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Title details for The Briar Club by Kate Quinn - Wait list

The Briar Club

by Kate Quinn
Saskia Maarleveld
Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: At least 6 months
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Wait time: At least 6 months
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, D.C., 1950 Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, an all-female boarding house in the heart of the US capital, where secrets hide behind respectable facades. But when the mysterious Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbours – a poised English beauty, a policeman's daughter, a frustrated female baseball star, and a rabidly pro-McCarthy typist – into an unlikely friendship. Grace's weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their troubled lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. And when a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club 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. 'This powerful, unforgettable historical romance is for fans of Mary Anna Evans's Justine Byrne series and stories with strong women characters' Starred Library Journal Review 'Compulsively readable, The Briar Club will find eager readers in those who love woman-led historical fiction with rich, appealing characters' Starred Booklist Review 'Blending suspense with themes of class struggle and female empowerment, this is a thrilling addition to Quinn's repertoire' Glamour Magazine

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    July 18, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780008643577
      • File size: 433735 KB
      • Duration: 15:03:36

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 27, 2024
      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. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Saskia Maarleveld enlivens the characters in this masterfully crafted window onto the 1950s. While there are murders and other crimes, the focus is the individual stories of the women boarders of Briarwood House in Washington, DC. The novel depicts the realities of the McCarthy era: women's evolving roles, racism, and immigrant challenges. While the recipes sprinkled throughout might be disruptive to the narrative flow, they do not diminish the overall listening experience. Maarleveld perfectly delivers the voice of each character. Her talent for accents coupled with Quinn's vivid writing makes this audiobook a compelling and informative listening experience. E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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