The Housekeepers by  Alex Hay

The Housekeepers

Alex Hay

This joyful romp of a book delivers an Edwardian heist fronted by an team of amazing women. The plotting is whip-smart and, as the action hots up, it delivers a high octane blast of energy. The lightness of touch belies a dark underbelly which will have you shouting for justice for the vulnerable and wronged. But the overall experience in one of pure entertainment building to a hugely satisfying climax. Hail the housekeepers.

Extract

'We want this job to have a little fizz, Mrs Bone,' she said. 'A little get and go. Imagine it, ladies: the grandest house in London, licked clean on the biggest night of the season. People won't be able to sleep for thinking about it. The papers will be full of it. And wouldn't you want something from that house? A little clock perhaps? Some drapes? A hearth-rug for the nursery? Something wicked, something naughty, something stolen, just for you? Don't you think you deserve it? She gave Mrs Bone a hard look. 'We can add a fifty-percent surcharge to the prices, possibly double, no question about it. And the best items can go straight to auction.'

 

 

 

Parallels
  • The Maid by Nina Prose
  • The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
  • The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont