letters, especially when we begin to learn more about her husbands--that was a wild ride, and I so immensely enjoyed those sections of the novel. However, I really didn't care much for any of the other characters; Nelle, Libby, and Ben especially felt quite one-dimensional and like caricatures of rich, privileged people. Additionally, the final twists in the last 10-15% of the novel left me rolling my eyes; it all felt a bit too convoluted and then too perfectly convenient.

Altogether a disappointing read, but I will look forward to Hawkins' next novel.

This wasn't what I expected, but not in a bad way. I thought it would be a faster paced mystery but it read more like a slow southern family saga/mystery. Which I love those, so like I said, not what I expected but I still enjoyed it! I thought this very atmospheric as far as the location was, in the NC mountains, but I wanted more spookiness from the house. I don't feel like the house lived up to my expectations in this one. Solid mystery, will recommend to my friends/family and can't wait to read her next one!

Ruby "Killmore" has passed away. The heiress to one of North Carolina's largest estates, she became famous for being kidnapped as a child and having four husbands who all passed away. Now her adopted son, who shirked the family fortune, and his wife, who's never known money, are returning to the estate. 
This is my third Rachel Hawkins thriller (I've read all but Reckless Girls) and this is by far my least favorite. It does the same epistolary format and morally grey women as her past thrillers, but it doesn't execute on them very well. Like her previous books, this is split into a "now" timeline and a past timeline in letters. But the "now" is split into Cam and Jules, which makes it so there wasn't enough development of either character or the modern-day plot. Ruby's letters were way too straightforward and didn't hold any surprises. They also take up the majority of the book, which takes a book that's marketed as a thriller and turns it into a dry, short historical fiction. There were hints at a Knives Out like plot with the family, but that was not focused on. Jules is also advertised as the main character but isn't the POV character enough for that to actually be true. The plot twists were very predictable between the set up of the book and the author's previous books. I liked the literary reference that likely inspired Jules, but I saw that coming. I didn't have a problem getting through this book, in fact I read over half of it in a sitting, but this just felt poorly constructed and without any tension or characterization like her others do.

Overall, I'll still be picking up from this author in the future, but this was far and away her weakest. If you want to be thrilled, this one won't scratch that itch.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advance copy.
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This was a fun book to wrap up my 2023 reading. A popcorn thriller full of surprises, Rachel Hawkins fans will love this one. I also loved the little Easter egg from The Villa, which is my favorite from this author. Pick this one up if you are looking for a page turner with multiple POVs and several twists along the way.

I love a good mystery with a touch of family drama, and Rachel Hawkins completely nailed it! Picture this – rich heiress with a twisted past, a haunted mansion, and family secrets that just won't stay buried. I was hooked from the start. The mix of past and present, newspaper clippings, letters, and multiple points of view added this extra layer of suspense that I couldn't get enough of. And let me tell you, the secrets unveiled at the end? Totally unexpected. It's like family, royalty, and a thrilling mystery had a wild party, and this book is the masterpiece that came out of it. If you're into small towns, grand estates, and family backstabbing, “The Heiress” is a must-read.

What's that? I'm rating a Rachel Hawkins book 5 stars after I STILL complain about Reckless Girls? Yes. Yes, i am. I had this as an ARC on kindle AND an ALC. So I went back and forth between both formats because I didn't want to stop.

The narrators on the audio are fantastic. I love when each character has a separate narrator. It makes it so much easier. And the one for Ruby? 🤌🤌🤌 in fact, Ruby was my absolute favorite character in the book. I'm wildly obsessed with her.

I saw most of the twists coming, but not in a bad way. Almost in a "okay good" way. Like, I would have been mad if I didn't guess it right. Lol

Anyways, this was a quick and fun read. I adored it.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was a legend in her own time. She was a legend after her time, too. From a wealthy family, getting kidnapped at the age of three and found months later, the scandal of it all, that was just the beginning. Four times a widow, her notoriety just grew. Most of the time she was installed in Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains and from there she welded her power over the town of Tavistock and the family members left out of her father's will.

