The Housekeepers

The servants in a prestigious house in Mayfair are plotting an elaborate heist. To all intents and purposes it’s going to be the crime of the century if all goes to plan. Will they pull it off? Pick up the book to find out!

This is an unusual and fascinating tale, it’s very different. It’s written in the present tense in a quirky and engaging style. It’s full of colourful, well drawn characters. The Edwardian era is depicted wonderfully, giving a great sense of time and place. The plot is quite complicated - there’s a lot going on at the same time so some concentration is needed. If I did have to nitpick I would say that I found the pace a little slow at times but, nevertheless, it’s a very enjoyable read. I read this book show more via the Pigeonhole app, one stave at a time over a period of ten days. Reading other pigeons’ thoughts adds to the fun especially with a story like this one! 🙂 show less

Anyone who's been around here before knows I love a good heist, even more so when it's tinged with revenge, con artists, women getting their power back, and some class commentary as this book seemed to be. And yet, despite being perfect on paper (it's also a historical novel!), The Housekeepers didn't win me over.

I really enjoyed the premise, as well as the details of the heist planning that were slowly unveiled, revealing the full picture only at the very end. The varied (and large) cast of characters added a certain dynamism, especially as the narration moved from one to the other to give the reader a bird's-eye view. Where most problems lay, for me, was in the execution: despite the high stakes and the numerous obstacles, I was never show more on edge or tense about the outcome in any way. If anything, for the most part I was simply... bored.

There were definitely some issues with the pacing for me, as everything seemed to move far too slowly and hardly any scene felt impactful and yet at the same time it appeared as though I hardly had any time to get to know the characters properly. Maybe there were too many of them for a book of this length, or maybe their backstories were too complex (it seemed everyone had a big, dark secret), but ultimately I cared about none.

The build-up to the heist took up the majority of the book, but when the climax came, it fell flat for me as if there just wasn't enough momentum to carry it over. There was simultaneously too much and not enough happening, which made for a frustrating reading experience, more a chore than a pleasure.

Still, some parts were definitely good, with humorous elements and some interesting characters who would have benefited from more breathing room. I could see kernels of good writing here and it is a decent debut, so I might give the author's next books another chance even though this one didn't meet my expectations.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. show less

This sure seemed like a winner for me -- heist! early 1900s! a group of women doing said heist! and they all have a domestic service background! and one of them is queer! (And I needed a winner. My book luck lately has been abysmal.) Alas. It turned out to be that kind of read where it's not so bad that I give up all hope, but it's bad enough that it seems to take forever. Mediocre but interminable, basically.

In some books, it's obvious what went wrong, and honestly I think the overall problem is in fact pretty clear: this was a really difficult book to write, and Hay wasn't quite there yet. But as I read, I kept thinking about the specifics. (And, frankly, that was often more appealing than reading more of this book.) And I have a show more little a list.

1. The pacing. This starts off at a gentle stroll and finishes at more of a brisk walk. "The slowest heist story in the world" is not a title anyone is vying for. (I hope.) Like, two thirds of this book is setup. That is a lot of setup, especially when you can't go into very much depth on a lot of things because of all the secrets the author is keeping from the reader.

2. The reveal of those secrets. Many members of the group committing the heist have secret reasons for doing so. But that reveal happens very, very slowly, so for the first half of the novel, you basically think that they're doing this heist because a woman got fired and another woman is mad at her brother. By the time you learn the other reasons, you're deep in the weeds in terms of who you're rooting for. (Also, some of those secrets really don't help. More on that later.)

3. The morality. In heist stories, you want to be able to root unequivocally for the thieves. That's the entire point! And that means you need a victim who is a horrible piece of shit -- say, a murderous mobster or a corporation or maybe an asshole billionaire (which I do realize is a redundant phrase). In this book, the main characters are seeking revenge against a dead man, but the person they're robbing is his daughter. One of the women strongly dislikes the daughter and suspects her of cheating her, but it turns out the daughter did not do that. Functionally, the victim here was as victimized by the dead man as any of the thieves were. This does not make for happy, light reading.

4. The secrets. One of the secrets -- arguably, in terms of motivation, the biggest secret -- makes no sense. CW: rape. (That applies to the book as well as to this review, btw.) The secret is that the dead man was forcing some of his domestic staff into involuntary sex work, allowing rich and high-status men to rape young housemaids in exchange for influence. I -- am pretty sure that in this time, rich, high-status men mostly just raped their own servants if that's what they wanted to do. And they sought out actual professional sex workers if they wanted to exchange money for sex. It's clear even in the text that sex workers were very, very easy to find.

5. The plot. This isn't Ocean's 11 meets Downton Abbey. This is Ocean's 11 with a Downton Abbey skin. Every beat is the same as Ocean's 11, just stretched waaaaay out (which is why the pacing is broken). There are scenes in there that are completely unnecessary except to align with Ocean's 11 scenes. (Why did Mrs. Bones have that info on failed big-time robberies for Mrs. King? Well, because there's that fun failed casino robbery sequence in Ocean's 11! That scene is less fun here.) And when the book gets to the pieces of the plot that couldn't be directly lifted from Ocean's 11, the plot gets, uh. A lot worse. So many pieces of the last third of the novel just don't make any sense.

The thing is, I think there's some good stuff here. I just -- don't think Hay was able to live up to his idea or his dreams, and that's something that happens. I hope he writes like five easier books and then tees up for a heist story again; by then, he might be ready. show less

Oh. My. Gosh. The Housekeepers is Alex Hay's brilliant debut novel.
Say the word 'heist' and I'll watch it, or in this case, read it. (Plus that cover caught my eye.)

