By Kate Quinn
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Goodreads: 4.33)
GENRE: Historical Fiction/Mystery
PART OF A SERIES? No
WORTH READING? Yes
SUMMARY:
Set in Washington in the 1950’s, The Briar Club tells the story of an eclectic group of women at an all-female boarding-house. The group is drawn together by the enigmatic Grace March, who takes a room in the attic. The women now meet weekly over a meal, thanks to Grace.
While Grace is helping all the women, no-one realises that she hides a dark secret. Then a shocking act of violence tears the house apart and the members of The Briar Club must work out who the true enemy is within their ranks.
Opening lines: 'If these walls could talk. Well, they may not be talking, but they are certainly listening.'
I reserved The Briar Club at the library as soon as it was released, because I will always read anything from Kate Quinn. I admit, though, that it did take me longer than usual to become absorbed in this Quinn book.
Kate Quinn, as always, captured the era very well, from the music, prevalence of misogyny, clothing styles, and so on. I liked how Quinn tried to bring the boarding house itself to life. It worked well. This began right at the start of the book and was a theme throughout.
Whilst it might not bother you, I personally didn’t love the inclusion of all the recipes, and found myself glossing over them.
For the first section of the book, I felt that sometimes the character’s voices were a bit too similar. There are an unusual number of main characters in The Briar Club, so that was a bit tricky for me initially. I liked that all the characters had elements of intrigue, and the different reasons and voices became clearer as I progressed through the tale.
Murder is at the centre of The Briar Club. The tale begins in the McCarthy era in 1954, but then goes back several years. The timeline is unusual, in that it brings the reader closer and closer to the murder. I imagine this could be a little confusing if listened to via audiobook, as I found myself flicking back through the pages a few times to anchor myself.
Whilst I did enjoy this book, I would probably say it is my least favourite Kate Quinn, when compared with her others. Perhaps if The Briar Club was the only Kate Quinn book I’d ever read, I wouldn’t have been slightly disappointed.
Click here to buy The Briar Club
If you’d like to try one or more of Kate Quinn’s other books that rate higher for me. In my opinion, these are all fabulous!
Click here to buy The Alice Network
Click here to buy The Diamond Eye
Click here to buy The Huntress
Click here to buy The Rose Code
N.B: I earn from affiliate Amazon links.
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