WOW!! You NEED to add this to your reading list NOW!! It is SO GOOD!!

Still puzzling after all these years are two things.

Was Ruby McTavish really kidnapped and found a year later and why did she adopt Cam and make him the sole heir to the family's fortune.

His siblings definitely were not happy about his inheriting everything.

The funny thing, though, is that he doesn't want the inheritance, but his wife wants to know more and continues to wonder why they live such a simple life while Cam has millions to his name.

When Cam's uncle passes, his wife Jules asks if they could visit the mansion and meet his family.

Cam complies, and off they go.

What a surprise - the mansion is something Jules definitely could get used to, but she can see why Cam never wanted any parts of his family or the inheritance.

Secrets, secrets, secrets - lies, lies, lies - they all have them and they all tell them in this juicy, difficult-to-put-down read that will have your jaw dropping when you find out everything.

And as the old saying goes: “money is the root of all evil.” 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Heiress, Rachel Hawkins, author; Dan Bittner, Eliza Foss, John Pirhalla, Patti Murin, narrators
This is a novel about the McTavish family of Tavistock, North Carolina. When three-year old Ruby McTavish, the youngest McTavish child, was sent by her mother to find Grace, her nanny, she wandered into the Blue Ridge Mountain landscape and never returned. What happened to the child? Was she kidnapped? After all, her family was the most well-known and influential in their town, so she could have been a target. Did she fall over a cliff and wait to be rescued as she lay dying from her injuries? Did someone scurry her away to raise as their own? Was she murdered; would she be ransomed? Fear gripped the family that was generally thought to be “fixers” in any situation. Would their youngest child ever be found? Was her disappearance due to negligence? When it appears that she was found, there was still mystery surrounding her disappearance and rescue. The whole story was never revealed because her kidnapper was murdered as he tried to escape.
Over the next several decades, Ruby lived a charmed life filled with wealth and power, but she was never content. She had several unsuccessful marriages. Why were Ruby’s husbands so vulnerable? Why did they keep dying, leaving her childless? Ruby inherited the entire estate and fortune when her parents died. Her siblings were left out and although they continued to live in the family mansion, their resentments grew as secrets were uncovered. Suddenly, Ruby decides to adopt a young child to punish them all for their selfishness. Her child would inherit it all, as she did when her parents died. Camden McTavish, once a foster child, would be the heir to the fortune, even though there was no blood connection to the McTavish family. The one thing Ruby never considered was whether or not he would want it or accept it. How did she choose Camden as her son, and why does he create an additional mystery in this novel? Who was Camden’s birth mother?
As the secrets of all the families involved in this mystery are exposed, very slowly, and only to a few trusted people, others discover them through deceit, and a terrible history is revealed. Ruby’s siblings plot to get revenge and get control of the fortune so they can return to their positions of power. They are used to making things happen. The mystery is about Ruby. Who is she?
I believe the reader will be hard put to find any of these characters truly likeable, but are they innocent of heinous decisions or simply victims of circumstance? Are they all connected in some obscure way? Some of them wielded too much power and earned enemies, some felt betrayed legitimately or illegitimately, some of the characters wanted nothing to do with the power or the wealth that seemed to corrupt them all, but power tends to corrupt regardless, and it is a tempting carrot to pursue.
Some characters were expert in manipulating the situation and extracting retribution with their power. Everyone involved seemed to have a gene for unscrupulousness, or to have had another life someplace, or even to still long to have another life somewhere. The reader will ponder whether or not any of the characters are truly honorable and trustworthy, or were they all devious Are ny characters admirable or were they all so riddled with selfish desires, faults and questionable pasts that they became unforgivably unlikeable?
What is the connection between Ruby McTavish and Dora Darnell? What is the connection between Ruby and Jules? What is the connection between Dora and Jules? How did Jules and Camden meet? Was it serendipity? Who are the McTavishes? Who are the Darnells? Who is Andrew Miller? Who is Penny Halliday? These and other questions will all be answered at the end of this most engaging mystery.