The Huntress

by Kate Quinn

From the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel, THE ALICE NETWORK, comes another fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track the Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America.

In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted...

Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina's bravery and cunning will keep her alive.

Transformed by the horrors he witnessed from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials, British war correspondent Ian Graham has become a Nazi hunter. Yet one target eludes him: a vicious predator known as the Huntress. To find her, the fierce, disciplined investigator joins forces with the only witness to escape the Huntress alive: the brazen, cocksure Nina. But a shared secret could derail their mission unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.

Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new fiancee, Jordan is thrilled. But there is something disconcerting about the soft-spoken German widow. Certain that danger is lurking, Jordan begins to delve into her new stepmother's past-only to discover that there are mysteries buried deep in her family . . . secrets that may threaten all Jordan holds dear.

In this immersive, heart-wrenching story, Kate Quinn illuminates the consequences of war on individual lives, and the price we pay to seek justice and truth.

• ISBN10: 0062740385
• ISBN13: 9780062740380
• Publish Date: 26 February 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 576
• Language: English

Reviews

[funbreaker4opal]

Disclaimer: I read this under peer pressure, so I might be thinking it's worse than it actually is but it is plenty


None of the characters are really that interesting except for Ruth and Taro, the dog. However, HOWEVER, for some reason until the ending the book makes you feel like you should root for the stepmom, who is a Nazi. You can't make your teenage lead a brat and vaguely anachronistically so and have me root for her. Nina and Ian are perfect angery copies of each other and makes for ass chemistry. Tony, the polyglot (not linguist that's not how being a linguist works), was okay until he started fucking a girl at least a decade younger than he was. What.


A decent chunk of the material could be removed from the book and have NO impact on the plot. Most of it is Nina's backstory, which is a super tedious tale of child abuse and stereotypes that were outdated in the 1930s.

Also, random token lesbian kiss just to have a random token lesbian kiss. Go all the way with your LGBT couple and all the implications, joys, and hardships it would have at this time, you coward.

Anyway, I haven't the faintest clue why HC picked this up and don't really wanna check out anything else by this author.

[Lynn]

Five years after the ending of WW11, how a former Soviet fighter pilot, a young American woman and a former British War Correspondent work together to find the Nazi war criminal known as Die Jägerin, The Huntress; to bring her to justice.

Ian Graham gave up writing after the end of The Nuremberg trials, instead, he works to track down war criminals from his office based in Vienna. Investigations into The Huntress, his obsession have so far drawn a blank, until his colleague Tony Rodomovsky has a new lead.

Jordan McBride was seventeen years old when her widowed father introduced her to the mysterious woman, who would become her step-mother. Born in Austria, Anneliese 'Anna' Weber and her young daughter were pleasant enough, but something about this woman didn't seem right. Interested in photography, Jordan spent her days taking photographs, which she then developed in her dark room. One photo of Anna, caught her in a different light, increasing her doubt about who Mrs Weber is.

Born in a house on the shore of Lake Baikal, Siberia, Nina Markova wanted to escape from her abusive, drunk father like her older siblings. After a chance meeting with a pilot who landed his plane, something she'd never seen before. Inspired, she decides to head to the nearest town, Irkutsk to find an air club. She wants to learn to fly, to escape as far west, beyond Moscow, never dreaming how far she would actually get.

Written from a triple point of view, including one which features the protagonist's back story, it was surprisingly easy for me to follow the narrative and keep focused the whole time. As someone who often struggled when too much information supplied at once, the author's writing style kept me focused and invested, so much so, it was hard to put this novel down.

Having previously enjoyed The Alice Network by Ms Quinn, I knew to expect a well-researched novel. Additionally, I enjoyed reading her author notes about where she sourced her inspiration for her characters and the liberties she took to create The Huntress. As the words and dialogue flowed effortlessly, I have no criticism, only admiration for how the narrative came together to create an insightful and thought-provoking novel set at a favourite time in history for me. The most intriguing aspect was learning about nachthexen, Night Witches; their role as female Soviet fighter-pilots.

After renewing my interest for historical novels and discovering writers like Kate Quinn, I'm very much looking forward to her future work and am already eagerly anticipating The Ribbons of Scarlet later in 2019.

***arc generously received courtesy of William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss+***