#BlogTour – #BookReview of #TheHousekeepers by Alex Hay @AlexHayBooks @headlinepg @RandomTTours #RandomThingsTours

calturner

Jul 21

I'm pleased to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for fun and entertaining historical novel The Housekeepers by Alex Hay. Thank you to Anne Cater and Headline for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

About the book:

UPSTAIRS, MADAM IS PLANNING THE PARTY OF THE SEASON.

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…

THEY COME FROM NOTHING. BUT THEY'LL LEAVE WITH EVERYTHING.

About the author:

Alex Hay grew up in Cambridge and Cardiff and has been writing as long as he can remember. He studied History at the University of York, and wrote his dissertation on female power at royal courts, combing the archives for every scrap of drama and skulduggery he could find. He has worked in magazine publishing and the charity sector, and is a graduate of the Curtis Brown Write Your Novel course. The Housekeepers is his debut novel and won the Caledonia Novel Award 2022. Alex lives with his husband in South East London.

My Review:

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay is a fun and entertaining historical novel that is a pure delight from beginning to end. With witty dialogue and a larger than life cast of female characters, this is a book that had me hooked from the very first page.

It is 1905 and, following the death of her father, Madam is planning a magnificent ball, hoping it will help attract a husband now that she is all alone in the world. But downstairs, the servants are plotting something entirely different: the heist of the century.

When she is suddenly dismissed after years of loyal service, housekeeper Mrs King decides to pull off a heist right under the nose of her former employer - and she knows exactly who to recruit to help her do it. And so she brings together an unlikely and eclectic group of women who, with Mrs King at the helm, plan an intricate heist that will take place on the night of Madam's ball.

The Housekeepers is a fast paced, well plotted tale that counts down to the day of the ball as the women begin to put their plans into motion. As we learn more about Mrs King, Mrs Bone, Winnie and the other women, long held grudges and secrets from the past begin to emerge, giving the story a much darker edge that really does add depth to what is at heart an entertaining tale about a group of women trying to pull off the biggest heist that Park Lane has ever seen.

The setting, era and colourful cast of characters are brought vividly to life as this impressive debut novel, with its twists, turns, shocks and surprises, pulled me under its spell, refusing to let go until the final page had been turned.

The Housekeepers is enormously entertaining, with a wit and humour running through it that really did bring a smile to my face. Alex Hay's writing is superb and I look forward to reading more by him in the future..

I don't want to give away too much of what happens, so all I will say is that The Housekeepers is a well written, intriguing, whiplash fast, fun and entertaining debut novel that I would highly recommend. I loved it!

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay is available to purchase now: