I am a huge Rachel Hawkins fan and The Heiress did not disappoint! Rich, brooding, secretive characters drive a slow burning gothic thriller.
Ruby McTavaish was as notorious as she was wealthy. Abducted as a three year old and returned to her family months later, tragedy seemed to follow her. She survived four husbands earning her the nickname, Mrs. Killmore. Wanting to keep the family fortune away from her hateful family, she adopts Cameron, a three year old from an impoverished situation. Now we find Cam, the heir to Ashby House and the McTavish fortune, and his lovely and spunky wife, Jules, returning to North Carolina to sort out the family fortune and correct the sins of the past. We meet his aunt Nelle, cousins Ben and Libby. They all are quite unlikeable and resent Cam, claiming he doesn’t rightful deserve to inherit as he isn’t a true McTavish. Nothing is at it seems! So many twists and an ending both discordant and satisfying.

I have read two of Hawkins books: The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls. Both of which were enjoyable for me. I was super excited to get a copy of this for that reason! And WOW this did not disappoint. The Heiress was so unique plot wise and delivered completely different from the other two books. I loved how we heard from three viewpoints via characters and written letters!

Camden & Jules have been happily married for 10 years. But as always, they have secrets! We find out that both are harboring things from their past. Camden is an adopted orphan of Ruby McTavish, who then becomes heir to their very wealthy McTavish family. But, to surprise he dismissed his inheritance completely. He couldn’t care less about the money, his ties, and even his remaining family. After receiving and email from his estranged cousin, Jules pushes for them to return to Camden’s family home, the Ashby House to make amends so that they can move on. At first it seems Jules may want to stay and make it their own, but soon the house starts spilling secrets.

One thing about this book was that Hawkins did a great job developing the characters. I felt like I really knew them. It was quite shocking when all these secrets kept pouring out. This was a fast paced page turner for me. If you are into a thriller with some unlikable characters, family backstabbing, and some southern gothic charm - this will be a great read for you!

A special thanks to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and the author for this Copy. I really enjoyed reading this one! Publication: 01/09/2024

A look into the life of a woman, Ruby McTavish, who was kidnapped at the age of three, brought back home, and then married four different times. You’re able to read the full story in detail of her life, in her own letters.
After she passes, her adopted son, Camden, and his wife Jules, go back to the family’s home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to settle some family business and tie loose ends.
I absolutely ate this book up. The letters are full of surprises, there are several twists I didn’t see coming, the storyline ends with all questions answered. A cozy story about a powerful family.

This was my first book by this author, despite her books having been on my TBR for quite some time. After reading The Heiress, I am more inclined to read her other books,

Written from multiple POVs, including letters and newspaper articles from the past, the writing style kept me hooked throughout the entirety of the book,

The beginning was a little slow, but about 50% of the way through the book I found that I was unable to put it down. The protagonists are likable and the antagonist are equally dislikable, which adds the perfect amount of suspense throughout the book.

Twisty and clever, highly recommended.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Rachel Hawkins is really coming into her own as an author. For me, every one of her books has been incrementally better than the last; I really disliked The Wife Upstairs but decided to give Reckless Girls a try. I liked that one enough to pick up The Villa and enjoyed it so much that The Heiress was a must-read. It didn’t disappoint! Reminiscent of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo with a dash of gothic, multiple viewpoints and morally ambiguous characters - all very much my cup of tea. I devoured this. Rachel Hawkins just made herself an auto-buy author in the likes of Lisa Jewell and Ruth Ware.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I loved The Villa and I think I loved The Heiress even more.
Great atmosphere set at the old Ashby Manor. The woods and the mountains. A weird and eccentric family.
Then Ruby and her revealing her history of her life.
So many storylines yet they are perfectly placed and woven together.
Loved this book even more than the previous one by Hawkins.

Thank you, NetGalley for an early copy of The Heiress in exchange for an honest review.

The Heiress had all the factors that I love in a book. Old money home with old money problems. Rich man in love with an "average girl". And the constant implication that there's something more going on.

However, I think most of these elements that I love so much fell flat—for example, the house. Throughout the story's beginning, Ashby House is built up to be an eery presence that draws you in and, through some fantastical forces, doesn't let you leave. Yet, that element doesn't appear when our main characters, Camden and Jules arrive to Ashby.

