Book Review: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn | Summary |

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn’s story delves into the lives of diverse boarders, including widow Grace, young Fliss, Nora, Beatrice, Reka, and Arlene. In 1954, a brutal murder occurs at Briarwood House in Washington D.C. on Thanksgiving, with the victim unknown which we will investigate further in this post. Do checkout similar thriller novel All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker.

About the Author & Book:

• Title: The Briar Club
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Author: Kate Quinn
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Published on : July 9th 2024

Kate Quinn is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. She has authored four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga series along with novels like  “The Alice Network,” “The Rose Code,” “The Diamond Eye” etc.

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn Summary Spoilers

Synopsis: The story opens on the day of Thanksgiving of year, 1954, in Washington, D.C., in a woman’s boarding house called Briarwood House, with a horrible murder scene. Briarwood House is a shabby boarding house in Washington, D.C. for females, and each of its tenants has some kind of secretive past and hidden mystery.

The Briar Club Character Lists:

The Briar Club is Quinn’s showcase of multi-dimensional characters with their own complex hardships, story, background and motives.

• Grace March: A mysterious widow around which the story rotates.
• Fliss: An English beauty with hidden past emotional wounds.
• Nora: The police officer’s daughter, who is in love with a gangster.
• Beatrice (Bea): A snooty baseball star whose career ended with the women’s baseball league during WWII.
• Arlene: A HUAC secretary and blind supporter of McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Summary Spoilers: One of the boarders may be the enemy ( imposter ), but the victim’s identity is unknown, though we do learn that the murder occurred in the room of a boarder named Grace March.

We then leap back four years to follow thirteen-year-old Pete, who incur an extra work at a young age to assist his mother at the boarding house. He takes care of his sister, who has a lazy eye (visual disability). His perspective introduces us to the boarders, notably Grace March, who moves into the attic’s shoebox room.

Grace is an enigmatic widow, who is quite secretive about her past, and who easily connects with the other boarders then there is stunning young mother Fliss, who’s doctor husband works in San Diego as the nearing Korean War impacts the political climate (remember the time of Korean war).

Nora, one of the youngest (only 20 years old), who works for the National Archives and is having an illicit affair with a gangster despite being the child of a cop; and Beatrice, an ex-baseball player whose sporting career was cut short by WWII. Reka, an elderly Hungarian immigrant, and Arlene, a HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) secretary who becomes an blind supporter and advocate of McCarthy’s Red Scare.

These women, all from stark different backgrounds and struggling with their own traumas and regrets, come in Grace’s attic room to heal their emotional scars with the sweet taste of Grace’s special sun tea, sharing their love, hate, and sorrows through the close link of friendship. But Grace’s secrets imperil the special tie they’ve formed, and unforeseen horrific catastrophes could tear their lives apart. Finally, everyone of them must make a decision to determine who is their true friend and who is the adversary hiding among them.

Also Read: Reckless by Lauren Roberts Plot Synopsis

The Briar Club Book Review by Kate Quinn

The character development in The Briar Club is truly outstanding. You can really have a connect with each of the women in the prose, accepting their flaws, situation and struggles without judgment. Some people may find this book long, but the suspense is what makes you keep going and you can’t really help it but to complete the rest.

The author has really a created a tale which is engaging and heartwarming at the same time. The characters has natural responses and flow which makes you connect with the roles at a much deeper level which provides an immersive experience while reading the book. Also, the action scene creates dynamism in the book with thrills and keep you entertained. You can feel the book is more than story.

The pacing is perfect, wherever needed is fast with little bit of halt at particular section, with thrilling action scenes that keep your heart racing. Nothing feels rushed or repetitive, and the events unfold naturally.

The ending is particularly satisfying for some readers, leaving you with a warm feeling of friendship, women supporting women, finding your voice and cherishing themes like coming-of-age, politics, postpartum depression, domestic abuse, secrets, and dysfunctional family drama etc.

Overall, The Briar Club is a feast for Historical Fiction enthusiast with ample of references of social and societal condition of early fifties and after second world war era like women sports reference, corruption of Police force and development of Birth control pills etc. which can put the readers in old times and zoned out.

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