I didn’t make it very far in this book. At the 12% mark, I was bored out of my mind. I switched to the audiobook, hoping it would be more engaging, but I fell asleep while listening.

Having loved The Alice Network, The Diamond Eye, and The Phoenix Crown, I expected much more from this book. The previous novels captivated me with their rich historical details and compelling characters. Unfortunately, this book didn’t deliver the same level of enjoyment or engagement. The pacing felt slow, and I struggled to connect with the story and its characters.

Overall, it was a disappointing experience, especially given my previous positive experiences with Kate Quinn’s work.

A character-driven work of historical fiction with a mystery propelling the plot forward. Quinn’s character development is exceptional and her characters are well-drawn and authentic. Each had a recipe at that the end of their chapter which represents their personalities. A a murder mystery was interwoven into the entirety with the big reveal at the end. I loved the McCarthy era time period. An excellent option for book clubs. For fans of Fiona Davis and Marie Benedict.

𝘈 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘋𝘊, 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘤𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘦𝘳𝘢.

There were approximately 9 billion characters in this book. Each gets her own section but it takes awhile to get going so there was lots of confusion about who they were which resulted in me not really caring who they were. In addition to the characters, the house has a personality, thoughts, and a voice. That was weird and it really didn’t go anywhere. There were recipes included. I’m still not sure what they added to the story. But there were definitely characters I enjoyed and I always love a book about female friendships. I believe this is her first book set entirely in the US and I loved the Washington DC location. I just don’t think the McCarthy era is one I’m super interested in and there were too many storylines that left me feeling bored.

Kate Quinn is the queen of historical fiction and this book is no different. She masterfully crafts a cast of female characters living in a boarding house in Washington D.C. during the McCarthy Era. Each character has their own chapters so we see their own motives, backstories and thoughts as we move through the story. The secrets, the friendships, the twists, it was all so well done!

Kate Quinn’s The Briar Club is a haunting historical mystery set in an all-female boardinghouse in Washington, D.C., during the turbulent McCarthy era. The novel opens in November 1954 with a shocking act of violence at Briarwood House, leaving a dead body and a community in turmoil. As the police arrive and the residents await questioning, the narrative rewinds to explore the years leading up to the tragedy.

In 1950, Briarwood House residents keep to themselves until the mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room. Her arrival sparks unlikely friendships among them: Fliss, a harried new mother; Nora, a police officer’s daughter entangled with a gangster; Bea, a former pro baseball star; and Arlene, who works for Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Grace’s illicit Thursday night dinners held when the landlady is away, foster camaraderie, but secrets slowly emerge, leading to a suspenseful climax.

Quinn masterfully brings the 1950s to life, exploring themes of race, class, gender, and the pervasive fear of the unknown. The novel highlights the limitations on women of the era, from being expected to bear children to the societal taboo against mixed-race relationships.

The plot weaves together multiple perspectives, adding depth and suspense as it uncovers the darkness within Briarwood House. Though some may find the pacing slow, the book’s rich historical detail and strong character development make it an interesting read for fans of woman-led historical fiction. 4 stars.

** Thanks to the publisher for a comp of this novel. The opinions are my own.

I've been a fan of Kate Quinn's historical fiction novels for quite some time, but this one takes the cake (the prize-winning cake in the Pillsbury baking competition, that is)! The Briar Club is one of my 2024 top picks for sure. I can't stop thinking about it or recommending it. And if things hadn't been so busy for me around the time I picked it up, I would have read it in one sitting. I didn't mind savoring it though and the mystery aspect definitely kept me guessing.

I loved how each character got a huge storyline and how those all came together in some ways. I also loved the camaraderie between everyone and how they also looked after the landlady's children. I was only expecting to read about some of the characters, based on the synopsis, so it was a nice surprise when more of them were included and each got their own narrative as well. I don't even know which one was my favorite because they were all so interesting. One character was unlikable and her narrative didn't make her any more likable. That was the intention for this character though and I loved seeing how the others reacted to her when it was their turn in the spotlight.

I liked how everything came together when the mystery was finally revealed and I was definitely surprised by the outcome, as I didn't see it coming until it was right in my face. It was fun having the house narrate some parts of the story to show the mystery unfolding. Also, unlike Kate's previous novels, I'm glad this was not about World War II. It was a refreshing change to set it in the 1950s. And I'm definitely partial to anything taking place in Washington DC.

This was such a great novel! Pick up a copy and prepare to devour it (much like Fliss's cookies). There's even a part that fans of A League of Their Own will appreciate. However, all the stories are worth reading!

(Trigger warnings below.)

Movie casting suggestions (I got stuck on Reka though):
Grace: Lily James
Fliss: Angourie Rice
Bea: Liana Liberato
Nora: Alison Oliver
Claire: Zoé De Grand Maison
Arlene: Ayden Mayeri
Xavier: Alan Ritchson
Harland: Glen Powell
Sydney: Christian Serratos
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TW: Violence, domestic abuse, post-partum depression

Kate Quinn is the queen of historical fiction for me and this book just proves why. My previous favorite Kate Quinn book, The Rose Code, featured an incredible story of friendship so I was especially looking forward to picking this one up. I loved spending time with the characters of this story and feeling like I was part of their club. I also really enjoyed Kate tackling a new time period and found myself researching various pieces that she included in the story. I already wish I could reread this one from the beginning!

The way I DEVOURED this. Everything else was put on a back burner while tearing my way through what turned out to be a fairly lengthy historical fiction/murder mystery set in McCarthy's 1950s USA. Who was murdered?! Why does this house have opinions? Who the heck are all these people?

I really loved the look into each of the boarders' lives and things that they were dealing with because even though these women get together once a week for dinner, they actually don't know a ton about each other. Getting a realistic glimpse of life for a woman in the 50s is always so interesting to me, and with the setting being in D.C., that adds an even more intriguing twist.

I'm gonna be talking this one up for a long time! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

Stories about found families are a slam dunk for me. I love disparate people, often as different as could be, who find their way to each other and manage to build something worth having together. Kate Quinn is an excellent relationship builder. Each woman gets her own chapter that moves the story forward chronologically, while the whole narrative is framed by extracts from an eventful Thanksgiving that reveal final secrets and make the women know each other more intimately than ever before. There's nothing that can't be accomplished when women work together, from getting a little girl the eyeglasses she needs to the ultimate protective act.

Seven very different women live at the Washington D.C. Briarwood Boarding House, but it’s not until Grace March rents the tiny top-floor room that they become a community. Told through the perspectives of the seven women – plus Pete, the landlady’s teenage son – readers get a view of early 1950’s, post-WWII McCarthy-era America. Each woman opens up a different perspective on the time period and women’s places in society. From the beginning, hanging over it all is a mystery – who has been murdered in Grace’s room in 1954? And who killed them?

This was just perfect historical fiction – compelling characters, a well rendered time and place, very readable.

A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era.

Kate Quinn's Briar Club told the story of a boarding house and its occupants and their stories of the span of four years. each occupant had a different story to tell. listening to each was more interesting than the last.

This book kept me guessing all the way through it. Kate tells the engaging story through the intersected perspectives from the different characters.. I had no idea about who killed the victim until the very end and didn't see it coming. I could not put it down. I always enjoy Kate Quinn books.
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Kate Quinn could write something on the back of an envelope and I'd read it and love it. Knocking it out of the park again, this is the story of 5? women who share a home with bedrooms for rent. The book opens with a murder. It's the 1950s in Washington DC during the Communist scare and the Korean War. Each character gets their own chapters and backstory, but everyone becomes entwined with one another. The story was compelling and the history was fascinating. Loved it.

I absolutely loved this novel and could not put it down!

I've been a fan of Kate Quinn for awhile now and was eager to start this one. It has a slightly different tone than her more recent work - less grit and more focus on relationships. The Briarwood House is a run down boarding house in 1950s Washington, DC. It is run by a curmudgeon of a woman with two kids, Peter and Lina. The house is solely women and they have not connected until Grace March moves in to the attic room. Her painting of her room and Thursday night suppers soon turn the house around and unite the women (and other stragglers) in friendship. Each character is given a chunk of the novel for their "story" and the house interweaves their story in the present day (1954). A lovely read with some twists and turns but overall an excellent book.