Ruby was not well liked.

When she died ten years ago, she left everything to her adopted son Camden. But Camden wants nothing to do with Ruby's money or Ashby House. He's paid for its upkeep and for his adopted family (who hates him) to live there. Camden is more than happy to live on his
salary in Colorado where he teaches school and enjoys a small rented home with his wife Jules.

But Jules wants more. As much as she loves Camden, she also wants him to embrace his wealth and Ashby House. Now events have conspired to bring Camden back to Ashby House, the people that hate him, and the memories he wanted to never remember again.

Throughout the book we get to read letters written by Ruby. She doesn't even pretend to be a good person or to have good intentions. Her family still living in Ashby House don't pretend to have good intentions either. Camden is the person I liked the most and Jules really does seem to care about him but...does greed trump love?

I figured out so much of what was going on before it was revealed but I still enjoyed the story. So much scheming, such devious people. Maybe being wealthy and living in a mansion isn't all it's cut out to be.

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

Wow, this book is so entertaining! I really enjoyed it, chuck full of twists and turns I didn't see coming right up to the very end. Secrets, lies, money and murder, what more could you want? Start off your 2024 with this rollercoaster of a book, pub date Jan 9th.

“You can put miles and mountains between you and home, but eventually, home will call you back.”

Ashby House. I just love when buildings or houses are characters in and of themselves in the stories I read. And Ashby house, huge and overpowering yet also hidden within the trees, is probably one of my favorites.

I have read many books by Rachel Hawkins but this one is her strongest (in my opinion) and my favorite to date! The McTavish family is wealthy and prominent within their community, but also oh so twisted.

This book was everything I love in a mystery/thriller with the twists being shocking but also believable. This mystery unwrapped like a present. It is told from multiple POV and in a way that had me always wanting more. It was utterly engrossing and the best of page turners!

The audiobook was AWESOME!! The narration of Ruby McTavish is *chefs kiss*. I just devoured it. I could listen to it again honestly.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The Heiress immediately pulled me in from the synopsis. A child is kidnapped from a wealthy family, she is later found and reunited with them and goes on to live a life made of dreams…or nightmares. The story is told from three point of views: Ruby (posthumously through letters written before her death), Camden, and Jules.

Ruby Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore nee McTavish has left behind a complicated legacy. Four husbands died within a short span of their marriage under inauspicious circumstances. Her kidnapping and subsequent return continues to be a debate amongst her remaining family. With no heirs of her own, Ruby adopts Camden as a child and upon her death leaves her entire family’s wealth to him; cutting out her remaining family members.

Camden wants none of it. The jealousy, anger, familial discontent has weighed heavily upon him since he was a child. He feels manipulated by Ruby during her life and now after her death. His one bright spot is his wife Jules and when he is called up to return to Ashby House to settle some monetary concerns, he goes for her.

Jules is a bit two dimensional in the beginning. There seems like there may be more going on with her character and yet we’re not let in on this fully until the end. She is happily married to Camden, but she definitely wants more. The wealth and allure of Ashby House is just what she feels she needs…and deserves.

I very much enjoyed the weaving of Ruby’s personal life throughout the story. How her four husbands found their ends as well as her discoveries into her own background were key. Camden was a bit of a dud, in the end I felt there was a little revelation into his character that shined him up a bit. Jules revealed her hand a bit to early, but I did love that ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 25% through I was hooked, and at 75% thought to myself 'oh em gee', by 90% I knew this is going to be a major hit in 2024! The story unfolds unlike any other in recent memory and I loved every minute of it. Ruby's collection of husbands gives off Evelyn Hugo vibes but their mysterious deaths and her family drama color the story much darker. I couldn't put it down!

I enjoyed this - I was a little confused at first because this book reads much more like a historical fiction than a thriller, but I got used to it and decided to enjoy the ride. The story felt super similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (which is a book I loved) with a little more family drama and a lot more secrets in present-day. It was pretty predictable in where the ending went, but I did enjoy the letters from Ruby and finding out all about her life and I think this book did bring something new to the table from Rachel Hawkins. I'm sure I'll continue picking up her books in the future!

