When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. 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 estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

I have read several of this author's books and enjoyed them all, but this was by far my favorite! This fast paced thriller had it all for me. Lots of rich people behaving badly, some very unreliable narrators, so many secrets and lies. I loved watching it all play out and was definitely thrown for a loop a few times. This story delves deep into just how much wealth and privilege can really bring out the worst in people, some of them stopping at nothing to get what they want or keep what they have. Ruby was a very complex character, at times you really like her and feel bad for her, other times you think she's a complete lunatic. The rest of the family was really something else too. You never quite knew who to believe or trust. The author brings it all together in the end as well. Highly recommend you pre-order this one. Publication date Jan, 9, 2024.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Messy Mash-Up of Unoriginal Plot Lines

The three other Rachel Hawkins novels that I read were gripping and captivating. This was not.

The Heiress is told in three varying perspectives: 1) husband Camden, 2) wife Jules, 3) a collection of letters by Camden’s adopted mother, Ruby.

This seemed to be a mash-up for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. What is the basis for this conclusion?

So glad you asked.

Ruby has four dead husbands in her wake. Like in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Ruby reveals what happened to each one.

In Home Before Dark, the main character, Maggie, returns to this creepy haunted house and reads excepts from her father’s book. In the case of The Heiress, this technique didn’t work because there were too many narrative voices. Personally, I would have cut Jules’s section.

In addition, The Heiress has some plot holes. I still want to know more about Cecilia, the housekeeper, and what happened to all of the missing hikers. And what was the purpose of Libby and Cam’s confrontation about the gate? At the very end, the author tried to pull off a little twist, but it didn’t really pack a punch. The ending needed to be much stronger—in a month, I will completely forget what happened.

A decent read but not Hawkins’s best work.

*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.

How much I spent:
Electronic text – Free through NetGalley

This book had me guessing the whole time! Just when I thought I had something figured out, there would be new clues or information that would totally change my mind. I really enjoyed how well the author developed the characters and more specifically the family dynamic. It felt very real. Definitely recommend to any Rachel Hawkins fans!

Camden is the adopted son of Ruby McTavish, one of the wealthiest women in North Carolina. She was also quite well known as the victim of a kidnapping when she was a child and as a widow 4 times over, with husbands dying under mysterious circumstances. Upon her death, Camden inherited the family home and fortune. For his own reasons, he estranged himself from Ruby years ago, as well as his inheritance and lives a modest existence as a teacher, married to Jules and living in Colorado.

When Camden receives a letter from a family member urging him to return to the family estate, Ashby House, which he owns and to put financial concerns in order, Jules encourages him to make the trip with her. She has researched the home and, unbeknownst to Camden, dreams of living there adjacent to the Blue Ridge mountains. Upon their reaching Ashby House, it is soon apparent why Camden wanted to sever ties with his toxic family.

The story unfolds via two POVs, Camden’s and Jules’, as well as news clippings and a series of letters from Ruby to an undisclosed recipient that recount her life story. Like every family and every good thriller, there are lots of secrets here. This Southern Gothic novel has it all…you name it, it is here. Fast paced, I read it in one sitting as I did not want to put it down.

I had some trouble getting into this but once I did I enjoyed it. Good twists. The characters weren’t very likeable. Something about it just missed for me. Might have been my mood because I like the premise of the book and have liked all of the authors previous books that I have read.

The first thing that drew me in was the stunning cover! It gave me old money and Hollywood vibes. LOVE! I then saw the author and read the summary, and just knew it was going to be a great book! I love the way Rachel Hawkins writes. PERIOD. She is able to draw you in immediately and keeps things moving at a steady pace, so you don’t lose attention in all of the details. The book does bounce around from different points of view, and also time periods, but again, it is done in a way that is clear, and the chapters/letters are short enough that it doesn’t get confusing. I found the letters to be such an interesting twist and the frankness of the entries was absolute perfection. I loved the bluntness of FMC - who definitely doesn’t mince words when it comes to her wrong doings….it really kept me wondering how it was all going to play out in the end.

There are characters that will make your eyes roll, characters that you will love, and some that you will love to hate. The author really painted a lovely image of the estate, where much of the present day takes place, which really set the tone for the whole book.

I absolutely recommend this book to those wanting a fast paced, mystery with a sprinkle of old money and glamor. I would like to thank Rachel Hawkins, the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. Well done!

