The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

on

 


💰 The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Murder, money, and a very cursed family tree.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (4.5 out of 5 stars)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!
If you're just here to find out whether you should read The Heiress, the answer is YES. It’s smart, juicy, and full of secrets.
But if you want the full scoop (including who dies, who lies, and who lights the damn house on fire), keep reading. You’ve been warned.

📖 Buy on Amazon | Buy on Audible

🏡 Welcome to Ashby House, Where Everyone Has a Motive

This was my second read by Rachel Hawkins, the first being The Wife Upstairs (solid, but not amazing). The Heiress, though? Totally addictive. Rich people behaving badly is always my thing, and this had plenty of that — plus murder, hidden identities, old letters, and one slightly haunted mansion in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

🧬 Let's Start With the McTavishes...

Ashby House is the grand old estate owned by the infamous McTavish family, the powerful namesake of Tavistock, North Carolina. The story kicks off with three eerie epigraphs, one about the disappearance of 3-year-old Ruby McTavish, who vanished during a picnic and reappeared eight months later. Another defines the word “changeling.” Immediately, I knew: The girl who came back probably wasn’t Ruby. And I was hooked.

Fast forward decades later:

  • Cam McTavish is Ruby’s adopted son and heir.

  • Jules Brewster, his wife, is about to get way too cozy with the skeletons in his family closet.

  • Nelle is Ruby’s cousin.

  • Ben & Libby are Nelle’s grandkids, who still live in Ashby House and are not thrilled that Cam inherited everything.

  • Ruby? Dead now, but her secrets? Oh, they’re still very much alive.

💌 So Many Letters. So Many Secrets.

After Ruby’s death, Cam inherits everything: the house, the money, the legacy. But the will gives Nelle, Ben, and Libby the right to live at Ashby House. They write to Cam asking him to either fix up the property or cough up some cash.

Jules, ever the supportive wife (and lowkey true crime enthusiast), encourages him to go. But what we don’t know yet is: Jules has her own secrets. She’s been working behind the scenes with Ben. Hmmm.

🧬 The DNA Bombshell

Once Cam arrives, Ben and Libby present him with DNA test results proving that Ruby wasn’t a McTavish at all — she was actually Dora Darnell, a girl who was abducted at age 3 and raised as Ruby.
Cam’s like, “Yeah, I already knew.”
Everyone else: 😳
Jules: Wait, WHAT?

Turns out, Ruby’s entire identity was a lie — but it doesn’t change the legal inheritance. Cam still owns it all. Until…

😳 "I May Have Helped My Mom Die"

After being confronted, Cam confesses to Jules that on the night Ruby died, she took sleeping pills and told him he could call an ambulance — or not. He chose not to. Then, just to be sure, he suffocated her with a pillow.
He claims it was mercy. But also… he inherited millions, so, ya know.
Then he faked the paperwork to make it look like heart failure. Casual!

🔥 Then the House Burns Down

Just when you think things can’t get worse — boom. Literally.

  • Nelle is found dead.

  • Cam goes into town.

  • While he’s gone, Ashby House goes up in flames.

  • Ben and Libby die.

  • Jules survives.

  • And somehow, a painting of Ruby survives too, completely unharmed.

Cam is suspicious. I was suspicious. Jules tells the cops that Ben set the fire. But the math ain’t mathin’.

🖋️ Meanwhile, in Ruby’s Letters…

Scattered throughout the novel are letters written by Ruby, revealing all the juicy backstory:

  • All four of her husbands died under highly suspicious circumstances.

  • The press called her “Mrs. Killmore.” She kind of loved and hated it.

  • She didn’t really remember being abducted. But it haunted her.

  • After her fourth husband “accidentally” fell off a boat, she hired a PI.

  • She discovered she was really Dora Darnell, sold to the McTavishes by her struggling birth parents.

Ruby eventually tracked down her biological sister Claire, who told her the truth. Ruby decided to adopt a child (Cam) and leave her fortune to someone outside the McTavishes.

Why? Because she hated the family that raised her. Honestly, fair.

💡 The Big Reveal

So here’s the twisty twist:

  • Jules is Claire’s granddaughter — aka Ruby’s great-niece.

  • Ruby wrote all her letters to Jules, grooming her to eventually reconnect with Cam and bring the money back to the Darnells.

  • Jules' last name is fake. She used her connections with Ben to get to Cam.

  • But here’s the kicker: Jules actually fell in love with Cam.

  • And Cam? Knew who Jules really was the whole time… but also fell in love with her.

Everyone’s lying. Everyone’s in love. Everyone’s probably guilty.

🎨 Final Notes

  • The book's cover is gorgeous, and honestly deserves its own shoutout.

  • This is the kind of book where everyone has a motive, and no one is innocent.

  • The pacing is tight, the characters are layered, and the backstory? Chef’s kiss.

I knocked off half a star because some things were a little too conveniently wrapped up (like the Ruby painting miraculously surviving a fire?? okay). But overall, this was an excellent gothic suspense novel with juicy family drama and a satisfying conclusion.

📚 If You Liked The Heiress, Try:

  • The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell – creepy inheritance, family secrets, and a mysterious mansion

  • The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware – fortune, fraud, and a sinister old house

  • The Villa by Rachel Hawkins – more Hawkins goodness, but make it Mediterranean

  • Home Before Dark by Riley Sager – haunted house vibes + hidden truths

🛒 Want to Read It?

📖 Buy on Amazon

🧠 TL;DR

  • Ruby McTavish = actually Dora Darnell

  • Ruby’s husbands = mostly murdered

  • Cam = adopted heir

  • Jules = Ruby’s secret descendant

  • Ashby House = burned to the ground

  • Everyone = lying

  • Me = thoroughly entertained

Comments

Post a Comment