Eleanor and Rupert are the parents of five unique sons when Rupert passes away. This and subsequent events put strain on each of the sons and their mother in very different ways. The story exposes the reader to the current actions of each family member along with trips to the past to highlight how they all grew to be the persons they are today. The interactions between the characters feels very natural, for the most part, but the social standing of the family felt like it imposed some conservatism in behaviors. Ms. Rieger does an excellent job of redefining what a family is and submerging the reader into the world she has created for her ex-Brit Rupert and his family.

Rupert Falkes has died at age 65. His widow, Eleanor and he had 5 sons. Eleanor was from a wealthy family and had attended all the proper schools with the proper upbringing. But she rebelled against all this by marrying Rupert, a poor Englishman. Many wealthy young women of this time period married for status and money instead of love. But Eleanor and Rupert loved one another.

Rupert had been left an orphan and adopted by a clergyman who gave him his name. When he emigrated to the U.S. as a young man, he managed to attend all the good schools and became a very wealthy man.

As their five grown sons accept their father’s death, the story follows each of them, how they grew up, and their relationships with one another today. The parents had a good rapport with their sons.

When a letter arrives from a woman saying she had two sons by Rupert and wants them to share in the inheritance, the family members treat this surprising information differently. Thus, we delve into the past of Rupert and Eleanor.

While the story is interesting, at times it seemed like “too much information” or “information overload.” If you are looking to read a novel about a large, complicated family, then this is the book for you.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The patriarch of the Falkes family dies in 2000, leaving behind his wife and five sons, Henry, Will, Sam, Jack, and Tom. A few months after Rupert Falkes dies, a woman sues his estate, claiming to have had a relationship with him and to be the mother of two of his sons. The Falkes sons fight with her in court, but their mother is suspiciously not surprised with this turn of events and even suggests that they should pay off the woman. The story follows these new events in their lives, as well as jumping back to things that happened to the Falkes boys' parents and grandparents.

The beginning was very good, and I was excited to read the story. However, the storyline jumped to different times between paragraphs so I was always confused as to when things were happening. It would jump from the lives of the youngest generation, to the affairs of their parents, to an affair of a distant friend.

I found this story very confusing. Each chapter is named after a different character, and somewhat follows that character's perspective of events. At the beginning of each chapter I was very disoriented and I had to figure out who was in this part of the story and when it was happening. It really slowed the story down.

I was very disappointed in this book. It had an intriguing premise, but it was poorly executed.

This review will be posted on my blog on May 23, 2017.

Rupert Falkes passes away from cancer, leaving his wife and five sons to cope. This novel explores how his heirs come to terms with his passing and the secrets he left behind for them to discover. The character development was enjoyable – Rieger focuses on a few of the heirs and describes their trials and tribulations. By the end, I felt I knew these characters very well.

The writing style became a drawback for me at times. Each chapter’s title is the name of one of the characters in the novel. However, there are times in that chapter that other characters’ back story is introduced. I became confused at times when a flashback began/ended and when the modern part of the story began/ended. It seemed slightly disjointed and distracting to me, and I could not always connect these pieces together with the main theme from the chapter.

Overall, I found I wanted to keep reading, to see how the characters coped, especially with the unveiling of a pretty big secret of Rupert’s during the course of the narrative.

The Heirs tells the story of a wealthy Manhattan family in the wake of the death of their patriarch. The Falkes are a tightly enmeshed family of 5 over-achieving sons, their society mom and their American Dream of a dad. For all intents and purposes they appear to have it all, but appearances are rarely what they seem.

For every positive attribute they have (loyalty, hard work, love for one another) they have an equally negative one (selfish, rude, unfaithful). At times it's difficult to tell if they're the heroes of the villains in their own story and I think that's precisely the point. The Falkes are imperfect. They're broken. They're messed up and they make you cringe, but they're still family. And at the end of the day it's the brutally honest look at what it means to be a family that will stick with you after reading The Heirs.

If you like Edith Wharton books, then you'll like "The Heirs."

For all of the contemporary novels I've read about affluent New Yorkers (quite a lot!), this is the first to truly reflect their mindset and lifestyle. A standout, for being right on the money.

The vivid characters, engaging plot, and cultured tone make it A GREAT LITERARY READ..

Very special thanks to NetGalley and Crown for the advanced reading copy.

Thanks Crown Publishing and netgalley for this ARC.

The Heirs will have you in stitches, scratching your head with confusion, and full of admiration for Rieger for pulling this novel off.

What is an heir? And what are the consequences to being an heir? This well written book explores a multi-generational family and the sometimes morally ambiguous responsibilities that go along with love. I enjoyed this tremendously, both for the story and the many faceted characters.

I really enjoyed the unique pace and flow of the story. The author walked us through the history of one family after the death of the patriarch with a combination of flashbacks and current time. I found it compelling and fast paced.

