UPSTAIRS, MADAM IS PLANNING THE PARTY OF THE SEASON.
All eyes are on the grandest house in Mayfair as the countdown to their lavish summer ball begins. Everything must be perfect. But with the chandeliers gleaming and the cellars stocked, loyal housekeeper Mrs King is suddenly dismissed.
DOWNSTAIRS, THE SERVANTS ARE PLOTTING THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY.
As the clock strikes twelve on the night of the ball, Mrs King will return to strip the house of its riches – right under the nose of her former employer.
And she knows just who to recruit to pull off the impossible: a bold alliance of women with nothing left to lose and every reason for revenge.

I saw ‘The Housekeepers” described on GoodReads as “‘Oceans Eleven’ meets ‘Downton Abbey‘”. It sounded like a fun historical heist story with the domestics taking the opportunity to teach the upper classes a lesson. Even before I opened the book, I was hoping that none of the thieves got caught. 

The cover made me think that ‘The Housekeepers‘ would be an upbeat revenge comedy. It isn’t. It’s a serious revenge story, fuelled by the rage of clever, competent women who have been treated badly.

The plot is clever, complicated steeped in a history of betrayal and exploitation. It shows every sign of becoming a tense, exciting heist story.

I’m setting the book aside because, at a third of the way through, I realised that I don’t care about or like any of the characters. I’m not engaged with the story because I’m not invested in any of the people. 

I think it’s that the prose style keeps me at arm’s length from the people. I see what they’re doing, but have only a plodding description of what they’re feeling.

I think this would make a fine TV series, but there isn’t enough in the novel to feed my imagination.

I listened to the audiobook, performed by Jasmine Blackborow, who did a good job. Click on the YouTube link below to hear a sample.