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.

If you’ve ever wanted a story where the cast is dripping in old money, scandal, and extremely unhinged decision-making then The Heiress might be exactly your kind of melodrama.

The premise centers on Camden, who was adopted by the famously wealthy Ruby McTavish — a woman with a flair for dramatics, a house full of secrets, and a history of suspiciously dead husbands. Ten years after Ruby’s death, Camden inherits everything… and wants none of it. When he and his wife Jules back are dragged back to Ashby House, long-buried secrets and generational trauma start to resurface. Let’s just say, Ruby’s ghost may not be the only thing haunting the estate.

The story weaves between the present day and Ruby’s own voice from beyond the grave. And let me say this: Ruby is the reason to read this book. Her chapters are razor sharp and, at times, genuinely funny. She’s a black widow with flair, self-awareness, and just the right amount of chaos. I found myself racing through the other perspectives just to get back to her.

The rest of the cast? Picture a group of unlikeable people in a very expensive house, and you’re basically there. The present-day chapters from Cam and Jules feel a little flatter by comparison. They’re functional, but not all that memorable.

It doesn’t help that the entire plot requires a generous amount of suspended disbelief, and the tone sometimes struggles to balance serious topics with its more melodramatic instincts. There are moments where the book edges toward something darker and more grounded, but it never fully commits, and some of the heavier subject matter feels out of place in such an otherwise over-the-top narrative.

That said, there’s a reason I finished it. The pacing is brisk, the structure makes it easy to fly through, and while the reveals veer into soap-opera territory, I won’t pretend I wasn’t entertained. I appreciated the mix of infamy, family dysfunction, and gothic glamour. There’s something strangely enjoyable about a story that feels like it could collapse under the weight of its own absurdity.

The Heiress isn’t trying to be poetic or subtle, and it absolutely isn’t reinventing the genre. But it is a fun, fast read with a gloriously messy core and just enough heart to keep you invested. Ruby, in all her eccentric widow glory, carries this book with ease. And while the ending might leave you rolling your eyes more than gasping, the ride there is pure escapist drama.

RATING

★★★