3.5 ⭐️ This book has multiple POVs and takes place mostly in a beautiful backdrop of The Ashby House that is dripping with old money. This book was an easy read and although filled with lies and murder- it wasn’t super thrilling. It was way more lighthearted than I would have liked! Ruby, as a baby, goes missing (think the Lindbergh baby in real life) mixed with spoiled heirs (think Paul Murdaugh in real life) and that’s the entire vibe of the book. I didn’t find any characters likable - except for Ruby. She is dead in the current timeline, but there are letters written from her that are scattered throughout (the best part in my opinion). She is eccentric, entitled, and devious - hence why I enjoyed her character the most! The ending was good, but it took too long to get there. The book as a whole isn’t bad, but for me it won’t be that memorable. The only other Rachel Hawkins book I’ve read was The Villa - another beautiful setting, but also not that thrilling. I liked this one slightly more and mostly because of Ruby.

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I think I've only read one or two other books my Rachel Hawkins, and I know the first one I read by her was kind of a disappointment for me. But this book? Definitely turned that around.

This novel is told from different POVS - Ruby, through letters written to someone unknown, Cam, and Jules. I think I loved Ruby's the most, how she grew up to be the woman she is known to be, and whether or not she was involved in the deaths of her many husbands.

It was very interesting to see how Cam would react to coming home, his strange relationship with Ruby, and exactly what drove him away. Part of me almost wondered if he would end up the villain in the story, because he just seemed so angry, and I loved the back and forth between is he or isn't he.

Jules was probably my least favorite person in this book. I didn't trust her from the get go. She was so different around others than she was in her head, and I desperately wanted to figure out what her story was. Which kept me reading, because of my distrust.

This book definitely redeemed Ms. Hawkins for me, and now I am so excited to check out more of her writing. Definitely a fun "who can I trust?" kind of book, and a quick read.

Told through a combination of alternating narrators, news clippings and letters this book is captivating. The drama that surrounds the McTavish family is like a car crash you can't look away from. A kidnapped and recovered child, four dead husbands, an adoptive son who wants nothing to do with the money and power given to him, there is simply so much going on in this family. Full of the twists and turns you'd expect from Rachel Hawkins this book will keep you enthralled until the last page.

Really enjoyable and twisty story - some mystery, some told through letters. I really liked it! Once I got into it I could not put it down.

This book started off strong and hooked me in right away, with the story of Ruby wandering off as a child and being found and kept by another rich family. I just had to know what happened next! As the plot developed I do feel as if it was slow going and I found myself becoming less interested. I wish there had been a few more exciting twists but overall it was an interesting story. 3.5 stars rounded up

This was such a fast read and kept me so entertained! Every chapter left me wanting to keep reading.

This is a family drama with multiple POVs. These unreliable characters are filled with secrets within their dysfunctional family.

My favourite thing about thrillers are plot twists and yes, this is one filled with them!

This is definitely my favourite book from Rachel Hawkins with The Wife Upstairs close behind.

4.5⭐️

I certainly did not expect this story. The mundane beginning of this story slips into layers of secrets and lies that are simply stunning. It quickly turned left and traveled a road I could not have anticipated. The darkness and suspense in this novel were truly its biggest surprises.

This was the first Rachel Hawkins novel I have experienced. I found the main characters to be quite likable and so ordinary. Camden and Jules seem so ordinary and so in love. Their simple lives get overshadowed by Camden's inheritance of his adoptive mother's family fortune and the greed it inspires within his family.

This book tests limits of family, loyalty, trust, and self-confidence. Rachel Hawkins does a wonderful job of maintaining the suspense and drama. There is not a single character without flaw who is wholly likeble and without an agenda. Until the very end, it was highly mysterious and gripping to find out how it was all going to unfold.

For those who like a truly nerve-wracking thrill ride, this book is a wonderful treat.

Not gonna lie, this was a lot better than I expected out of it. Not to say that I thought it’d be bad but I actually really enjoyed it. Great pacing. The switch between the two MCs, the dead heiress’s letters and little snippets of new articles. Very well done! I flew through it

Loved this twisty fun read about a rich Southern family with lots of drama! Ruby’s letters were my favorite parts. Thank you to @stmartinspress for the digital ARC and to @macmillan.audio for the audiobook. The narrators did a great job and Ruby’s voice was perfect, I could picture her through her voice. There are so many characters to despise in this family. Highly recommend for those of you who like domestic thrillers.

