Review: The Housekeepers

Alex Hay’s debut novel, The Housekeepers, was originally described to me as Downton Abbey meets Ocean’s 8. I didn’t need to know any more than that. I was all in. And Hay delivered a historical heist novel that I was completely and totally invested in and had so much fun reading.

Here’s the book’s description:

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.

I love heist stories. I would watch the Ocean’s movies every week if I could. There’s something about a group of “good” guys trying to take on the bad guys by stealing everything those bad guys care about. Will it work? Will there be serious moments and ridiculous ones along the way? Please say yes to all of the above! Hay delivers all that and more with this book. I really wasn’t sure how the women were going to pull off their heist and I definitely didn’t have it all figured out before bits and pieces were revealed. I do think I was missing something at the end but I think I’m to blame by wanting to know how it was all pulled off so badly that I may have skimmed past something vital. I was happily surprised by a lot of the twists and applaud Hay for making it work.

The historical element was really smart and makes this unlike any story I’ve read before. It gave a fresh setting for a popular trope and allowed Hay to - as the description mentions - explore gender and class relations in the very early 1900s. The majority of the women in this story were from the so-called “lower” class and would have been found below stairs in any grand household. They wouldn’t have had many rights at all, as the women’s suffrage movement was only just starting to gain some serious ground. While the mystery part of this book was far more important than the historical, Hay did enough research and set the scene so well that I really felt like I had been plopped into a grand house in 1905 London.

There were a ton of characters in this book but I was easily able to keep them all straight (other than The Janes, naturally). Each woman had their own job to do and, for the most part, they didn’t interact while out in public - just during their meetings and the Big Heist. The plan depended on them not being connected to one another. As you might expect, each job was unique so each woman was very unique as well (again, other than The Janes) and I loved that. Their personalities came through and I was completely rooting for them and hoped the heist would be successful.

Anyone who likes heist stories needs to read The Housekeepers. And if you also like historical fiction? You’ll be just as thrilled as I was with Alex Hay’s debut novel. I enjoyed this one so damn much and kind of wish I could read it for the first time once again. Read it!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*