Monday, February 19, 2024

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

 

Title: The Heiress
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: January 9, 2024








When RubyMcTavish 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.












I can say that I loved this one!

We get 3 points of view:

The first one is from the letters written by the deceased heiress RubyMcTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. She was the sole owner of the McTavish's fortune. She was also abducted when she was a child and returned home to Ashby House after a year of being taken. Ruby never got along with her sister Nelle who seemed to be full of envy and jealousy towards her. Ruby was also married four times and all her husbands died. Did she kill them or did she just have bad luck in love?

The second one is from Camden. Ruby's adopted son. He was bullied while growing up by his cousin Ben and hated by Nelle. As soon as Ruby passed, Camden left for California. Leaving his inheritance behind and working as a teacher he is much happier especially when he meets his future wife, Jules. Then, he is summoned to come back to Ashby House after the passing of his step-uncle.

The third comes from Jules, Camden's wife. She can't wait to move into Ashby House. She feels they deserve the estate and they need to get rid of the people who made Camden's life hell. Yet, things are never that clear once they get there.

The Heiress is an atmospheric and full-of-intrigue novel with perfect-timing twists that had me turning the pages as fast as I could. A winner for sure!

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


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