This one started a little slowly for me, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, plus I was worried by the early hints that the two likable protagonists might turn out to be not so likable after all. As it turned out, they do have secrets from each other and the reader that don’t put them in the best light, but even in the face of a few doubts that came and went throughout the novel, even to the very end, I never really stopped rooting for them. Possibly because their antagonists proved to be so vile, but also because Cam seemed like such a good person, and Jules was such a force to be reckoned with in her support of Cam.

It’s hard to review a thriller/mystery the way I usually do because it can’t usually be done without spoilers. I will say that this was very smart and very entertaining. I was really in the palm of the author’s hand once Jules and Cam finally arrived at Ashby House and the action really got going. When I read one of these types of books, part of the enjoyment is trying to guess the reveals and the twists while the author is trying to throw you off and misdirect you. I did guess correctly that two aspects would come back into play as important factors but not in the way I thought they would (but in hindsight, should have guessed.) The reveals were clever and surprising and there weren’t just one, two, or three. There were at least eleven by my count! And they were all “Whoa!” worthy.

I really liked the use of 3 points of view to tell the story. Cam is the adopted son of the late Ruby McTavish, “The Heiress.” He hasn’t been back home in 10 years, since her death. He has turned his back on wealth and privilege (lots of wealth and privilege) to scratch out a living in Colorado as a school teacher. His part of the story is told in the conventional first person. Jules is his wife of 10 years whom he met there. Her perspective is also told in first person, but often breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the reader.
“So, I guess I have some explaining to do, huh? I know, I know. It looks bad….Second act plot twist, your heroine is actually a potential villain.
The third perspective is told in the letters Ruby wrote shortly before her death to someone she refers to as “My darling”. They are confessional. She tells the truth about how her 4 husbands met their demise as well as other secrets, filling the reader in on her back story and motivations. I started to like her. She was frank and funny. Then things changed. The author kept me turning the pages by ending each of these “chapters” on a cliffhanger before going to another narrator or the objective point of view of a clip from an old newspaper or magazine article on the milestones in the lives of the famous and powerful family.

The book barrels to an exciting climax before we get two remaining letters and an epilogue that reveal more secrets and answer more questions. It ends as well as I could expect such a book to end. It was satisfying. This was a clever and entertaining novel that I recommend without reservation to readers who like mysteries or thrillers with strong gothic overtones along the lines of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2--One of the most compelling mystery/thrillers I've ever read! Wow! Talk about compulsively readable. It's clever, conniving, and just when you think ALL of the secrets have been revealed, you're WRONG!! Twists and turns abound when it comes to Mrs. Ruby McTavish, the Heiress. She is one tough cookie, but loves her son, Camden, with all of her being. Ruby will do anything to keep him happy and make him the sole heir of her fortune. Put on your seat belt for this one...you're going on a wild ride! I'm hoping for a sequel! Thank you @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a temporary digital copy of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

After the death of his uncle, Camden McTavish is asked to return to his family's ancestral home to deal with his inheritance and Ashby House, a place where he has refused to visit in almost a decade. Ruby, Camden's adoptive mother, wanted Camden to inherit everything; however, he has different plans and wants nothing to do with the money because the cost is too great. Will he and his wife Jules be able to survive their time at Ashby House or will his family destroy everything he has?

The Heiress had a ton of twists and each character is hiding information from the ones they love. This was not a novel where I figured it all out forty percent of the way in. Hawkins keeps you guessing until the very end.

Hawkins is one of my favorite thriller writers. the twists and turns get me every time and this was no exception.

I loved this book! it was full of suspense and hard to put down. The subject matter was very unique and unlike things i've read recently. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!

I loved this author's novel, The Wife Upstairs, but I had a hard time finishing her book Reckless Girls. I went into this book somewhat blind and I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed this book. My thoughts from the beginning were as such: 1) Ruby sure does have a dark sense of humor. 2) Jules definitely has a secret. 3) Why did Camden leave NC?
I like the way this story was told with different time periods between the letters and the present. I felt that I got to know Ruby through her letters and got a good sense of who she was even though she is dead. The McTavish family is definitely ruthless and will do whatever it takes to get that inheritance!

This book kept me guessing and the pages turning.

Thank you NetGalley and Rachel Hawkins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it was a quick read and the best way I can describe it is as “the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo” but with a domestic thriller/murder story.

I find all of Rachel Hawkins’ books incredibly easy to read and very bingeable. THE HEIRESS is no exception, and I really enjoyed this. It may be her best out of the thrillers Hawkins has written. I loved the family drama aspect and the mysterious intrigue into the life of Ruby McTavish. I could have used a bit more interaction with the family as a whole to really round out this plot, but otherwise this was a fun read.

Out January 2024! Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fascinating from the get go!
This book was enjoying and entertaining - I flew through my reading of this book!

Ruby is an elderly woman who has written letters about her life since childhood that help expose long held secrets and explain their current lifestyles and family drama.

Family isn’t what you’re born into but the people you surround yourself with!