And the plot twists... I LOVE plot twists. I love being surprised by them, and having an "OMG" moment. I did not have an OMG moment with this book. All the major plot twists were heavily foreshadowed. The only one I truly didn't expect was <spoiler>Jules being the receiver of all of Rubys' letters. Other than the interaction she had with Ben, I don't remember much foreshadowing of her suspicious relationship with the McTavishs. She's a sus character, please let her have sus moments!</spoiler>

As for the characters....it was hard to like them.
I'm not sure if Hawkins wanted me to like Ruby, but I did not. She was a murderer. Other than her first husband, all the men who died at her hands were innocent. It's like glamorizing Jack the Ripper.
And Jules? I understand she came from very little and would love nothing more than to be financially comfortable, living in a beautiful house for the rest of her life. But the way she talked about Ashby felt so greedy and dirty. Like Camden was ridiculous for rejecting everything. And maybe he was? But the way her character presented the situation felt icky.
Camden was Ok for me. I didn't love him but I didn't hate him.
Finally, Libby, Nelle, and Ben. There was no grey area with them. They were just evil. And that made them, truthfully, not very interesting.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. It didn't have me gripping my tablet with anticipation but I also wanted to know the conclusion to the tale. I truly believe that with a little more editing this could be a fantastic thriller book. Right now, however, it reads more like a general fiction book with thriller elements.

This was such a thrill to read and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this one! This is only the second Rachel Hawkins I’ve read and I didn’t enjoy Reckless Girls as much as I’d hoped but this was fantastic!

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, the wealthiest woman in NC dies, she leaves everything to her adopted son Camden who really wants nothing to do with the money, her estate, or the McTavish name. Not only was she wealthy but notorious for her kidnapping at 3 years old and the fact she’s a widow four times over. A decade later, when Camden’s uncle dies, he’s called back to Ashby House to sort out some things with the home and his living aunt and cousins along with his now wife of 10 years, Jules. Nothing is as it seems and everyone has secrets.

I love how it’s told in multiple POVs and told as a story to the reader themselves one on one. Almost epistolary style with some news articles and letters as well; we hear from Camden, Jules, and Ruby. Mostly spent at the atmospheric Ashby House, the whole story gives you the feel of something unsuspecting and sinister that might happen. There were so many twists Rachel Hawkins set up perfectly! Some were predictable but not until they were almost revealed and others weren’t and I was caught off guard several times saying, “OMG!” The end was really twisted and so much came to light. This was a psychologically thrilling page turner and so much fun to read!

Another fabulous read by Rachel Hawkins. Even though it was predictable and I guessed the ending, I still enjoyed every page. This book was very binge worthy and I couldn’t put it down.

Camden and Jules have been married for 10 years. When Camden’s family finally makes it through to him to come back to take care of the fortune he inherited that is when all the secrets begin to unravel. I got some Verity vibes at the end too. Clever, fast paced and suspenseful!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

To begin, I am a Rachel Hawkins fan.

I love the quick, witty, article/letter-interrupted pace that her books have. I find that I read her so very quickly. The Heiress did not disappoint. I loved The Villa, but I think that The Heiress quickly took over any lingering thoughts of that book and quickly replaced them with Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore.

The amount of twists and turns that this book had was perfect. I think some were predictable and some weren't. but even those that were a bit more guessable, I wanted more -- I found myself saying out loud, "WHAT?!" a few times! The audacity of this family, the sinister nature of one, Ruby herself. This book will have you flipping the pages so fast, try not to get a papercut.

This book starts out slow but then delivers twist after twist. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but definitely kept me reading. Not your usual thriller but more of a twisty family drama that plays out through several viewpoints and letters.
Definitely a change in the backdrop of the Villa; from sunny to gloomy and ominous.

This one grabbed me from the beginning. I like how the story was told through articles, letters, and different points of view. This is a story about an old family in North Carolina, their fortune, and who deserves to inherit it. Lots of twists and surprises. Secrets. Very good, read it in one day.

So entertaining! I love Rachel Hawkins' novels and this upcoming release did not let me down. Set at a haunting estate, the Ashby House's glamour is overshadowed by the past and the family that lives there. When the 'queen is knocked off her throne', the House calls Camden, the adopted son and heir of the estate home. Upon arriving, things are amiss amongst the McTavish family and everyone has their own motive for the family fortune. Camden's wife, Jules, is relishing in the new estate, but what is the cost of the fortune? What of it that Cam is adopted in? I read this novel in a day, it was so fast paced. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs and the additional use of mediums (newspaper clippings, letters, emails), that help drive the story and unravel the family history along.

