The Housekeepers
A Novel
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3.9 • 129 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
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
Named a Best Book of Summer by The Washington Post * Good Housekeeping * Harper's Bazaar * Reader's Digest
“Rollicking fun and entirely original... Anyone who relishes a good party gone wrong will devour this.”
—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary
Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows.
When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King’s predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.
Their plan? On the night of the house’s highly anticipated costume ball—set to be the most illustrious of the year—they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there’s one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she’ll run any risk to get it…
After all, one should never underestimate the women downstairs.
“A deliciously clever novel... You’ll never have so much fun cheering on grand larceny.”
—Nina de Gramont, New York Times bestselling author of The Christie Affair, a Reese’s Book Club Pick
*Don't miss Alex Hay's clever next novel, The Queen of Fives, in which a mysterious heiress with a secret sets her sights on London's biggest wedding of the season
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In debut author Alex Hay’s thriller, the No. 1 rule is don’t get on your staff’s bad side. Dinah King is a housekeeper for the pampered Miss de Vries, an heiress bent on shaking off her nouveau-riche trappings and joining London’s old-money elite. Sacking the old help is her first step—and also her biggest mistake. Turns out the recently fired Dinah grew up amongst expert burglars, con men, and thieves, and she isn’t going down without a fight. When Dinah recruits six partners to hit her ex-employer where it hurts by robbing her blind in the midst of a lavish ball, things don’t go quite as planned. Hay makes all the details of Edwardian England feel vivid and immediate, but with a devilish wit in both the dialogue and the ingenious plotting, as if Downton Abbey had been remade as a crime caper. The Housekeepers is a page-turning, entertaining story that slyly skewers classism—and has a blast doing it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Hay's glittering debut, a former housekeeper in Edwardian London embarks on an ambitious plan to burgle the mansion where she used to work. Assisting Dinah King in robbing the de Vries house, home of Dinah's late employer Wilhelm, are Winnie Smith, Dinah's predecessor and close confidante; Mrs. Bone, a black-market trader and Dinah's mentor in crime; a pair of circus performers each named Jane; and servants Hephzibah Grandcourt and Alice Parker, the latter of whom still works in the house. The crew hatches a scheme to rob the house on the same night Wilhelm's daughter plans to hold the biggest ball of the season there. What initially appears to be an act of revenge against Dinah's former employer evolves into a multifaceted tale of individual desires, social machinations, and the reckoning for long-buried secrets. Hay spins a remarkable yarn of daring and defiance, and gleefully piles on one outrageous event after another over the course of the party, involving both thieves and guests. Though the hijinks require a broad suspension of disbelief, readers will delight in the shenanigans. This lighthearted romp is a treat.
Customer Reviews
Entertaining if a bit overwrought
It’s a generally entertaining read despite the caper being ludicrous and the marks curiously inert. The rationale for the heist is fairly thin despite a revelation that feels bolted-on to solve that problem. So the protagonists never feel quite justified and the victims not quite deserving. Still, as a caper, it’s a creative one and the story moves along. I wanted to see how it ended.
The Housekeepers
Too slow!
Sorts under the author’s first name
Apple: Books get sorted under the author’s last name.