Kate Quinn has done it again! All of her books are so detailed and lovely. The Briar Club consists of Grace, Fliss, Nora, Bea, Claire, and Arlene who are all boarders at the Briarwood House in the 1950's. The story opens up with a murder and then goes back and forth between a few years time and each lady gets section of the story so you learn more about their lives and what has led up to the crime.

Whether you've read previous books by Ms. Quinn or if you've just heard of this one, you'll want to give it a try because it's so, so good!

Saskia Maarleveld is marvelous as always! She'll always be one of my all-time favorite narrators!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

The Briar Club dives into the world of 1950s Washington DC set in a cozy mystery. The story starts with a shocking murder at a women's only boardinghouse, Briarwood House. Newest tenant, Grace March helps to bring the house together with her dinner parties. She also helps her fellow neighbors heal from their troubling lives before coming to the Briarwood House. However, she is hiding a terrible secret of her own. A shocking act of violence starts a ripple effect where the Briar Club women start to decide who they can trust and who actually have evil intentions.

All the characters are well established with fascinating backstories with one or two surprises. The book is a fantastic slow burn mystery that cleverly keeps us in suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read this book early!

These are the author's best characters since The Alice Network, in my opinion. Cinematic, intriguing, and a blockbuster ending.

The Briar Club feels like a bit of a departure for Kate Quinn. It's much more in line with her later works than the earlier ones that sparked so many readers to begin following her. I think this is a strong evocation of the McCarthy era and of the place of women in the hunt for communists. That said, I just couldn't connect. I kind of think Quinn needs to take a little break and refocus. She's been putting out new titles at harrowing speed; it may be time to regroup a little. Still enjoyed and will still recommend.

An interesting historical fiction set in 1950s Washington, DC. The story format was different from other Quinn novels I’ve read. I enjoyed this slow burn, the stories of seven women and the goings on at Briarhouse.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley #TheBriarClub

Kate Quinn is a master of historical fiction. The twists and turns had me guessing for sure.
Loved this title!

Kate Quinn is a favorite author of mine and each book I read of hers only proves that point even more.

I am fascinated by the tumultuous and chaotic McCarthy Era. The setting of a women's boardinghouse in Washington, DC, sets the stage for a story full of secrets, espionage, friendship and betrayal.

The characters are so well-defined amid the historical background of hunting for Communists. It is a tense story and what makes it even more stressful is that even though it is categorized as historical fiction, the truth was not that obscure. Quinn is superb at conveying the strength and ability of the strong women characters cornered by suspicion and disinformation. The incorporation of true happenings during that time period enhanced the story, especially scenes like the Pillsbury Bake-off and other such historical references.
A great read!

I've read a couple of Kate Quinn's works of historical fiction, but they have been WWII stories (my favorite period to read about). I have started to dabble in books set during the 1950s so I wanted to give her new book The Briar Club a try. Though it came out this summer, I think it would be a great fall read.

While I wasn't exactly sure what the book would be about, though I figured it would feature the Red Scare since that is the only historical event I could think of during the 1950s. I wasn't expecting the intricate mystery that was woven into the story.

The ensemble cast of characters live together in a boarding house in Washington, D.C. Each gets their own section of the book. Most books that have multiple main characters will flip-flop chapters between the characters. Quinn chose to give each character a number of consecutive chapters. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about this structure. I liked that we got to deep dive into a character, instead of just getting breadcrumbs, but at the same time, I would fall in love with a character and would miss them in later sections. In the end, I felt that this structure worked well with the plot.

This is sort of a dual-timeline story. I won't say much about it because it will give away too much of the mystery plot. For people who don't like dual timelines, it is a very short difference - we stay in the 1950s the whole time. It is more that we are tackling the mystery from both ends (the before it happens and after it happens kind of thing).

I love the characters - well except for Pete and Lena's mother who I think we are supposed to dislike. I loved that one of the female boarders played for the women's baseball league during the war. I haven't read any other book that have included this interesting piece of history. From the blurb, Grace seems to be the central character, but my favorite character is Nora. I think she is the character I most identified with.

A lot of 1950s history is touched on in this book. You will get a good overall view of the decade. I already mentioned the women's baseball league, but the Korean War is touched on. Fliss is married to an Army doctor. The Pillsbury Bake-Off also makes a fun appearance. There are popular television shows like Ozzie and Harriet and I Love Lucy. If you are a pop-culture trivia fan, then you will love all these little snippets. It really brought the decade to life.

If you love books with recipes then this book is right down your alley. There are some really fun recipes and several really good-sounding recipes that I might have to try.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Thursday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/10/2-engaging-novels-of-historical-fiction.html

Kate Quinn is an auto-read author for me. I will always read what she releases.

The Briar House had similar writing styles that I’m used to with her books. They usually focus on women in a historical fiction setting where the men tend to get the credit and the women are just supposed to fade into the background. I always love learning how women really impacted history.

However this one wasn’t as gripping as her previous books. It had an air of suspense and wonder but also felt a little long which I don’t usually get from her books even though they are all long.

Still worth reading if you’re a fan of her previous work.