This was a very quick, enjoyable read. The action never dragged, and it constantly felt like you were being hurtled towards an inevitable, devastating outcome. I really enjoyed the Ruby backstory, and the mysteries that surrounded her, though somewhat straining my credulity, still seemed somewhat plausible. I was pleasantly surprised that certain characters were not quite as villainous as I had thought they were, and the ending felt spot-on for the general moral ambiguity. While definitely a mash-up of some fairly common suspense tropes, the way it all came together felt different enough to me that it didn't seem like a reapeat of things I've read before. I will definitely be recommending this to fans of Megan Miranda, Megan Abbott, Ashley Audrain.

Told from the perspectives of Ruby’s adopted son Camden and his wife Jules, alternating with tidbits from news articles surrounding the kidnapping (and other infamy) of Ruby McTavish who was missing for 8 months before being returned to her family, and from letters from Ruby herself confessing her dark truths at the end of her life.

Jules has been married to Cam for ten years and we learn early on that she is more involved in his family history than she’s let on.

But… Cam is keeping secrets from Jules as well.

Cam, having been adopted by Ruby after being in and out of foster homes at a young age, was forced to grow up with the McTavishes, enduring their cruelty and hate for the rest of his childhood until he makes the choice to leave it all behind. He has been married and living in a different state, with a completely different life for a decade but is forced back to his family home, as sole heir to the family’s fortune to make repairs to the estate.

It felt like I had read this story before.
A large mansion, dark secrets, a cruel and rich family with an eerie history…
But then the storyline intensely shifts at the last 1/4 of the book. Secrets come to light that you thought you knew but didn’t realize the full extent of.

I found this an engaging read by way of storyline. I found it to be suspenseful and ominous at times. The characters are easy to hate yet easy to understand and hard to redeem. Except for Camden.

I was provided with a digital ARC of The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for an honest review. The words (and opinions) within are my own.
Expected release date: January 8, 2024

Rachel Hawkins is my new favorite author! Each and every book she writes only gets better! The Heiress was Flowers in the Attack, Evelyn Hugo and The Last Mrs Parish all wrapped into one! Without giving away any spoilers - No one in this book is what they seem or who they are and that's what makes this book "unable to put down"! If you haven't read Hawkins before - start now with this book! I am so grateful for the advance copy and will be purchasing as gifts for my book club friends!

I thought Rachel Hawkins was at her best with The Villa, but somehow The Heiress is even BETTER! I don’t always love stories told in multiple time periods, but Hawkins did a masterful job with it here—the story was easy to follow, and the twists kept me eagerly turning the pages until well after my bedtime several nights in a row. The characters were believable and utterly fascinating, and there were so many OMG moments in the plot, which was stellar throughout. Highly recommend!

Oh man, I devoured this book in less than 3 days. I was immediately drawn in by the blueprint for how sociopaths are both born and made.

The POV characters jumped right off the page as fully formed people, with unique voices and personalities. I especially loved Jules (which was probably by design). I found that as their story unfolded, new information was revealed that seemed somehow surprising and still inevitable. I particularly enjoyed the ending and the question that remains in the reader's mind after the final pages.

I can't wait to see what Rachel Hawkins does next. Thanks to Ms. Hawkins and NetGalley for an advanced look at "The Heiress".

After the passing of the wealthy and strong-willed Ruby McTavish, her sole heir and his wife have to come to terms with some less than loving relatives.

This may be my favorite Hawkins novel yet. While I was able to correctly predict all twists/reveals early on due to some ample clues-the entire plot was wonderfully crafted and delivered. I really enjoyed the varied cast of characters and found Ruby's letters detailing her life to be quite interesting and expertly peppered into the modern day story unfolding at Ashby House. This was definitely a quick and engrossing little mystery!

This was the first book that I read by Rachel Hawkins and it surely won't be the last! The story was a perfect balance between love/family and hate/thriller mystery! It is about married couple Jules and Cam who are traveling back to Cam's childhood home after the death of a loved one. Cam is rich and doesn't want anything to do with the money/family but Jules really doesn't understand the deep seated hate that runs through them. There were SO many twists and turns in this story that I just didn't see coming! I couldn't put it down. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ACR in exchange for my honest opinion.