I've been a fan of Rachel Hawkins since "The Wife Upstairs", so I was excited to receive this ARC through NetGalley. As a native of North Carolina, the setting drew me in right away. The Blue Ridge Mountains, both imposing and breathtakingly beautiful, set the scene for the story of Ruby McTavish, told through newspaper and magazine clippings, first person narrative, and letters written by Ruby herself.

Ruby McTavish, the eldest daughter of a lumber baron, is practically royalty in her hometown of Tavistock, North Carolina. The family manor, Ashby House, draws comparisons to the Biltmore Estate for its size and beauty. Ruby's life is recounted through her letters, from her kidnapping and eventual safe return as a toddler, to the four dead husbands that earn her the nickname "Mrs. Kill-more".

Ten years after Ruby's death, her adopted son Cam is drawn back to Ashby house to face the life he fled from years ago and the secrets that remain buried there. He is accompanied by his wife Jules, who we soon suspect is hiding secrets of her own.

I was hooked from the moment I started this book. The characters are intriguing, the pace is quick, and the ending delivered several twists- some that I suspected and some that genuinely surprised me. I highly recommend this book to fans of Rachel Hawkins-I think this book is her best yet!

Rachel Hawkins returns following The Villa with her best yet—THE HEIRESS! Another gripping, atmospheric, twisted Gothic suspense thriller full of dark family secrets of a complex, mysterious heiress and the inheritance she left behind.

1943 Tavistock, North Carolina. On September 12th, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, a three-year-old daughter (Ruby) of Mr. Mason McTavish and his wife Anna seemingly vanished into thin air while on a picnic. Mr. McTavish is among the wealthiest men in the state of NC.

Ruby disappeared for almost a year. A PI was hired by Mason and found the child alive and well, living in Spanish Fort, Alabama, with a family by the name of Darnell eight months after she first disappeared. She was called Dora there and reunited with her family. Jimmy Darnell was killed while attempting to escape the jail before his trial.

When heiress, philanthropist, and one-time kidnap victim Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies at age 73, she is NC's wealthiest and most notorious woman. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family's stunning estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains.

Ruby also had a string of bad luck and mishaps with her husband's death. The last husband gave her a nickname in NC, Mrs. Kill-more. She reverted to her maiden name, Ruby McTavish, afterward.

After her death, the estate and the nine-figure fortune were to be passed to her adopted son, Camden. Cam wants little to do with the house or the money. He rejects his inheritance and leads an everyday life as an English teacher in Colorado. He marries Jules, a woman who also escapes her past.

Ten years later, Camden is summoned upon his uncle's death and returns to the Ashby House with his wife, Jules. His cousin, Ben, his childhood tormentor and bully, contacts him after his father's death to deal with the family's problems.

The more Jules learns about Cam's estranged, twisted family, the more she is to claim everything that was intended for him.

Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place?

In addition to the POV, there are other estranged family members: the Nanny, Ben, the cousin, an estate lawyer, his sister Libby, and great aunt Nelle, Ruby's sister. Behind closed doors, this family has SO MANY DARK SECRETS!

Who are these people? The people they were born to be or the people they became? Fate? Destiny? Are we made up of different types of people?

Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what's written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

THE HEIRESS unfolds in alternating (past/preset) POVs of Jules, Camden, and Ruby (letters from the desk of Ruby A. McTavish). Who was she writing to?

These POVs teach us about childhoods, scandals, secrets, and marriages. All three are hiding secrets from one another. Nothing was simple with Ruby. From past to present, the complex past unfolds, and Ruby's mysterious childhood and letters kept me frantically turning the pages, anxious to see how all would turn out.

If you enjoy unlikeable dark characters, lies, secrets of the past, deception, murder mysteries, dysfunctional family drama, past and present timelines, twists, gothic vibes, manipulation, ambiguous morals, and stories of the wealthy, THE HEIRESS is for you! THE RICH GONE BAD —Money truly is the root of all evil!

