The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

A cross between Ocean’s 8 and Downton Abbey, this historical heist novel kept this reader thoroughly captivated from the first paragraph to the final sentence. Set in and around a big, flashy mansion in Mayfair, England at the turn of last century, the young lady owner, recently orphaned, recklessly decides to throw the Ball of the century, and find a suitable husband to boot. Unfortunately, she has just dismissed the household’s loyal housekeeper who has given years of service.

Cast out on the street, the housekeeper returns to her roots, gathers her circle of cronies and plans, meticulously, the heist of the generation – stealing every stick of furniture and treasure the mansion holds (and that includes the carpets).

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and never has a truer saying been uttered. This story is delicious in its plotting, magnificent in its deeply drawn characters and with more twists and turns than a game of charades.

The ending will come as a surprise, when one wondered if there was anything left to uncover!

A large cast of characters resides both within the mansion and without, all connected in seemingly innocuous ways but part of the dismissed housekeeper/mastermind’s grand scheme.

A thoroughly entertaining novel and recommended.

Reviewed by Belinda Coombs
Murder and Crime Reading Group