I have never been disappointed by a Kate Quinn book. She creates full and rich characters and vivid settings. The Briar Club is different from her previous novels but has all the necessary components for an amazing story. It begins with a murder scene, but what follows are unique stories for each resident in the Briar house. I love how Quinn pulls the reader along on this intriguing ride using the characters and their stories to bring it all together. I thought the writing and pacing was perfect and I loved the characters, including the home itself!

4.5 stars || This book is a masterpiece of POV’s - one following after the other. You never get the full story from any singular pov but instead get to know each of the major characters in such an intimate way. The “all seeing eye” POV from the house was beautiful and such a good pace setting addition.
The found family aspect of this book had me so engaged. Each character had such depth to them that you truly felt as though you knew them.
I did not expect the twists and was utterly shocked at the conclusion.
The added recipes make the book come to life in such a fun and unique way.
Overall I really enjoyed it - my singular major complaint was the chapter length makes it a very slow read. There’s not a “let me just finish this chapter” in this book because the chapters are so incredibly long making it feel as though it’s dragging when it’s not.

I’ve never read a Kate Quinn book that I didn’t like and this is no exception. A wonderfully researched and detailed historical fiction novel with a cozy mystery feel. I loved the friendship between the women. “The Briar Club” would make a fantastic book club discussion as well! Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

I didn't really know what to expect with this but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kate Quinn has a pretty distinct authorial voice.

Always a huge fan of anything Kate Quinn writes! Very fun setting, and loved the twist at the end -- definitely didn't see that coming. I'll admit that I found some of the POVs more compelling than others, but overall a great read!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an advanced copy of this work of historical fiction that looks at the lives of woman sharing the same residence, the changes that are happening all around them, and the dangers and secrets that lurk among them.

Sometimes every story of a house can share a picture of the people who live there. Call it psychic emanations of joy, or contentment, even pain. There are reasons why people call houses, homes. Homes are welcome, havens in a way from the outside world. Or those nights that failed dreams and bad mistakes keep sleep away. Homes lessen the effects of these thoughts, these feelings in a way that a house can't. And when this safety is breached by either violence, or betrayal, these acts seem far worse. The Briar Club by Kate Quinn is a story about a a group of woman who have come together in one building, looking for a variety of things, but finding that the real world has a habit of intruding even in safe havens.

Washington D.C. in 1950 is a city dealing with war in Korea, race issues, and even worse, the Red Menace. The Communist threat is everywhere, the all-seeing reach of those enemies of freedom reach into every branch of government, the military, the police and even the home. No one is safe, no even the residents of the Briarwood Hose, a female-only boarding house, that has frankly seen better days. Overseen by a very rigid woman, the residents are all woman who have also seen better days, and maybe a few are on the downward slide. The rules are strong at the Briarwood, as much for the landlady as well as those who reside inside, keeping most of the people at arms length from each other, with occasional complaints about noise, or politics. Into this comes a young widow, who takes over he top floor. Grace March has secrets, but also feels that there is a need for community in her new abode. Soon March is holding small parties once a week, allowing the residents to get a little closer, learn a little more, feel a little safer. Until things start to go wrong, things are revealed and the woman of Briarwood are faced with a choice.

Kate Quinn has a real gift for writing historical fiction, putting the reader in a different time and place, and making everything seem of the time, with real characters, and even real stakes. This book features a variety of woman, ex-baseball players, mothers ,bad girl daughters and political extremists. Quinn gives them all a reason not only for their actions, but why they would come to these decisions. Quinn never info-dumps, Quinn reveals her story carefully, with details that inform about history, events, and what life was like at the time. There is much that is covered in this book, the origin of the Korean war, jazz, gangsters, baseball, politics, bad politics, race relations and much more. Yet the book never gets lost , or seem unwieldy. Quinn balances story, with the actions that were happening around the characters, and shapes a story that I think is one of her best.

A very good story to introduce new readers to Kate Quinn. An excellent story, with different characters and stakes that make sense. Fans will love it, and new readers will want more.

The Briar Club is simply perfect. Readers of Kate Quinn will enjoy the typical Quinn-ness of the story, but this book can also be a great introduction to Kate Quinn’s books or can appeal to readers that like a softer, cozier mystery. I believe this would make an excellent book club pick, too.

The story is womanhood at its best. How women behave versus men, especially near the end of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed how Quinn used each woman and her individual story to provide social commentary from the 40s/50s. Each character’s voice was clear and stood apart from the rest. Even though there were characters I connected with far more than others, they all stirred some emotions for me.

Overall, this book is excellent. I loved it all, even (or especially?) the recipes and the Briarwood House chapters. It’s a 5/5 for me! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Briar Club (2024)
By Kate Quinn
William Morrow, 432 pages
★★★★

The Briar Club is another affirmation that Kate Quinn is one heck of a writer. In her latest novel she takes us the Washington, D.C. in the 1950s, a time of both optimism and the Red Scare. The title derives from Briarwood House, a boarding home for women. Leave it to Quinn to personify the house without making it sound hokey. The house “speaks” to readers in interstitial chapters, an important mystery-building device.