“The Heiress” by Rachel Hawkins follows the McTavish family as they start to untangle the will of Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. While many members of the family assume they are owed something, Ruby left everything to her adoptive son, Camden. Ten years after her death, Cam reluctantly brings his wife to the family home to deal with the people and past he would like to forget. But it seems even in death, Ruby has more tricks up her sleeve.

This was such an interesting read. From page one, Ruby is this mysterious enigma of a person. She is complex and surrounded by tragedy. As we learn more about her, we see this family and Cam’s roll in it all is much more chaotic than it originally seems. I loved how clever Ruby is, always at least two steps ahead of everyone.

This book was a quick read for me. Once I settled in, the pages flew and I had to know what was next. Hawkins creates this interesting dynamic of the dysfunctional rich family, but something about it sparks new and interesting.

In the end, I gave this book a solid 5 stars. It was engaging and fascinating. I enjoyed the characters and felt invested in figuring out what was really going on. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book is out now!

Ruby McTavish ruled high society. An extremely wealthy heiress who found herself at the center of the national spotlight as a mere child, Ruby was used to getting her way. Then there was the pesky matter of her four dead husbands, all of whom died of very different causes that surely never traced back to her.

Ruby has been dead for years, but her adopted son, Camden, has been sucked back into the family circle after a decade away. Other than Ruby, the McTavishes never believed that Cam belonged to their family. They saw him as a piece of commoner trash turned Ruby's vanity project, and they made sure he always knew it. But Ruby left everything to him, including the sprawling family estate they all live in. Cam's wife, Jules, sees the family's long-awaited groveling for funds as an opportunity. She doesn't care that her English teacher husband is actually among the 1%, of course. Buuuuut living a life of luxury certainly couldn't hurt. All she has to do is stand with Cam— and help him outwit his entitled, obnoxious, scheming extended family.

Told through Ruby's old letters as well as Cam and Jules’ present POV, The Heiress unravels a tale of infamy, obscene wealth, and a family on the verge of destruction.

The thing I love about Rachel Hawkins’ books is that they always move at a really steady clip. The Heiress does a great job inserting a series of little cliffhangers that make you want to read just a bit more. This was the case for me even when I was pretty sure where the plot was going. Some elements of the plot are pretty forthright, particularly in Ruby's letters, but the overall storyline also veered into unexpected, deliciously twisty directions.

Hawkins is also an expert at crating interesting characters. They're sometimes unreliable and unlikable, but my goodness, they are fun to read. Ruby McTavish knows exactly what she did, and the novel expertly walks the fine line between judging and humanizing her. Cam and Jules are easy to root for, even when their motives get shifty. The rest of the McTavishes are quietly despicable, but they're exactly what you'd expect after having been raised in a lap of luxury. Even the side characters have distinct, authentic personalities that easily add to the imagination.

It's not without flaws, of course. There's a bit of deus ex machina sprinkled in there, plus some areas where I just wanted the plot to move on. But none of it was super detrimental and I'd still recommend this to anyone who enjoys a light mystery.

There's still a few more I have to read, but I think The Heiress might be my favorite book by the author thus far.

I absolutely love Rachel Hawkins. Her writing style is always captivating. I was very excited for the opportunity to read and review this book. Reckless Girls was my favorite Hawkins read, but now I think The Heiress has taken that spot.

This book was a puzzle, and all the pieces fit together so perfectly. I was on the edge of my seat for a large majority of the time with my heart beating fast. The pacing was fantastic and kept you hanging on for the next twist. I loved the unique plot and the multiple points of view. I could not put this one down. I read it in a single sitting.

A special thanks to Rachel Hawkins, NetGalley, and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

One of my favorite books by Rachel Hawkins yet! Such a darkly fun thriller, full of suspense. I couldn't put this one down. I did guess most of the twists before they were properly revealed so the end felt a bit unsatisfying, but still a great story. I especially enjoyed Ruby's letters. She was such a richly written character. Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this copy.

My thoughts on…

THE STORY:

Oh. My. Ruby. This is solid storytelling.

