The Heiress – Book Review

Title:- The Heiress

Author:- Rachel Hawkins

Date published:- January 9th 2024

No. of pages:- 294 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. 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 estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? 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.

OK, when I read The Wife Upstairs, I was bored that I actually DNFed the book (yeah I did). I found really good ratings on this book and I decided to check her latest book out. I wondered if it was going to be like the Wife Upstairs.

But, this was actually good. Better–much better than The Wife Upstairs.

Ruby McTavish is notoriously famous–she was that infamous kid who was being kidnapped in the early 1940’s and was found two months later, living in Alabama. Then Ruby was nicknamed “Mrs. Kill-more” because she was married four times and her four husbands all died under mysterious circumstances. And Ruby Mctavish runs the Ashby House.

Camden who is Ruby’s adopted son returns back to his childhood home Ashby House with his wife Jules. While Camden wasn’t interested in moving back to the house and the house reminds him the reason why he left, his wife Jules has other ideas…

The story was told in Jules and Camden’s POVs and there are Ruby’s letters, written before her death to someone, explaining the circumstances of her abduction as a child and also the reason behind her husbands’ mysterious deaths. There are also random news articles, posts and gossips that talk about the McTavishs elegant lifestyle in North Caroline, mostly focused on Ruby. These were very interesting to read, particularly Ruby’s letters were interesting to read. Jules and Camden were pretty much likable characters although the other characters like Nelle, Ben are unlikable. The descriptions of the house, the sceneries made the reader feel like they are also a part of the story. There wasn’t much suspense in the story however, although the twist towards the end was completely unexpected.

Overall if you are looking for a thriller with a bit of a family drama, then check The Heiress out–worth four stars.