First thank you to #netgalley and #killercrimeclub for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Housekeepers by Alex Hay.

This story had me from the start and is like Downton Abbey meets Oceans 11. The story is well written with the plot continuing to evolve and keep you not only interested but engaged with the characters.

Mrs. King born to a family of con artists works to find the truth about her family line and bring those down who block her. Mrs. King with the help of many former and current housekeepers organize and plan the biggest heist to bring down one family, while trying to protect her sister.

The author developed his characters well dropping just enough ‘little tidbits’ to keep the reader wondering and making connections. I highly recommend this book.

Mrs. King had been abruptly dismissed from her long-standing position as head housekeeper in the home of the De Vries family. Out for revenge, she recruits a diverse crew to pull off a bold heist of her former employer. Overall, the story was good, although I am not a huge fan of historical fiction and found it slow moving at times. I struggled to get into the story, however I did enjoy the ending of this book.

Set in 20th century London, this historical crime caper makes great use of that era’s class structure and socio-economic system. At the start of the novel, Mrs. King has been dismissed from her long-standing position as a head housekeeper. As revenge, she recruits an all-female crew to pull off an audacious heist of her former employer, one that would take even the smallest piece of silver from the tea tray. Alex Hay has created a host of relatable, engaging characters and unfolds the details of the robbery with origami-level precision.

Alex Hay certainly knows how to write a great thriller - this one had magic. Not literal magic. It had magic in the way that it felt like it had extra flair to it, something to pull the reader in and encourage them to keep reading. While this book isn't set in the distant past or something, my mind kept flashing to a Downton Abby type division - servants and those that are served.

I really liked this book. I felt the desire for revenge. I think anyone looking for a quick read will agree.

This much-hyped debut historical mystery/thriller was a tad disappointing for me unfortunately. I don’t feel like I got to know the characters, the heist was so unrealistic to me, there was so many character subplots that it got confusing at times

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.

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.

I found this book slow at times and I had to push through to read the next section or chapter. With that said, there were also chunks of this story that moved quickly and kept me interested. Overall, the story was good, I think I am just not a huge fan of historical fiction mysteries.

The summary of this novel really sounded great, but I truly struggled to get into the story. The writing was not my favourite and the characters were hard to like. This one wasn’t for me, sadly.
Thank You to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was a very fun read. Imagine the “downstairs” staff of Downton Abbey decided to pull off an Ocean’s 11 heist. A tightly-wound plan has to work just right in order for the theft to work and most importantly, for no one to get caught. The novel moves quickly and keeps the reader in suspense until the final chapter.

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I had a hard time following along, I guess I wasn’t in the right mindset. I feel like this would be better in the winter under a blanket on the couch by a fire than on a beach in 90 degree heat with kids running around. I would definitely try to read this again in a different environment but it was a DNF for me.

I really wanted to like this book, it has a great premise and an interesting time period. However, I just couldn't care about the characters. There seemed to be no emotional connections and I found myself not caring what happened to the characters.

Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When housekeeper Mrs King is dismissed abruptly from her position in the grand Mayfair home of the de Vries family, she has a plan to get revenge. Returning to her less than respectable origins among con artists and thieves, she recruits a group of women to join her in this scheme and together, they plan a daring heist, the biggest robbery ever heard of, to take place on the same night as the lavish costume ball that the house is set to host. But revenge and money aren’t the only things on Mrs King is after, and her determination to find the truth could put the whole plan at risk.

Initial Thoughts: Heist novels are among my favorite type of thriller to read, and just a single glance at the premise had me adding this book to my TBR. The concept was just so fascinating and though I’d never considered early 1900s London as a setting for a heist, it somehow fit so perfectly.

Plot, World building & Atmosphere: The Housekeepers had Ocean’s 8 vibes with a historical setting, which made for an amazing backdrop for a heist novel. The descriptions of the de Vries house, the background of the various characters and of course, London at the time were fascinating and the detailed world-building was immersive and drew me into the story right from the beginning.

Writing & Narration: This book started out on a high note, launching the reader straight into the plot and ramping up the tension very quickly. But between the large cast of characters and keeping all their stories straight, the book began to meander a lot in the middle along with the pace and it seemed to drag quite a bit for a good chunk in the middle. Due to this, the excitement of the heist died down and even after things started to move again, it never managed to get back to the original level it started out at.

The chapters were fairly short and frequently switched between character POVs, which made it confusing at times to keep track of who was who. I would be curious to see if this story would be a better experience in audiobook though.

