BOOK REVIEW: The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
Family drama full of lies, secrets, betrayals and murder. A must read for thriller fans.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was the first Rachel Hawkins book I have read, and it didn’t disappoint that’s for sure. However, to review this in the way I typically review books would give away too many spoilers, so we’ll see how this goes. I will say before getting too far in that I am a huge fan of this cover! I love it!
Ok, quick overview: Cam was adopted into one of the wealthiest and scandalous families on eth East Coast. One that he grew to hate for the animosity between his mother Ruby and her sister Nelle and Nelle’s grandchildren. When Ruby, who at three went missing from the woods around the family estate, Ashby House, and was found months later in another state, dies, the McTavish family is in an uproar that the entire inheritance was left to Cam. Now summoned to North Carolina and Ashby House, Cam must face the lies, secrets and demons that fill the walls of the home he has avoided for over a decade.
Talk about a dysfunctional family. Cam, and what I guess would be his cousins, Ben and Libby, have a rivalry that runs deeper than just simple jealousy and greed. There is the constant cloud that hangs over Cam’s head in that he is not connected to the family or its generational wealth by blood and thus does not have a right to it, and this family is ruthless. Murder apparently is always an option on the table. There is a target on Cam’s back that even those in the small community warn him about, but what can anyone do when this family literally owns the town and the local government.
There are three things that I really liked about this story.
#1 - The complexity of the characters. They literally are all carrying secrets and have specific motivations and goals behind everything they say and do - and they are not honorable to say the least. The alternating POVs between Cam and his wife, Jules, creates insights that you wouldn’t have if it was a singular POV. I went through the whole book back and forth in my feelings about all the characters, but the most interesting aspect is the character that has the biggest role in the movement of the plot is the character who has been dead the whole time - Ruby. She is able to tell her story in a way that is mysterious and eye-opening. We learn her story from the time she went missing at the age of 3, through all of her husbands’ suspicious murders, all the way up to her death. This is done in a parallel fashion with the present, current situation that Cam and Jules find themselves in while back at Ashby House. And Jules is a tricky character in her own right!
#2 - I am always a fan of supplemental and non-traditional structural elements. Ruby chooses to reveal the details of her sordid past through a series of letters that are placed throughout the novel. Hawkins is very clever and thoughtful in how she constructs these letters, it was my favorite aspect of the book. In addition to the letters, I loved the incorporation of various newspaper and magazine articles that were published throughout Ruby’s life. The timing of these articles matched with events that Ruby mentioned in the letters. It just goes to provide a different perspective in helping to show how the more global world views this family and Ruby.
#3 - The pacing and structure of the storyline creates everything needed to develop an engaging plot with a strong driving conflict that makes for a very quick read. It’s one of those books that you can lose yourself in when reading and before you know it you’ve read a 100 pages and more time has passed than you realized. This plays hand in hand with the characterization and the need for answers. The gradual release of secrets drives the pacing of the plot. Right when you think you have things figured out, you learn something new about one of the characters, and it shifts everything that you thought you knew, creating more questions and doubt.
Where does this book land on my bookshelf?
I’m not a thriller connoisseur, so I can’t tell you all the ins and outs of tropes and how it molds to traditional expectations, but as a reader, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would put this on my top shelf. It was a quick, fun, engaging and twisty thriller that I thought was a perfect summer read. I love how even as the reader learns the truths and uncovers all the secrets, that is not the case for all the characters. Some characters remain naïve regarding certain events/knowledge at the close of the book. It really shows how the characters may not necessarily evolve throughout the novel, but their true character is slowly revealed; layers pulled back to show their true colors. I was hooked from the beginning and thought the ending was fitting. If you are looking for a fun thriller full of secrets, mystery and murder definitely add this one to your TBR. You will have to wait a little while as this one doesn’t hit the shelves until January 9, 2024.
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