If you enjoy family drama, you will love this. Camden and his wife Jules live a pretty drama free life until Camden has to return to his childhood home where we meet his extra af cousins and aunt. Camden inherited a sizable fortune from his mother, and the rest of the family is salty about it because all they got was to live in a gorgeous house. The author did a great job writing pretentious jerks and the tension between family members was clear.

If you love dual timelines, you will probably enjoy this. Camden was adopted by Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore and part of the story is told in letters written by her. If the name isn’t enough to know she comes with drama, her fame started as a child when she was abducted from her family home…and her adult life was just as dramatic considering she was married four times to husbands that all died. The other time line is the present with Camden and Jules as they navigate returning to Camden’s childhood home to deal with family business.

If you love multiple perspectives, this book has them too. Not only do we hear from Ruby, but we also get perspectives from Camden and Jules. Through the various lenses we learn about lies on top of lies. Again, the family drama is evident in all perspectives. My favorite perspective was probably Ruby’s.

Overall, I had a great time while reading. I loved the pacing of the book. I was never bored. There were many twists, some that I saw coming, and others that I didn’t. I enjoyed each and every one of them.

So I blew through The Villa (I’ll review it in a wrap up for sure) so naturally when I was notified I could read this book thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress I was stoked.

I loved the format going between Jules and Camden. Jules who is dating Camden the adopted son of Ruby McTavish a wealthy and notorious heiress of Ashby House. Their POV chapters are split by newspaper articles about Ruby as well as letters from Ruby herself. This adds a layered and puzzle quality that was entrancing and I was trying to sort it out until the very end.

The pacing is exquisite. The chapters are accessible and keep you turning the page to find out more. Her descriptions of Ashby House, the wealth, and the characters who preside in it are just as luxurious as the title suggests.

I don’t read enough thrillers but I’ll definitely be reading through Paula’s backlog while I anxiously await what is next. Also for those who loved The Villa be on the hunt for an Easter egg!

Highly recommend. Set your calendars and TBR for it’s pub date January 9th, 2024!

If you love the Seven Husband of Evelyn Hugo but also love murder stories, then this is the book for you and it’ll keep surprising you until the last page.

I am a fan of Hawkins and was excited to read The Heiress. I was not let down as this book is full of secrets, twists and turns and characters I found fascinating.

A family that is torn and cruel to each other. A couple whose love is strong enough to survive even the darkest of secrets. And a grande dame to rival all others.The setting is gorgeous and I could feel the air and see the beauty even as I felt the simmer of the fire that burns throughout this book.

I read this book in two days - it would have been one if work hadn't interfered lol.

4.5 Stars

The Heiress is the story of a wealthy North Carolina family who basically owns the town of Tavistock. Their story is told in two timelines. The Heiress is Ruby McTavish. Ruby is telling her story, which includes her four husbands, murderers, and family feuds, via letters to the next generation. Ruby’s early life and the fate of the McTavish family centers around her kidnapping at a young age. The kidnapping is the core of what changed the family dynamic for Ruby, her sister Nelle, and the next generation.

The second storyline is the current-day journey of Camden McTavish, Ruby’s adoptive son. Camden left North Carolina and the McTavish fortune to attend college in California. After North Carolina, Camden appears to live a quiet, unencumbered life.
Camden meets and falls in love with Jules. It is the first time that he feels genuine love and peace in his life. When his uncle, Hugh, dies, Ben begs Cam for help. Cam and Jules return to Tavistock to sort out the will and estate that Ruby left to her son.

I loved this tale of wealth and how it impacts people’s lives, not always in a good way. There are many times that I felt sorry for Cam when I learned the way his cousins treated him because he was adopted and not a “true” McTavish. More than once, I wanted to slap Ben upside the head. His sister, Libby, while more subtle, was just as bad.

The author kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the story. There were so many secrets to reveal. I continually turned the page to see what was next. Why was Cam so afraid when he saw the house? What was Jules’s secret? Who was Ruby’s intended recipient of her letters, and who was reading them? The reveals and twists expose the haunting past and the future—good or bad.