Ruby McTavish passed a decade ago, and instead of her adopted son Cam stepping right into the shoes of expectation - and what it means to be a McTavish - he turns his back on it all and heads to Colorado. Now he’s married, a teacher, and not looking back. At least, not until he has no other choice.

And that time has arrived as our story opens. Cam is called back home to settle things, once and for all. But what secrets has he been keeping from his wife Jules? Most importantly, what secrets has Ruby taken to her grave?

Told through multiple points-of-view, including from Ruby’s, Hawkins delivers readers with a solid thriller. Readers will be thrust into a gothic South where family blood is supposed to mean everything, and where secrets are not ever to be revealed.

There are twists and turns throughout the story, and just when the reader thinks they’ve figured out something, they are knocked off kilter with another reveal, until the very end.

I loved every page.


THE CHARACTERS:

Hawkins delivers a cast of characters, all with their own agenda, but my three favorites were (in order of favorites) Ruby, Jules, and Cam.

While it’s been a decade since Ruby’s passing, she tells her story through letters. This was an effective choice for her character because she has deep secrets, shocking secrets, and what better way to have an old-money Southern woman reveal them to the reader than through letters. This is where Ruby can be her ultimate, true self without consequence.

Jules. Oh how I loved Jules. She is Cam’s wife and is 100% team Cam, but she also wants him to embrace his McTavish roots…and money. After all, why is she working a job she likes but doesn’t love when she could be living a life of luxury? But do not be fooled. Her love for Cam is genuine. It would just be nice if she could also enjoy some of the McTavish money he refuses to touch.

And then there’s Cam, the adopted son of Ruby. I keep using the term adopted because the McTavish family will not let him forget it. He is not one of “them,” and because of this, they do not believe he is the rightful inheritor. The money and property should stay “in the family.” Specifically, in the “blood” family. What are they willing to do to cut Cam out of it all?`

I had no use for the rest of the McTavish family. I found them to be stereotypical of an old-money family, which is fine. That’s why they are there, to contrast who Ruby, Jules, and Cam are/were as characters.


THE ATMOSPHERE:

This is a Southern gothic thriller, and once readers are on Ashby House land, they can feel the strangulation of how old-money doesn’t allow for growth in the most greedy.

I loved Tavistock as a setting for the town. It’s clear the townspeople want good things for the town, but also for Cam. As someone who has lived in a small Southern town, the book perfectly captures that atmosphere - everyone knows everyone and there are no secrets; rumors are everywhere and are probably more true than anyone wants to admit.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

Hawkins is becoming a stronger storyteller with each book she publishes, and this was, by far, her best one yet. I am still thinking about this story, and it’s been a couple of weeks since I finished.

WHO WILL WANT TO READ THIS: This book will appeal to thriller readers looking to read a book with twists and turns that tickle the brain and make them question what is true and what is not.


This book was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

The Heiress is a gripping, atmospheric, domestic gothic mystery full of dark family secrets of a complex, mysterious heiress and the inheritance she left behind.
1943 Tavistock, North Carolina. On September 12th, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, a three-year-old daughter (Ruby) of Mr. Mason McTavish and his wife Anna seemingly vanished into thin air while on a picnic. Mr. McTavish is among the wealthiest men in the state of NC.
Ruby disappeared for almost a year. Manson McTavish hired a Private Investigator and found the child alive and well, living in Spanish Fort, Alabama, eight months after she first disappeared with a family by the name of Darnell, who called her Dora—reunited with her family.
When Heiress, philanthropist, and one-time kidnap victim Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies at age 73, she is NC's wealthiest and most notorious woman. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family's stunning estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains.
Ruby also had a string of bad luck and mishaps with her husband's death. The last husband gave her a nickname in NC, Mrs. Kill-more. She reverted to her maiden name, Ruby McTavish, afterward.
After her death, her adopted son, Camden, will inherit the estate and the nine-figure fortune stipulated in her will. Cam wants little to do with the house or the money. He rejects his inheritance and leads an everyday life as an English teacher in Colorado. He marries Jules, a woman who also escapes her past.
Ten years later, Camden is summoned upon his uncle's death and returns to the Ashby House with his wife, Jules. His cousin, Ben, his childhood tormentor and bully, contacts him after his father's death to deal with the family's problems.
The more Jules learns about Cam's estranged, twisted family, the more she is to claim everything that he is entitled to.
Was there any truth to the persistent rumours following her disappearance as a girl? What happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place?
In addition to the POV, there are other estranged family members: the Nanny, Ben, the cousin, an estate lawyer, his sister Libby, and great aunt Nelle, Ruby's sister. Behind closed doors, this family has so many dark secrets hidden from their public personas.
Who are these people? The people they were born to be or the people they became— by their fate. Are we made up of different types of people?
Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what's written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.
Told alternating in the past and present, there are different POVs from Jules, Camden, and Ruby (letters from the desk of Ruby A. McTavish). Who was she writing to?
These POVs teach us about childhoods, scandals, secrets, and marriages. All three are hiding secrets from one another. Nothing was simple with Ruby. From past to present, the complex past unfolds, and Ruby's mysterious childhood and letters, all the unlikeable characters and their lies and dark secrets and scheming within the family, kept me frantically swiping the pages on my Kindle late into the night. I was anxious to see how it would all turn out.

