Briar Club

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.

Praise for Kate Quinn: ‘Recommend it to all lovers of smart historical fiction’ Booklist ‘Exciting . . . historical fiction fans will be riveted’ Publishers Weekly ‘Readers looking for a new and unique viewpoint of World War II with a mystery to solve and a light touch of romance will dive deep into this story’ Library Journal ‘A fascinating read . . . if you’re a fan of 20th-century history then look no further’ Altrincham Today ‘A remarkable story filled with heart, intrigue [and] breathtaking drama’ Allison Pataki ‘Quinn weaves humanity and emotional depth through the narrative’ Sarah Penner ‘Beautifully rendered . . . utterly absorbing’ Natasha Lester ‘Kate Quinn takes expert aim at one of history’s forgotten heroines to bring us a story that will pull you in from the very first sentence’ Alix Rickloff ‘Kate Quinn is a master at crafting and intoxicating, well-balanced blend of immersive period details and deft character work … a remarkable combination of immersive wartime storytelling, rich detailing and wonderful pacing’ BookPage ‘Kate Quinn is an excellent storyteller … Don’t miss this timely story about the immense power, strength and resilience of a Ukranian woman!’ BookReporter.com

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written five novels in the Empress of Rome saga, and two books set in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Rose Code and The Diamond Eye. All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.