The Briar Club
A Novel
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4.5 • 1.8K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“Quinn evocatively balances the outward cheerfulness of the 1950s with historical observations exploring racism, misogyny, homophobia and political persecution in this sharply drawn, gripping novel.” - People Magazine
The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era.
Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; policeman’s daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.
Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: who is the true enemy in their midst?
Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling novel of secrets and loyalty put to the test.
A beautiful, foil cover, first edition.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Come meet the quirky ladies of the Briarwood boarding home in this enchanting mystery. Young Pete Nilsson thinks he’s destined to do menial tasks around the boarding house for his overbearing mother forever—until the day Ms. Grace March moves in. Through her weekly dinner parties, Grace turns the boarders from mere acquaintances to real friends who open Pete’s world in amazing new ways. That is, until one of them is murdered on Thanksgiving. Setting this story during the paranoid post–World War II Red Scare, Kate Quinn infuses this tale of friendship with plenty of real, immersive history. We loved how each chapter gave us a different boarder’s perspective, deftly revealing each of their secrets. In a compelling twist, Quinn even takes us into the “mind” of Briarwood itself, giving us the home’s unique view on each of its fascinating ladies. If you’re in the market for a mystery full of unforgettable characters, it’s time to join The Briar Club.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Quinn follows The Diamond Eye with a stellar historical mystery centered on a group of women living together in a Washington, D.C., boardinghouse. The action opens on Thanksgiving 1956 at Briarwood House, where a corpse lies bleeding in one of the attic apartments, the police have just arrived, and the tenants have gathered in the living room to await questioning. The narrative then rewinds four and a half years, to when widowed 30-something Grace March arrives at Briarwood. She meets Fliss, a harried new mother; Bea, a former pro baseball player; Claire, a file clerk for Sen. Margaret Chase Smith; Nora, an employee of the National Archives; and Arlene, a secretary for the House Un-American Activities Committee who's fully embraced the hysterical rhetoric of her boss, Sen. Joseph McCarthy. As the women bond, clash, and pursue various romantic entanglements, they remain committed to holding weekly dinner parties in Grace's room. As Quinn gradually steers the narrative back toward the violent opening scene, she elegantly explores issues of race, class, and gender, and brings the paranoid atmosphere of McCarthy-era Washington to vivid life. For Quinn's fans, this is a must.
Customer Reviews
Really enjoyed this book…
This was an easy read because the characters were so well drawn, it felt like I knew them. Each person had their own story to tell and many social and political issues were brought up and discussed. I was sorry when it ended.
Great read!
This was a great read. The character development was very good and the “House” as a character and a witness was very unique. You’ll have to skip over the recipes if you read late at night or you will be too hungry to sleep!
Twisty and torturous — hits it stride and doesn’t disappoint
Took a while to get rolling bu t pushed throhh some slow spots and was rewarded by a fabulous denouement Don’t quit this book - it’s so worth being patient!