The Housekeepers

by Alex Hay

1 out of 5

Synopsis: 

On the night of London's grandest ball, a bold group of women launches a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society.

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.

Review

When Mrs King is let go from her housekeeper position, she plans to get revenge with the biggest heist London has ever seen. They plan to strip one of the most expensive houses bare, on the night its owner holds their first ball.

I received a free copy from Netgalley.

This was a DNF for me - I got about 40% in, but have not finished the book.

The story follows Mrs King and some of her comrades. Set in London 1905, it follows Mrs King as she recruits other skilled women for the heist, and tries to convince Mrs Bones (the moneylender) that it will be worth investing in.

I loved the concept of this book, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

I'm nearly half-way through, and I am bored beyond belief. The various narrators talk at you about the planning process, over and over.  What could have been an exciting ride has turned into a very slow trudge.

And it's not like the characters can save it - I have no idea what the characters are like - nearly half-way through the book, and I don't know anything about any of them. (Except a little background on Mrs Bones - but feels like it's used to add pertinence to the plot, rather than add any depth to the character.)

Despite how heavy the plot details are, I still have no idea what is going on, or why.

I have so many friggin' questions, and no answers.

Who is Mrs King? In fact, who are all the characters?

How does Mrs King run a double life? From the sounds of it, she's a well-established housekeeper, which doesn't seem to mesh with the jobs she's previously been given by Mrs Bones.

Why does Mrs King want to run this heist - stripping the house bare, in a way that will make it impossible to collect on the insurance?

She doesn't seem to have any ill-will towards her late employer, or his daughter.

I mean, the way she phrases it, is revenge - but she never appears angry or insulted, etc. It's just calmly stated.

Why now?

I get why they might steal from Lord de Vries, given his history; but why did they wait until he'd died and go after his daughter, who by all accounts is innocent?

Why do they make such a big deal about the heist being run by the core women in the group, when they don't do anything, and enlist the help of every man they can?

I really don't know how they kept this heist secret, with all the people they told. Not that they told them they were stealing stuff, but it wouldn't take a genius to figure out something was amiss, with so much attention being paid to the house etc.

(I mean, sure, they might be answered in the second half, but I'm too frustrated with this book to continue.)

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