Thank you to #NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Heiress, to be published 9 January 2024. This 4/5 Star murder mystery was about a family, their relationships and power. All of them had secrets; some bigger and nastier than others. The Heiress’s role was through her point of view, described in letters and news articles. Ruby was a quintessential woman whose life revolved around the power of her wealth, both in her community and in her family. The twists and turns in this novel were remarkable, but nothing could match the finale. Great read. #NetGalley #StMartin’sPress #RachelHawkins #TheHeiress

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars, publishes January 9 2024

- dysfunctional rich family who comes together over matriarchs death and fights about money 🤑 and finds out about multiple family secrets in the process.
- kind of reminded me of a thriller version of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo!

Overall a worthwhile thriller! So far I’ve read The Wife Upstairs (5 stars) & own Reckless but haven’t read it yet!

Thanks @netgalley @stmartinspress for the earc!

Somehow, when I picked this book I missed the word GOTHIC in the very first line of the description. Gothic is usually not one of the genres that I read.

In the beginning, I found it a little confusing due to the way it was written. A couple of narrative voices, a few newspaper stories, a serialized letter from the deceased “heiress”. I found it disjointed but I kept on and quickly found this writing style gave me the past and the present simultaneously. And, of course, the past explains the present, little by little, but, not quite. My mind has the chance to go down several dark tunnels of possibilities.

Right from the start, there is a dark undercurrent. I couldn't wait to find out what was going on.

The family in this book could be on the poster for toxic and dysfunctional family relationships. The various generations and branches of this family are all together in a huge country estate in the woods. This home exudes a very negative vibe. There is a LOT of family conflict and a lot of jealousy and a ton of money involved.

The twists and turns start around the halfway mark. Subtle at first and then they become more intense. And, they don't stop until the very end. This is one of the most convoluted books I have ever read. It kept me turning pages until I was finished. Even though there were times I thought I had figured things out, I hadn't because another twist was added.

I'm glad I finished this book in the afternoon. If I had been reading it in bed, I would have been up until I was done. And, then I wouldn’t have been able to sleep because I’d be thinking about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

So many secrets... Even the *secrets* have secrets in this novel. Read the plot summary! I'm sure it had to be carefully crafted to not reveal any spoilers. Jules and Camden are extremely likable characters. Cam's family, on the other hand, is full of snakes in the grass who continue to surprise the reader with exactly how awful a family can be. These are people you don't want sitting around your holiday table. You might not get up from dinner.

There are plenty of surprise twists, and I didn't see the final one coming until just a few pages before.

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

Enjoy this suspenseful mystery from the talented Rachel Hawkins!

What a page turner! The character were great, the story plot was easy to get lost in! I definitely want to read more from this author

I was excited to receive an ARC of the newest book by Rachel Hawkins. I love how she takes stories that we may know or have heard of and twists them into something new and exciting. The author herself in an interview with Paste Magazine said that:

"While no specific work influenced The Heiress, I do feel like this one is probably my most Traditionally Gothic book yet, so anyone who read Victoria Holt or Barbara Peters back in the day would recognize some elements. There’s the big house on the hill, the twisted rich family, the mysterious and possibly deadly woman, hidden letters, a spooky portrait…It’s also inspired partially by the obsession with Dominick Dunne books I had as a teenager, so in some ways, this is very much my ode to books like The Two Mrs. Grenvilles and A Season in Purgatory."

So not a topic that I had previously heard of, but now my interest in those is piqued because I LOVED The Heiress. The creepy setting, the cast of characters. It gave me what I want in a twisty thriller. I highly recommend this one for people who love creepy, gothic settings, unreliable narrators, and lots of twists.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one was…cute? Easy? It was a quick and fun little read, but not what I was expecting. And not really a thriller, which is what I’ve come to expect from this author. And maybe it’s my fault, because I went into this one blind, assuming it would be a thriller.

It wasn’t a bad book at all, but it’s more of a family drama. There’s some of the ‘rich people problems’ trope with a few thrilling twists thrown in. I kept waiting for the plot to take off, but it never really did. Overall I enjoyed it, but unfortunately it wasn’t a stand out to me.

The McTavish family is royalty in small town North Carolina. Ruby, the notorious “husband killer” is an heir to millions of dollars that is passed down to her adoptive son, Camden, and is upsetting to the rest of her family.

The Heiress is a web of lies and family secrets that comes together with a twisty ending. This is a fast paced, atmospheric thriller that you can easily read in a weekend! I didn’t find myself getting as invested in this family drama as I’d hoped, but still enjoyed the twists and unexpected ending.

Read this if you enjoyed The Only One Left by Riley Sager

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC, out 01/09/2024!

