Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

Kate Quinn is one of my favorite historical fiction authors, and The Briar Club is an excellent read. It's refreshing in that it isn't a WWII plot, but it takes place in 1950. It immediately caught my interest because the very first pages tell you there's been a death in the house. You don't know who, why, how, so there's nothing you can do but keep reading to find out what happened.

Briarwood House is an all female boarding house in Washington DC. All of the boarders are very different in background, age, profession, etc, and at first are not friends. When Grace March moves in to the house, she starts hosting dinner parties every Thursday night in her room, and there the women and the children of the landlady become a found family. Each boarder gets their own chapters to tell their story and it's all linked together at the end.

This book wasn't unputdownable for me, but I did really enjoy it and I read it fairly quickly. The more I read, the more intrigued I became about the women that lived in the house and how everything was linked.

4.5 stars.

Kate Quinn is hit or miss for me and unfortunately this one was a miss. I just could not get into the storyline and although I think her books are well-researched, I often find myself comparing her to Ariel Lawhon whose books are researched to the hilt.

I love love love kate Quinn but this book was too slow paced for me. I couldn’t get into it and there were so many characters it was hard to keep up especially on audio.

Kate Quinn's latest is another suspenseful and informative historical novel. The characters are fully developed and each have their own intricate story, then they are woven together in a murder mystery with a surprise twist at eh end.

There are a lot of characters in this story and at first I found it hard to keep them straight, but then gradually it all made sense. They were all favorite characters, except one (not counting the secondary characters) and in the end everything worked out for all of them. Except for Grace. I did not like her ending, I understand why Ms. Quinn wrote it the way she did (Grace explained it in the text), but I wanted more for her. I did find it a little disconcerting for the "house" to be talking, but as long as you were using the literary convention, she did it well. I think the notes at the end were also helpful to understand where all the characters came from and the events they were involved in, there may be many readers who do not understand who Joe McCarthy was and his influence on the political scene and how it spilled over into people's everyday life--it should be a lesson for today.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Loved this book and while I didn’t quite get the hype about the book, the mystery and storyline were an interesting bending of expectations. A little different narrator with the house itself, but the switching perspectives and storylines through the different characters provided insight — but still a few surprises as to why and who. Definitely worth the read for a good mystery and depth of characters/storylines.

This was my first Kate Quinn book, but definitely not my last. The pacing was perfect, and I was really hooked on this story. I usually don't read historical fiction, but I have been really enjoying it lately. Can't wait to read more!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Briar Club by Kate Quinn!

A murder has occurred in the Briarwood House and everyone looks guilty but who is the real guilty party. Each chapter is about one of the ladies in the boarding house and I really enjoyed watching Grace bring out something in each one of the wonderful ladies even though she reveals nothing about herself. I had a feeling about her from the beginning and it was really fun to go through the year that she started in the house and to what was considered the present day of the story. All of this takes place during the Red Scare when everyone was on high alert for Soviet spies. I loved that after each chapter there was a small chapter sprinkled in from the perspective of the house who was brought to life by Grace’s administrations. I also love that people from her other novels make small appearances throughout her books!

Quinn gets all the stars on this one. A story can sometimes get lost in itself when there are multiple POVs. That however is not the case with this one. Quinn gives us five women who each provide readers a glimpse into 1950s America. Each woman is fully fleshed out so that readers are able to 100% connect with them as individuals. Their unexpected unity through their weekly dinner club gives each character a connection to each other that they didn't know they needed or wanted.

The Briar Club is set in a woman's boarding house in Washington DC in the 1950's.Opening with a murder, the reader is then swept back a bit to meet all the boarders and learn a bit about what led them to be living in the Briarwood House.
Grace, a secretive yet charming woman bring the previously lone woman together by beginning a supper club shortly after she moves and it is through her we start to learn more about the boarders and the landlady and her two children.
After the initial murder, it started off a bit slow and took some time to meet each boarder.. some I definitely connected with more than others, but it sure did come together with a bang!

