I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. This has not impacted my rating and this review is voluntary.
- Genre: Thriller, Mystery
- Published by: St. Martin’s Press
- Publish date: Jan 9, 2024
- Number of pages: 304 pages
- Author’s website: https://www.rachelhawkinsbooks.com/
- Support local! Pre-order the book on Bookshop!
When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.
But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.
Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.
Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.
But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.
Rating: 5/5
I LOVE a well-thought-out, tasteful, and slow-burn mystery. Over the past couple of years, I feel like there’s been a real push for mysteries to try to be as shocking as possible but then the reveal doesn’t always make the most sense or it is completely out of left field. Now, I’m not saying this one was super predictable, but the ending also made sense and there were small hints toward it throughout the novel.
The lore that this author has created around Ashby House is so intriguing. It gave m similar vibes to Clue and an Agatha Christie novel. I love an extravagant setting where each character is suspicious and each room seems to hold a mystery. If Rian Johnson ever wanted to create a Knives Out adaptation of this book, I would throw my money at him immediately!
Some other things I loved about this book are the use of letters to inform the reader of past events and the commentary on biological family versus chosen family.
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to know!
Musings by Michelle 