Sioux City Reads 2026 Nominee: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

Now through November 30, cast your vote to help select the next Sioux City Reads title at SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads.  

This year the Library selected books from the mystery genre. The chosen book will serve as inspiration for events, discussions, and challenges throughout the upcoming 2026 Sioux City Reads initiative.  

2026 Sioux City Reads Nominee: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn is a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. Washington, D.C., 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. When the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendships. 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. 

“Quinn evocatively balances the outward cheerfulness of the 1950s with historical observations exploring racism, misogyny, homophobia and political persecution in this sharply drawn, gripping novel.” – People Magazine 

“Kate Quinn’s The Briar Club not only presents a thrilling mystery, but also, and perhaps more importantly, a cast of characters readers will adore.” — ELLE.COM 

The winner will be announced in January. Visit SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads, the Library’s Facebook page, or sign-up for the Library’s e-newsletter at SiouxCityLibrary.org/news to get all the latest updates.