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.

Quinn's book are always good and this was no exception. Thrilling, mysterious and fun. Loved all the characters and the story Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher!

The Broad Club is a slow burn set in 1950s Washington DC. Its a boarding house where many women live as well as Peter and Linda the children of the grumpy owner. All the historical talks, love affairs and new friendships were especially endearing and kept this reader turning pages. One evening in 1954 there is a murder at the house and you get a narrative fro.m the boarding house. There are seventeen suspects and the mystery slowly unfolds.
I thought this was another example of Kate Quinn's writing abilities. This was incredible.

I enjoyed the different time period of this book as I feel like it is one that is not discussed. Like with most Kate Quinn stories, it really focuses on women and what they went through during this time of the McCarthy era/ Red Scare. I did have a bit of a difficult time really getting into this one primarily because of the long chapters and sections and I felt there wasn't a ton of action happening as compared to her other books. Overall not my favorite from this author, however would still read what she writes!

4.5 stars
Step back to 1954 Washington D.C. Thanksgiving.
Turkey, pumpkin pie and murder. Will one of the characters end in handcuffs?
The house knows…..
Let's meet the Characters:
-Fliss, is a British mother who awaits the return of her doctor husband serving overseas.
-Nora, comes from a family of policemen, is career-driven and works for the National Archives.
-Bea, is a former women's baseball player.
-Claire, a loner saving up to be able buy her own house.
-Arlene, is an unhappy, unlikeable woman, fearful of the threat of communists.
-Reka, an older woman who is a Hungarian refugee.
-Mrs Nilsson's is the boarding house owner and son Pete, along with his sister Lina
-Grace March, a widow who rents the very small apartment 4B. Grace’s weekly attic dinner parties and sun tea become The Briar Club. However, Grace hides a terrible secret of her own.
As details of the Thanksgiving event are revealed, it becomes clear that anyone in the house could be a murderer.

What makes this book a delight is how it captures the era’s societal changes, particularly the evolving roles of women. It's simply fantastic. I love the way that Kate Quinn writes, she pulls you into a well researched saga and keeps you riveted.
The character development is outstanding and I found myself caught up in each one of the character's lives. There are quite a lot of characters but each has their own distinctive voice, so it’s not as hard as you would imagine to keep track of them.
I enjoyed how the mystery of who has been murdered and who is guilty, is an important and intriguing part of the story but it doesn't overshadow the stories of the unique characters and their relationships

Over all: The Briar Club is full of interesting characters, humor, mystery, suspense, friendship, a touch of romance, recipes, intrigue, and an unexpected twist. It's a thought-provoking mystery about friendship in D.C at the height of the McCarthy era.

Quinn is the queen of historical fiction and I always look forward to her novels.
I HIGHLY recommended this book.
Kate Quinn is an auto-buy for me!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

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.