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.

I really loved each of the character’s stories and the strength of the women throughout them. I felt at points it did feel like it was long but not to the point it felt like it was dragging. By the end as things came together, I felt like I couldn’t put it down. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced ebook copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the book and the fresh voice. The switching voices was a bit much for me otherwise I liked it

This book gave a fascinating glimpse into 1950s America — what life was like for women from different walks of life. Although we get great character exploration, I liked some much more than others and felt let down when we had to change perspectives just when I got invested in one storyline. We have 6 main characters, and about 7+ other side characters. The author did a great job with the pacing and keeping me invested in the murder mystery. I wanted to get to the end to see how everything came together.

This book is for those that:
- Have enjoyed other Kate Quinn books
- Like found family / neighbors
- Female / feminist POV
- Learning about micro-history

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
This is a great story of unlikely friendship and camaraderie. The characters are real and relatable. The story is easy to read and I found myself rooting for all of the tenants of the house. I found it interesting that the house had a voice. Really an enjoyable read with a twist at the end.

Set in a boarding house in Washington DC in the fifties, this novel outperformed my expectations. I have loved all of Quinn’s novels, but this book had the politics of the Cold War a little more in the background, focusing on the friendships formed by the very different women in the Briarhouse. A creative touch were the chapters narrated by the house itself. Grace was the catalyst to the women forming friendships, as chapters told the back story of each woman. Bea was a baseball star in the women’s leagues; Nora was determined not to follow in her family’s footsteps and just get married and have babies; Reka , the immigrant older woman with a secret. There were more characters, each giving depth to a great story. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Kate Quinn continues to write excellent stories about the past. Her setting and characters never fail to impress, and her addition of the house as a character made this book stand out from her other historical fictions.

I’ve been trying to branch out with my reading of historical fiction to books that feature historical periods I’m not very familiar with. I love Kate Quinn’s WWII fiction, so when I learned her latest novel, The Briar Club, was set during the McCarthy Era in the 1950s, I knew I had to read it.

The story is set in Briarwood House, an all female boardinghouse in Washington, D.C.. For the most part, the residents keep to themselves. Since McCarthy’s witch-hunt for communists has everyone on edge, it’s just easier that way. That is, until the mysterious widow Grace March moves into the house’s tiny attic room. Somehow Grace becomes the glue that brings all of the other residents together. She hosts weekly dinners & they soon form a wonderful system of support and friendship.

The Briar Club is a story of female friendships, but it’s also a story of secrets and mystery. When the story opens, the police are investigating a murder scene in Grace’s room. They’re in the midst of trying to identify the victims and gather evidence to find the killer. We get glimpses of the investigation along the way, but for the most part, the story shifts back in time to the day Grace arrived and moves forward from there. As the story unfolds, we get to meet all of the residents of Briarwood and learn Grace isn’t the only one with secrets.

I was fascinated by the characters & loved how Quinn fleshed out each of them. Bea is a former women’s baseball player who is sad her sport ended with the war, while Nora is the daughter of a police officer who is seeing a gangster. Fliss is staying there because her husband is a doctor in the military, and Reka is an elderly Russian woman who is reluctant to join Grace’s dinners but eventually gives in. And then there’s Arlene, a woman who has bought into McCarthyism & thinks everyone is a Communist.

I love a good female friendship story & seeing the McCarthy Era from the perspectives of these characters quite interesting, so this book was a great fit for me.

Kate Quine does it again! I enjoyed this one. I live the history and I loved the mystery aspect to it too.

This was my first book by this author and I can’t wait to read more! I really enjoyed her writing style. Historical Fiction can be hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed how Quinn brought everything together in a cohesive way. The character development was so good!

I loved this book. I had read several Kate Quinn books before, but I felt this one was very different, mainly because of its cast of quirky, eccentric characters.

The Briar Club is still Quinn's trademark historical fiction, as we find ourselves plopped right in the middle of the McCarthy Red Scare era. The story also takes place delightfully in Washington DC.

Quinn's story opens with a double murder in the Briar Wood boarding house where our mostly loveable, but more so eclectic, ladies reside. Besides the female boarders, the disgruntled landlady, her two children, and the ladies' suitors help to round out the ensemble.

We are treated to background stories on each of the boarders in flashback chapters (taking place over the past four years). We are shown the friendships they forge through their Thursday night Briar Supper Club. Through learning their stories, we are brought up to present tense and learn the victims of the double murders and motives. We are also treated to some interspersed chapters where the house is personified and serves as our omniscient narrator.

The unconventional and peculiar characters plus the unique unfolding of the plot made this a win/win. Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for this entertaining ARC.

I love reading Kate Quinn and this one was no different. I loved reading about the goings on at the Briarhouse kept me turning the pages. We got a good look at each boarder with their own chapters. Everything is wrapped up and explained at the end. I gave it four stars and will recommend.

Kate Quinn knows how to write a slow burn Historical Fiction.

Taking place duing the McCarthy Era of the 1950's, seven women live in boarding house in Washington, DC. Some of them work for HUAC, some work as typists for senators, and others pick up any odd job to make ends meet. But they join up in the evenings at the Briarwood House, have dinners on Thursdays, and help the children of their house marm. Each chapter focuses on one of the women in the house, their past and their present colliding, all leading up to the treacherous events of Thanksgiving Night.

What an amazing book by Kate Quinn!