Quinn excels at characterization. Briarwood House is run by Mrs. Nilsson, who is so grumpy and rulebound that boarders nickname her “Doilies.” To say that she cuts corners does an injustice to right angles. Her husband’s absence is somewhat enigmatic, but young Pete and his maligned, cross-eyed sister Lina also live at Briarwood and are as delightful as their mother is acidic.

Quinn populates Briarwood with a cast that brings mayhem, sisterhood, and color that contrasts with the stodgy grayness of Doilies. Grace March is the first to add touches of lightness. She’s gregarious and the proverbial “pistol,” a rulebreaker who can charm with offers of sun tea. Choose your metaphor for a room-freshening project that evolves into painting vines that extend down the staircase from her fourth floor rental. When Mrs. Nilsson is absent for her weekly card game, Grace holds impromptu parties in her room that become ever-more-elaborate dinners in which each resident, Pete included, cook a specialty. You could add “by hook or crook,” as no one has a lot of money. One of the book’s more unusual features is the inclusion of recipes–from colcannon to strawberry fool–used by the Thursday night cooks.

The other core residents are Nora Walsh, Reka Muller, Felicity Orton, Beatrice Verrette, Claire Hallett, and Arlene Hupp. Quinn gives each her own chapter that provides deep background. Grace is the pivot around which most things occur, including men sneaking in and out, a no-no in Doilies’ book. Nora is there to escape from her family, including her crooked cop brother who steals from her. She works at the National Archives and finds herself pursued romantically by Xavier Bryne, who is either a gangster or a “businessman.” Reka, once Professor Muller, is a widowed Czech refugee struggling to make ends meet by shelving library books whilst grumbling over the constant bawling of Orton’s baby. (“Fliss” is English and her American doctor husband is stationed overseas.) Bea is a junior high phys. ed. teacher who pines for the days when she was a star in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. (Think A League of Their Own.) For their parts, Claire works for Senator Margaret Chase Smith, which irks Arlene, a diehard nationalist who works for the House Un-American Activities Committee and thinks Rep. Joseph McCarthy is a hero.

Count on everyone having secrets they hold close to the vest even while bonding with everyone (except the snitty Arlene). Among the things that makes Quinn an engaging writer is that she parcels out information in drips rather than rushing torrents. She also makes ancillary characters come alive, even those with mere cameos. In The Briar Club, most of those in supporting roles are male, with the notable exception of Sydney Sutherland, the wife of the social-climbing Barrett who hopes to be a communist-hunting U.S. Senator like his father. Other men who play roles in The Briar Club are Pete, Xavier, a hood named George, Nora’s male family members, jazz musician Joe and his Black friend Claude, Bob McDowell, and FBI agent Harland Adams who dates several of the Briarwood House women.

If this sounds complex, allow me to tantalize you with more: criminal gangs, Gustav Klimt, an overwhelmed mother, women trying to break the 1950s glass ceiling, stolen tomatoes, baseball, battering, forbidden love, a Betty Crocker bakeoff, Operation Longhorn, two in-house murders, spies, and a surprise ending that leads to an even more unexpected coda. All of this takes place against the Korean War and the rise and fall of McCarthyism. It is to Quinn’s credit that none of these seems labored or didactic, even when Quinn slips on occasion with a few details that seem too modern. Add splashes of humor and The Briar Club is like The Thursday Murder Club meets a satire of the 1950s, murder, espionage, and proto-feminism.
Rob Weir

I enjoyed reading this book. The story differed from Katie Quinn’s other books as it is set in the 1950s in DC rather than the World War II era. The plot takes place in an all-women's boarding school, and we get to hear from every woman's perspective, including the house itself. The different viewpoints added an interesting twist to the story. Each woman living there has her uniqueness and backstory. Overall, I thought the story was great, but I found it a bit too detailed, and the chapters were a little lengthy for my liking. I did appreciate the recipes provided between the chapters to break up the story and learn more about life in the 1950s and the Red Scare.

Thank you to NetGalley and to William Morrow for giving me a copy of the book.

Ok Kate Quinn, how have I not read you before?? "The Briar Club" was just phenomenally written, rich in historical detail, captivating in diverse loveable characters, with a nice sprinkling of mystery. I really appreciated each character's viewpoint during the Second Red Scare in Washington D.C., their backstories, and how they ended up at an all female boardinghouse. Each of the ladies had their own set of secrets, and I felt like Quinn did a great job of transitioning from each woman before tying all their narratives together in the end. She also gives the reader a great feel for how scary it was for immigrants and people living in Washington D.C. at that time, who if accused of being Communist, could lead to criminal arrest and severe punishments. I cannot wait to read more of her books! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.

I have to start off with that one of my favorite book is Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. I came into this book with really high expectations. I hate that I am giving this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

This book is about events that happened at Briarwood house and the people that who there. You start off with a murder and the mystery of who were they, who killed them, and who is innocent. The story takes you through several of the boarders and their lives before living there and the present time.

