3/5

Upstairs madam is planning the party of the season and downstairs, the servants are plotting the heist of the century.

When Mrs King, housekeeper to the most illustrious home in Mayfair, is suddenly dismissed after years of loyal service, she knows just who to recruit to help her take 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, who has been keeping the dark secrets of Park Lane far too long.

Mrs King has an audacious plan in mind, one that will reunite her women in the depths of the house on the night of a magnificent ball - and play out right under the noses of her former employers…
It did start off a bit slow for me but it did eventually pick up but I still found it a bit hard to engage with this book… not sure if it's because I could feel myself getting into a bit of a reading slump or that it was something that I wasn't in the mood to read. However, I did push myself to keep on reading and it was an interesting concept and there were quite a few characters which were hard to remember and it got a bit confusing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This was an interesting read and a good concept, I just didn't really engage with it. The cover is beautiful but that was the most exciting part of it for me. It was alright...

Alex Hay's "The Housekeepers" masterfully combines the elegance of the Edwardian era's upstairs-downstairs dynamic with the adrenaline of a thrilling heist. The result is a captivating narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

What sets this book apart is the array of compelling female characters, each possessing a distinct set of skills and a hidden past. As the story unfolds, their connections to the house they're targeting gradually come to light, revealing motivations that add layers of complexity to their characters. This approach keeps readers guessing and engaged.

While the ensemble cast is a strength, I did find that the extensive number of characters may have impacted the depth of their individual development. Some characters felt kept at arms length, preventing a deeper connection with them. However, I suspect this approach was deliberate, heightening the uncertainty and casting doubt on who can truly be trusted - adding to the element of mystery.

The Housekeepers is a thrilling page-turner that successfully melds historical drama with the excitement of a heist. The enigmatic female characters and their hidden motives add an extra layer of intrigue to the story, while the fast-paced plot ensures that readers will remain hooked until the very end, I could easily visualise this book translating well to a film.

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the writing style, especially the countdown to the robbery.
Mrs King is a housekeeper for Mr De Vries in a very stylish house on Park Lane. Mr De Vries had the house built from the proceeds of diamond mines and lived there with his daughter. until his death two months previously.
When Mrs King is dismissed for being found in the male servants area, she hatches a plan to get her revenge.
Along with Mrs Bone, a ruthless business woman, Winnie an old friend, Hezabiah an actress, Alice Mrs. Kings step sister and two girls called Jane they make a very complex, intricate plan to steal the complete contents of the house and sell it on. Mrs Bone is Danny (Mr De Vries) sister, she has never forgiven him for taking her money. Winnie was also the housekeeper at the house but left for reasons unknown.
Against this background of characters, the women make decisions, check the whereabouts of everyone and hire actors, extravagant props, removal men and transport.
The story is quite involved with twists and turns, moral issues, betrayals and violence.
Thank you NetGalley and Alex for this wonderful book.

An Upstairs Downstairs Downton Heist, why has no-one ever done this before?
(apologies if someone has, I haven't read one before)

The revenge of the kitchen maids, the housekeepers, the lady's maids, the 'fallen women' pushed by those they served but rising from the gutters to get their own kind of payback.

I really enjoyed this, and the narrator of the audiobook kept me hooked too, so both formats worked well for me.

I hope this gets made into a period drama, I'd love to watch an ambitious period drama heist, and I'll definitely be re-reading this, the way the various relationships, murky secrets, and past lives were revealed was cleverly woven in throughout the book, and the pacing kept me hooked throughout.

What a fabulous, absorbing read that captured the colour, opulent atmosphere and scandals of the time.
Part thrilling heist, part empowering women and part insight to the murky underworld of living in large houses.

With powerful women, and engaging risky plot it won't be forgotten in a hurry

A Heist book crossed with a period, upstairs/downstairs type tale?
Yes, yes, and yes.
Something you didn't know you wanted until you get it - this is a perfect gift of a romp. Glorious

The premise of this story is fantastic - Oceans 11 meets Gosford Park! What more could you want?! I admit that I did struggle to get into this one to begin as the pace felt a little slow as we build our ensemble of characters. But they are a cracking ensemble when they are finally assembled: tough, female and all fighting for a better lives, not only for themselves but the girls that will follow them. This is a story about secrets and gender and class as we slowly learn the mysteries behind each women and their motivations and beliefs.
In some ways, the plot felt almost secondary to the characters as the heist - when it arrived - fell a little short for me but I was pulled along by the gravelly determination of these women.

I love the setting - and the upstairs/ downstairs feel as well as the back story of the rich and somewhat enigmatic Mr De Vries.
Definitely an ambitious and compelling book - and so much love for it on our readalong group

I couldn't get into this book because it was written in a confused manner and lacked flow. The switches between locations and characters was too abrupt and lacked clarity.

Characters were difficult to relate to and the whole story was somewhat disjointed.

Whilst an interesting plot, it was totally unbelievable.

Edwardian heist! Two of my favourite genres together. This was great fun and, alongside the fast-paced heist plot, the characters were so well-written and really shone true.

Ok, so full disclosure: this WILL be in my top reads this year. I loved every page. Every page that I would have turned much quicker if I hadn’t been reading on The Pigeonhole!!

Mrs King, the housekeeper of a Mayfair house, is sacked when she is discovered trying to access the male servants corridor at night. She recruits a group of women to exact her revenge: a woman who runs a black market business; an actress; a seamstress; and Mrs King’s predecessor. They all have more in common than you’d think, and they all have scores to settle.

I loved everything about The Housekeepers: I felt that the historical details were spot on, and I really wanted the women to come out on top. This is a really audacious plan, and I’m sure that anyone else reading it would want them to succeed as well.

And the secrets within the walls of that house!! The women want to expose this family just as much as they want to completely clear out the house.

The night of the party is a wondrous thing: even the Princess comes along (and with a warning!). There are acrobats, gentry, amazing costumes, and the most startling way of removing artwork from a house that I’ve ever heard of!

But of course there’s much more to this than meets the eye, and Mrs King has a bone to pick with the lady of the house.

Honestly, this is a wonderfully imaginative book - you should read it!!

I really enjoyed this book - it's very Downton Abbey meets Ocean's 11, and what could be wrong with that?

It has a great cast of characters, and you really find yourself rooting for them! The pacing was a little slow, but it definitely picked up to a fun and satisfying ending.

If you want a fun, easy read with an interesting plot and great scene setting, this is the one for you!

I read an eARC of this so thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publisher.

This was a fun heist novel with darker undertones. We follow a housekeeper who has just been sacked as she brings together a team of women to rob the mansion she previously worked as. As we go through the story we start to understand why the different women have their own reasons for wanting revenge on the family that own the home.

This is a heist novel and it’s an entertaining one. The women all have different roles they play and they do them very well. The heist centres around a party and it’s an ambitious robbery!

Throughout this novel we learn the family secrets and how the different women were affected by the patriarch. They also uncover some activity that makes you feel that the family deserve the burglary. The author did something quite clever in having the patriarch be recently deceased so it’s their descendent that’s affected giving you some empathy as they weren’t directly responsible for the horrible activities. This gives you some conflicting feelings, although this person is still capable of cruelty.

A very fun read. I did find I really enjoyed the first part of the book and the set up of the heist more than the heist itself, although I did appreciate the lavish party and costume descriptions!

What a fab adventure if a bit slow in places. I can imagine this being attempted on screen and ruined by trying to update everything. I am also reminded slightly of those Ealing comedies where one or two criminal masterminds are planning some major heist with a vast array of characters involved. That is no insult, they were such fun. This developed very cleverly with various relationships slowly uncovered along the way. Had trouble keeping everything in my head while reading. Thanks to Netgalley.

This is a spoof crime heist set in early 1900’s London, undertaken by disgruntled servants with links to the petty criminal world.
It is well reviewed with reference to it being fast paced with lots of twists and turns, being lighted hearted and full of fun.
I felt quite mixed reading it though. I could see how the characters could be depicted more gregariously to be caricatures to make it fun, but aside some witty and sarcastic comments, it didn’t convey anything much like this to me.
Whilst the premise follows the sacking of Mrs King from the De Vries house and her wanting revenge against the recently widowed Mrs De Vries. The family ties and connections become more apparent as the book continues, but it just failed to intrigue me and exhibited an air of confusion and chaos that did so in manner that diminished its entertainment factor. As such I read it quickly as it was not a long read. I didn’t particularly like or dislike the main characters. They lacked emotional depth or character development. It has been set up for a follow-on book, but I would not be inclined to read this. Whilst my views are not dissimilar to some others, clearly there are a wealth of readers who felt differently, so possibly it is a marmite read. Maybe worth a try if the premise floats your boat.

A fabulous heist thriller in an Upstairs/Downstairs historic setting, I really enjoyed it. 1905 in a London mansion, the focus is on the women Downstairs. I loved the characters and the setting and the whole plot was intriguing. Well written, it draws you in and of course not everything went according to the best laid plans. Really hope there will be more from this author, excellent debut and I highly recommend.

When housekeeper Mrs King is dismissed from her job, she gathers together a group of women and plans to rob the house of all its valuables.

The book follows the women as we discover each of their connections to eachother and the house.

This was a fun, easy read but I wanted more from the heist itself. There was a lot of build up and I was expecting more of a pay off.

If you are looking for a quirky and highly entertaining read then look no further than The Housekeepers. I’ll admit that I really wasn’t sure when I looked at the blurb, I couldn’t quite decide what style the book would take and if it would be one that would capture my attention. Well, I wouldn’t be writing this if I hadn’t really enjoyed it – it was delightfully written and did a brilliant job of taking two, what I feel are quite different concepts and drawing them together into a page turning read. I should be honest and say that I’ve never watched Downton Abbey or any of the similar period dramas which is unusual as I do quite enjoy plot lines about the dynamics between the differing classes and social circles – anyway I digress, this may well be a story which involves the working class and the rich but it is certainly not a run of the mill storyline! (For fairness sake, I should also mention that I haven’t watched many heist movies either – basically I am approached this story as someone who knows of the genres but isn’t an expert on either – glad we’ve cleared that up)!

Mrs King is ambitious and a woman not to be crossed. Being unfairly dismissed she seeks revenge. Dinah King is intelligent and is determined that she, along with the right group of co-conspirators, can pull off an unbelievable heist in a seemingly impossible manner. Why go for small scale schemes when an enormous glittering prize is right under your nose? No one could ever suspect that such a bold scheme could be considered, let alone taken on, but then Mrs King is no ordinary woman! Beware a woman scorned who has the drive to seek revenge! The women she recruits to help her have different motives for being part of the team, not all enter whole heartedly or happily. Finding out their backstories helps understand why they behave as they do and what skillsets they can exploit as part of the group. These are revealed slowly to the reader and I quite enjoyed finding out useful little nuggets as I read.

I like how the story flows, although Mrs King is our main player, we move back and forth between the various members of her crew and get to ride alongside their plotting and planning. It is nice to see a story centred around women, particularly when the 1900s didn’t hold many prospects for women who were not independently wealthy or married into ‘the right’ families. There was no safety net so if you wanted to change your lot you needed to be inventive and resourceful, not to mention having luck on your side.

I hope that it isn’t insulting to say that I would definitely watch an adaptation for television – I am always someone who wants to read the book before I even consider watching a televised or movie version, and even then I seldom get round to watching the screen interpretation – but I think that the story really lends itself well to a drama format. I’d definitely recommend this book to readers who want something new. I think I am testament to the lack of requirement for being either a class drama or heist fan, although I’m sure both groups would enjoy the story! I like a book which tries something new and for me The Housekeepers does, and does so beautifully!

The impressive House of deVries is about to hold a costumed ball which is in itself something of an scandalous oddity especially as the house is in deep mourning. With only weeks to go before the most unusual ball of the season, Mrs King, the housekeeper, is summarily dismissed for a misdemeanor which gives her the perfect opportunity to wreak her own very special brand of revenge on this dark house of secrets. With one foot firmly placed in the underbelly of society Mrs King gathers together an eclectic band of followers who, with meticulous planning, will pull off the most audacious heist of 1905.

With a wonderful cast of eccentric characters The Housekeepers leads us on an impressive chase through the vagaries of Edwardian society. Some of the characters are truly delicious, far too many to mention individually, however, they all bring something totally unique and leave their own distinct mark on the story. From the minute I stepped inside the grand salon of this deliciously, dark Mayfair mansion, to the creeping darkness of Mrs Bone's pawn shop, there was never a moment when I lost my way as the description of life above and below stairs is done with a wonderful flair for Edwardian detail.

The Housekeepers moves along at a cracking pace and all credit to the author for controlling such an intricate story-line which never fails to entertain in this glorious story of family secrets, retribution and the ultimate revenge.

I always like books with strong female characters and this book has them. Downton Abbey meets Oceans 11, I enjoyed stepping back in time. There was lots of build up and you felt you really got to know each character while they were planning the heist.
You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out if they get their revenge and of the women pull off the heist!