Someone has been murdered on Thanksgiving Day, 1954. From there we go back in time 4 years, learning about the women who board in Briarwood House. A fascinating book at the lives os women in the early 1950s, about friendship and about a cheap boarding house creating a family. Wonderful!

I’ll admit I sometimes bog down in the history in Kate Quinn’s novels, and I love history. Quinn is the author of The Diamond Eye and The Huntress, among other books. But, The Briar Club! I only slowed down toward the conclusion of this book because I didn’t want it to end. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.

On Thanksgiving, 1954, Briarwood House in Washington D.C. holds two bodies and seventeen suspects. The house itself is worried about the stories that will be told to the police. It’s a scary time to be involved with the police during the McCarthy era. And, every woman at Briarwood House has a secret.

Mrs. Nilsson is the owner and landlady of Briarwood. No one, including the house, likes her. She’s not welcoming to the women in her boardinghouse, and she squelches all joy or happiness to be found there, including in her own two children. But, when the widow Mrs. Grace March takes the last room there in June 1954, the atmosphere slowly begins to change.

Grace might have the tiniest room in the house, but she finds a way to bring the women together, from Fliss, the wife and mother whose doctor husband is overseas, leaving her with a fussy baby, then toddler, to Nora, a policeman’s daughter who falls for a man with a mysterious life. The women in the boardinghouse work in the National Archives, or as teachers, or in libraries. But, on Thursday nights, when Mrs. Nilsson plays cards, they gather in Grace’s room for makeshift dinners.

In four years, each woman has the chance to tell her story, revealing her secrets. But, they all come to together on a Thursday, Thanksgiving 1954. Will the last secrets crumble in the face of the police, or will the women hold themselves together in this terrifying tine?

The Briar Club is a story of women’s friendship set against the frightening backdrop of McCarthyism. Despite the number of people living in Briarwood House, each one has a distinct personality. Backgrounds are perfect to offer a variety of lifestyles and opinions during this difficult time. Quinn’s format offers each woman the chance to step into the spotlight, to share their voice. By the conclusion, when they have the chance to speak up, the reader waits with baited breath to see how their personalities will be reflected at a time of crisis.

As I said, one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.

Kate Quinn truly is the master of captivating historical fiction. She knows how to write the characters and settings to really immerse you in the time. The Briar Club was slightly different than her others as it focused on multiple women and the house itself as a character, which I really enjoyed. My only negative was the included recipes; that's just not something I enjoy in a book.

Kate Quinn often writes books that are set during the World Wars, but "The Briar Club" takes place in 1950s D.C. In the author's note, Quinn talks about this as novel that was started during the pandemic when the world longed for community and connection. You can definitely feel that while reading it. Despite being set in a time of relative peace in America (the Korean war was going on at this time, but for most people it felt far away), there is no lack of suspense. This is the McCarthy era after all, and fear and suspicion is in the fabric of the country.

The novel is set in an all-female boarding house called Briarwood. The women who live there have different backgrounds, personalities, interests, and opinions, but they are all brought together by a new arrival to the house: Grace March. They don't always like each other, but they begin to form a community through their weekly dinners in Grace's small room.

The novel's framework is built around the Briarwood. The book begins from the perspective of the house, and is set four years in the future, where blood is on the walls and the police have come to take everyone's statement. The next chapter is from the perspective of someone in the house. Then we learn more from the Briarwood's perspective in the present. Then we get a chapter from another resident of the house, which gradually brings us to where the story began and we FINALLY learn what happened.

I'm not normally a fan of big cast stories, but this structure worked for me. I think the reason why it worked was because each person's story has a journey in their chapter. They grew, they learned, they changed, and their story had a satisfactory conclusion in that chapter. It was almost like having multiple short stories in one book that all built on each other and tied together.

Each of the characters experience different aspects of living in the 1950s, and Quinn does a great job showing a wide variety of lived realities. Kate Quinn novels are always full of romance, suspense, and history, and "The Briar Club" is no exception.

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 5/5

Thanksgiving 1954. Washington, DC. A women’s boarding house. A body. And blood — lots of blood. That’s how Kate Quinn’s latest book gets started. And yes, once I started, I never put it down as per usual with her books. She can really write!

Backing up from the Thanksgiving turmoil, the book starts in June 1950 and shifts the POV from boarder to boarder as the timeline makes its inexorable crawl towards the “exciting” date. This is an excellent device as not only do we get the events leading up to the end from different perspectives, we also get the stories of the women — all from different backgrounds and with different goals which together comprise a compendium of women’s lives at that time. An injured female baseball player from the short-lived women’s leagues; an older immigrant from Hungary; a young mother whose doctor husband has been overseas for two years; a secretary for the (real life) female Maine senator who goes up against McCarthy when nobody else has the guts; a secretary for HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee); a woman working for the National Archives in love with a gangster despite her best intentions; and the elusive Grace Marsh who brings them all together. These are just hints! Quinn does meticulous research and is able to bring so much of the McCarthy era to the surface — especially around the societal expectations of women. It felt like I was living it.