Characters: Thrillers like this don’t often spare much time for character development, but with this book, there was just so much going on in each character’s personal life that it became nigh impossible for me to keep track of everything. I couldn’t connect to any of them, much less their many motives which made this quite irritating a read at times.

However, I thought that the suspense surrounding the characters’ loyalties and if they would stick to the plan or betray the group was very well done, as every single one of them faced atleast one point in the plot where it could have happened.

Ending: This book didn’t end on a high action note as I’ve usually come to expect from the genre, but I did like how the heist ended and how things were wrapped up for all the characters.

Final Thoughts & Recommendation: For a debut novel, this was a pretty good read despite not having the best execution. I never managed to get fully invested into the story and I think a large part of that was because it was trying to do too much with far too many subplots that, while interesting, started to take away from the core plot. Overall though, it was a nice one time read but unlikely to be something I’d go back to. If you’re in the mood for a quick yet exciting read, I would recommend The Housekeepers.

While the concept for the book was great, I found the execution didn’t quite meet my expectations. The writing was very good and I would consider reading another book by this author. However, the pace of the story dragged once we were past the opening chapters.

I absolutely love the premise of this book. It is a debut novel and a fantastic first book from a promising author. It kept my attention and I felt that the characters were pretty good too.

However, I kept getting the characters mixed up. There was a niece and a sister and I still cannot tell you which of the main characters is which and to whom. I think a list of characters may have helped with this. I have also seen great reviews for audiobooks readers, so perhaps the differentiation of voices would have helped. There were also a few too many themes running through the books that made it a bit convoluted. However, life does not have themes and is also convoluted, so in a realistic sense it works.

I loved the side characters of the two Janes and I wish there had been more of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my advance copy of this book.

One should never underestimate the women downstairs.

After being dismissed from her position, Mrs. King comes up with a plan to rob the house she worked for with the help of several other former staff. On the night of London’s most anticipated costume ball, Mrs. King and her eclectic group of ladies set out to steal every possession in the home. Will they succeed?

Perfect for fans Downton Abbey and historical fiction, this book kept a good pace and had my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Hay and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advance copy of this book for an honest review.

The Housekeepers looked great to me! Edwardian heist with the downstairs staff very quietly engineering the downfall of the upstairs power-holders? Sign me up.

However, this one did not prove its promise for me. There are some terrific characters in this story, but we don't get to know enough about them to really figure out why they are willing to sign on to the heist. Mrs King and Mrs Bone, the two main conspirators, are very well drawn, and we know why they are doing what they are doing. That's part of what kept me reading. There are a LOT of other characters though, and I was left either not engaging with them, or being frustrated because I wanted more. Hello, Hepzibah.

One of my biggest struggles was not truly being able to figure out the mistress of the house, and what was actually going on in her head through all of this. That part of the storyline was muddy to me, and it needed to be clear in order to propel the story forward.

There are a lot of different threads in this story, and sometimes they get in the way of the main action of the heist. It became challenging at times to not want to flip ahead to find out what was actually happening in the context of the heist itself.

Alex Hay does a reasonable job capturing the upstairs/downstairs split, and the desperation that many women faced in this particular time period and place. A tighter story and cast of characters would have been helpful.

3.5 stars

Thanks to Net Galley and Graydon House for the e-arc.

This is a very whimsical book with a great concept that builds a wonderful picture in the readers mind.

This is quite good and has many helpful reviews already, so I'll just recommend it to mystery fans.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

In a glittering tapestry of power, intrigue, and audacious heists, this book weaves a mesmerizing historical novel. Set against the opulent backdrop of London's grandest ball, this captivating tale delves into the hidden lives of women who defy societal norms and unleash their formidable strength to exact revenge on Mayfair's elite.

At the heart of the narrative is Mrs. King, a woman with a past marred by deception and thievery, who has risen to a position of respectability as the keeper of a grand Mayfair home. However, beneath the veneer of wealth and power, secrets fester in the shadows, compelling Mrs. King to assemble a remarkable group of women united by their desire for vengeance.

The author has crafted a sumptuous and evocative narrative that transcends genres. Fans of historical fiction, heist thrillers, and tales of female empowerment will find themselves enthralled by the meticulously crafted characters, intricate plot, and poignant exploration of power dynamics. This novel is a testament to the enduring strength of women and a reminder that beneath the veneer of society, untold stories of courage and determination await their moment to shine.

A riveting heist story set in the high society of 1905 London where the tables are turned and a group of savvy women who’ve spent their lives in service take back what they’re owed by working together to steal everything during an elaborate house party. Such a fun story with really engaging characters - all of whom have distinct personalities and motivations- but are brought together to make this a robbery no one will ever forget!