Camden McTavish returns to his home, Ashby House, with his wife, Jules, to sort out his inheritance. Camden’s adoptive mother, Ruby, is infamous for her kidnapping story when she was younger and the wake of rumors following her around in the years after. Cam long ago left behind his inheritance and wants nothing to do with Ashby House, but when he finds himself back after all these years, he’s forced to come face to face with his mother’s past.

The Heiress is full of twists and turns that kept surprising me with every turn. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, I was surprised by the next twist. I really loved the main characters of Camden and Jules and after hearing her whole story I really liked Ruby too. I am a fan of Rachel Hawkins’ work in general by and I wasn’t surprised that I loved this book, but this one still surprised me. At the beginning, I did find the story a little slow and felt like I didn’t connect with it, but the more I read the more I got pulled in and loved the way everything played out. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves twists, turns and mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I have always been a Rachel Hawkins fan and will continue to be after reading The Heiress. I love a multiple POV book and really enjoyed how the story unfolded with all of the characters. It reminded me of a "Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" with a thriller/mystery element. 4/5 stars! I can't wait for Hawkins' next one!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Brilliantly smart writing!! I did not want this gothic type thriller to end but at the same time could not put this down!!! True markings of a great novel right there!!

I had the kindle version but think this would be great in audio! Told from alternating pov of Camden, heir to Ruby McTavish and his wife Jules, with some thrown in letters from Ruby. Extremely easy to follow. Ashby sounds absolutely chilling and beautiful at the same time. Such excellent writing with numerous reveals/secrets woven throughout!! Really wish the story would continue with a second book!


Honestly can’t recommend this one enough!!! Read it!!! Will be at the top of my best of 2023 reads!!!

Huge Thank you to Netgalley, the author and St Martins press for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #TheHeiress #RachelHawkins

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is the story of a family. The McTavish family has great wealth, but many issues with regard to money, relationships, deaths, family rivalries and a kidnapping. Once the matriarch of the family dies and leaves all the family money to her adopted son, the intrigue starts. A good novel with lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed this novel.

I liked this book! I think it was perfectly paced, and appropriately twisty. I really liked how none of the characters are perfectly innocent; they all have secrets we learn along the way. In particular, I liked how Jules’s chapters are set up like she is speaking to the reader. It matches the same feeling as the letters we see in the novel. I didn’t want to put this book down, so it was a quick read, and I was entertained the whole way through.

I really enjoy the irreverent, sassy tone of Rachel Hawkins's adult fiction. The Heiress is filled with the quirks and bad behavior of the the insanely rich, and I always enjoy these stories. The behavior in this one is very, very bad, and it also adds in an aging, rambling old house, which hits even more points for me. This is an entertaining, speedy read with some interesting twists.

What a fun, quick ride this was! This was my first Hawkins book and I'm so glad it was. I really enjoyed the multiple POV - especially from Cam. It's so rare we get male POV in thrillers written by women. I also enjoyed the breaking of the third wall by Jules. The story sucked me in right away. The writing was witty and engaging, giving just enough so that you wanted more and more but not too much to where you felt like you already knew what was going to happen.

This is a family thriller, themes of rich/poor, privileged and not and of course secrets secrets secrets! I had a hunch about a few things, but there were for sure a few twists that I did not see coming!

Absolutely enjoyed my time with this one and will be picking up more by Hawkins!

I found this book very readable and overall interesting. I was continuously intrigued and had to keep reading in order to find out what happened. I didn't feel particularly tied to any of the main characters but overall enjoyed this. I would recommend if you're in the mood for something chill but still a little dark.

Ten years after his adoptive mother, Ruby McTavish, dies, Cam returns to the palatial estate where he grew up. In so doing, he also returns to a town which reveres his family, but to an aunt and two cousins, still living on the Estate, who revile him. Despite having been left the family fortune, Cam rejected his family and lives humbly with his wife, Julie, off his income as a teacher on the other side of the country. And so the games begin, with Cam's family constantly trying to undermine him, and Cam regretting his decision to return.

"The Heiress," by Rachel Hawkins is a fabulous novel, with engaging characters, competing agendas, and the right number of plot twist, which makes putting the book down, near impossible. A highly recommended read.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

4.5 stars! Pretty sure Rachel Hawkins gets better with every single book. The Heiress was fascinating and you'll kind of love to hate Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, or should we say "Kill-More?"
When Ruby dies she leaves everything to her adopted son, Camden, who wants nothing to do with Ruby or the rest of McTavish clan. But 10 years after her death, Cam can no longer ignore his familial responsibilities and must return to Ashby House, set in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. He does so reluctantly but at the urging of his wife, Jules, who has her own motives for visiting Ashby House.
The twists and turns just keep coming in this one and you'll be surprised until the very last page.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

Gothic mystery with a fair share of plot twists.