Kate Quinn never fails to create an intricate, exquisite story of female resilience and strength in the face of major historical events, and "The Briar Club" is Quinn at perhaps her best. Centered around Grace, a mysterious woman who becomes a boarder at Briarwood House - and subsequently, the heart of Briarwood House and its varied crew of equally-vividly-drawn women - this novel explores the repercussions of McCarthyism, the bonds that arise from shared proximity, and the danger that arises with the vilification of 'the other' in any way, shape, or form. I cannot wait to see what Quinn does next, and honestly, I hope it involves at least a peek in at the lives of these characters in the future, because they became friends by the end of the book.

This one had a lot going on which is good for some and might not be the best for others. I found the pacing to be a bit off it could have been due to the setting or the length. I wanted to love it but for some reason I just couldn't connect with it. I will be giving this author another try and am excited to see what they write next.

Interesting historical novel set in Washington DC during the 1950s, a time period that doesn't seem to be addressed enough. I liked be transported into that era and wish there were more novels out there about it.

uniquely structured (while some readers might complain that this is a departure from Quinn’s usual style, I always appreciate a creative structure….and I think it comes together well)
well-written (and researched)
engaging and compelling from the first page (in true Kate Quinn style)
holds my interest throughout (unputdownable and page turning)
thoughtful themes
histfic that’s not WWII
memorable characters and content
1950s atmosphere
a side of thriller
a good balance of character-driven and plot-driven (my fav!)
multilayered and complex
substantial and noteworthy author notes (not to be missed)

This was a very engaging mystery set in Washington, D.C. in the 1950s amidst McCarthy's hunt for spies! In boarding house of very diverse women, the women come together to enjoy each other's company and cooking, but one of the women isn't what she seems.

A fascinating murder mystery is the center of this book, but it's heart is the fascinating group of women surrounding it. I got so wrapped up in the women's stories that I sometimes forgot we were trying to solve a murder. But the house's perspective, bringing us back to the current time and the murder, was cheeky, heart-wrenching, and perfect. This is another book to love by Kate Quinn!

I think I either love Kate Quinn's books or I can't read them at all. Most of her books, I"ve loved. However, this one I just could not read. I found it tedious and a bit boring, and did not connect with the characters at all. This is similar to how I felt about The Diamond Eye. My main issues with The Briar House was how disjointed everything felt. I had a hard time caring about the characters or the whys and hows and motivation of the murder. The chapters were long and drawn out, and I failed to see how things related to one another. Yet even though the book was character focused, the characters were not very likable. One interesting thing was how each chapter connected with a certain recipe or food memory... but that was not enough to draw me in. The weird interspersed chapters about the house were bizarre too.. After getting through about half of it, I decided to DNF it - life is too short to read books I don't care about!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was such a wonderful surprise of a book. The composition and setup of it was so integral to the success of the story as a whole, and Kate Quinn absolutely nailed it. She masterfully waits until the reader has made enough judgements about a character, good or bad, and then she pulls the veil off of their story and experiences and true personality. All the while teasing a murder throughout. I honestly don't know which part was more satisfying to read, the interstitials or the character sections. I will be recommending this to everyone I know.

If these walls could talk..from the Briarwood house! Kate Quinn does it again with another historical fiction that I couldn’t put down. Not only do we get a bit of a murder mystery, but also many character point of views in which we get to see how all their stories begin and eventually intertwine with one another.

As someone who lived in Washington, DC for several years, I enjoyed the specific references to key locations (that still exist today) and historical accuracy regarding the political and social climate during the fifties.

I love how Quinn creates strong, female characters that aren’t perfect. They’re human! The group of people that gather on every Thursday night to share a meal together in the Briar club are flawed, interesting, beautiful, and complicated - but their need for genuine human connection and friendship forces their diverse group together to create this unique story.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with this ARC!

Quinn introduces the story with a murder, but the mystery seems to take a backseat to the characters and their interconnected lives at Briarwood. I loved reading about all the historical events from the 1950s - the aftermath of WWII, the Korean War, McCarthyism, the Lavender Scare, women’s rights (including reproductive health) - and various themes such as race, discrimination, and domesticity. She reminds us that the basic principle of being American is the right to hold unpopular beliefs, but often, our differences are what unite us rather than divide us.

I found the dynamics between the women living at Briarwood to be intriguing. Each chapter delves into a resident’s background, their circumstances for living at Briarwood, and provides interesting historical tidbits about the 1950s. For example, Bea's professional women’s baseball career (reminiscent of "A League of Their Own"), Nora's relationship with a gangster, Fliss's experiences as a trained nurse with a child and husband overseas, and Grace's role as the newest resident who brings the boarders together for a Thursday night supper club AKA the Briar Club with recipes included in the story. Some women I found more interesting than others, but overall, it's a unique found family vibe.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Briar Club's quiet, character-driven experience. Quinn’s impeccable research into the era shines throughout the story. Her author’s note added even more historical context, so don't skip it!!

Another masterpiece by Kate Quinn. She creates immersive historical novels and I could not put this one down! Each character is well developed and the pacing of the novel is perfect. This is one of my favorite books of the year