{ "item_title" : "The Housekeepers", "item_author" : [" Alex Hay "], "item_description" : "The night of London's grandest ball, a bold group of women downstairs plot a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in this dazzling historical novel about power, gender, and classNamed a Best Book of Summer by The Washington Post * Good Housekeeping * Harper's Bazaar * Reader's DigestRollicking fun and entirely original... Anyone who relishes a good party gone wrong will devour this.--Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost ApothecaryMrs. 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.Their plan? On the night of the house's highly anticipated costume ball--set to be the most illustrious of the year--they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there's one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she'll run any risk to get it...After all, one should never underestimate the women downstairs.A deliciously clever novel... You'll never have so much fun cheering on grand larceny.--Nina de Gramont, New York Times bestselling author of The Christie Affair, a Reese's Book Club Pick*Don't miss Alex Hay's clever next novel, The Queen of Fives, in which a mysterious heiress with a secret sets her sights on London's biggest wedding of the season", "item_img_path" : "https://covers1.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/52/580/500/1525805002_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "30.00", "online_price" : "25.50", "our_price" : "25.50", "club_price" : "25.50", "savings_pct" : "15", "savings_amt" : "4.50", "club_savings_pct" : "15", "club_savings_amt" : "4.50", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "30.00" } }

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Sometimes you can’t help but root for the bad guys.  Such is the case with housekeeper-turned-criminal mastermind Mrs. Dinah King and her eclectic gang of co-conspirators in Alex Hay’s debut novel, The Housekeepers. The novel is set in London’s wealthy Park Lane in 1905 during the height of the Edwardian era, which Hay describes in his introduction as a time of “opulence, scrappy characters, remarkable flashes of modernity, and layers of corruption that exist just underneath all that glamour.”  The sprawling de Vries mansion, where Mrs. King works, is “seven floors high from cellars to attics. Newly built, all diamond money, glinting white” with treasures in every room: “stupendous Van Dycks, giant crystal bowls stuffed with carnations. Objets d’art in gold and silver and jade, cherubs with rubies for eyes and emeralds for toenails.” When we first meet Mrs. King, she is already on her way out the door, fired for certain indiscretions and making a mental list of everything of value as she goes. Unlike many disgruntled employees dismayed by the sudden loss of a steady paycheck, she is already plotting to turn her misfortune into opportunity. After recruiting a ragtag team of women, Mrs. King reveals her plot to take her former employers for everything they have. From the outset, Hay makes it clear that Mrs. King is calling the shots. She tells her team in no uncertain terms that “we will have one object, one single plan. There will be no grumbling, no discord. If you’re given an order, you follow it.” And they do it with panache and style, right under the noses of the de Vries and their guests during a lavish costume ball. Hay is equally in control, weaving a quick-fire, almost whimsical story of class and privilege, of low and high society. Half the fun is watching as the team stealthily smuggles in various burglary tools and smuggles out their pilfered treasures. But, as with most criminal endeavors, the slightest miscue or misstatement threatens to upend everything midheist.  Already an award-winning book in its native U.K., The Housekeepers is mischievous, suspenseful and just plain fun from start to finish.