Two excellent books this month, both recommended by Modern Mrs. Darcy as favorite audiobooks of 2024. I wholeheartedly concur!
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn is girl power at its best. Mix six women living in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse in the early 1950's with politics (McCarthyism), cultural changes in gender roles, and murder and you get a fascinating story of secrets and loyalty. The house is also an important character. There are at least two chapters per boarder for in-depth character development and intriguing backstories. There are a few twists along the way (no spoilers), but one of my favorites is a recipe, complete with accompanying music and activity, from the group's weekly supper club - sun tea, Swedish meatballs, corned beef hash, Irish colcannon, candle salad (hysterical!), halusiki (cabbage and noodles), gumbo, strawberry fool, fried chicken, Italian ragu, fried bananas in rum, potato pancakes, eight-layer honey cloud cake and rassolnik (pickle soup).I devoured The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini in six days. A woman has fallen from a 25-story London roof. Was it suicide or murder? A woman is arrested and with so many inconsistencies the reader is left wondering what's real and what's bullsh!t. And who the heck is Helen? The story unfolds like layers of an onion as the key suspect speaks with her solicitor. Intriguing, sad and a great example of revenge being a dish best served ice cold.