An interesting and entertaining story about the family of Rupert Falkes. He and his wife, Eleanor, together with their five sons are very interesting characters. The book is humorous at times and very insightful. I found myself really absorbed into their lives.

I just knew that the "heirs" that came about after Rupert's death stating that they were related were not actually telling the truth. There was no way that Rupert would ever cheat on Eleanor. This mystery made for some very interesting reading.

A book that I am glad that I requested and was approved by Crown Publishing. Thank you to them and also Net Galley who provided me with the free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

The lifestyles of the rich and dysfunctional where everyone is well educated and smart and live far above everyone else in their own stratosphere yet can't handle the events of everyday life. Despite it's eruditeness (I found myself using the Kindle dictionary for the meanings of many words) and unlikable characters, I loved it.

Perfect for readers who loved Sweeney's The Nest, Wolitzer's The Interestings, and Straub's Modern Lovers.

this was a great family saga, the likes of which I haven't read in years. I read it in one day it was so good. Much better than some of the recent novels about angst ridden families, this family was more controlled with less angst. I will def be recommending this one.

This is a poignant and witty story about wealth, family and secrets. The characters are well-drawn and believable, although this is a world alien to most of us.

Loved, loved, loved this book. The characters are not particularly likable, but they sure made for good reading.

I loooooved this book. It reminded me of The Nest. This book was smart and clever and a great story. I'm going to now look for the other book from this author.

I often feel blah about these kinds of books. I can tell they are well-written, because they are interesting. But the characters and narrative often seem flat as cardboard to me. I finished it, and I'll remember I read it. But I doubt anything will really stick with me about the story.

This is a book about family and the aftermath when the patriarch passes. We learn about all members of the family, which has a different dynamic to it. We learn about another set of sons and a female that the father may or may not have had interactions with. This family comes to life after the death. This book touches on the life of all involved and gives you insight to each and their interactions with others in the lives at various times. This book is extremely good. Well written, character developement is incredible and due to this, you will be pulled into this book and not released until the final page. Very good read and highly recommendable. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a captivating novel!! After reading the synopsis, I couldn't wait to dive in and I am so pleased to say The Heirs was a great as I had hoped!! I was hooked from the beginning as I felt like a fly on the wall observing the Falkes family through the good, the bad and the ugly. I loved Susan Rieger's writing style and felt she did a wonderful job with her character development. As the novel unfolds we get many of the character's points of view which worked perfectly with the storyline. Speaking of the storyline, Ms. Rieger does an amazing job weaving a very tangled web with this complex family! The Heirs is a 4.5 star novel that I highly recommend! Having never read anything from Susan Rieger before, I will most definitely be 1-clicking whatever she comes out with next!

'The Heirs' opens with the death of Rupert Faulkes and the hidden secrets of his life smearing what his family had falsely considered a tranquil home. Each of the chapters follows either a member of or a person connected to the Faulkes’ family, beginning with his wife—Eleanor. Although the chapters are dedicated to individual characters, the novel retained an omniscient, third-person narration throughout.

While I went into this fairly blindly (given that it’s not yet out in print), I had higher expectations then this novel met. I expected turmoil and grief but what followed was a somewhat predictable soap opera about an upper-class family who thought there were as perfect as families can be. Even after only having read the first chapter—Eleanor’s perspective—the structure and history of the family was rather unimaginative. Each of the five sons is sculpted to fit the mold—the artist, the lawyer, the scientist, etc. When the end of the chapter came, and when we are told the dark secret of Rupert’s life, I, unfortunately, guessed what events would follow fairly easily.

I didn’t connect to any of the characters as much as I was hoping to even when a specific chapter was dedicated to understanding one individual amongst the group. I would even argue that when a chapter is meant to give the titled character a space to establish their identity, we are still told their story through a tarnished lens. The multitude of characters we get do add to the complexity of the family secrets but once again, some of the events unfolded remained predictable as the Faulkes dominated the stage.

It seems my major concern with this novel lies in that I repeatedly grasped for reality within it and, finding none, felt frustrated.

I did, however, like Eleanor’s character quite a bit. She started off a very simplistic figure but developed into something larger and more mystifying then even her family had suspected. I was mostly enthralled by her marriage to Rupert but admired her courage and loyalty to her loved ones as well. She seemed to manifest an aura of feminism that was unexpected given her outwardly indifference to the world. In the end, I’m not quite sure I fully understood Eleanor Faulkes but I kind of liked that about this novel.

As a whole, 'The Heirs' is entertaining and engaging in its dramatics. This isn’t usually my cup of tea but I completed it in one sitting so that counts for something I think. If you need a comfortable read for the evening, with enough drama to keep you turning pages, pick up this book and get reading.

I really enjoyed this book! There's nothing quite like a family drama, especially one of chock-full or family secrets! This book was compulsively readable with its surprise POVs and distinctive characters! Looking forward to more from the author!