Steeped in 1950s post-war American culture with a meticulously crafted plot, Kate Quinn’s newest historical thriller, The Briar Club, is a murder mystery that will have you eagerly staying up at night turning pages.
Briarwood House—an all-women boarding home located in Washington, D.C., and owned by the stickler Mrs. Nilsson—has seen 10 presidents and three wars, but never something as thrilling as this.
Every Thursday night Mrs. Nilsson leaves for her bridge club and the residents of Briarwood House unite under Mrs. Grace March in her attic apartment for good food and company, calling themselves the “Briar Club.” But when joy and the intoxicating aroma of Thanksgiving dinner should permeate the air during a Briar Club meeting, the coppery scent of blood fills its halls instead. The cheerfulness of the holiday is replaced with shock and fear as detectives descend upon the occupants of Briarwood House.
The narrative structure of The Briar Club is a unique and intriguing aspect of the novel. The chapters are divided into distinct parts, alternating between the perspectives of the eight residents of Briarwood House and interstitials from the house itself in a way that slowly unravels each secret leading to the murder.
Giving the house a voice was a brilliant addition to the book, as is the way Quinn splices in recipes from Briar Club meals between the prose. Quinn’s disarming style of writing leaves every revelation of this thriller a surprise.
The Briar Club is an atmospheric read that relies heavily on character development to achieve a deep sense of sisterhood and camaraderie. Filled with unpredictable twists, McCarthy-era paranoia, and post-WWII feminism, it will surely keep you guessing until the very end.
Image Via HarperCollins