I want to start by first saying that I am a big fan of Rachel Hawkins. She writes such unique and interesting thrillers/mysteries that are all quick reads that keep me entertained the whole time. They also all have beautiful covers. The Heiress was no different; I really enjoyed this book and I read it in only one siting, I could not put it down.

The synopsis is a bit confusing but it makes sense as you read it. We have Ruby McTavish, an old woman who has had four husbands die in mysterious circumstances and the leader of a very rich family in North Carolina. She also has a bit of a past. When she was only 3 years old, she was kidnapped. She is returned a few months later after being found with a family in Alabama. But is that what really happened? (That is one story line you follow throughout).

She also adopted a young boy and when she dies she leaves everything to him. Camden did not want the money or house or the relatives down his throat about it so he went to California and wrote off everyone. When he gets a letter years later, him and his wife go back to the house to explore the family secrets and man there are a lot of secrets. Camden's wife even has some secrets of her own. We also get diary entries from Ruby about her husbands and some newspaper articles throughout about the rich family and their house. This story uncovers a lot of family secrets and it touches on the power that money brings to people.

This book was so good! I could not put it down. While the synopsis sounds a bit confusing, it is not a hard story to follow. There were a lot of twists throughout, some I saw coming and some I did not. I think there were the right amount of twists where it was interesting but not too much. The author did a good job at writing unlikeable characters. You root for Camden the whole time but his family is terrible (talk about dysfunctional!) I think money really brings out the worst in some people. I also really loved the diary entries throughout. It added a whole new layer to Ruby as a character. The articles also helped add to the story and showed this rich family through the eyes of the town.

My only complaint was that when some secrets came out, I don't feel like people acted like an actual person would. This is mainly when the secrets between Camden and his wife were revealed. It just seemed like they ignored it and made up too quickly. However, this did not take away too much from my reading and I still really liked it.

Family thrillers take on such interesting twists and turns - especially when there's money involved.. but The Heiress takes the cake for the reveals. Set in the sleepy mountains of North Carolina... there really just is something about the misty Blue Ridge.

Everything I thought I understood throughout this book came crashing down one chapter after another most spectacularly. It's not often that I really like a book so much that my mind doesn't start skimming through the pages? But in Hawkin's latest... you really have to pay attention to every chapter's intended audience!!!

Up there with another of my favorite family-based thrillers like The Maidens - The Heiress is one I'm going to recommend to all of my fellow thriller readers down here in the South!

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

Quick and enjoyable. One of those layered try to figure it out reads with a few red herrings that were clever. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review,

We have another Hawkins Hit on our hands! This book moves very quickly, and has a cast full of villainess family members.

The book opens with Ruby telling her story through letters. As a toddler Ruby went missing, lost in the woods surrounding her family's estate. Luckily for her, she is not the Lindbergh baby, and she is found alive.

In present day, we meet her adopted son Cam, who is no longer on speaking terms with his mother, her sister Nelle, or his cousins. Cam is the heir to the family fortune, and eventually must head back to the family estate to deal with the responsibility passed to him.

Of course everyone, including Cam's wife Jules, has something to hide and an angle to play. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout, and the book moves very quickly. In typical Hawkins fashion, this one is easy to read, and you finish it quickly.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for a review.

The Heiress is full of secrets, terrible people, old money, and twists upon twists, all combining into one very fun read. Alternating viewpoints interspersed with letters to...someone...slowly unwind this tale of greed and betrayal, and by the end, you kind of hate everyone, but it's so fun to feel that way you don't mind it. This is the perfect thriller to start 2024 with!

The Heiress is a quick page turner that can pull you out of a slump and at only 304 pages, you can easily get through this one in record time.⁠
This one ended up middle of the road for me at 3.5 stars. Somehow it managed to be a slow burn while also keeping the story moving forward at each chapter. I think since our alternate POV was letters that Ruby had written explaining her past the time jumps made the story feel like it was moving forward at a decent pace. The reality is that the actual story of Cam and Jules going “home” moved quite slowly. ⁠
I really liked Ruby’s stories and the writing was well done. I could picture this complex woman that struggled between who she was and who she was supposed to be, while grappling with the choices she’d made along the way. ⁠
Where this one push it middle of the road was that it was ultimately so slow and predictable. I called many of the things that would end up happening in the first 20% of the book and really, nothing of note did happen until the end. ⁠
Overall, in the Rachel Hawkins lineup this was was good, and I definitely do recommend it, and hopefully you don’t guess the ending so you can enjoy the surprises!