Hello Everyone!
Today I’m bringing you my review of The Housekeepers by Alex Hay! I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley from Harper Collins Canada and HCC Frenzy, though I ended up purchasing and reading the finished copy. Either way, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Title: The Housekeepers
Author: Alex Hay
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Length: 368 Pages
Published: July 4, 2023
Buy the Book: Amazon
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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.
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.
This was a solid debut filled with morally grey characters, lots of twists and turns, and enough layers to keep me thoroughly invested in the story until the very end.
Mrs. King has a plan, she’s going to rob the home of her former employer. She’s going to take everything and they aren’t going to know what hit them. She recruits a group of uniquely talented women to help her pull of the biggest heist the world has ever seen. There are lots of questions surrounding the heist though, like will the plan work? Will they be able to pull it off? What secrets are hiding inside of the house? What’s motivating the women to try to pull off such a crazy stunt?
This book had a lot of characters in it, but I found it easy to keep track of who was who. Mrs. King, the organizer of the plot, was fascinating. She was clever and resourceful and I loved learning about her. It was clear that she was hiding things and her character made me want to keep reading so I could find out her reasons behind the heist. The other characters were equally fascinating. I especially loved the Janes and I enjoyed all of the scenes they were in. I also adored Winnie and I loved watching her become more confident as the plan came together.
I loved the twists and turns in this book. I loved finding out about the backstories of some of the characters and how it motivated their actions. Most of the twists caught me off guard, which made for an exciting and shocking read at times.
One downside is that I found the ball and heist to be a bit uneventful. I loved the lead up and planning, but the actual event felt anti-climatic. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from it, but I wanted more.
Overall, I thought this was a very solid debut. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for Alex Hay’s next book and I’m looking forward to seeing what he releases next.
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