Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

19 reviews

dulcyj's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Vomit

shesflippinpages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide, Violence, Drug abuse, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Bullying

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

   When Camden McTavish is called back to his adoptive family's estate in North Carolina to sort out financial matters, his wife is eager to see his family's home and experience the wealth she never had. But all the family secrets will be laid bare, and more than one McTavish will end up dead, just like his mother, Ruby McTavish's four husbands.
   While I saw some twists coming, others surprised me. I like how the book was paced as it kept me engaged. As well as the mix of narrative POVs, letters, and articles.
   The characters weren't particularly likable, but just likable enough for you to care about them.

 Narrator(s) Rating: 5 stars
  The narrators did an excellent job, and the constant change of narrators as you went from each part kept me engaged instead of my attention wandering.

 

Extra ratings:  Fluff-NA  Heartfelt-3/5   Helpful-NA    Horror-NA   Inspiration-NA   Love aka Romance-1/5  Mystery-2/5    Predictability-1.5/5  Spice-0/5   Suspense-3/5   Tear- 1.5/5  Thrill-4/5   Humor-2/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Cursing, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, and Infertility

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Car accident, Self harm, and Sexual content

helenferg's review

adventurous mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Out tomorrow (1/9) - thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC to review!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Ruby McTavish is a local legend in her North Carolina hometown…both for her fortune and her tendency to marry men who die mysteriously. When Ruby dies, her adopted son is her only heir—but he wants nothing to do with her house or fortune until family events force him back to a place filled with secrets.

I absolutely LOVED this one, which is absolutely my favorite Rachel Hawkins. Imagine if you were reading Evelyn Hugo but no one was quite sure whether she’d murdered her husbands and you’ve got something a lot like this book, which I found captivating and super fun. It’s definitely heavy on moral greyness and “women’s wrongs,” which I personally love, and the ending made me gasp more than once.

This is more mystery/suspense than “thriller” in my opinion, so know going in that it’s a bit of a slow burn as things unfold…but I was genuinely hooked from the beginning, and I highly recommend this one!

CW: Death/murder; domestic abuse/physical abuse; kidnapping/missing child; mentions of suicide

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Kidnapping, Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

hanlov's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

4.25 stars! I’ve enjoyed Rachel Hawkins’s other books and this one was no different! The Heiress centers on Ruby McTavish, a famously kidnapped and returned child, now the richest woman in North Carolina with four deceased husbands, and what ensues after her passing. We get the story through Camden, Ruby’s adopted son and heir to her fortune, and Jules, Camden’s wife, along with media clippings and letters. This was fast-paced, twisty, dark, and very enjoyable. The narrators are unreliable and while it lacks a bit of the shock factor, it really works in this book as the reader uncovers more about the past of this rich family. I was entertained and engaged the entire time. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting an easy-to-read yet riveting family drama. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Physical abuse and Kidnapping

iamnita's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

As a big fan of The Wife Upstairs (top book of the year that year) and let down by Reckless Girls I was very unsure how this would go. I'd say the formula is back for sure. Once I started reading it, I had a hard time putting it down and found myself trying to figure out the relationships and the connections and the story whenever I wasn't reading it. While the layers were in some ways predictable (I've read a few thrillers in my day), I was never disappointed by them, and in fact was happy the story went the way it did. It never got into outlandish or goofy territory (the land of disbelief) which I so so so so personally appreciate. The multiple perspectives, and the multimedia throughout made this an absolute gem and an absolute banger to start my year on!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, Chronic illness, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Violence, Mental illness, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Suicide, Infidelity, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

asteinke's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Such a face paced quick read about murder, betrayal, and family drama, what more could you want in a book. This book will keep you guessing until the very end, it was a twist I did not see coming.

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship