Publication Date: 18 July 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
4.2 stars
One Liner: A long book but enjoyable
1950, Washington D.C
The Briarwood House is a boarding house for women and holds many secrets. When a widow, Grace March, moves into the attic, it leads to new friendships with diverse people. Soon, Grace is hosting weekly dinners and finding solace in her new life. However, the secrets of her past continue to haunt her. When a murder occurs in the boarding house, it’s time for the women to make some tough decisions. Lives will change forever. What will happen to Grace and her friends?
The story comes in the third-person POV of Pete, Nora, Reka, Fliss, Bea, Grace, Arlene, and a special character).
My Thoughts:
This is my first book by the author. I’ve seen many friends praise her works and know she writes lengthy yet well-crafted historical novels (turns out this is not like her previous works). The Briar Club is 444 pages (my NG copy) and feels like a 500-page book.
However, soon I was immersed in the setting and the characters. The prologue is set in 1954 (crime scene). The story begins in 1950 when Grace enters Briarwood House. The narrative comes from different characters who share their backstory as well as carry the plot forward. This serves a dual purpose to make us understand the people who live in the boarding house while minimizing repetition.
Each woman is different and clearly defined. The main male characters are also given enough depth (depending on their purpose in the plot).
Since food plays one of the major roles in the book, we get recipes between chapters. However, these are not your standard recipes and act only as small interludes in those never-ending chapters. Why each POV had to be a single chapter beats me, but each one is 50-70 pages long (I think). Only one POV is short (thankfully).
The narrative is slow and steady. You cannot increase the speed. But that’s okay since things happen, and we don’t want to miss any of it. I was also ticking the characters to see if I could guess who was killed.
I like that the first POV belongs to the young Pete (some reviews hated this) as it gives us an overview of the main characters and establishes the plot.
There is a lot of talk about politics, the US welcoming every immigrant, communists vs. republicans, and blah blah. As you can guess, it gets boring after a while, though some of it is necessary for the plot. Considering the events that occurred when I was reading this one, let’s say, the big brother needs to stop bothering about democracy in other countries and focus on its own mess. Glass houses and all that (IYKYK).
While the mystery is dangled as a carrot, this should not be read as a mystery book. It is a character-driven historical fiction that can also be read as a series of interconnected stories). The epilogue ends the story with the right blend of HEA and reality.
My favorite is, of course, the detailed Author’s Note where she talks about the idea, how it grew, and what influenced the arcs of each main character. Wonderful! Don’t skip this even if you are not into the habit of reading author notes.
To summarize, The Briar Club is an interesting read dealing with many themes and subplots. I enjoyed it, despite the few issues, and can see why the author is popular though readers say this is not her usual style. It worked for me, and that’s all I need!
Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #TheBriarClub
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