The last chapter threw me for a loop, what I was believing for the whole book was wrong. My detective skills y’all are going to shame with these new thriller books.

There was a lot going on in this book and it was amazing and layered quite well. Definite must read for the season.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was an engrossing and VERY quick read. We are brought in with confessional letters and we stay for the twisty murder minds involved throughout the story. I love old houses, and just wish we had a TAD bit more of some house descriptives - I wanted to feel like I was sitting in the house while everything was going down. A nice little addition might have been spending some time in the period of Cam living in the house as a teenager. It would have rounded out Libby and Ben's characters a bit, made them more villainous.

A great, fun read. Recommended.

Loved the mystery with a splash of historical fiction. Rachel Hawkins is so good at creating her characters, and this book showed just that. Loved it

This was a fast, engaging mystery with twists that I did not see coming! The McTavishes are a rich family with lots of hidden secrets and when the matriarch, Ruby, passes away the family estate is in debate. She left everything to her adopted son but he wants nothing to do with the money, the family, or reliving the difficult connections they still have. The family is none too eager to welcome him home either. The setting is a gloomy old estate and it really sets the stage for rich people behaving badly (one of my favorite themes). I enjoyed this book to the last page! Thanks to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my 4th book by Rachel Hawkins and it did not disappoint. My favorite one yet! So many great twists and turns in a story set in my home state of NC! It read very fast and left me wanting more. Surprises all the way through the epilogue. I highly recommend this quick new gem by Rachel Hawkins.

Thankyou to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC and chance to review.

This might be my favorite book by Rachel Hawkins so far! The Heiress is about Ruby McTavish, infamous heiress of Ashby House. Kidnapped when she was three years old and then found and returned to her family, Ruby grew up and went on to marry four times and become a widow four times. Now her adopted son Camden is back home to take care of the fortune and house that Ruby left him. But what secrets are Ashby House and the McTavish clan hiding?

I loved the concept of The Heiress and thought it played out well. The plot was interesting and seemed like something new and fresh compared to all the mysteries and thrillers out there. Ruby was a fascinating character and seeing her side of things from letters she wrote made the story all the more unique. I tend to read books faster and get into them easier when you can get to know the characters, and this was no exception. I had NO idea how the story would end up, but was definitely curious to find out what happened to Camden, his wife Jules, and the crazy McTavish family. Definitely check this one out if you’re interested in stories about interesting family relationships!

This is not the first book I read by Rachel Hawkins. Among their adult fiction, I’ve read both ‘Reckless Girls’ and ‘The Villa’. I enjoyed ‘The Villa’ a lot as it gave me a cozy gothic mystery set in an Italian villa. I have a weakness for gothic tales so when I heard about ‘The Heiress’ I was intrigued and requested the advanced readers copy. There were many elements of a gothic mystery novel in ‘The Heiress’. A rich mysterious family, an old house and many secrets held between the characters. While there have been a lot of books with these same elements, I wanted to see what Rachel Hawkins could add to this genre.

The atmosphere and set up for this book was really enjoyable. Camden, who is part of the McTavish family, has come back to the Ashby estate after the death of his uncle. He brings along his wife Jules and she meets him family for the first time. Camden does not get along with his family members. Camden was adopted by the head of the house Ruby before she died and in her will, she does not leave the estate to any of her blood relatives but to Camden. This adds a lot of tension between the family members.

Out of all the characters, I found Jules to be quite funny and refreshing. The character Ruby was also very interesting to me as her life is revealed through a series of letters. The other characters I found to be flat and stereotypical for this type of book. As the book went on, I found it hard to keep track of all the characters relations. As each secret was revealed it felt as though the story just got more confusing. I felt as though if the book was longer, it may have helped with the pacing of the story. Everything was revealed on after the other that it made it hard to follow the story. There were also a lot of backstories of the characters I would have liked to learn more about.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Hawkins does it again! Somehow every book she writes is amazing! The Heiress is definitely one of my favorites of hers and of 2023! Secrets, secrets and more secrets! Everybody in this book has a secret or two (or three or ten!) The writing is fantastic, it flows nicely. The pace is perfect and I never wanted to put the book down! When I say I wanted to read it at stoplights when I had to leave the house I am not exaggerating! (Don’t worry, I fought the urge!) The characters are all well developed. I loved getting bits and pieces of the truth and the past in the letters Ruby wrote. There were so many bits and pieces all over the place that all fit together by the end! Perfection!!

Short chapter books are my favorite. It seems to make books go by faster. But this was also a great read. I was addicted and couldn’t put it down. I was skeptical going in as this was my first Rachel Hawkins books because her others haven’t had the greatest reviews. But this one exceeded my expectations.

A fabulous mystery from start to finish and another home run for Hawkins! I loved Reckless Girls and The Villa, and The Heiress definitely does not disappoint. Ruby's tale perfectly mirrors and intertwines with Cam and Jules modern-day issues, while telling the illicit story of her past (RIP all the husbands). This is one you won't want to put down the moment you pick it up!

You might think you know where this is going, but you don’t. A fun read that sucks you in. Will definitely be looking for more of her books to read!