Take a step into 1950 Washington DC’s Briarwood House. A boarding house where unlikely boarders are brought together by their mysterious, but caring, leader Grace.
Creating their own family, dubbed ‘The Briar Club’ where simple meals and sharing stories bond everyone more than anyone could expect.
Warning, do not assume this is a happy-go-lucky story. Dark themes and darker moments happen that will test the newly created family more than they’ve ever been tested before.
First of all, points to Kate Quinn on writing an absolutely unique book with research and history to back it up. A lot of my rating is based on the fact that this was a large cast, covering multiple subjects. Real history and historical figures were brought into this book. It must have taken an incredible amount of planning and organization. Wonderful effort.
To dive right in on my usual flip flopping, the book covered too many subjects. I loved each and every character … the full cast could be kept. Yet each member having their own conflict to cover could have been reduced. It felt overwhelming and gave an impression of a lack of focus. Women’s rights, done. War, done. Domestic violence, done. Families, abandonment, homosexuality, illegal immigration, communism, racism … the list is extensive.
I also was not a fan of the ‘house’ having its own POV. It added an unnecessary flair. Instead the author might have just used the detective or an omniscient narrator for the present-day POV. The recipes were also something I found I glanced over. Although cute, they could have been added at the end of the book, which sometimes authors do, rather than integrated into the story…. Literally right in the middle of a chapter.
A few other moments where the author I felt twisted some things …. situations of running from a corrupt country were twisted into illegal immigration.
All that being said, I really enjoyed the story. It was well written. Each POV had its own distinct voice. Each switch of the POV slowly revealed moments as we went from 4 years ago back to present day. An absolute masterpiece when it comes to how this book was put together. I’m still in awe.
The ‘twists’, the mystery also simply ‘wowed’ me. This book could have simply been an historical fiction of the hard times during 1950’s. Yet, Quinn had to add another punch. She did an excellent job of setting up the reader to not expect the twisty ending. (No, I’m not talking about Grace, shh no spoilers!) Wonderful, wonderful work.
I would recommend this book to my reader friends. Nora was my favorite POV to read about. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, would love to hear for you!
Amazon Link – The Briar Club By: Kate Quinn
Stats: 430 pages – First published July 9, 2024
cmacs paperbacks 
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