THE HEIRESS

5 stars out of 5

Well wow! I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started this book, but it wasn't that I'd be blown away. That was especially true at the beginning, when I learned that chapters shift all over the place - from time frames to characters to scenarios - which usually annoys the heck out of me. But for whatever reason - I'll chalk it up to the author's adept writing - it's the perfect format for telling this story. 

It begins with Camden McTavish and his wife of 10 years, Jules, both of whom come from less-than-ideal backgrounds and no longer claim families to go home to. Camden's, though, left a bit more when he left North Carolina: his adopted mother, Ruby, left her mind-blowing fortune, including the mansion in which she and assorted other family members lived, to him and him alone. But largely because of the way she and the others treated "outsider" Camden, he couldn't wait to get away - leaving that fortune behind.

But then, an uncle dies; and against his better judgment, Camden agrees to a plea to return home - which he expects is just a ploy to get him to divvy up the family fortune. His plan? Go, play nice (or not) and get himself and Jules back to their life in Colorado, where he teaches English. Jules has a different goal; she's hoping to convince him to at least take the money before he runs. But after she sees the mansion, she wants him to take the money and stay.

They both learn early on, however, that some things never change; Cam's family is even more disgusting than Jules thought and Cam remembered. Ruby herself had a rather colorful background, starting with her kidnapping at the tender age of three. Her grown-up life fell under suspicion as well; married four times to husbands who died under somewhat suspicious circumstances, she lived her life amid people (both townspeople and relatives) who were sure she had a hand in their demises. Even Cam, who enjoyed Ruby's protection from the rest of the family, isn't convinced of her innocence.

Even with all that, the plot gets thicker the longer Cam and Jules stay in the mansion. And those aforementioned shifting chapters shed even more light - especially the series of letters from Ruby - on what happened and what may happen next, all laced with surprises right up to the bitter[sweet] end that I almost didn't want to happen because I wasn't ready to put down the book. But put it down I must, and now I'll have to be content to thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. The word I started with says it all: Wow!

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins (St. Martin's Press, January 2024); 281 pp.