I really struggled with this book. Unlike Diamond Eye, which I inhaled...this book took me two weeks to finish. There are so many characters and things going on that it became confusing at times.

I do love that one person can bring a whole group together even if they are polar opposites. Grace brought them together, listened to them and became friends with most of them. You learn about their hardships and victories. You grow to care for these characters. It is about racism, same sex relationships, abuse, going for what you want, finding your place in this world, taking care of others and standing up for yourself and others.

The Briar Club is not your typical Kate Quinn book but I loved it all the same. It did start out pretty slow and had long chapters but I ended up really enjoying it!

It follows a group of women who live in Briarwood House- a boarding house for women in 1950. Each chapter covers one woman’s perspective and I loved getting to know the characters on such a deep level. Intertwined with these stories were chapters set 4 years in the future when there is a murder. Even though this book had a slower pace for me, I was very interested in who it was that was murdered and how it happened. I came to love most of the characters and the ending was perfection.

I will continue to read anything Kate Quinn does- she has perfected historical fiction.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Set during the McCarthy Era in Washington DC, The Briar Club tells the story of an all female boardinghouse in the 1950s. It is broken into 8 chapters, with each one following the life of a woman living there (so yes long chapters). The boarders come from different background, which gives the book a unique perspective and sheds light on life in the US during in the 1950s. This book is different than Quinn’s WWII books. It is more character-driven and a slow-burn, but when the action hits at the end, and everything you leaned about the boarders connects, you really appreciate Quinn’s talent and meticulous research. I particularly loved seeing how the women grew, learned from each other and became a family despite their differences.

Read if you like:
-The McCarthy Era
-Women’s history
-Mystery side storylines

The all-female tenants of Briarwood House in Washington, DC, tend to stick to themselves. The rooms are barebones, their landlady is a tyrant, and McCarthyism has cast a pall on the city, making the desire to socialize low. Then Grace March moves into the smallest available room – more of a closet – and between her charming persona and the weekly dinners she hosts, things slowly begin to change.

The reader is introduced to each boarder through chapters dedicated to their stories, with interwoven vignettes told from the viewpoint of the house itself. Each resident has hidden depths, from a British housewife struggling to keep up a positive façade to the enigmatic Grace herself. Their lives intertwine, culminating in a violent act that threatens to tear them all apart.

Kate Quinn is a master of the historical fiction genre, and fans will be happy with her latest offering. It is a nice change of pace to focus on 1950s America rather than the more popular periods, and the characters are well-developed and interesting. It is obvious how much research she puts into creating her stories, and she also includes a helpful afterward where she addresses any changes she made regarding historical moments and figures.

Quinn does a great job of building tension, as the victims are not revealed until the last section of the book. She mentions this is her post-pandemic novel, one where she wanted to feel lighter and more hopeful, conveying the feeling of gathering around the table and eating and talking. There are even recipes for the dishes the boarders all make for their dinner parties throughout.

Overall, this is a lovely book with a compelling plot and intriguing characters. It would be a great option for a book club – especially if readers take advantage of the recipes provided.

What a delightful read from Kate Quinn! It was refreshing to read such a well-researched historical fiction novel that was not set during WWII. I really enjoyed the DC setting and the time period. It took me a moment to get used to the many POVs, especially the house, but it was worth it. I became very attached to the many residents of Briarwood House and appreciated the sense of community that Grace formed through her weekly dinners. Quinn did a wonderful job weaving the stories together and bringing the novel to a satisfying end. Despite the teaser in the book's description, I did not see the big twist coming. Historical fiction readers who enjoy getting to know a large cast of characters will really enjoy this book.

A little wandering but overall a good read. I really enjoy reading about forgotten women in history, and this book delivers!

OMGosh... every time a I read a book by Kate Quinn, I swear it is her best work yet. This book is no different! The characters were memorable and well developed with strong females as the shining stars. I really enjoyed the way this story was told as each chapter was a different character with a different POV... all of which were being told at the same time period. I also really enjoyed that the house had a voice in this novel. It was so many things rolled into one... thriller, historical fiction, drama, mystery, etc. An amazing novel from my favorite author... I will never get enough of Kate Quinn's writing! Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishers for the ARC opportunity to read this book.

While I enjoyed this one somewhat, it is slow and meandering. I wish it had been pared down a fair amount because I found myself skimming sections.

4.5 ⭐

I love Kate Quinn. The Briar Club is about connection and finding family among friends but it's also about women in history and I love that about Kate Quinn's books.

There are a lot of characters in this book, but the author does such a great job of describing them and bringing them to life that I had no trouble telling them apart.

A boarding house for women that is run by a strict and crotchety women brings together an unlikely group of boarders. Her two children are also in the mix and the group take them under their wing.

The book opens with a dead body and the police on the scene. Each chapter tells us about a character and weaves a hard to put down tale about each one. If you like historical fiction, strong female characters, found family, and wonderful writing, this is for you! It has a bit of a mystery vibe as well and I really enjoyed that twist to her typical books.

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC to review.

This book grabs you right away. Love all the completely different characters/ages/and community they create at the Briar Club.