The book is non-stop action — but — I realized it is the kind of action I care about. Things change, people and their prejudices, fears, and disappointments have to be dealt with and some individuals actually use their experiences to shift their perspectives. Opportunities come up and people learn about themselves (for better and worse) when they choose a reaction. Action does not have to be long (and very dull) car chase scenes or long battles of any kind. Epiphany! Absolutely captivating characters — a couple of “bad men” with no real depth but plenty of men and women (and kids) who are each real in their own way. FYI two of the (fictional) characters were named after people who won the “name-a-character” raffle — what fun! Some impressive twists — do not read the end or the notes first. In addition to being a gripping read, I’m still thinking about it many days later. Always a good sign.

Highly recommended.

The Briar Club is about the people living in a boarding house in Washington, D.C. and the relationships they develop. The story is set during a period of history that few authors write about. Kate Quinn uses her characters to provide readers details of many of the issues of 50's- McCarthyism, Women's Rights, Racism, the Korean War, and Immigration while revealing complex personalities. I found myself caring for these characters and the issues they faced., while being entertained by a murder mystery with a great twist. A very enjoyable read!
Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for making this ARC available.

Another great read from Kate Quinn! I absolutely loved this one. I loved the house narrating throughout the mystery, and I loved the changing POV’s between each member of Briarwood house. It kept me on my toes, the ending was superb! Quinn does a fantastic job at differentiating the character’s personalities. Wonderfully done.

In the heart of the early 1950s, Briarwood boarding home is a sanctuary for a diverse group of women whose lives intertwine around a cherished tradition: Thursday night dinners. Each woman carries her own tale, and when a murder shatters the tranquility of their home, their individual narratives converge to shed light on the mystery.

As the investigation unfolds, each woman's story unveils a piece of the puzzle, offering unique perspectives and insights that propel the search for truth forward. From tales of love and loss to secrets buried deep within the walls of Briarwood, the women's collective experiences become invaluable threads in the tapestry of solving the murder.

Through camaraderie and shared revelations, these women forge bonds that transcend the confines of their boarding home, uniting them in a quest for justice and closure. And as they come together around the dinner table each Thursday, they inch closer to unraveling the enigma that has gripped their home, proving that strength lies not only in solidarity but also in the power of their individual stories.

Kate Quinn has set the bar high for Women's Historical Fiction. The Briar Club is an entertaining, thoughtful book that had me hooked from the beginning and just wouldn't let go. This latest Quinn offering takes place during the 50's and deals with the issues of the period through the many differing perspectives of the women of Briarwood House, a rooming house located in Washington D C. The book kicks off with a murder and delivers many surprises in the voices of a thoroughly engaging collection of women from a wide variety of circumstances. The storytelling is superb, and the keen look at the social and political struggles of the times gives this book an added depth that made it almost impossible to put down. I flat out loved it and appreciate having the opportunity to give it an early read. Thanks so much!

I love Kate Quinn novels. This one does not disappoint. It has a different format from her previous books. Instead of back and forth between two narratives, the story is told through several women living in boarding house amid post WWII and the McCarthy era DC. The women settle in for a weekly dinner party to share recipes and tell their stories. The fifties was a difficult time in our nation due to The Red scare, as orchestrated McCarthy witch hunts, the Korean war, the Cold War, refugees from Europe, to name a few. It was an interesting way to relate the state of our nation during this time. This could have been "preachy" about the issues of the day, esp the McCarthy trials, but because it was told through the different lens of various women of the time it comes off as serious reflection on government and society, and a cautionary tale we would do well to heed today.

Thanks Net Galley for this ARC opportunity!

I’ve read a lot of books so far this year but this title is the best yet. It was an interesting device to use a house as a character and to devote each chapter to one of inhabitants of a boarding house. The characters were interesting (except for one). There were so many red herrings that I didn’t know were red herrings until the very end. A number of very clever literary techniques. The story was very engaging. And I think many people NEED to read it to learn about the politics of the 1950s to understand why vindictiveness has no place in democracy. My only quibble is I saw no need to include recipes from each character at the end of each chapter.

A group of women living at Briarwood boarding home during the early 1950s whose lives revolve around a Thursday night dinner that brings them together. Each woman has a story. The story starts with a murder in the home and each woman's story brings something new to the table which helps in solving the murder.