The Briar Club offers a gripping glimpse into 1950s DC through five women in a boardinghouse, where secrets and suspicion mirror McCarthy-era paranoia. With rich characters, historical detail, and mounting tension, this novel perfectly blends period drama with psychological suspense. Perfect for fans of historical fiction and female-driven narratives.

One of my favorite books of 2024! The New York setting, cast of characters, and attention to detail within the time period was amazing. Highly recommend!!

I wasnt able to read and review this one before the publish date but now that I have I gave it 4.5 stars.

I had never read a novel by Kate Quinn, but my friends on Goodreads raved about it and I was overcome by the fear of missing out. Happily, I was not too late to get a review copy; my thanks go to NetGalley and William Morrow, along with my apologies for lateness. From the get go, I could tell this book was too good to speed read, and so I set it aside for a time when I could sink into it and appreciate it. This fall I was able to get the audio version from the library to help me along; narrator Saskia Maarleveld is outstanding, and those that enjoy hearing their books should strongly consider ordering that format.

Our story takes place just after World War II, and it takes place almost entirely within the confines of Briarwood House, a women’s boarding house owned by the selfish, odious Mrs. Nilsson. The book’s prologue comes to us from the point of view of the house, and for a brief spell I wonder whether the house itself will become the main character. It doesn’t, and that’s probably just as well, because the women that rent its rooms, along with Pete and Lina, Nilsson’s two children, fill the story quite nicely, and all are beautifully developed, some more than others, with Nilsson herself being the only truly static character. In fact, I could argue that even the house’s character is developed somewhat.

I seldom do this, but the prologue is so juicy that I’m going to reprint a considerable chunk of it here, because Quinn’s voice—and okay, the house’s—provide a more convincing incentive to read on, than anything I can offer:

If these walls could talk. Well, they may not be talking, but they are certainly listening. And watching…Now its walls smell of turkey, pumpkin pie, and blood, and the house is shocked down to its foundations. Also, just a little bit thrilled. This is the most excitement Briarwood House has had in decades. Murder. Murder here in the heart of sleepy white picket fence Washington, D.C.! And on Thanksgiving, too. Not that the house is terribly surprised by that; it’s held enough holidays to know that when you throw all that family together and mix with too much rum punch and buried resentment, blood is bound to be shed sometimes…This was a very enthusiastic murder, the house muses. Not one moment’s hesitation from the hand swinging that blade…Briarwood House doesn’t like Mrs. Nilsson. Hasn’t liked her since she first crossed the threshold as a bride, complaining before she’d even shaken the rice out of her hair that the halls were too narrow (My halls! Too narrow!), and still doesn’t like her twenty years down the road. No one else in this kitchen does, either, the house knows perfectly well. It knows something the detective doesn’t. The killer is still very much in this room.

Now that the murder has been mentioned, I must caution you not to identify this story foremost as a murder mystery; it isn’t. The murder doesn’t come till nearly the very end, and the reason that it affects us so deeply is because of the author’s success in making every character here feel tangible and known to us. By the time anyone is enraged enough to swing anything, we know all of these women, or most of them at least, well enough to feel as if they are family. Boarder Grace March is revealed to us more slowly than the other women, but there are reasons for that, and by the end, I may love her best of all. No, this is first and foremost a stellar work of historical fiction.

At the outset, no one knows anyone else. Some are married, waiting for spouses to return from the conflict; some are single; some are professionals. Almost everybody has at least one serious secret. But as they grow to know one another, bonds are established that in some cases are stronger than those of blood relatives.

I won’t go through the plot or describe individual characters; as far as I’m concerned, that would be gilding the lily. Instead, I urge you to get a copy of this outstanding novel in whatever form is your favorite, with a slight nudge toward audio if you’re undecided. Highly recommended!