Hay's heist takes place in 1905 London England. Hay does a wonderful job of bringing the time and place to life. Society and mores of the time play a large part in this tale. There's the rich, who want for nothing. And then there are the staff, those who cater to every whim and want of the upper-class. And then there's those outside the manor who do what they need to survive - the con men, thieves and more.

Hay has created some truly memorable characters, each with their own reasons to undertake the heist of all heists. Mrs. King is the driving force behind the group of show more six women, all looking for retribution. There are tangled threads of connections amongst them that I didn't see coming.

Their plan is audacious and bold and the reader can't help but behind them. The details of the 'how' are wonderfully imagined.

From the author's notes - "And the thrill and joy of writing this novel was to imagine what might have happened if some of the women working below stairs had decided to claim some of that privilege for themselves."

What a inventive, ingenious, captivating read The Housekeepers was! Definitely in my top five for the year. show less

Alex Hay's intriguing historical mystery novel The Housekeepers has a lot of balls in the air. Set in the early 20th century, it begins with Mrs. King, who runs a grand Mayfair home, being dismissed from her prestigious position for the crime of being seen going into one of the male worker's rooms.

Mrs. King does not intend to take this firing lightly and plots her revenge against the unpleasant young woman who has inherited the stately manor from her recently deceased father. She will rob the home of all of its possessions on the night of a grand ball, held to impress a wealthy suitor for the new mistress of the mansion.

Mrs. King rounds up a posse of women who each have something they want- the queen of the black market with connections show more to the everyone in the criminal underground, a young seamstress who becomes the confidant of the mistress and whose loyalty becomes confused, and a fading actress looking to create the performance of a lifetime.

Each of these women has a reason for participating, and as their secret connections are revealed one by one, the reader is surprised and taken aback (in a good way). As Mrs. King learns more about nefarious events that took place in the home, she becomes even more determined to get justice.

The story can be a bit outrageous- Mrs. King and her cohorts plan to strip the manor of its entire contents, furniture and all, while the home is filled with revelers- but it is interesting reading how it is done. Think Downton Abbey meets Ocean's Eleven and add in the #MeToo movement, and you've got The Housekeepers, a caper story with serious undertones. It would make a fantastic movie, and if you liked Deanna Raybourn's recent novel, Killer of a Certain Age, The Houskeepers is your next good read. show less

In a Nutshell: Ocean's Eleven (or rather, Ocean's Eight) meets Downton Abbey. Good premise, but tries too hard. A praiseworthy debut though.

Story Synopsis:

1905, 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 story comes to us from the limited third person perspective of several key characters.

I've always enjoyed heist movies but show more 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.

On paper, this premise sounds wonderful to my ears. Historical fiction is among my favourite genres and an all-woman gang planning a revenge heist promises a delectable treat. However, a successful heist story ought to be simultaneously complicated and believable. That doesn't happen with this book, which ends up simplistic and farfetched.

I was pretty invested until the first half or so, despite the slow pace. I assumed that the extensive build-up would lead to a thrilling secret burglary being executed during the ball. But the actual heist fell quite flat. Not once was I biting my fingernails in anticipation or anxiety. Even when the hurdles started popping up, the tension didn't correspondingly surge upwards. I'm not exactly sure why this happened, but here are two guesses:

1. Despite the detailed backstories for the main characters, I never felt close to a single one. Each of them has a secret worry--in some cases, a major burden, but that never generated feelings of empathy in me. So when I couldn't connect with the characters, I automatically couldn't root for them.

2. This was a revenge heist and it should have stayed a revenge heist. Sadly, the book succumbs to the "kitchen sink syndrome" so common to debut novelists. Instead of sticking to a couple of solid reasons for wanting the heist, the book inserts a bucketload of themes, some of which were not even relevant to the main flow. When there's too much for the reader to worry about, there's too little to focus on and the overall impact gets diluted.

That doesn't mean that the book is a disaster. It offers quite a lot of value to its readers. I enjoyed the planning put into the heist, and also liked a couple of the minor characters. (The two Janes were the best! They deserved a bigger role.) The grandiose ball also seemed true to the flamboyant extravagance displayed by the wealthy in 1900s London.

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.

Maybe, just maybe, this plot was too ambitious for a debut novelist to carry off successfully. But there's no denying that he has the imagination as well as the talent. I love the promise he showed in this novel, and I'm sure that with some fine-tuning and experience, he can pen a winner. I'll keep an eye out for his future works.

At the same time, I think I'll stick to watching heist movies rather than reading heist novels. Such stories are more fun to watch, and this one too will make an outstanding movie if the thematic frills are edited out.

Recommended to those who will have more patience with a ponderous but interesting heist story.

3.25 stars.

My thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Housekeepers”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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I saw ‘The Housekeepers” described on GoodReads as “‘Oceans Eleven’ meets ‘Downton Abbey‘”. It sounded like a fun historical heist story with the domestics taking the opportunity to teach the upper classes a lesson. Even before I opened the book, I was hoping that none of the thieves got caught.

The cover made me think that 'The Housekeepers' would be an upbeat revenge comedy. It isn't. It's a serious revenge story, fuelled by the rage of clever, competent women who have been treated badly.

The plot is clever, complicated steeped in a history of betrayal and exploitation. It shows every sign of becoming a tense, exciting heist story.

I'm setting the book aside because, at a third of the way through, I realised that I don't show more care about or like any of the characters. I'm not engaged with the story because I'm not invested in any of the people.

I think it's that the prose style keeps me at arm's length from the people. I see what they're doing, but have only a plodding description of what they're feeling.

I think this would make a fine TV series, but there isn't enough in the novel to feed my imagination.

I listened to the audiobook, performed by Jasmine Blackborow, who did a good job. Click on the YouTube link below to hear a sample.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j85dKZabrE show less