Dark, sinister, wicked, riveting! THE HEIRESS is my favorite of Rachel Hawkins —For fans of authors Megan Miranda, Carol Goodman, Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena, and Riley Sager.

Many thanks and gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this stellar thriller in exchange for my honest thoughts. #SMPInfluencers

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 9, 2023
Jan 2024 Must-Read Books
Jan Newsletter

“The Heiress” by Rachel Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🤓🤓🤓🤓

Loved this one! I’ve read a few of Hawkins’ books and this is my favorite, by far!! It gave Evelyn Hugo vibes, but dark. While I did guess the twists, I thought they were well executed and it didn’t diminish my interest at all, I couldn’t put this down! I also LOVED the subtle nod to “The Villa”, I get so excited when authors include characters from their other books. This comes out 1/9/24 and I can’t recommend it enough!! Thanks to @netgalley for my advanced copy. These thoughts are my

Expect the unexpected. Told from 3 different view points, this story will keep you guessing until the end! Very entertaining and also has short chapters which I enjoy. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this copy..

This the fourth book I’ve read by Hawkins and I would say it might be my favorite of hers to date! The Heiress is a slow burn, but will have you flipping through the pages of this dysfunctional wealthy family. I loved the characters in this one, even though it’s leaves you questioning the honesty of all of them. Very solid 4+ stars

Thank you, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the gifted eARC!

A slow burn twisted tale centered around an inheritance. Jules and Cam return to Ashby house a giant mansion in the mountains to figure it all out. There are many twists and turns and it is hard to trust any of the characters. I really liked how the book was set up with duel POV’s from Jules and Cam but supplemented with letters from the past written by Cams mother Ruby. It also included headlines and news articles from the past. All of these combined allow you to gain more information as you read.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Publication date: January 9,
2024

The Heiress is a mystery/suspense story brilliantly written! I’ve read a few Rachel Hawkins books before and enjoyed them but this one is my favourite so far.

The book is written in a sort of past/present style. The story itself takes place in the present but there are news articles and letters from one of the main characters after death that really set up the present storyline.

Ruby McTavish is one of the richest women in North Carolina but she comes with a history. As a young child she was kidnapped and then returned to her family almost a year later. As an adult, she was heiress to one of the largest fortunes in history but that’s not exactly what made her so famous.

Ruby had 4 husbands and each of them died while in her presence yet she was never charged with murder. Ruby also never had children so she adopted a son to leave her fortune to which didn’t sit well with her sister and her family.

When Ruby died, her son Camden received everything, including the famous Ashby House where McTavish’s have lived for hundreds of years. He leaves it all behind to start a new life in California, hiring a lawyer to manage and maintain the fortune, the home and the remaining family.

Cam is called home after his uncle passes away and he reluctantly brings his wife Jules to the place he thought he would never return.

As we read Ruby’s letters details each of her husband’s deaths, we’re also caught up in the present turmoil of Cam’s battle with the the rest of the McTavish family who believe he’s not the rightful heir.

This book was really well done! An excellent mix of historical mystery that set the story for the present day. This is a solid 4 star read for me!

#NetGalley #rachelhawkins #theheiress

4.0 ⭐️

This the fourth book I’ve read by Hawkins and I would say it might be my favorite of hers to date! The Heiress is a slow burn, but will have you flipping through the pages of this dysfunctional family. I loved the characters in this one, even though I was questioning the honesty of each and every one of them.

This book follows three characters: Camden McTavish, his wife Jules and his deceased mother Ruby.

Ruby was a mega rich socialite who is just plain unlucky when it comes to marriage…she was widowed four times after all. Upon her death, her entire fortune was bestowed upon her adoptive son, Camden. After growing up in the Ashby House, he truly wanted nothing to do with the house or the money, but the house called him home.

Upon arriving to the house, Jules instantly falls in love with it and has decided she will do whatever it takes to ensure the house and the fortune is theirs.

This was extremely entertaining and I loved the flashbacks that were told via letters. Overall, a great read and highly recommend!