I have loved Kate Quinn books in the past. This one was interesting and I loved the back story/deep dive into each of the characters, but thought there were too many of them. There were a LOT of issues of the time talked about in this book and because there were so many it felt like none of them really got their full amount of time. Also after we spent a lot of time with each person in their chapter they kind of fell off the page for the rest of the book. Overall it didn't flow very nicely. I did like the found family aspect of all the women at Briarwood House and how they all stuck together at the end. This one gets a 3.5 from me.

Each women at a boarding house takes a chapter or two in this novel about the 1950s. I enjoyed the story, but why were the recipies included? They were out of place and filler.

I recently finished The Briar Club by Kate Quinn, and it completely captivated me. Set in 1950s Washington, D.C., during the height of the McCarthy era, this novel beautifully intertwines suspense, history, and the complexities of female relationships. From the very first scene—a murder at Briarwood House on Thanksgiving Day, 1954—I was hooked.

The story revolves around Briarwood House, a boardinghouse for women, and its residents, each with their own secrets and struggles. There’s Grace March, a mysterious widow and the glue holding the house together; Fliss, a glamorous Englishwoman hiding scars from her past; Nora, whose entanglement with a gangster adds a layer of danger; Beatrice, a former baseball player wrestling with her future; and Arlene, a staunch supporter of McCarthy’s Red Scare. As their lives intertwine, secrets unravel, friendships are tested, and the tension builds toward an unforgettable conclusion.

What I loved most about this novel was Kate Quinn’s ability to bring each character to life. These women are complex, flawed, and utterly relatable, and their individual narratives weave together seamlessly. The book doesn’t just tell a story—it immerses you in the paranoia and societal shifts of the 1950s, offering a richly detailed portrait of a transformative period in history.

The added touch of recipes for the dishes served at Grace’s intimate dinner parties was a charming detail, grounding the suspense with moments of warmth and connection. Quinn’s writing is both evocative and razor-sharp, making the historical setting feel alive while keeping the mystery gripping until the very end.

The Briar Club is a perfect blend of historical fiction and suspense, with a cast of unforgettable characters. I can’t recommend it enough!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this incredible novel from all-star Kate Quinn, readers join a fascinating cast of characters at a boarding house in Washington, D.C., in 1950, called Briarwood House. Following Grace March, Fliss, Nora, Beatrice, Arlene, and the family running the boarding house at the height of McCarthyism and the changing world for women in postwar America, readers explore these social changes along with these women who form a weekly dinner party in Grace’s room and discover the secrets that each woman is hiding from themselves and from each other. With alternating perspectives, these complex, secretive, and daring women all have the chance to tell their stories and readers can live in their shoes just for a moment -- but a very particular one. With twists and turns and secrets revealing themselves at inopportune times, Quinn has crafted a marvelous historical fiction thriller that fans of her previous books and other historical thrillers will absolutely devour. Impossible to put down because of the incredible characters and the fascinating, interconnective narrative, these characters are complex and well-written, interacting with the world and the social restrictions in fascinating and different ways which only add to their fascinating dynamic in this exciting and thrilling new release.

The Briar House offers a compelling premise set in 1950s Washington, D.C., where a quirky group of women living in a dilapidated boardinghouse form unlikely friendships amidst their personal struggles and secrets. The narrative is framed around Grace March, a mysterious widow who hosts weekly dinners in the attic, slowly drawing in her fellow residents—a troubled cast of characters each dealing with their own pasts and secrets.

The prologue, written from the point of view of the house itself, sets an intriguing tone, adding a layer of suspense and foreboding that hooked me. However, the book's structure, with long chapters dedicated to individual characters, ultimately felt a bit disjointed. While each character’s arc is engaging on its own, the lack of cohesive storytelling left me struggling to see how their stories connected or propelled the larger narrative. It felt more like a series of standalone vignettes rather than a unified story.

Kate Quinn is still an auto-buy author for me even though this wasn't my favorite book of hers.
Rating 3.5 stars (liked it) - rounded down for goodreads.