The Housekeepers: They come from nothing. But they'll leave with everything...

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When Mrs King, housekeeper to the most illustrious home in Mayfair, is suddenly dismissed after years of loyal service, she knows just who to recruit to help her take revenge. It’s 1905. Housekeeper, Mrs King, has been dismissed from her role at one of the luxurious houses in Park Lane, Mayfair, London. The Master of the house has passed away, leaving behind a daughter who grieves by hosting a ball. These events bring the opportunity for Mrs King and some close friends to right some wrongs - planning an Oceans 11 style heist to rob the big house while the ball is underway! London. When Mrs King is suddenly dismissed from her position as housekeeper at the de Vries home, she isn't worried because she has an ace plan up her sleeve. On the night of the de Vries's ball coming up about three weeks later, Mrs King, along with her carefully chosen group of six women, will strip the de Vries mansion of its valuables. Is this just a revenge for being fired, or does Mrs King have some ulterior motive? How will this heist proceed?

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay | Goodreads

The night of London's grandest ball, a bold group of women downstairs plot a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in this dazzling historical novel about power, gender, and class I was invested enough to want to know what happens and whether they succeed or not, but the heist fell a bit flat for me. I didn’t find the actuality particularly tense or nail-biting (although the reliance on Hephzibah’s superlative acting skills was enjoyable). The Housekeepers is a smartly written Downton Abbey like story with humor, intrigue and empowered women during the early 1900’s. When a group of housekeepers band together to plot the heist of the century from the estate of a recently departed wealthy businessman who it seems left everything to his narcissistic spoiled daughter, well, they have had enough. Especially because as housekeepers they see all and know all and it’s not pretty. The housekeepers plan the con of cons, and chaos ensues! The night of London's grandest ball, a bold group of women downstairs launch a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in this dazzling historical novel about power, gender, and class.Second, there’s a dismissal. Mrs. King, housekeeper to the late Mr. de Vries was caught entering the male servants’ quarters the night before. Everyone believes it was for an assignation, and she’s dismissed without a character or a reference from her respected, respectable and well-earned job. It’s just the first of many such dismissals, as Miss de Vries is determined to set her own course with her own people around her, so ALL of her father’s ‘loyal’ servants will have to go.

Book review of The Housekeepers by Alex Hay - BookPage

When housekeeper Mrs King is dismissed from Manor House, revenge is in her mind. She gets together a team of friends and plan the robbery of the century, during the lady of the houses party of the century. There were many laughs, but some more serious subjects also came up.So, If you loved the scheming, no holds barred grittiness of Peaky Blinders or enjoyed Downton Abbey-not for the Crawley family’s escapades, but for the compelling glimpses into the lives of their servants—then you’re definitely gonna enjoy this ambitiously pacey and delightfully audacious debut. Punch-the-air good, the Edwardian heist novel you never knew you needed. Flawless, lawless fun’ Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Housekeepers: A Novel - Kindle edition by Hay, Alex

If you need to make someone feel small, so that you can feel tall…” Mrs. Bone recited the rest. “Then, my goodness, my dear, you’re no person at all.” A treasure trove of contradictions: fast-paced but thoughtful, vengeful but compassionate, satisfying but completely unpredictable. Alex Hay has written a deliciously clever novel... You'll never have so much fun cheering on grand larceny." - Nina de Gramont It is a multi POV story which alternates between the POVs of each co-conspirator: Mrs. King, Mrs. Bone, Winnie, Alice and the Janes, with each chapter cleverly serving as a countdown to the heist and each woman’s thoughts and feelings leading up to it. Such is the case with housekeeper-turned-criminal mastermind Mrs. Dinah King and her eclectic gang of co-conspirators in Alex Hay’s debut novel, The Housekeepers. The novel is set in London’s wealthy Park Lane in 1905 during the height of the Edwardian era, which Hay describes in his introduction as a time of “opulence, scrappy characters, remarkable flashes of modernity, and layers of corruption that exist just underneath all that glamour.”Replete with likeable characters, a winning plot, and a satisfying approach to both, Hays’ The Housekeepers is one of the year’s best summer reads, combining explorations of class and gender with the giddy thrill-ride of a well-honed heist adventure that, while rooted in the past, helps propel the genre into the future. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay is a great historical fiction that has it all: mystery, intrigue, suspense, action, and a heist like no other.