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

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Mrs. King plans to strip the de Vries house of all its opulence and wealth with the help of her crew of carefully recruited servants, from its priceless art on the walls to the books in its library, furniture, and plush carpets to all the silverware, until nothing is left. This was such an interesting concept for a historical fiction read. I am drawn to the upstairs priviledge of a house contrasted with the downstairs help. The Housekeepers really pitched two camps that seemingly stayed in their lane but secretly were in opposition. Of course, things rarely go exactly according to plan, and there are hiccups along the way. The night of the ball is fraught with difficulties, and Mrs. King and her team of workers must adapt and think on their feet to escape the notice of others. Mrs King has an audacious plan in mind, one that will reunite her women in the depths of the house on the night of a magnificent ball - and play out right under the noses of her former employers... But it was the intrepid plan to remove every single item from the grand house, all while a costumed ball is underway that really intrigued me. Leave your disbelief in the servants quarters and just enjoy the dancing.

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay | Hachette UK

Unfortunately, for me, it did not all add up. It is largely a character driven book and with a long (read, ‘huge’) cast of characters to contend with. The pace is slow in places and the heist itself falls a little flat for me. There was a great deal more going on than the premise suggested and with that large cast, I found it difficult to not only keep tabs but also be invested and therefore thrilled by proceedings. Enter Dinah King (or Mrs. King as she’s referred to throughout the story), housekeeper to the late Mr. de Vries, who has been dismissed from her position and seizes the opportunity to exact her revenge by planning the most daring robbery of the century under the very nose of Miss de Vries and her privileged invitees. They say that history has been largely told by men, but over the past few years crime writers have been throwing light on a hidden past, where women have the starring roles on both sides of the law. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay is an excellent case in point. Get ready to be taken away to Edwardian London for a unique heist story in the author’s debut novel. The focus of the first two-thirds of The Housekeepers is pulling together the operation to strip Stanhope House bare to the walls (Stanhope House really did exist although the O’Flynn/de Vries family did not). The final third of the story is, naturally, the edge of the seat thrill nail-biter of pulling off the meticulously planned caper.

More importantly, despite such a huge cast of characters, it is never confusing to remember who is who. This is even more significant when we keep in mind that the third-person narrative baton keeps shifting across various characters to give us a bird's eye view of the planning and implementation. The story is surprisingly easy to follow despite many intricacies and characters.

The Housekeepers (Alex Hay) – Book Review – Set The Tape The Housekeepers (Alex Hay) – Book Review – Set The Tape

The downside for me is that the story focuses so much on the intricacies of the heist itself that it neglects the development of the characters. While Hay’s writing had me positively rooting for the underdogs, I felt that I did not know Mrs. King or her band of helpers well enough to really identify with them or fully empathise with their situation. I've always enjoyed heist movies but hadn't ever considered if heist fiction would generate the same high in me. So when the opportunity to read this historical heist novel came up, I couldn't resist grabbing it. 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 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!For a historical fiction, I didn’t think that the telling was good enough to evoke the year of 1905. Punch-the-air good, this is the Edwardian heist novel you never knew you needed. Flawless, lawless fun." - Kiran Millwood Hargrave Named a Best Book of Summer by The Washington Post * Good Housekeeping * Harper's Bazaar * Reader's Digest