Things that worked for me: the novel is presented in multiple POVs including news and letters.
My favorite chapters is Ruby.
She speaks a lot about seizing our moment and day and I love her voice. Her letters and confessions make us keep going. Her character is delightful honest and fun.

My second favorite thing is the focus on the characters and plot. A large amazing palatial house and have the survivors figure out who gets what. There are murders to reveal, and truths to uncover. It is entertaining and this is my first time in contact with the author's work. I like the writing style. Reads considerably fast. I finished it in two mornings.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this e-ARC.

If "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" was a thriller, it would be this book. While the book had some slow areas, my favorite parts were the stories about Ruby's husbands.

Where there's money, there's drama, and this book definitely delivered on that. It makes you think about how money doesn't equate to happiness. This whole family is very shady.

Loved all the twists in this book. Loved how Ruby wrote letters explaining things from the past. This was my favorite Rachel Hawkins book so far!

Buckle up, buttercups, because The Heiress is going to take you on a wild ride as readers learn about the glamorous life of Ruby McTavish, her deceased husbands (count em, 4), meet her son Camden, and learn why he has rejected his inheritance and family for all these years. I loved the use of letters and multiple viewpoints to learn the dark secrets of the McTavish’s past, and the way that Hawkins wrapped everything together was fantastic. The twists and turns of this story kept me engaged, entertained, and enthused.

I absolutely adored this read!

It reminded me in a lot of ways of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but with a mystery twist and I loved that. Ruby’s character is incredibly intriguing with a very interesting personality that makes you love reading her chapters. I was enthralled with reading more of her past.

I loved the multiple POV’s and the chapters that were letters from Ruby’s past.

The only critique that kept this from being 5 stars for me was that the numerous characters that were integral to the plot coupled with how in depth the plot went was almost hard to follow, but I still loved it 🩵

Would absolutely recommend!

w: there is domestic violence and murder

This book was so enjoyable and such a quick read. It was fast paced the entire time and had me guessing until about half way through. I am typically good at guessing the ending of a book and this one wasn’t difficult for me to guess. However, this one had some extra turns I wasn’t expecting. There were moments I second guessed myself but I NEEDED to keep reading to know the ending. Such a good book, definitely picking up more of this authors books! I received this as an ARC in exchange for a review.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
So here's this Southern gothic tale about this North Carolina socialite, Ruby, who made a name for herself (not always in the best way) by getting kidnapped as a kid and later turning into a bit of an unfortunate widow with her four late husbands. She leaves her massive fortune and estate to her adoptive son, Camden. The story kicks off when Camden rolls back home with his wife, and then the crazy wealthy family drama and secrets start unfolding. It's not exactly a rollercoaster of a plot with crazy cliffhangers in every chapter, but it sure kept me going back to it. Def a more slow burn (but not too slow) Family drama thriller with a couple of twists and turns.

I love going in with as little plot details as possible. I love the way it switched multiple POVs and parts of the story were told through letters and newspaper articles. Being a Southerner myself, now living in California, I loved all those Southern vibes and quirky characters.

One of my favorite tropes is stories of rich folks and their not-so-honorable deeds and this was a good mix. I read the book and listened to the audio. The audio was a blast, with different voices for all the characters. Even the accents on the audiobooks were well done. And SHORT CHAPTERS! I can never say it enough how much I love short chapters.

This was my first dive into Rachel Hawkins’ world, and I'm definitely coming back for more.

The Heiress is my first Rachel Hawkins and it will certainly not be my last! This was a twisty and enjoyable mystery thriller and I had a great time reading it. I loved the atmosphere of The Heiress. The setting of Ashby house is very compelling and evocative, and offers strong connections to other gothic tales about looming houses and families.
One of the storytelling conventions of The Heiress uses letters which Ruby, the wealthy socialite at the heart of the story, has left detailing her past. At first, I wondered why the whole book didn’t lean into this epistolary style for its entirety, but I was rewarded by there being a clear reason for this choice as it continued. The shifts in narration support the story in very compelling ways and the way the book weaves them together was very enjoyable.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy of this book.

Another perfect book! It took me a minute to get into the book but once I was I loved the story. I am a native of NC so like I liked this aspect of it. Her books never disappoint.

Rachel Hawkins has always been a hit or a miss for me.. unfortunately this one fell under the miss category for me. It was just alright.

Despite how short this book was, it felt very long and like some things really drug out. The first half was very slow before the twists and turns started to come around 50% into the book. Some twists were good whereas others I thought were a little far fetched. I found most characters unlikeable.. and the characters that I liked at the beginning, I did not like at the end..

This is advertised as a thriller, but I felt like it was focused more on family drama than as a thriller.. Positives is that it was a very quick read!

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this book / audiobook!