The Briar Club

ByKate Quinn

Release Date: 2024-07-09
Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

Score: 4.5

4.5

From 2,043 Ratings

Description

“Quinn evocatively balances the outward cheerfulness of the 1950s with historical observations exploring racism, misogyny, homophobia and political persecution in this sharply drawn, gripping novel.” - People Magazine

The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting and powerful work of historical fiction, a story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era.

In this gripping women’s fiction novel, everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; policeman’s daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: who is the true enemy in their midst?

Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling historical mystery of secrets and loyalty put to the test.

A beautiful, foil cover, first edition.

Reviews

Good read
5
By DramaComma
I loved the way the author told the story of life in DC in the early 50s through the eyes and experiences of the boarders of Briar House. Each woman had her own story and a chapter dedicated to showing the reader her secrets. An excellent historical novel with enough real history woven in that I ended up receiving a very enjoyable history lesson.
The book reads like a YA novel with recipes
3
By ldcreafer
I was looking forward to reading this book. I just couldn’t find any redeeming character development. Everything seemed very predictable. The voice of the house was probably the best developed. There are many mesmerizing books about McCarthyism. Sadly, this book fell very short for me.
Perfect
5
By NeelieJW
I loved all the characters and friendships
Good not great
3
By Hugebass
Too woke for me
The briar Wood Club
5
By wilbub
Adored the depth of the characters
Enjoyed learning how daily life inDC was during McCarthyism & Korean War
Loved how we learned each characters back story over time
Great read Truly did not want to put it down
Really enjoyed this book…
5
By grsderth
This was an easy read because the characters were so well drawn, it felt like I knew them. Each person had their own story to tell and many social and political issues were brought up and discussed. I was sorry when it ended.
Great read!
5
By psfked
This was a great read. The character development was very good and the “House” as a character and a witness was very unique. You’ll have to skip over the recipes if you read late at night or you will be too hungry to sleep!
Twisty and torturous — hits it stride and doesn’t disappoint
5
By Paleo Schnauzer
Took a while to get rolling bu t pushed throhh some slow spots and was rewarded by a fabulous denouement Don’t quit this book - it’s so worth being patient!
A good read
4
By Broikido
Enjoyed this sweet story
Comfort Book With a Dash of Spice
5
By Jimminy crick3t
I loved the character development in this book. I wanted to be one of the neighbors folded in to Grace’s apartment and friendship. I couldn’t put this down and read for several hours straight to get to the end. This is my new favorite Kate Quinn book.