This is my first Rachel Hawkins story; although I read many good reviews from reading friends, I was anxious to read one of her stories. The Heiress was an excellent place to start. It was a totally fascinating read! I can’t wait to get a few more books by Rachel Hawkins. She is a captivating author.

This was a creepy twisty interesting tale that was a quick and easy read. I've read a lot of these domestic thrillers by now, and while not many of them truly surprise me anymore, there were a few twists here that went in slightly different directions than I anticipated which made for a fun read. The characters are pretty uniformly odious - as is often the case in these stories - but are written in a way that clearly marks some as more odious than others, so while I can't say that I was actually rooting for anyone, I still found the comeuppances satisfying.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins, but it won't be my last...

Rachel Hawkins does it again! This book kept me up late at night, desperate to find out what would happen. The story is told from 3 different views: Cam, Jules and Ruby via letters. Every time the plot would twist, she would switch narrators making it impossible to quit reading for the night. This book with definitely be one of my top thrillers of the year and I'll be recommending it to everyone.

Rachel Hawkins is a master at both intricate plot development and jaw-dropping twists. Any book of hers is a guaranteed good read and her newest novel, The Heiress, is no exception.

The story, told from multiple POVs and alternating time periods, cleverly advances a tale of secrets, lies and greed. I completely enjoyed it from start to finish and recommend it completely, especially to readers who enjoy a book with a gothic vibe.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oooo this was a good one!! I absolutely devoured this story about the very wealthy and powerful McTavish family. I loved the alternating perspectives of Ruby, Cam and Jules. Learning of all of the secrets this family had was so much fun. This was an excellent read!
Thank you to NetGalley for this advance copy!

I'd read Rachel Hawkins book, The Wife Upstairs, a modern-day domestic suspense novel and liked her smooth, quick writing style--and I LOVE Gothic suspense and romance, so I was eager to read this new book, The Heiress.. Unfortunately, this book, marketed as a Southern Gothic, read more like a mixed up American soap opera with a lot of confused melodrama with a plot that was complicated rather than complex.

The story is told from multiple points of view, which I generally enjoy. And in the beginning, the POVs of the husband, Cam, and the wife, Jules, seemed to work for me--each was clearly keeping secrets from the other. I I found myself eager to know what those secrets were and quickly fell into the book. But then the book begins to include the POV of Cam's now deceased Aint Ruby through a series of letters that "confess" the sins of her life. These letters were folksy and written in a style that I'd have expected in a cozy mystery fare or over-wrought soap opera as opposed to a Gothic suspense.

The voice and character of Ruby didn't seem either believable or likable to me, and her character as the book wore on became a muddle that didn't really resolve in a way that made sense to me. In fact, the plot, while it had many twists, seemed odd and several characters would suddenly do things that made no sense. I think the book would have been more effective if it had employed a dual timeline structure rather than these odd confessional letters from the dead.

What I did enjoy about the book was the setting--Ashby House--a type of take-off from the Biltmore was believable as was the town where it was located, The writing moves fast. The chapters are short and punchy, and the use of language is fresher than most.

But for me, the characters were more caricatures, and their actions seemed forced as if the writer needed them to act a certain way to move the book along to the next big crisis.

While I'd read books by Hawkins again, I'd not recommend this particular book to anyone who usually reads Gothic suspense because I think the expectations that come with this a regular diet of this genre are not well met by this book. This is more a mindless, quick-read beach book for people who like melodramatic southern soaps, and I'd recommend it for any fan of the same..

Rachel Hawkins can do no wrong!!!!!
I was hooked right from the moment I started reading ! Twisty and just captivating the whole time you’re reading making it impossible to stop and put the book down !

Another winner by Rachel Hawkins! Possibly my favorite to date and definitely ranking in the top 5 books of the year. It was original, twisty, and I wasn't able to guess the whole of the plot pivot for the finale. A fun read, for sure.