I love Kate Quinn's books but this one was tough for me. There are so many characters to keep track of and lots of elements in the mix - murders and recipes and a narrating house... I found parts of the book fascinating (the time period especially) but the slow-burn and format made it difficult to get fully engaged. The ending and author's note made it worth it in the end.

3.5 stars

Thanks to William Morrow for the copy to review.

THE BRIAR CLUB by Kate Quinn (The Diamond Eye) is another excellent piece of historical fiction deserving its LibraryReads selection for July. Here, Quinn focuses on the inhabitants of a small Washington, D.C. boardinghouse in the 1950s and the efforts of one woman, Grace March, to create a community. Her Thursday night suppers feature a favorite recipe (e.g., Swedish Meatballs, Eight Layer Honey Cloud Cake) from one of the boarders. Chapters tend to focus on individual characters like a career-minded young women, Nora, who is being courted by a member of an organized crime family or a young mother, Fliss, who struggles with her emotions while her husband is stationed overseas. Another is an older immigrant, Reka, who loves art; plus, there is former baseball player Bea and the children (hardworking teen Pete and little sister Lina who learns to bake) of the rather strict and demanding proprietress. These “misfits” do fashion a family of sorts and pull together in surprising ways at the very end when violence strikes within the walls of Briarwood House. Quinn also offers commentary on class, on women’s rights, and on the politics – particularly McCarthy's intimidating tactics – of the day and points to Margaret Chase Smith (Declaration of Conscience speech) as an inspiring figure. THE BRIAR CLUB received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

This book was so well done. I loved that it was multiple points of view but didn’t go back and forth. I was immersed in one point of view before moving on to the next character. It was like having multiple stories in one but they are all there in each story. I loved this story.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. Since I discovered Kate Quinn books, I have been binge reading them and continue to want more so I was excited to be selected to read this ahead of publication. I once again fell in love with the characters and I loved how the story line bounced between each of the roommates in the boarding house and how their lives became intertwined.. Even though it was not your typical Kate Quinn, as it contained less historical fiction, it had enough so that it was not completely without. What was typical, though,was the strength of Quinn's female main character which I love; we need more books with strong female leads!

Kate Quinn is the author of The Diamond Eye and The Huntress, among other books. I enjoy reading history with a mystery and Kate Quinn gives us that and more in her newest book which came out on July 9, 2024, in the The Briar Club. This story takes place during the McCarthy era, in 1954 Washington, DC, and is crammed full of mystery and intrigue.

Mrs. Nilsson is the owner and landlady of the Briarwood House, which is a boarding house for women only. Nine people are living in the house and a huge cast of supporting characters, each with their own story.
No one, including the house itself, likes her. Mrs. Nilsson is not welcoming to the women in her boardinghouse, and she smothers all joy or happiness to be found there, including in her own two children, whom play a large role in this storyline. 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 ways to bring the women and children together. A few of the characters are Fliss, the wife and mother whose doctor husband is overseas, leaving her with a fussy baby. Nora, a policeman’s daughter falls for a man with a mysterious life. And many others. The women in the boardinghouse work in varying roles from the National Archives to the library and teachers. But on Thursday nights, when Mrs. Nilsson plays cards, they gather in Grace’s room for makeshift dinner and company.

Over a four-year period, each woman has the chance to tell her story, revealing her secrets. But on Thanksgiving, 1954, Briarwood House holds two bodies and seventeen suspects. It is a scary time to be involved with the police during the McCarthy era. And, every woman at Briarwood House has a secret.
There are many themes including found family, friendship, women supporting women, finding your voice, coming of age, politics, postpartum depression, domestic abuse, secrets, and dysfunctional family drama. What more could you want? Each character brings a unique set of issues leading to a multilayered plat and complex storyline. A dramatic conclusion brings it all together.
There are a lot of characters in this story and the structure is like a series of short stories and the number of issues addressed might be challenging for some readers, even though all the stories and characters are connected. Each chapter is new with an introduction to that new character and took me a few chapters to get used to the style. It all works and comes together beautifully in a dramatic conclusion but it was not typical of Kate Quinn’s previous books. Overall I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars.