THE QUEEN OF FIVES is a historical thriller about a conwoman trying to trick a duke - and a master of disguises who's trying to thwart her for their own ends.

This is another brilliantly twisty book from Alex Hay, once more about female criminals getting on up on the rich, as with THE HOUSEKEEPERS, but in this one the "sides" feel more complicated and a lot more grey. It's thoroughly engaging though, full of twists and turns as both Quin and her enemy's schemes get wound tighter and tighter around everyone.

The setting is the late Victorian era, just before the turn of the century. It's well into the industrial revolution, which leads to a tension between different types of money - and lots of societal changes that gives people like Quin plenty of room to cause mischief.

I liked the range of narrators in this book. The main character is, of course, conwoman Quin, but we also get to hear from the Duke and Tor (the mark and the mark's sister), as well as Quin's right hand man Mr Silk, but the master of disguises who's out for Quin. It was a nice range of perspectives on the situation. The Duke and Tor were a particularly nice addition for making you care about the marks such that you wanted BOTH parties to succeed, which added tension as only one really could.

Polly Edsell narrates, bringing distinct voices for each of the characters, which is particularly useful with a cast this big. Plus she does a good job of telling you when the various conpeople are in roles by shifting her voice so you can tell it's them but playing a part.

Reallly great story that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to. The narrator did a fantastic job with all the characters and the plot held me gripped throughout. I did feel the ending wasn’t great but I suppose it did wrap up all the strands of the plot. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early release of this audiobook.

It is 1898 and Quinn is the current Queen of Fives. Now she needs to pull off her greatest con yet which will resolve all her money worries. She will attempt to catch the Duke of Kendall and trick him into marriage. But unknown to her there is someone else targeting the family.

Very well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Strong characters in this witty, well paced novel. Lots of twists and turns plus skullduggery in high society. Can the great prize be won?

Imagine Bridgerton crossed with Hustle (only 10 times better!) and you have an idea of the delights ahead in The Queen of Fives by Alex Hay.
I absolutely loved this storyline from the opening paragraph to the final line.
Though set in the Victorian era, rather than Regency times, the expected behaviour and class lines are still very much in place, providing a perfect opening for Quinn Le Blanc, the Queen of Fives, aka the reigning Queen of Cons in London to play a classic fraud. Quinn runs La Chateau, the home of cons in London. Quinn has decided to play one of the mosts dangerous cons of all, to pretend to be an heiress to ensnare the wealthy, and single Duke of Kendal in marriage, with the intention of stealing of his fortune. There's just one rather major catch - the con must be completed in 5 days. Oh and there is a mysterious figure watching her.
The story moves at a fast-pace, commencing on the infamous day five, and then jumping back in time to explain how Quinn has reached this point and the delicate web of relationships that could come crashing down at any moment and cost Quinn, not just her reputation but also her life.
The narrator is Polly Edsell, and she does a wonderful job at bringing the characters, in particular Quinn to life. Hearing the storyline, helped me to imagine the character.
I did need to keep my focus on the clever intricacies of the relationships and levels of con artistry at play in the storyline, but this was not a hardship as I loved the story so much and couldn't wait to get back to reading it. A full five stars and I'd love another adventure with Quinn Le Blanc.

Quinn Le Blanc, in charge of the Chateau as the infamous Queen of Fives, is playing the game of 'False Heiress'. She has five days to become Miss Quinta White and broker a marriage into the Kendall family.
I found this story to be very different to any other books I have read and I really enjoyed it. There were twists on the twists to keep me on my toes, second guessing everything I thought I knew.
Alex Hay built the story well, I had a clear Victorian image in my mind of both the High Society and the grubby London Streets.
I enjoyed getting to know the characters of Quinn and the Duke but would have liked to read more of their joint story.
The narration from Polly Edsell was really high quality, she captured the essence of each character and helped to keep it clear in my mind where I was in the story. I really enjoyed her narration and have already began recommending Queen of Fives to anyone who loves a historical mystery book.

Deliciously scheming and dastardly historical crime fiction, that’s also full of heart.

If, like me, you thoroughly enjoyed Alex Hay’s debut THE HOUSEKEEPERS, you will undoubtedly LOVE his next novel, THE QUEEN OF FIVES. Hay is back with an even bigger and bolder plot (no mean feat after the stunningly ambitious plans of Mrs. King and her gang!), which sees confidence trickster and reigning Queen of Fives - Quinn Le Blanc - set out to deceive a duke and strip him of his fortune in five days flat. Honestly, this is Bridgerton but WAY better! I’m not a huge consumer of historical fiction, but Hay’s novels are certainly tempting me into my historical era. I genuinely couldn’t get enough of this book. I immediately found myself invested in Quinn’s background and her scheme. This book is a rich tapestry of characters, all woven into a beautifully evocative landscape at the turn of the century. I felt transported both as I read and as I listened. London of 1898 is gorgeously described with lush prose, but also with a wonderful wit and charm. This is juxtaposed with the vivid imagery of the seamy London underworld and the plot is brilliantly crafted to sow seeds of deception and grow tension. The mounting suspense is palpable and builds to an explosive conclusion that had me on the edge of my seat.

This is a multilayered and complex novel that pits contemporary social conventions against The Chateau’s (where The Queen of Fives and her court reside) own nefarious rule book. There’s honour amongst these thieves in far more abundance than between the social elite. I love the way Hay weaves many different themes throughout the plot whilst also crafting a cracking crime escapade and a novel of classic social graces. Most prominently, the theme of identity meanders through the narrative, with every character exploring their place in the world. Combined with this the story centres around secrecy, subterfuge, position, and ultimately love. There’s a real heart to this story, but that heart is wrapped in a quick-witted sense of cunning that readers can absolutely revel in. Blending all these elements together, Hay has crafted a novel that will appeal to fans of historical fiction, crime fiction, literary fiction, and women’s fiction…making it an absolute must-read for virtually everyone!

I highly recommend the audiobook too, which is sumptuously narrated by Polly Edsell. She does a marvellous job of giving each of the characters a unique identity and really brings Hay’s beautiful prose to life.

I thought the narrator of this Audiobook was excellent and really brought the book to life. I loved listening to this, , it is so well written and kept me gripped from start to finish. The characters and plot are so exciting to read and I look forward to reading anything by Alex Hay a must read author. My thanks to Netgalley, the Publishers and Alex Hay (The Author) for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Full transparency: I didn't like Alex Hay's debut 'The Housekeepers'. I found it unnecessarily complicated and some of the narrative choices the author made to be rather underdeveloped and therefore, badly done. I am thrilled to say that I had almost the opposite experience with 'The Queen of Fives', so if you were like me (and the Goodreads ratings suggest there are plenty who are), I urge you to give this book a go if you didn't like their debut.

'The Queen of Fives' follows a unique gang, of which Quinn Le Blanc is the Queen. Except her empire is crumbling and she decides to pull a massive game - seduce a Duke and con him out of a huge amount of money. But there are lots of other figures and games afoot. And her biggest enemy might be coming from inside her house...

With a much reduced cast from their previous book, this novel is far cleaner in its execution and more coherent and cohesive in its narrative. Because it's focused on this one storyline, the plot plays out with intriguing twists and turns. There are few surprises in there, which the author did an excellent enough job laying the foundations for I began to guess the conclusions. Not necessarily a bad thing - they were twists that felt completely earned and well-motivated, which are the best kind in my opinion. I found the cast of characters excellently written and with great dimension - again, benefitting from a smaller cast.

I knocked off a star because I felt things dragged slightly at the end of act 2 and into act 3, with not quite enough time spent on the ultimate conclusion. I'd have liked to have seen the seduction of the Duke begin earlier and their relationship and interactions grow through the novel, rather than being confided to the second half, particularly considering the outcome. It also gets a bit ludicrous towards the end, especially with the villainous characters (I found the figure known as the Man In The Blue Waistcoat to be a little heavy-handed in their evil aspects towards the end).

Nevertheless, I think this is an excellent second book. Hay has improved remarkably from their debut and avoided the dreaded sophomore slump. I'll be looking forward to his future books. This is a lesson kids: give author's second chances. You never know what they might come out with.

The Queen of Fives by Alex Hay. Thank you to NetGalley for my audio ARC, this book releases 30 January 2025.

I’m happy to be able to tick off the letter Q in my Alphabet Challenge so early in the year. It’s normally one of the most difficult letters to find.

London 1898.

‘A confidence scheme, when properly executed, will follow five movements in close and inviolable order: I. The Mark II. The Intrusion. III. The Ballyhoo. IV. The Knot. V. All In.’

Quinn le Blanc is the Queen of Fives, a position which has been handed down for generations. Basically, she is a con artist. One who has many people in her employ to assist her in her cons and she in turn makes sure they are well compensated. Unfortunately, debts have been piling up and she is trying to get a big payout and that means pulling off the biggest con of her life. She has to convince the Duke of Kendal, one of the richest families in London, to marry her within 5 days.

The Duke, however, made a pact with his sister nine years previously when their father died that he would never marry. They both have secrets.

The unnamed narrator interspersed in the chapters gave it some excitement and I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal at the end. My only complaint was that the middle portion was a little long and could be trimmed by a couple of chapters of unnecessary background information.

Thank-you to NetGalleyUK and the publisher for a free eARC in return for an honest review.

This was a book with a good vibe: the tone of the Victorian setting was on point, and the twists were good. It went on a little bit, but the switch in perspectives mitigated that to some extent.
HOWEVER, there are just too many points where I'm struggling with suspension of disbelief. The strict adherence to the rules; the idea that they've managed to keep these cons going for generations while living in the same Chateau without being caught... just none of it makes sense.
I enjoyed the ride but was constantly distracted by the things that didn't make sense.
Also, it felt like some of these characters were very 2D: give me some nuance in my bad guys.

A fast paced story full of mystery and intrigue. Listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

The Queen Of Fives
Alex Hay

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Having absolutely loved The Housekeepers by this author last year, I was so excited to see a new release coming to start off my 2025 most anticipated reads!

Once again, I loved this brilliant setting of a Victorian London.
Following Quinn - the Queen Of Fives - best con woman of the day - as she sets about her best con yet.
With the help of her friends, colleagues and associates, she attempts to trick the duke into marriage and steal a fortune from the wealthy Kendall family.

I couldn't wait to see how Quinn would develop her plan and really took to her from the start.
But, I also really loved the duke. The situation of the family standing and the pressure of expectation on him was clear to see. I just knew that there was so much more to come from his story.
This however, meant that I couldn't fully get behind Quinn and her con.

The storyline was really well presented and thought through, keeping the intrigue high throughout - especially the anonymous voice that was threaded through the chapters.
I actually had no clue who this person would end up being and was shocked when the reveal came towards the end.

I loved the complexities of the plan and how each day revealed something new - and without giving spoilers - there were some great twists.

I did find this a little slower going than my previous read and therefore not quite as enjoyable as I'd been hoping - but now I've finished and had time to reflect - there was lots going on from start to finish and this kept me reaching out to keep reading.



💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

'The Queen of Fives' is set in Victorian London, focussing on a young conwoman, Quinn, who is attempting to carry out a 'fake heiress' con in five days. She targets Max Kendal, a wealthy young duke who lives a quiet life with his sister and stepmother. But someone else is also playing a game, an enemy Quinn doesn't know exists, and it's possible she herself is the mark in someone else's even cleverer deception.

The story is reasonably exciting and moves along at a good pace, but the plot is very far fetched and I didn't feel much liking for the characters which is a particular problem in a heist-type novel as you need an extra degree of sympathy to overlook the essential wrongness of their behaviour. The supposed twist was very obvious from early on. I didn't really understand the 'rules' of the game, which often seemed to set unnecessary barriers to success - for example, why on earth did it have to be done within 5 days? I understood the point that a lengthy timescale gave more opportunities for discovery, but trying to force an entire engagement from first meeting to marriage in five days was surely far more likely to attract attention and suspicion and ultimately discovery.

The Victorian underworld setting reminds me of some of Sarah Waters' novels, which is not a good comparison for Hay as she just can't write as well as Waters. Not many people can, in fairness. If only I could have felt a bit more engaged with the characters, I could have overlooked the plot issues. But as with Hay's previous book, I never really felt an affinity with them.

The story works fine as an audiobook - it's easy to follow and the narrator reads clearly and it's easy to differentiate the characters.