Wow! That was quite a ride! I loved this book. At first, I was having trouble keeping all of the characters straight but it quickly came together and it was quite a story! Books rarely keep me up past my bedtime but this one did!

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, for the advanced reader copy of The Heiress! It was giving The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes but with murder, which makes it even more exciting than the former (in my humble opinion)!

I was hooked right from the first page- I really enjoy when authors incorporate media snippets in their writing- and Rachel Hawkins does this very well (I noticed this in The Villa, too). I live for the “this house is spooky, isolated, and possibly haunted” trope, so that drew me in, too. Though I read it, I think this book will definitely be dope as an audiobook.

I would definitely recommend this book! I’ve read three books by Rachel Hawkins this past year, and she is quickly becoming one of my must read authors. I’m excited to see what she comes up with next!

Rachel Hawkins has such a knack for creating believable worlds...this one is very gothic and full of lots and lots (and lots) of money. There are multiple characters and two timelines, mostly following the life and loves of a wealthy heiress named Ruby. A perfect read for anyone who loves stories filled with Gothic-y homes, small mountain towns, and good-old-fashioned family backstabbing.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a fast paced suspense that was so enjoyable to read. The different POVs jumping back and forth between timelines slowly revealed secrets and twists. And I loved how flawed all the characters were so much more interesting to read.

I loved this book! If I could give it 4.5 stars I would! The only reason I didn't rate it 5 is because one of the twists at the end... I wanted to know more about that! But also wouldn't be surprised if maybe there's a follow up story there.
This reads like a juicy movie and was so addictive. The different characters were written quite well. It was a little bit Evelyn Hugo meets Knives Out in the best way. Another hit from Rachel Hawkins that I'll be recommending!
Thank you for the advanced read NetGalley!

4.5 stars. This book was great! Loved the history of the characters and the suspense was great! I have read this authors other books as well and loved most of them. I will definitely be recommending this one to my book friends. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book.

3.5 rating
Camden McTavish wasn’t born with the infamous name McTavish. That name came after he was adopted by Ruby McTavish, a wealthy woman who survived four husbands. Ruby was the heir of the Ashby estate leaving everything to Camden her adopted son which is ruffling a few feathers with the remaining McTavish family.
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When Ruby passed away she left her estate to Camden. According to Ben, Libby, and Nelle Camden shouldn’t be the one inherit the estate since he’s not blood. Camden was never interested in Ruby’s money because it came with expectations. His wife Jules is ecstatic to finally be inside the famous house of the notorious Ruby McTavish. Everyone knows her story how she disappeared from a family picnic when she was three years old and found eight months later living with another family who claimed she was their three year old daughter Dora.
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Nelle, Ben, and Libby want to keep the Ashby House for themselves. Jules wants to keep the Ashby House for her and Cam. It’s a fight until the bitter end to see which of these family members can destroy the other with secrets and truths.
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Rachel Hawkins writes with an originality that surpasses most other writers. The Heiress is about Ruby McTavish’s life before her death. Readers learn the truth about each husband in letters Ruby wrote to someone. It’s in these confession letters where Camden learns who his mother was. That mystery gets out to rest fairly early in the story. The true mystery lies within Jules the woman Camden married ten years ago. Her fascination with the Ashby House and his family members brings forth a curiosity that is itching to be shared.
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Definitely an interesting concept and quite unique. I commend Rachel Hawkins for writing an original story. While I wasn’t completely invested in this story I still appreciate the way it all came together in the end. It had a subtle twist that worked. I wish I had liked it more because the writing was flawless. It was an easy short read perfect for a day on the beach.

Rachel Hawkins is an auto buy for me, espcially with her new focus on true crime thrillers. This one was a perfect mix of gothic drama and mystery. It felt like Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets Knives Out. Enough flashbacks/letters balanced with current storyline to leave you constantly learning more about the story but wanting to keep going and figure it out.