
Member Reviews

This dual timeline story is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains at a sprawling, secluded mountain estate. The present-day story features the heir’s return with his wife to the town and the dysfunctional, toxic family he left behind to put his late mother’s affairs in order and repair the house.
Interspersed throughout the story are letters written by his mother, Ruby. Widowed 4 times over, she was known as Mrs. Kill-More by the end of her life. Within the pages of the letters, she reveals the courtship, marriage, and deaths of each of her husbands, as well as multiple family secrets. It’s glamorous and dark all at the same time.
Why I Love It: Hawkins weaves a masterful story with twisted, flawed characters that I couldn’t put down. The secrets kept unfurling until the very last page. This is my favorite book of hers yet!

This dark thriller has some crazy moments! I was intrigued by Ruby’s story and thought Hawkins nailed the tension-building. I liked the alternating POVs and enjoyed the epistolary style with the mix of letters, emails & news articles. The setting also hooked me since I grew up in N.C. and have family living near the famed Biltmore House. Tavistock is a fictional town but I had no trouble picturing it and imagining what Ashby House may have looked like. The ending is over the top but it felt consistent with the rest of the drama. This was the perfect ‘beach read’ for my winter vacation!

This was a quick and easy read with lots of twists and turns, but unfortunately, it felt like I've read similar books and won't stick in my head clearly later. It's a bit forgettable although a fun ride.
What made it different were the different perspectives told through letters and different time periods.
I do like Rachel Hawkins' writing style and feel she does a good job of character development, which keeps me interested even when most of the characters are horrible people.
Since it was a quick read, I would recommend it if you are looking for a family drama thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is a domestic thriller novel with a gothic setting to it. The story in The Heiress is one that is told with three distinctive points of view to it with two being the main couple but the third taking place in the past through the letters left behind by the matriarch who has passed.
Camden is the adoptive son of the somewhat infamous Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. Ruby lived a long life that many whisper rumors about having married four times and accumulating a fortune in the nine-figure range making her North Carolina’s richest woman but one locals refer to as Mrs. Killmore wondering about her past husbands.
When Ruby did pass away Camden made it no secret he wanted nothing to do with the ancestral home, Ashby House, or the fortune that came with it. Camden moved away and married his wife, Jules, and became an English teacher across the country. Now ten years later however Camden’s remaining relatives have contacted him and called him home to Ashby House to sort out things after his uncle’s death.
Rachel Hawkins is an author that I’ve read several of her thriller novels in the past and always looked forward to returning to again and again. The Heiress thankfully was far from a disappointment pulling me right into the story and not letting go until the very last page. There are plenty of twists and turns that I have come to expect in this story and I found myself just as engaged with the past timeline as the present leaving me rating this one at four and a half stars when I finished reading.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Did this one on audio & read - what a story!! I’ve read by this author before, and this was the first one I actually really liked. Audio was enjoyable with the different voices, and I enjoyed the mystery of the Heiress. Ruby was quite the… woman. So many layers of complexities as she revealed her past, and her intentions with her family. Lots of surprises along the way, twists & mystery, told in a series of newspaper articles, letters and multiple POV. The way it all came together was wild!

I don’t know how to go about writing this review without spoiling the best part – the secrets. There are a lot of secrets between the characters in the novel, some exposed and some not, at least so believes the keeper of all the secrets. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The unraveling of the family secrets was, for me, the most enjoyable aspect of this absorbing novel.
The novel opens with an explanation of a “changeling”. This is actually a spoiler of sorts, because the crux of the story is whether or not Ruby McTavish is truly a McTavish. At three years old, Ruby MacTavish disappeared while on a picnic in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Ashby House and the family estate was located. The story goes that Ruby’s mother thought she was with the Nanny and the Nanny thought Ruby was with her mother. The wilderness is a dangerous place and the mountain paths are steep and narrow with sheer drops that claim the lives of hikers, if the wild animals don’t get them first. The McTavish’s are the richest and most powerful family in North Carolina. No stone was left unturned in the parents’ desperate efforts to find their daughter. Several months later, a private detective claimed to have found Ruby who had been the victim of an opportune kidnapping by an itinerant worker on the estate. The worker, Darnell, claimed that he came upon the child and took her home to appease his wife who was mourning the loss of their own daughter, Dora, of the same age and appearance. The toddler, Ruby, is reunited with her family, Darnell goes to jail and later dies in a prison break. Mrs. Darnell never stopped claiming that the child was hers. By now this reader had visions of Martin Guerre or Jolie’s The Changeling. Ruby grows up to be quite a colorful character. Rich and entitled, she quarrels incessantly with her younger sister Nelle, the replacement child, who was born around the time that Ruby was found and brought back to Ashby House. Her jealous sister was mean and taunted Ruby with claims that she was not really a McTavish but rather an imposter. By the time Ruby was forty she had been widowed four times (Black Widow? Oh, yeah!). Ruby was sharp and she demonstrated financial acumen whereas Ruby’s father did not like Nelle’s husband and left his entire fortune to Ruby, including Ashby House and the Estate with the instructions that Nelle would be able to remain in Ashby House for as long as she wished. Nelle had two children. Ruby, who had none, adopted a baby boy named Camden. Camden’s cousins were as nasty to Camden as Nelle had been and continue to be toward Ruby. He suffered abuse both physical and emotional at the hands of his aunt and cousins and didn’t wear his wealth comfortably (see the hilarious letter he wrote home to Ruby, from camp, asking her not to send money because the amount was posted for everyone to see in the canteen). He couldn’t wait to get away from his claustrophobic environment and eventually left South Carolina for the West, where he met, fell in love with, and married Jules. They lived a modest life in Colorado. Even when Ruby died and left her entire fortune to Camden, he did not return to South Carolina or his home.
Camden never shared any of his secrets with Jules, other than the fact that he had inherited his mother’s fortune but wanted no part of it, nor of his petulant cousins, but Jules had other plans and believed that her husband owed nothing to his aunt and cousins. At Jules’ encouragment, Camden agrees to return to Ashley House after receiving another email from his cousin telling him that as the sole owner of the McTavish Estate and fortune, it was his duty to return home and put the degenerating property in order.
That’s as far as I will go for now because at this stage the reader will have read some of Ruby’s letters, describing her marriages and the death of her husbands. With the exception of the first, who died on their honeymoon, the other deaths are hilarious (very dark humor). Ruby’s letters also demonstrate that she was in control and controlling with regard to Camden and the rest of the family. She put a plan into action that will be surprising, her own death is surprising too, not to mention a few other deaths in the family.
Generally, I eschew epilogues as unnecessary. Unless the authors is going to blow my mind with vital new information about the characters, I think writers should tie up loose ends before the end of the novel or leave them unresolved (I’m fine with that). This epilogue was the exception….I loved it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a copy of this book for my review. This is the third book I have read by this author and I think it was my favorite!

Wowie. This was quite the ride. I loved Jules and Cam. Ruby was a twisted lady and only played by her own rules. Which caused quite a stir in North Carolina and within her own family. Rachel Hawkins kept me guessing throughout this whole book and I can't wait to read her again.

An outstanding read with a fun, quirky and thrilling plot. Well-written too. Highly recommend. I flew through this because I couldn't put it down!

I want to say thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.
Yes, I know - still late to the party.
Okay, I've read 2 Rachel Hawkins books so far (Reckless Girls & The Villa) and this one is probably a favorite *Reckless Girls has a slight edge cause of the craziness in it* it did not disappoint. I love the way the story was written with the multimedia in between of articles from the past to the present and the flipping of POVS. Some of the twists were unexpected (honestly, I wasn't really wanting to figure it out and wanted to go with the flow of the story) but some were a bit, too bland. I won't say too much but it made me think soap opera. And that doesn't make it bad. It's a very quick paced and fun read if your looking for a low risk thriller.
My Rating: 3.75 (rounded up to 4)

I LOVED this. She continues to be one of my favorite authors. This was so twisting, suspenseful and amazing. Five huge stars.

This book had me flipping through the pages non-stop. I loved delving into the characters' messy minds and their choices. Rachel Hawkins is a queen of the craft.

One thing Rachel Hawkins is going to do is write a good, fast paced thriller. I think this author has absolutely perfected the art of writing a thriller that is short, sweet, to the point, but it also creates tension and mystery for the reader to sort through. This one had so many loose threads towards the ends, but they all were tied up to well that I was torn between being shocked at the plot twist itself or how well the executed it. I can always rely on this author for one of my top thrillers of every year!

A dark and twisty family drama. Ruby McTavish, a wealthy woman who was kidnapped at the age of three and made a widow four times over, has left her fortune, including the family mansion, to her adopted son Cam. While Ashby House was left to Cam after Ruby died ten years ago, he fled the state leaving Ruby's sister, Nelle, and her family to live in the house, but after Nelle's husband's death, Cam is called home to Ashby house to deal with the neglected estate, bringing with him his wife, Jules.
The story unfolds from three POVs, Cam, Jules, and letters written by Ruby McTavish to recipients unknown. Rachel Hawkins does an excellent job creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere and I looked forward to reading the letters from Ruby. The story is twisty with characters that are unlikeable, selfish, and wholly entertaining. I was kept guessing throughout the book and enjoyed the ending. A solid 3.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Heiress had it's highs and lows. I found it incredibly slow moving and found the family to be villians for seamingly little reason. I wish there was more of that written into the plot so we could not like them for more than the fact the main character said so. There were a few great plot twists that made the ending more interesting and kept my attention through the whole book. I liked the flashback parts much more than the contemporary,

A gripping gothic tale told from multiple perspectives. Just enough twists to keep me hooked the until the sunrise ending.

I read most of this in one sitting but then took a two month break whoops. So I decided to restart it as I was enjoining it. Even though it took me 2+ months to read this was just as enthralling as Hawkins others novels. Rachel Hawkins knows how to write to keep the readers interest, with short chapters and just enough information to keep you wanting more.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins.
This novel has alternating chapters from both Camden McTavish and his wife Jules’ present day perspectives. It also has a written letter entry perspective from Ruby McTavish written in the past. In present day, Camden has run away from Ashby House and his family inheritance in search for a normal life. After a decade absence from North Carolina Camden is called home to deal with the McTavish fortune and the secrets they’ve all kept.
I highly recommend this to readers that have enjoyed past Rachel Hawkins novels and to anyone who enjoys a fast paced mystery.

This book is a combination of family mystery, rich people problems, and just a dash of con artistry. Which feels like it should have worked really well for me, but ultimately I just thought it was okay. The reveals were really well-paced, where the reader gets small nuggets of information and drama throughout the entire book, the downfall of this however, is that there are perhaps too many reveals which make the culmination feel a bit obvious by the end.
This is told from a couple different POVs, one of which is a series of letters between Ruby and an undisclosed recipient. This broke the story up pretty nicely and, for me, was a rare situation where I did find myself invested in each POV/timeline. However, even though I found this format fairly engaging, the characters all felt very incomplete to me. As things are revealed about each of them, I was expecting to start to care about someone, anyone, and I just never connected to any of the characters.
I think if you're looking for a Knives Out-type mystery, this is still a solid option, but I don't think it's going to blow anyone away, unfortunately,

Looooooved this book! Rachel Hawkins just continues to thrill and entertain me far beyond what her peers can do. And this book is no exception. I love the mix of formats used to tell this story: traditional narrative, letters, newspaper & magazine articles. I loved the multi-POVs. And I loved this whole story built on the premise that we are all multifaceted and all better than our worst mistakes/choices. Such a thrilling ride!! My ONLY critique is I would’ve loved to find out who Cam’s biological father was. Was it Howell??? There were so many hints but nothing ever conclusive. But, still, loved this book!

THE GOOD:
A truly fascinating twist that I didn't anticipate! (But probably should have!)
Truly creepy, which I didn't expect either!
THE BAD:
I was hoping for more environment saturation into the Blue Ridge Mountains.
CONCLUSION:
Recommended. Great for thriller/suspense lovers.

I had really high hopes for this one, and it was written well, but it wasn’t as intense or thrilling as I had hoped it would be. Although, I wasn’t able to predict the big twist at the end, so that’s always a plus! I would recommend to friends.