4.5 Rounding up!
Wow! I couldn't put this one down. Very bingeable with ominous vibes and lots of family drama. (and of course murder!)
Ruby McTavish (aka Lady Kill-more) has had plenty of husbands all who left her widowed time and time again. She has died and left her estate to her adopted son, Cam. He wants no part of the estate or money, but his wife, Jules convinces him to travel back home to work things out with the rest of the family. We get 3 POVs: Ruby, Cam, and Jules. They all have secrets that will unfold at the infamous Ashby Estate!
Ruby's POV was my favorite as she writes in letter form about her past. Be ready for twists galore!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for an ARC of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins! I have read all of her books, and I am consistently amazed at her ability to seamlessly weave in twists and turns into something thrilling and cohesive. The Heiress is no exception.

Part of why I enjoyed this book so much is the setting. One of my big true crime interests is the Murdaugh murders which took place in the Carolinas. America got a close look at rich families in the south. It was a pleasure to read a fictional story about suspense, money, and botched family relationships in The Heiress, and personally, I was amazed at how Rachel Hawkins nailed the settings and character development. These characters had the same southern charm and perfected manipulation tactics that I’d expect being from that area.

As usual, the writing style was suspenseful and artistic.

4/5 stars only because I found myself having to re-read a couple of chapters to keep the story straight.

The Heiress, by Rachel Hawkins, is a complex, twisty thriller with many surprises and layers. It’s a family drama at it’s core with lies, secrets and stories slowly unfolding.

The McTavish family has a sordid history and they are admittedly not the most likable people. The story centers around the infamous Ruby McTavish, who is legendarily known as baby Ruby, the three year old who was kidnapped and then later returned to her family. She’s also notorious for the death of all four of her husbands. When she passes away and leaves everything in her enormous estate to her adopted son, Cam, instead of her deplorable cousins who feel they have a right to everything, Cam is resistant to stake his claim. He has horrible memories for his time at Ashby House in North Carolina and wants nothing to do with the inheritance…but his new wife does.

This story really begins once the couple returns to Ashby to settle the legal affairs. The story offers a dual point of view showcasing the modern timeframe from Cam and his wife, Jule’s perspective, and Ruby’s past history through letters. The Heiress is intriguing, dark, shocking and compulsive. If you enjoy thrillers, this well-written, and cleverly plotted novel is one you won’t want to miss!

So, I’ve been a huge @ladyhawkins fan since starting the Hex Hall series in 2010 and I’ve never met a book of hers I didn’t absolutely LOVE!!!

This book is (no surprise here) PERFECT! Dare I say, my all time favorite one of her last 4 newest releases! The vibe is the thriller version of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo told through the letters of a deceased Heiress with a sordid past including, but not limited to, being abducted as a young child!

5.0⭐️

⭐️THIS BOOK HITS SHELVES JANUARY 9TH⭐️

Special thanks to @stmartinspress for the review copy!

#theheiress #rachelhawkins #stmartinspress

When Ruby McTavish dies, she leaves her fortune and her ancestral home to her son Camden. But of course, there are other family members who aren't happy about that. Namely Ruby's sister and her family. As Cam and his wife Jules arrive at Ashby House, the other family members are determined to prove that Cam has no claim to the house.

This one kept me turning pages. Short chapters and an engaging story. The "twist" isnt' hard to see coming really, but there are a lot of side stories that keep it fun and interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available January 9, 2024.

Thank you Net Galley for letting me read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review! This was such a good book! I loved how every aspect of the story was intertwined with one another. I think I'm used to seeing characters as strictly good or bad, but this book had a some gray characters in the middle which I found very interesting. I really liked the premise of the heiress and the big fancy family house. I would recommend this one!

I have enjoyed all Rachel Hawkins books, and this one was no exception. Cam is the adopted son of a notorious black widow heiress. She leaves all her estate to Camden upon her death, setting him at odds with the rest of her family. Cam doesn't want anything to do with the family or the inheritance, but when his uncle dies in an accident, he and his wife gets sucked back in to the family drama, and through twists and turns we learn much more about all the characters.
One thing that I love about Rachel Hawkins books are that even though they are always full of secrets and revelations, her characters are always at the forefront of the story, and their development are what drives the story ahead.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this excellent ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. The different points of views held my interest and I always appreciate a storyline about a rich and dysfunctional family! Highly recommend!