If you love heist stories, or Victoriana, it's worth a read. If you don't have a particular interest in those areas, it's probably not good enough to read for it's own sake.

Quinn Le Blanc is the best con woman in Victorian London. Working with her team of likewise criminals she sets out to ensnare a wealthy husband in five days.

Although I'm a big fan of crime and thrillers I tend to steer away from reading historical crime. The opportunity to listen to the audiobook of The Queen Of Fives by Alex Hay seemed an ideal way to rectify this.

You are straight into the story thanks to the excellent narration of Polly Edsell and the almost thirteen hours of audio never felt overly long or tedious thanks to the many twists. Quinn is the lead confidence trickster of The Chateau, a criminal fraternity based in London. Their aim is to separate wealthy individuals from their money, usually bankers, and they have a strict set of rules they abide by.

With no obvious mark in sight, Quinn decides to use an old tactic from their playbook and ensnare someone with a title. According to their rules, she needs to meet and marry the man all within the space of five days. Thankfully, the small world of the privileged classes makes this a possibility with the right introductions and a beautiful wardrobe.

The narration switches regularly between Quinn, her partner-in-crime, the Duke she has set her sights on and his sister. Alongside this we also hear from another voice, someone watching from the sidelines, not connected to any of the main characters.

I felt completely immersed in high society thanks to the brilliant descriptions and was intrigued as the story progressed. As we got to know each character better we discovered that they were hiding secrets, secrets that they would do anything to keep hidden. It also became obvious that despite the meticulous planning of Quinn and her partner someone was trying to sabotage their exploits. I was sorry when the story reached its conclusion, I could have easily listened to more of Quinn Le Blanc's escapades.

The story was good and well paced. There were many twists and enjoyable characters, however I found myself guessing the twists relatively early which took some of the joy out of reading. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys heist-style stories.

I listened to the audio version which is very well narrated. This has an unusual plot; a con artist is tasked with getting a marriage proposal from a duke within days to facilitate a heist. There’s a Victorian setting and I found the insight into this slice of Victorian society interesting. There was a real feel for the splendour of this period and the upper class circles where Quinn is moving. I found it all incredibly slow and particularly at the beginning, my attention was wandering at times because it was bordering on dreary. The pace picks up a little and there are a couple of surprises. Overall, although well written it just didn’t excite in any way and although I quite liked Quinn, I didn’t feel enough to care one way or another what happened.

🎧4⭐️

I enjoyed the entertaining and highly original The Housekeepers so was interested to see what was next from this historical author. Again this book has an original and very intriguing concept.

I had the audiobook read by Polly Edsall who does a good job

Quinn has five days to pull off an elaborate plan to get a marriage proposal from a highly eligible Duke leading to twists,turns and secrets.

It’s pretty slow and evenly paced throughout, but it does take some time to build up to the story. When it drew me in I was invested in the outcome. I couldn’t help but like Quinn, and wanted her to succeed. The Duke’s secret, the reveal drawn out for too long. I found it enjoyable. If you enjoyed The Housekeepers I think you’ll also enjoy this one. It’s also good for those who like a historical drama/mystery that’s a little different.

Quinn Le Blanc has five days to pull off her most daring con to date, convincing the Duke of Kendal to marry her. As if that wasn't hard enough to do to a man she hasnt even met yet, she has five days to do it in and her quarry has sworn off marriage in a pact with his sister. But when his stepmother unexpectedly shows interest in making a match for the Duke, it is clear that she wants anyone but Quinn. Can Quinn and her trusted friends pull of this con without being caught and secure the fortune they need.

This was a great read that felt a bit like Bridgerton meets Leverage! Fast-paced with a great cast of characters, well worth a read if historical fiction is your bag!

I loved the scheming and thrill during the book. Certain moments were slower paced in the middle, which diminished my enjoyment a small bit, but other than that I liked reading this. The back-and-forth games kept my intrigue and I love a strong FMC. The insight into Victorian society was engaging to read. I would definitely read more from this author in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook.

Review for the audiobook.


On the slower side to start, setting up all the characters, and settings.
It picks up nicely though, and there's plenty of twists to keep you going.
It's one I'm glad I listened to rather than read, as the narration was spot on.
Overall its fun.