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"The Briar Club" is set against the Cold War atmosphere of the 1950s, and the McCarthy Red Scare hearings in Washington DC. This historical novel features a women's boarding house where many of the characters work in government jobs. The book centers around Grace who gives weekly parties for the residents and the men they sneak into her attic room. They cook together (recipes included), and support each other emotionally while a neighbor plays a jazz saxophone.

Each character has an interesting backstory based on actual people who lived in the 1950s, and chapters are told from each individual character's point of view. Many of them are holding secrets, especially the immigrants from Europe.

The prologue reveals two corpses in the boarding house on Thanksgiving 1954, getting the book off to an exciting start. The story than goes back to 1950, and works its way forward to the infamous 1954 holiday murders while revealing the truth about people's origins. The strong sense of community helps the rooming house residents survive the traumatic Thanksgiving.

While Kate Quinn has done extensive historical research into the 1950s, she is very skillful in weaving the information into the characters' lives. I found the book to be very engaging with varied, interesting characters.