Smart and engrossing; Rachel Hawkins does it again! Told through three points of view- Ruby’s letters, Camden’s and Jules’- the reader slowly learns about Ruby’s life and her four husbands and how Camden and Jules’ lives and lies weave together with Ruby’s. Family dysfunction, a fancy estate, great pacing and twists make this a quick, easy read. Releases January 9th. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc of this book.

Pull up a chair, because Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore is ready to spill the tea.

Told in a mixed media format featuring multiple points-of-view, letters, and snippets of newspaper articles, The Heiress introduces readers to the dysfunctional McTavish family of North Carolina, whose sprawling mansion sits high in the Appalachian Mountains. When the McTavish matriarch, Ruby, dies, she leaves her entire family fortune to her adopted son, Cam. But Cam wants nothing to do with his nine-figure inheritance -- until he and his wife, Jules, are summoned back to Ashby House a decade after Ruby's death.

The first thing you should know about The Heiress is that it isn't a thriller. Don't get me wrong, there are some great twists, but they're pretty easy to spot if you're paying attention. What The Heiress is, instead, is a juicy family drama -- a deliciously devious soap opera in book form, full of twisted secrets and lies and duplicity. Rachel Hawkins clearly knows how fun it is to read about morally gray characters doing underhanded things to each other, because that's exactly what she's blessed her readers with in her latest novel.

The Heiress hooked me immediately and didn't let go until the last page. It's expertly-plotted and offers a juicy voyeuristic glimpse into the rotten core of a wealthy family, with all its explosive secrets and toxic lies. It's unapologetically dramatic and provocative, and the characters are well-crafted and fascinating.

In my experience, Rachel Hawkins' books have just gotten better and better, and I think The Heiress is her best novel yet. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

I have read and enjoyed Rachel Hawkins' other 3 books and loved all of them. Not a huge fan of this one.

It's told from 3 different POV'S. There's Camden, who is the adopted son of Ruby; Camden's wife, Jules; and letters written from Ruby. Ruby has always been known as Baby Ruby. She went missing when she was 3 and found a couple months later. She's also known around town as Ruby Kill-more, due to the fact she has had the misfortune of being married 4 times and outliving all her husbands. Camden is called back to NC. Jules is excited. But, secrets will finally come out.

The Heiress didn't really keep my interest. There seemed to be a few plot holes. It was a mixture of different books I have read in the past. Seems like maybe Hawkins read the same books I did, then took a little bit of the ideas from the books and threw it together. I know that may seem harsh. I am disappointed with this book. I guess her books have always captivated me, that I just assumed this one would too. Of course, I am not a writer, just a reader that loves a good book. Will I read her again? Of course! This one just didn't do it for me. 2.5⭐ rounded up to 3⭐

Tentative Publishcation Date: January 9, 2024

Thanks to Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. All thoughts and opinions my own.

🙂 Happy Reading 🙂

#netgalley
#stmartinspress
#theheiress
#rachelhawkins

There is always that one eccentric relative we all have. This one was a doozy. Ruby McTavish disappeared at 3 years in the mountains of her family home and was found months later and reunited with her family. This eccentric lady lived a life full of secrets and scandal which are revealed through a series of letters. Her son and his wife go back to the family home where secrets are revealed. This book has me quickly turning pages unable to put it down.

I'm a huge fan of Rachel Hawkins, but this one wasn't my favorite, it was good, but not as good as her others. I loved the story of Ruby and how the story of her past was woven in through the current timeline.
I feel like the hints of the ending should have been more subtle. You knew something was coming and it was a little too easy to piece together the ending.
I still loved it, just not quite as much as Hawkins' other titles.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WOW, I loved this book. What a messed up family, when they say money doesn't buy you happiness it should also say it doesn't give you common sense or a heart either.

