Preview
  • The Briar Club

  • A Novel
  • By: Kate Quinn
  • Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
  • Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,168 ratings)

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The Briar Club

By: Kate Quinn
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
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Publisher's summary

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, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; policeman’s daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women 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.

Includes a bonus conversation with Kate Quinn, Saskia Maarleveld, and Tessa Woodward, editor of The Briar Club.

©2024 Kate Quinn (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about The Briar Club

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
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Couldn’t stop listening!

Kate Quinn is by far my favorite author. The amount of characters and yet it all came together and they made a perfect harmony for novel full of one twist after another. And Saskia is my absolute favorite narrator hands down.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Get lost in The Briar Club

Briar Club didn't fit in with the typical Kate Quinn books to me. This book was a mystery, and it even had a slight magical element where one of the perspectives was the house's perspective itself. But it was sooooo good. It did have the historical fiction element with well researched details about what was happening in the world of the 1950s. I loved the different perspectives of women from all walks of life. Everytime a new character was narrating the story they were my new favorite (except Arlene... lol).

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I love Claire and Sydney!! I need another book about their relationship going into the 1960's and what they go through trying to be together.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very enjoyable

I seldom leave a review but I really loved the characters in this novel. Each different from the other, they came together with love and unity. Actually I love anything Kate Quinn writes. She never disappoints.

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1 person found this helpful

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Relationships between characters

Historical perspective of the different characters from WWII, to the women's baseball league during the war. I thought the trope of gangster with a heart of gold was well done too.

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Interesting and unique

It seems like it would be hard to keep track of who’s who, but that’s not the case at all. The writing feels very genuine, and is obviously well researched. Perfect narration as well.

I listened almost constantly during my waking hours, finishing in 2 days! That’s the sign of a great book.

This was my first Kate Quinn book, and I’m looking forward to reading more.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Another win for Ms Quinn

I love this authors books - great historical fiction. This one didn’t disappoint making post WW2 come to life. Great characters, great twists, she touches on the different people from different backgrounds and their struggles to make a life in this time period, excellent twisted ending ! Narrator is fabulous as always !

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Best writing and narrator!!

My ONLY "complaint" is that I really do not want descriptive love scenes with woman on woman. I forwarded through those scenes (and there are several) ... however, so many times the clever descriptions made me want to grab pen and paper to write them down. BRILLIANT!! There are LOTS of characters and I got lost a bit. I need to read it again so I can soak it all in. The narrator...OH.MY.GOSH!!!!She is seriously the BEST!! All the different characters with all of their different dialects...how did she do that so well?? Even when voicing the children's characters, were spot on and so dang cute, instead of annoying (like most others). LOVED it soo much!!! WOULD'VE been perfection if there hadn't been the lesbian love scenes. 👏👏👏👏 Bravo!!!!

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An Excellent Listen

This was such a good story! I enjoyed the different characters and how their stories were presented. The narrator did a very good job differentiating characters. The story kept me guessing till the end. Highly recommend!

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History… her story.

Love the pace, the vastly different characters, and the unexpected.
I appreciate the historical perspective and the wisdom the author is not afraid to share through her characters. We need reminding of the goodness of democracy and also the courage that it takes to make it work.

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Avid reader

I was glad to have the interview at the end of the book. It brought it together better as a historical novel

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