If you enjoy unlikeable dark characters, lies, secrets buried in the past, deception, murder mysteries, dysfunctional families with drama, past & present timelines, twists, gothic vibes, manipulation, ambiguous morals, and stories of the wealthy behaving immorally, I highly recommend The Heiress. Money truly is the root of all evil—The Rich Gone Bad.
Dark, sinister, wickedly addictive, riveting! It is my first time reading Rachel Hawkins, and it won't be my last—

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ADC in exchange for an honest opinion

I love this cover. I love a good family drama. Add in some mystery and a little thriller and I am sold. The change in point of views made the story even more dramatic. I enjoyed not knowing the things and slowly being fed little bits and clues. The twists were surprising. I loved the ending. I highly recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I unfortunately will not be able to review due to the SMP boycott. Incredibly disappointing as I LOVE Rachel Hawkins and everything she writes

Wow, one of her best books yet. Devoured it in one sitting. Plenty of twists and the perfect locked room setting made for a great thriller.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own.

The Heiress
Author Rachel Hawkins
Available now!

Thank you, @stmartinspress and @netgalley, for my #gifted e- arc! This is my second read by Hawkins, and now my favorite!

Of course, I love the setting of the fictional Ashby House in the Blue Ridge mountains, so I was immediately pulled right into the family dynamics after the notorious and exorbitantly wealthy Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies. Not only was Ms. Ruby widowed four times over, she was a victim of kidnapping, and the richest woman in NC.

Ten years later, Ruby's adopted son, Camden, who adamantly rejected his inheritance and his surviving family, and his wife, Jules, are pulled back to the Ashby House after his uncle dies, and so the drama begins. There are so many unanswered questions about Ruby's past, which ultimately affect Camden's past.

Through a series of letters written by Ruby herself, the reader, Camden, and Jules learn of Ruby's past, her secrets, and her betrayals. It's the unveiling of the dirty sins that get covered up because of the wealth and influence over this small NC mountains town that's mysterious, shocking, and intriguing all at once. The Heiress is definitely a quick and engaging read of the rich gone wild!

Many thanks to my friends at @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for the #gifted copies of this book.

What a surprise! This was a twisty, fun gothic mystery that I didn’t want to put down!

Honestly, I wasn’t sure about this read when I first saw it circulating. But then, the buzz was hot. So when @thats.one.for.the.books asked about a buddy read, the FOMO made it an easy yes.

Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. The richest woman in North Carolina. Kidnapped as a child and widowed four times under mysterious circumstances. Now THAT is a life with a story to tell.

From the beginning, I found myself easily engaged with the storyline. I was fascinated by Ruby. Each chapter left me eager for more of her story.

And then there was the rest of the family… what a tangled web!

Rife with secrets and full of drama, this read was just the juicy entertainment that I needed. It was twisty and fast paced, and the anticipation built into a satisfying finale.

This is my favorite read by Hawkins to date. Much like Ruby charmed her many husbands, I think this book will easily thrill many readers.

🎧 The audiobook was excellently narrated by a cast, breathing life into the various point of views and showcasing the drama filled twists. Extra shoutout to Patti Murrin, the narrator for Ruby. She truly exemplified Ruby’s feisty and bold nature.