Alex Hay has quickly become a standout name for readers who love stylish historical fiction with a mischievous edge. In The Housekeepers, he combines Edwardian glamour, class tension, an ensemble cast of memorable women, and the irresistible momentum of a caper novel. The result is historical fiction that feels lush, witty, and wonderfully suspenseful.
If what you loved most was the mix of social intrigue, sharply drawn characters, hidden agendas, and clever plotting, the authors below are excellent next reads. Some lean more toward historical mystery, some toward literary suspense, and some toward full-on heist storytelling, but all share at least part of the appeal that makes Alex Hay so enjoyable.
If your favorite part of Alex Hay's work is the pleasure of watching a complicated scheme come together, Leigh Bardugo is an easy recommendation. While she writes fantasy rather than straight historical fiction, her stories have the same love of strategy, shifting loyalties, and charismatic ensembles.
Her novel Six of Crows is one of the best modern heist novels in any genre: a tightly assembled crew, a seemingly impossible objective, and constant reversals that reward close attention. Readers who enjoyed the momentum, personality, and criminal ingenuity of Hay's fiction will likely race through it.
Sarah Waters is a superb choice for readers who want darker, richer historical suspense with intricate plotting and psychological depth. Like Alex Hay, she excels at building period atmosphere while keeping the story propulsive and full of secrets.
Fingersmith is especially well suited to Hay fans because it blends crime, deception, class performance, and shocking reversals within an immersive Victorian setting. If you appreciate elegant historical detail paired with genuine narrative audacity, Waters is essential.
Deanna Raybourn writes historical mysteries with sparkle, intelligence, and a strong sense of adventure. Her books often feature independent protagonists navigating restrictive social worlds, which makes her a natural fit for readers drawn to Hay's resourceful characters and period settings.
In A Curious Beginning, Raybourn introduces Veronica Speedwell, a witty and unconventional heroine whose curiosity repeatedly leads her into danger. The novel offers mystery, chemistry, and a vividly rendered Victorian backdrop, all delivered with brisk energy and humor.
Nita Prose may be a more contemporary pick, but readers who enjoyed Alex Hay's balance of charm and intrigue should still take notice. She has a gift for constructing mysteries around highly specific settings and protagonists whose unique perspectives shape the entire reading experience.
Her breakout novel The Maid follows Molly Gray, a hotel maid who becomes entangled in a murder investigation. It shares with Hay's work an affection for hidden lives beneath polished surfaces, making it a satisfying choice for readers who like stories about what really happens behind elite doors.
Jennifer Ryan is ideal for readers who want more historical fiction centered on group dynamics, resilience, and the unseen labor of women. Her novels are generally warmer and more overtly emotional than Hay's, but they share a strong interest in social structures and how people work around them.
The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is a compelling ensemble novel set during World War II, where community, personal reinvention, and wartime strain all intersect. Readers who liked the collective energy and female-centered storytelling in The Housekeepers may find a lot to love here.
Scott Lynch is another genre-adjacent recommendation for readers who primarily loved Alex Hay's criminal cleverness. Though his setting is fantastical, his appeal lies in the same things: con artistry, elaborate plans, stylish dialogue, and the thrill of seeing smart people try to outmaneuver one another.
The Lies of Locke Lamora follows a gifted thief and his crew through swindles, betrayals, and increasingly dangerous games. If the caper element is what drew you to Hay, Lynch delivers that in abundance, with added swagger and world-building.
Lyndsay Faye is an excellent match for readers who want more immersive historical atmosphere, but with a grittier edge. Her fiction is especially strong on urban settings, corruption, and the uneasy overlap between social order and criminality.
In The Gods of Gotham, she recreates 1840s New York with tremendous texture, following a reluctant detective through a city alive with violence, political pressure, and social change. Hay readers who want a more hard-boiled historical mystery may find Faye especially rewarding.
Beatriz Williams is a strong choice if you were drawn to Alex Hay's polished prose, elegant settings, and undercurrents of scandal. Her novels often center on privilege, desire, and long-buried secrets, all presented with a glossy historical sheen.
A Hundred Summers captures the glamour and tension of the 1930s, using a seaside setting to explore friendship, betrayal, and emotional fallout. While less overtly plot-driven than Hay, Williams offers the same pleasure of watching appearances crack under pressure.
Fiona Davis specializes in historical fiction built around iconic places, and that sense of setting-as-character may appeal strongly to Alex Hay readers. Like Hay, she understands how architecture, status, and institutional spaces can shape both mood and plot.
In The Lions of Fifth Avenue, the New York Public Library becomes the center of a dual-timeline story involving theft, family secrets, and social expectation. Readers who enjoyed the upstairs-downstairs dimensions and hidden operations of grand houses in Hay's fiction should appreciate Davis's approach.
Kate Quinn writes page-turning historical fiction with a strong emphasis on danger, competence, and women operating in high-stakes situations. Her style is broader and more overtly dramatic than Hay's, but the combination of suspense and historical texture makes her a worthwhile recommendation.
The Alice Network is one of her most popular novels, weaving espionage, trauma, and wartime courage into a gripping narrative. If you admired Hay's sharp focus on capability and hidden motives, Quinn offers a similarly compelling sense of people navigating perilous systems.
Chanel Cleeton is a great pick for readers who want lush historical backdrops paired with family secrets and social upheaval. Her novels often move between private lives and large political change, creating stories that feel both intimate and expansive.
Next Year in Havana combines romance, memory, exile, and buried truths in a vividly realized Cuban setting. It doesn't have the caper structure of Alex Hay's work, but it shares an interest in what powerful families hide and what later generations uncover.
Chris Ewan is a smart recommendation for readers who responded to the playful criminality in Alex Hay's fiction. His books are lighter in historical detail, but they offer wit, fast plotting, and protagonists who live by their wits.
The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam follows Charlie Howard, a mystery writer who also happens to be a burglar, into a highly entertaining tangle of theft and trouble. If you want something breezy, clever, and crime-forward after Hay, Ewan is a fun next step.
Mia P. Manansala brings humor, community, and a strong sense of voice to her mystery novels. She is not a direct read-alike in terms of era, but she does share Hay's ability to create lively social worlds where relationships matter as much as the puzzle itself.
Arsenic and Adobo opens a cozy mystery series full of family tensions, romantic complications, and appetizing food writing. Readers who loved Hay's ensemble energy and accessible, entertaining style may find Manansala an appealing change of pace.
M.A. Bennett writes sharp, high-concept suspense with a keen awareness of class, privilege, and institutional menace. That makes her especially relevant for readers who were interested in Alex Hay's portrayal of wealth, exclusion, and the social games played by elites.
S.T.A.G.S. is set at an exclusive boarding school where old-money traditions conceal something far more sinister. Though it skews younger and more contemporary in tone, it captures the same fascination with closed worlds and the dangers hidden beneath refinement.
Kellye Garrett is a good pick if what you most want from a follow-up read is lively voice, sharp humor, and a mystery that never feels dull. Her fiction is contemporary and satirical, but she shares with Hay a knack for balancing entertainment with social observation.
In Hollywood Homicide, a struggling actress becomes an amateur sleuth in a story that skewers image, ambition, and media culture while delivering a satisfying mystery. Readers who appreciated the wit running through Hay's suspense may enjoy Garrett's fresh, funny style.
