Alex Hay Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Alex Hay
Alex Hay grew up in the United Kingdom in Cardiff and Cambridge, and he has been writing for 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 all of the archives for every bit of skulduggery and drama that he could possibly find.

Alex has worked in the charity sector and magazine publishing. His debut novel, called “The Housekeepers”, won the Caledonia Novel Award.

The idea for “The Housekeepers” came about during the summer of 2020. He’d been noodling about with the idea of attempting to pen this heist novel since he wanted to poke around in the clever engineering of such a plot structure. And he’d been circling the opulent and enterprising 1900s for quite a bit, pondering whether or not he could actually set a story in this fictionalized version of a dazzling West London mansion. These were pretty impressive and huge houses being staffed by a seemingly endless supply of obedient servants.

However what if these servants weren’t so obedient? What if they actually wanted to grab a hold of a bit of privilege just for themselves? And thus the world of this novel started taking shape.

Alex wrote out a detailed scene plan, building up the plot from the ground up, and penned a first draft written as quickly as he could, merely to fling the story down. However there were all of these holes, mainly to do with emotional stakes and character motivation. So he had to do quite a bit of paring back, honing, and rebuilding of the people that populated his story.

His fierce financier and incognito servant Mrs. Bone began life as two separate characters, getting glued together into one character that he quite enjoyed: the suspicious and sardonic household secretary, Miss Bernier, who possessed this rather useful photographic memory. She was not carrying around enough story with her so she needed to go, however he wonders if he could recycle her some day.

“The Housekeepers” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2023. The night of the grandest ball London has, this bold group of women downstairs plot this daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in a dazzling historical novel of gender, power, and class.

Mrs. King is not some ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of thieves and con artists, she has made herself respectable, running the grandest of homes in all of Mayfair. The place is filled with treasures, and is a glittering symbol of power and wealth, however dark secrets are lurking in the shadows.

Mrs. King gets suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits this eclectic group of women to join her in this revenge. An actress desperate to land a magnificent part. A black market queen out to settle her scores. A seamstress dreaming about a better life. And Mrs. King’s own predecessor, with a dark desire of her own for vengeance.

Their plan is to rob the home on the night of the house’s highly anticipated costume ball, which is set to be the most illustrious of the entire year. They’ll steal everything, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. However there is one thing that Mrs. King wants even more than money. And that’s the truth. And she will run any risk she has to in order to get it.

After all, one shouldn’t underestimate the women downstairs.

This is a deliciously clever read, and you will never have so much fun while cheering on a grand larceny such as this. This is a treasure trove of contradictions: thoughtful yet fast paced, compassionate yet vengeful, totally unpredictable yet satisfying. This is a rollicking romp of a read tinged with sadness, mischievous delight, and fury. It’s totally original.

Anybody that relishes in a good party gone wrong is sure to devour this glamorous historical heist book that keeps you hooked until the final page. The memorable and determined female characters all pull you right into their web of intrigue.

“The Queen of Fives” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2025. Nothing is quite like it appears in Victorian high society in a clever novel set against the most magnificent wedding of the whole season, while this mysterious heiress sets her sights on one illustrious London family.

Any confidence scheme, when executed properly, is going to follow 5 movements in inviolable and close order. I. The Mark. II. The Intrusion. III. The Ballyhoo. IV. The Knot. V. All In. There might be numerous counter-strikes along the way, since such is the nature of the game; since it contains so many sides, there are so many possibilities.

1898. Quinn le Blanc, London’s most talented con woman, has just five days to pull her most ambitious plot off: trap one highly eligible duke into marriage and lift a fortune off the richest family in all of England.

Quinn, while masquerading as the most enviable debutante of the season, puts on a brilliant act which earns her entrance into lavish balls of high society and the grand drawing rooms. It also propels her right into her target’s inner circle: the charismatic Kendals. Among those that she has to convince are the rebellious little sister, the handsome bachelor heir, and the esteemed duchess that is eager to see her son get married.

However the deeper that she forges into their world, the more that Quinn finds she’s tangled into this complex web of loyalty, love, and lies. The Kendals all have secrets of their own, and she might not even be the only one that’s playing a game of high deception.

This is rich with enticing prose and delicious detail, as it’s also terrifically fast paced. Alex delivers a second novel that is cunning, audacious, quick witted, and is a jewel of a book from an incredibly talented writer. He has you rooting for the Queen of Fives right from the first line. Alex has plotted out another masterful and stylish scheme and is a ripper of a historical novel.