This was my first book I have read by Rachel Hawkins. Quite the interesting thriller with lots of twists weaved in throughout. I can say this book kept me hooked and I found it hard to put down as I just had to know what revelation we were going to get next. Told from three different perspectives, it was interesting to see who knew what about each other and the reader gets a really good glimpse into the whole picture while sometimes the characters are in the dark about certain things. I will definitely be adding some of Rachel Hawkins' other books to my TBR! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rachel Hawkins in an automatic read for me and this one did not disappoint. When Cam’s adoptive mother dies, she leaves everything to Cam which includes a gothic mansion and a very large inheritance. Cam has done his best to separate himself from his family as to not deal with all of the many issues they have. But, when Cam is summoned home, his wife sees this as her opportunity to get her hands on the inheritance. How far will she go, What constitutes family when it comes to inheritance? You will have to read this to find out. If you like a book that has twists and turns, buried family secrets, and a dysfunctional greedy family, this is the book for you! Thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press and of course Rachel Hawkins for the ARC of this masterpiece.

A great thriller and family drama. This book is a seedy exploration of greed and wealth and I loved every minute of it. Every single character is fatally flawed and it leaves you wondering about the grey between good and evil.

Ruby McTavish was one of North Carolina’s most infamous women. As the victim of a kidnapping as a baby and a four-time widow, misfortune seems to follow her everywhere.

When she dies, she leaves her fortune and lavish estate to her adopted son, Cam. But he wants nothing to do with the money and all that comes with it — particularly his dysfunctional family and their sordid history. But, when Cam is summoned back to the home, his wife Jules is determined to claim the wealth that is rightfully theirs.

This was a fun, fast-paced mystery that kept me glued to the pages. I read it in just a few sittings. It’s a story about very wealthy people behaving badly and keeping secrets, which always intrigues me.

If you’re a person who enjoys twists and turns, there’s no shortage of those in this book — some I saw coming and others I did not.

My favorite parts of this book were the three different POVs and the mixed media elements, including newspaper and magazine articles and letters. They added some historical fiction flair into what would normally be your run-of-the-mill mystery. I also liked how this one dealt with the theme of whether there is inherent darkness lurking in some people because of their lineage.

My main complaint with this book is that I didn’t feel very connected to the characters, but I often struggle with that while reading mystery/thriller stories.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this one to readers in need of a quick and suspenseful read about the ways in which money can poison people.

This book was insane!

I loved all the twists and turns. Definitely kept me up a few nights because I was anticipating the end. Can't wait to see this out in the world.

Wow this is one of my favorite reads of 2023. Fantastic gothic thriller. So many cliff hangers. Five stars!

What a great read! This gave me Evelyn Hugo vibes for sure. I loved the way the story was told: through letters, articles and the two main characters. While I did feel like this was a slow burn, once it got moving I couldn’t put it down! I have enjoyed previous books by this author and am looking forward to reading more!

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!
Just to start, this is my new favorite Rachel Hawkins book! While I felt like it took me a bit to be fully invested in this story, by the mid-way point I was completely immersed.
Ruby McTavish may be one of my favorite characters I have read recently if not ever.
This gave me all the Taylor Swift-Rebekah Harness vibes. IYKYK.
This is a can’t miss read and I am elated I got to read it early!
This gem publishes January 9, 2024!
4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5

I loved Rachel Hawkins’ The Other Wife (a contemporary Jane Eyre retelling) and I really enjoyed Reckless Girls, and The Heiress measures up to those two novels. It’s a Southern gothic tale complete with secrets, lies, a mansion that belonged to the now-deceased matriarch, and a dysfunctional family who’s squabbling about the inheritance. Questions about who “should” inherit the mansion and exactly who should be considered family (and who shouldn’t) are central to the novel. Rachel Hawkins is amazing at pacing and you want to keep turning those pages to find out what secrets everyone is keeping.

🚨Spoiler alert 🚨

The book ends with the happy news of a pregnancy, and personally I’m not the biggest fan of the pregnancy wrap-up. This certainly wouldn’t keep me from reading whatever Rachel Hawkins writes next—I think she’s an amazing thriller writer!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a review copy!

Release date: January 2024 🗓️

Ooh I love a good dilapidated mansion mystery with plenty of wealthy family drama. And this book delivers! The chapters are from different viewpoints so you really get to know the characters perspectives. The letters from Ruby are especially delicious to read. Hawkins does a beautiful job of mixing a modern story with the Gothic overtones that come with Ruby’s history & the Ashby House. So many secrets & revelations! I don’t want to say much more, as to not give anything away but this was a great book. One of my favourites I’ve read this year & and extremely easy to recommend. And will definitely be looking for the authors other books, time to seek out her previous ones.

Wowwwwwweeee, Rachel Hawkins knows what’s up. I loved every minute of this book. I was gripped in all the right ways and wish I had had more time to read it faster.

Rachel Hawkins is back with murder, money and mystery. Ruby is the richest woman in North Carolina and also the most notorious. As a baby, she was kidnapped from her wealthy family. As an adult, she was widowed four times. Now Ruby’s estate has been left to her adopted son, Camden, who spurns the inheritance and all the family associated with it. When Camden returns with his wife 10 years later, secrets about Ruby come to light that will affect the whole family.

A family drama full of multiple points of view and plenty of twists. Suspense, scandal and intrigue will keep the pages turning and you won’t be able to put it down The Heiress. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced readers copy in return for my honest review.

A dash of WNC, a touch of old glamour, all mixed into a thriller? YES. Hawkins weaves multiple plot lines and perspectives to tell the story of an heiress with a troubled past and terrible family. Ruby’s story was well-fleshed out, but Jules’ and Camden’s was a little sparse. It made the plot feel a bit imbalanced. Somewhat slow paced, I enjoyed the writing style nonetheless. I will saw, Hawkins writes in long-winding sentences that border run-on sentences… kinda irks me. But I would recommend this book for anyone who loves this genre!

Genres I will always read: ones dedicated to WNC, thrillers, and old glamour/gilded era history/historical fiction. So you KNOW I was so excited to get this book early access!!

This is the latest release by Rachel Hawkins! While most readers are loving it and can’t say enough about it, for me it just missed the Wow factor A case of like not love!

Ruby McTavish was one of the wealthiest women in the Carolinas! Upon her passing she left the family home and her fortune to her son, Cam. Safe to say, the rest of the family were none too pleased with that decision!

Cam put as much distance between him and his dysfunctional family as possible. But now, maybe it’s time to return home, face his demons and take care of the family estate once and for all.

We learn about matriarch Ruby through letters she’d penned discussing her past marriages and the demise of all her husbands. Ya… there were more than a few!

Truth be told, his family had plenty of deeply buried secrets between them all. So don’t get too comfortable! These secrets are about to bubble up out of the ooze. And they are explosive! With aftershocks all the way to the end!

Personally, I had trouble connecting to the storyline until about 30% when it finally began clicking! And though I enjoyed the read and all the creatively placed twists, something prevented me from completely loving it. (Truthfully, I find that with most the books from this author).

Still a solid four-star read for me! But there are plenty of five-star reviews to be found. So be sure to peruse those as well!

A buddy read with Susanne!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

If you're a fan of Rachel Hawkins, you won't want to miss this one. It had all the elements that I love and appreciate in a thriller. Namely, rich people behaving badly, atmospheric manors, deeply buried family secrets and of course, twists and turns aplenty. It's hard to go into details without giving away the plot, but I highly recommend this if you're like me and enjoy these tropes. As usual, I didn't try to guess the plot and this did indeed surprise me in the end. I predict this will be THE thriller of 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

WOW. Rachel Hawkins at her best. I read this in one sitting and you won't want to put it down either. It's a quick read that keeps you enthralled right from the beginning. So many twists! The letters from Ruby added so much to the story. The multiple timelines and POVs really worked here. I loved the first 2 books I read by this author but hated the last one, The Villa, so I was hoping this would be another good one. Well, it wasn't good, it was great. Highly recommend.

absolutely loved the storyline and format! I felt like I was in the plotline, and it was one that kept giving me "Gone Girl" vibes at the end!

I’ve read all of Rachel Hawkins’ books but this one has me guessing the entire time. She crafted such an involved storyline. I had suspicions on a couple of characters but I didn’t have all the pieces so the characters continued to surprise me. By far, Hawkins’ best book! Loved it!!

I was totally engrossed by this novel. The characters:
Camden, the sole heir to the McTavish fortune, but refuses to touch it. He grew up in a mansion, with family but left as soon as he was able.
Jules, wife of Camden, works two jobs and encourages Camden to return to Ashby House. Does she have ulterior motives?
Ruby McTavish, mother of Camden, deceased. The fortune came through her to Camden. Was there a problem between Camden and his mother? What is the story behind her four marriages and the rumors about "Lady Killmore."
More Questions to be answered:
Why are Aunt Nell, Libby and Ben so very hateful toward Camden?
What is the full story of Ruby's kidnapping as a three year old?

There is so much going on in The Heiress but, surprisingly, it is not TOO much. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC. This is my own honest opinion.

I loved this book. It seems to be a story about a family and the secrets that are covered up , but it also weaves together greed, ,lust , lies , hate and the ultimates betrayal, murder. The twists didn’t stop and I will read it again it was so good. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the arc read in exchange for my honest review .