Heiresses Books in Order

The glittering surface of Manhattan high society hides a long trail of tragedy in The Heiresses. The Saybrooks are a famous family who built a luxury jewelry empire, with brownstone homes, Hamptons parties and a reputation for bad luck that has begun to look like a curse.

When thirty something Poppy Saybrook, the cousin everyone assumed had it all, falls from the window of her office, the death is officially ruled a suicide. Her surviving cousins - poised Corinne, wild younger sister Aster, single and careful Rowan, and rebellious Natasha, who walked away from the family five years earlier - are not so sure.

Soon after the funeral they receive a chilling message: one heiress down, four to go. As strange accidents and near misses pile up, the women start to suspect that someone is using the family curse as cover for something more calculated, and that the motive may be buried in old scandals around affairs, illegitimate children and company money.

Each cousin brings her own complications to the investigation. Corinne is trying to plan a society wedding while hiding doubts about her fiancé, Aster is used to people underestimating her, Natasha has secrets from her self imposed exile and Rowan has quietly built a life outside the spotlight that could be ripped away.

The novel reads like a mix of family saga and thriller, moving between boardrooms, brownstones and tabloids as the Saybrooks uncover what their grandparents and parents covered up. Shepard keeps the pace brisk and the chapters short, letting the mystery of Poppy's death pull readers through twists that question who, if anyone, can truly be trusted when a fortune is on the line.

Although The Heiresses was conceived as the start of a larger story, it also works as a stand alone look at the costs of living inside a powerful dynasty where every mistake, and every betrayal, can become front page news.