The Heiress ARC Review

 The Heiress 

by Rachel Hawkins

 

Release Date: Jan. 09, 2023

Genre: Thriller

Age Range: Adult

Goodreads Avg. Rating: 4.18 stars

Thank you very much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC copy to review.

The description was interesting. With the cover, it seems that the publishers are sticking with a theme for all of Hawkins thriller titles. Having read a few of her books before I was optimistic that this one would go okay. That opening page of the book pulled me in. Now to write this out for you in a way that doesn't spoil the book.

The Heiress takes place at Ashby House or the nearby town for the majority of the book. Then through different periods, we are shown other far-off locations. At Ashby House though there is the old money feel. There is an air of oppressiveness as well in the dark wood. Then the seclusion of the house being up on the mountain made it even easier for the family there to feel set apart from the rest of the world.

At different points in the book, we will get to see different characters. Starting in the first chapter is Jules Brewster. She is a character actor at a local history museum in Golden, Colorado. In the first chapter, she mostly describes how she met Camden ten years ago. Throughout the book, her chapters are shifting, within the chapter itself, from her thinking in the moment to sounding like she is relating an event to someone.

Then there is Camden McTavish, the luckiest boy in North Carolina. He hated that a magazine dubbed him that at twelve. Cam appears to be a very average man. He teaches English at an all-boys prep school. He preferred to earn his way rather than use the large inheritance that was left for him. His chapters were much more in the moment or thinking back to his childhood. For me, at least this was a much better thing as it didn't pull me out of what was happening.

For the interlude parts, we were able to hear from Ruby McTavish herself. There was a series of letters detailing the scandalous events of her life. The letters really could be the story, as they were very enthralling. Ruby was a trip to be sure. Sadly, things turned out the way they did.

The story itself revolves around Camden agreeing to return home to settle affairs. This is only slightly prompted by his uncle's death. Now that they are back at Ashby House nothing is as expected. The past lingers large for Camden while Jules is being won over by the grandeur of it all. Will the ghosts of Ruby's past be the undoing of the life Camden has tried to make?

It seems to be the go-to format for a Rachel Hawkins thriller, chapters in the present with interludes of mixed formatting. I enjoy this style. I wish I had a physical copy to look at now because the styling would probably be different for those. In this book, the interludes are in letters from Ruby or news articles. As with the other books, it gives the reader more of an idea as to what has happened before our characters. However, it also leads to us putting the pieces together ahead of the story. Which isn't completely a bad thing, I like finding out I'm right.

Now the ending of this one. Well, there was the last chapter, then two more letters, and then the epilogue. I feel like the epilogue, much like the one in The Villa, gives you a sense that all isn't right. As well as in this one there was another sort of mystery thrown in there. Sure it was supposed to be an answer to a question more than another question but my brain is now trying to figure out the logistics of that answer. As this is a thriller there isn't much more I can say about the ending is there.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were all *nope can't say that it’s a spoiler. I enjoyed the various sides of all the characters we got to see. The format and POV shifts make this book a fast read. That is one reason I will keep picking up her books even if some don't always work for me.