Week 38 Review: The Heiress

From Goodreads:

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.

My Review:
Oh, I loved reading this book! I just love Rachel Hawkins' mysteries, and how they come together is really great! And this latest one, man, it was so great! The whole set up with an estranged family and family fortune...yeah, I loved seeing it unfold!

I really enjoyed the way that this story was told, between the present with Jules and Cam in the present, and then of Ruby's letters that she was writing, that documented her past, and her husbands, and why she killed all 4 of them. It was so great to read! 

This was a story about the bad side of inherited wealth-so many of these characters do some pretty horrible things that they don't get punished for, because they have money, they have connections. And it's a pretty big part of the plot! 

The mystery of what happened to Ruby's husbands, as well as her disappearance as a child, I really enjoyed how all of those pieces came together! Like the fact that Cam knew the truth about Jules the whole time. All those twists and reveals worked out so well, including that last final one! It was fantastic to read! 

Loved reading this book and I can't wait for whatever is next by Rachel Hawkins! 

Author: Rachel Hawkins 
Read: September 16th, 2023
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2023 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Expected Publication: January 9th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars