The Heiress

       by Rachel  Hawkins

Rachel Hawkins’ latest “gothic thriller” joins a long line of excellent standalones including “The Wife Upstairs,” “Reckless Girls,” and “The Villa.” All well worth your time if you haven’t read them yet. I have loved many of her books but wasn’t sure where “The Heiress” was going and was for some time left wondering what was really going on in this novel. It seemed to move rather slowly for a thriller.  It didn’t take me long to decide that wherever she was going, I was stuck going along for the ride because I became intrigued by the unusual nature of the book.

“The Heiress” unwinds slowly. Most of the characters are obnoxious to say the least. The main character who is also the most agreeable character is Camden who was adopted by a wealthy family and as an adult remembers his time in the household with great distaste verging on hatred. He seems to feel affection for his dead mother Ruby who actually dominates the story. Although Camden inherits his mother’s wealth, he has no interest in returning to his family home until after his uncle dies and he finds that there are many problems with the estate that need his attention. His relatives live in his inherited mansion and seem to live off his money.

 Camden’s wife Jules is fascinated by his wealth and upset that they aren’t taking advantage of all that money. When the point of view switches between those two characters it is obvious that Jules is on a very different page than her husband.

Like most mysteries, especially domestic ones, secrets dominate the plot and everyone in this book has more than their share. It slowly comes out that Camden is carrying around a few and so is Jules. Of course, Ruby has the biggest secrets which are revealed in letters pinned by Ruby to Cam which appear at the end of chapters.

Before her death, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was notorious for her bizarre past which included her being kidnapped as a child, having four husbands who died under mysterious circumstances, and adopting a child to which she left the family wealth. Ruby’s still living family members hate Camden and plot to take his inheritance away from him. Both Camdin and Jules are tossed into very murky waters which they must untangle in order to win the battle with Ruby’s family.

“Heiress” definitely joins Hawkins other books as a unexpectedly fun and smart read. If Hawkins follows her current pattern, her next book will probably come out in January 2025.

I am currently reading “The Kind Worth Killing” by Peter Swanson a book that introduces the Henry Kimball series. The third in the series just came out in June which is “A Talent for Murder” and if Swanson continues the pattern of this series, the fourth book will probably come out June 2025.