This book starts out with a newspaper article from 1943 about a upper class little girl being kidnapped from a family picnic and then jumps to present day....but don;t worry it will all come together throughout this amazing story created by the Queen herself, Rachel Hawkins!!!!

Camden and Jules are living a quite happy life in Colorado far away from the Ashby Estate that he grew up at when he gets notice that his mother, Ruby McAllister has died and the family wants him to come home. He is the sole heir of Ruby's estate and has immediately become very wealthy....one problem Camden wants nothing to do with the money or the family.

I loved how this story was told in part by Ruby's POV through letters she has written explaining every aspect of her life and all her marriages. It felt like Ruby was still alive telling the story. I was intrigued by the family dynamics and just kept wanting to read on. Then the plot twists started to show up and not just one or two. By the end of the book just when everything was revealed and shared, you think you are all done but NOOOO here comes the biggest twist of the story. So well done and Rachel Hawkins does not disappoint on this one!!!....Enjoy!!!

The Heiress is full of gothic mystery elements, pulpy, soapy family drama, and more than one murder. But it's not campy, or at least not to me. I thought it was delightful, and I was fully engaged in all three of the different POV's. Some of the mystery elements were not hard to figure out, and some the character gleefully told the reader. I still wasn't sure how it would come together or end, and therefore I enjoyed this book throughout. Likely now my favorite adult read from Rachel Hawkins.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Hawkins - I am a HUGE fan!
Jules and Cam return to his childhood home and the family he walked away from. As an adopted member of the massively wealthy family, Cam started his own life.
Jules has a hidden agenda - in love with the house, the lore of the family.
And of course Ruby.
Loved the narrative!

If my first read of 2024 is any indication of the kind of reading year I’m going to have, then it’s going to be an AMAZING one!! It look me less than a day and a half to fly through 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, but this book is so much more than just an addictive read - it’s clever, twisted, immersive, and even charming at times. Ruby McTavish is a FORCE that I won’t soon forget!!

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was the wealthiest, and most notorious, woman in North Carolina. She first made headlines as a toddler when she was kidnapped on the grounds of her stately home, the Ashby House. Later in life she became known as Mrs. Kill-more, after being widowed 4 times under mysterious circumstances. Upon Ruby’s death, her entire fortune and the Ashby House went to her only adopted son, Camden, who wants nothing to do with it. He leaves NC to start a new life free from Ruby’s money and his scheming, jealous family members. But with the encouragement of his wife, Jules, he returns home to Ashby House to settle things once and for all.

I love historic homes like The Biltmore, and always think if walls could talk, what stories they could tell! Well the Ashby House would tell a seriously twisted tale of secrets, scandals, family drama, and murder!

The story unfolds through multiple POVs, letters, and newspaper articles. As Ruby reveals what happens throughout her life from childhood through each of her marriages, we learn more about the secrets she’s been hiding beneath her polished facade. The characters are ruthless and vulgar, but they are also compelling and dare I say likable! I absolutely loved how everything comes together in the end!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 is a fun, juicy read full of secrets and betrayals that will have you flipping the pages as fast as you can! If you enjoy thrillers with dysfunctional families, enigmatic characters, and old homes of the wealthy, you won’t want to miss this one!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC for review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5 (rounding up!)

• gothic suspense/family drama
• wild characters
• fast-paced

I really, really enjoyed this one and found myself flying through it! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love when a house in a story feels like a character. It really helped set the great atmosphere. I loved how we got multiple POV and timelines from letters, emails, and newspaper & magazine articles. This is the author's best work yet IMO. Such fun twists!

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the multiple POVs.

Also, can we talk about how stunning this cover is? Amazing!

Rachel Hawkins does it again in her newest book “The Heiress”. This book keeps you guessing to the end. This book is action packed and makes you want to keep reading it.
Camden is called back to his family home, but is unsure if he wants to go. His wife Jules encourages him to go and face his past. When they make the journey back, the past comes to haunt everyone involved. Well the past hurt them, or will they find their forever home.
Highly recommend for everyone.