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הציידת
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2019)כשהמלחמה נגמרת, הצייד הופך לניצוד...
נינה מרקובה הקשוחה ורבת–התעוזה תמיד חלמה לטוס. כשהנאצים תוקפים את ברית–המועצות, היא מצטרפת לגדוד האגדי של מכשפות הלילה, יחידת טייסות שיוצאת להפציץ בלילות את הצבא הגרמני ועושה בו שמות. כשהיא נקלעת אל מעבר לקווי האויב, נינה הופכת לטרף של רוצחת נאצית קטלנית המכונה הציידת. רק תושייתה של נינה ואומץ לבה יאפשרו לה לשרוד.
לאחר שהיה עד לזוועות המלחמה, הכתב הבריטי איאן גרהאם הפך לצייד נאצים. אבל מטרה אחת חומקת ממנו: הציידת. כדי למצוא אותה הוא נאלץ לשתף פעולה עם נינה, העדה היחידה שחמקה מציפורניה. אך סוד שאותו חולקים השניים עלול לשבש את המשימה אם הם לא יתעמתו איתו.
ג´ורדן מקברייד בת השבע–עשרה גדלה בבוסטון שלאחר המלחמה. כשאביה האלמן מביא הביתה את ארוסתו, היא מקדמת את פניה בהתלהבות, אך יש באלמנה העדינה משהו מטריד. ג´ורדן מתחילה לחקור את חייה של אמה החורגת – ומגלה שיש תעלומות שקבורות עמוק בעברה ומאיימות להרוס את כל היקר ללבה של ג´ורדן.
הציידת, ספרה של קייט קווין, מחברת רב–המכר הרשת של אליס, הוא רומן היסטורי סוחף ויוצא דופן על אנשים לא שגרתיים שמתמודדים עם אתגרים קשים מנשוא באומץ, בנחישות ובאהבה כדי להשיג צדק ונקמה.
נינה מרקובה הקשוחה ורבת–התעוזה תמיד חלמה לטוס. כשהנאצים תוקפים את ברית–המועצות, היא מצטרפת לגדוד האגדי של מכשפות הלילה, יחידת טייסות שיוצאת להפציץ בלילות את הצבא הגרמני ועושה בו שמות. כשהיא נקלעת אל מעבר לקווי האויב, נינה הופכת לטרף של רוצחת נאצית קטלנית המכונה הציידת. רק תושייתה של נינה ואומץ לבה יאפשרו לה לשרוד.
לאחר שהיה עד לזוועות המלחמה, הכתב הבריטי איאן גרהאם הפך לצייד נאצים. אבל מטרה אחת חומקת ממנו: הציידת. כדי למצוא אותה הוא נאלץ לשתף פעולה עם נינה, העדה היחידה שחמקה מציפורניה. אך סוד שאותו חולקים השניים עלול לשבש את המשימה אם הם לא יתעמתו איתו.
ג´ורדן מקברייד בת השבע–עשרה גדלה בבוסטון שלאחר המלחמה. כשאביה האלמן מביא הביתה את ארוסתו, היא מקדמת את פניה בהתלהבות, אך יש באלמנה העדינה משהו מטריד. ג´ורדן מתחילה לחקור את חייה של אמה החורגת – ומגלה שיש תעלומות שקבורות עמוק בעברה ומאיימות להרוס את כל היקר ללבה של ג´ורדן.
הציידת, ספרה של קייט קווין, מחברת רב–המכר הרשת של אליס, הוא רומן היסטורי סוחף ויוצא דופן על אנשים לא שגרתיים שמתמודדים עם אתגרים קשים מנשוא באומץ, בנחישות ובאהבה כדי להשיג צדק ונקמה.
575 pages, ebook
First published February 26, 2019
19573 people are currently reading
244319 people want to read
About the author
Kate Quinn
30 books40.7k followers--I use Goodreads to track and rate my current reading. Most of my reads are 4 stars, meaning I enjoyed it hugely and would absolutely recommend. 5 stars is blew-my-socks-off; reserved for rare reads. 3 stars is "enjoyed it, but something fell a bit short." I very rarely rate lower because I DNF books I'm not enjoying, and don't rate books I don't finish.--
Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” "The Rose Code," "The Diamond Eye," and "The Briar Club." She is also a co-author in several collaborative novels including "The Phoenix Crown" with Janie Chang and "Ribbons of Scarlet" with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, and Heather Webb. All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in Maryland with their two rescue dogs.
Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” "The Rose Code," "The Diamond Eye," and "The Briar Club." She is also a co-author in several collaborative novels including "The Phoenix Crown" with Janie Chang and "Ribbons of Scarlet" with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, and Heather Webb. All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in Maryland with their two rescue dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 17,559 reviews
April 29, 2019
There’ll be a chance, Nina Borisovna, her father had said. Don’t ask, when you see it. Just fucking take it.
4 1/2 stars. I love historical fiction that introduces me to little areas of history that school lessons and history books never taught me about. Fiction is my passion, but I love it even more when it uncovers oft-buried truths. Here, Quinn blends fact and fiction to tell a story about three women: a murderess on the run, an aspiring photographer who may be in danger in her own home, and one of the Nachthexen. The Night Witches.
These Night Witches were very real. I've heard the term before, but knew very little about this all-female Soviet bomber regiment. In this book, Nina fights her way out of the coldness and poverty of Siberia, away from her abusive father and towards her dreams of flight. As a Soviet pilot, she finds her true place and family. But, as the book is split between several different years - and we know where Nina ends up - there is an air of sadness about these chapters too-- a looming sense that something is going to go horribly wrong.
Some years later, in a completely different time and place, a young Bostonian named Jordan longs to be a photographer but is held back because she is a girl. Fortunately, it looks like her new stepmother could offer a solution. But Jordan is constantly haunted by a picture she took back when her father first introduced Annaliese. Just one picture that seemed, for a brief moment, to show another side to the woman.
In yet another time - and note that there are roughly five years between each of the time periods - journalist Ian Graham tracks down monsters. And no monster plays on his mind more than die Jagerin. The Huntress. A Nazi. A cold-blooded killer. He pursues her, accompanied by the same Nina we've met before, and finds himself trekking across the ocean in his chase.
It's a very rich character-driven story, with many layers and secrets. Each of the characters is so well-drawn and complex, with Nina being especially fabulous. It is in turn a portrait of women fighting the constraints placed upon them by the societies in which they live, and a thrilling pursuit of a terrifying female villain. I feel I should say it is not much of a mystery, if that is something you're expecting. Uncovering the Huntress's identity is not the main focus; exploring the lives and aspirations of Nina and Jordan is.
The only thing I didn't like so much was the romance. It wasn't that I minded them being together, but I found it an unnecessary development that added nothing to the story. There was already so much going on. Still, it's a small complaint really.
Quinn reintroduces the same split time/perspective technique she used in The Alice Network, but I think it worked much better here. All of the perspectives were interesting and exciting to me. What I love most about both of the Quinn books I've read is how she puts women back into the history they have long been written out of. She reminds us that women were pilots and spies and fighters and... yes, even murderers. I liked it a lot.
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October 28, 2023
World War II is over, and (now) former war correspondent Ian Graham is standing in its ashes. It might have been enough to say that they've all passed through a long, dark time and come out of it alive, if not unscathed. Ian might have gone about his life and done his best to bury the specter of war and walk away from it. Most would have. Ian Graham didn’t. Not when Lorelei Vogt, the Nazi war criminal known as the Huntress, is still out there. “I’m done writing instead of doing,” becomes Ian's mantra as he sets out to hunt down The Huntress alongside his partner Jewish polyglot Tony Rodomovsky and Nina Markova, one of the famed Russian bomber pilots known as the Night Witches.
Meanwhile, in Boston lives Jordan McBride, a budding photographer who welcomed into her family an Austrian refugee named Annaliese as her new step-mother. But Annaliese’s lies and secrecy do little to dispel Jordan’s feeling that there is more to her father’s new bride than meets the eye...
What a ride. For a novel that veers from character to character, and from past to present and back again, The Huntress maintains an exhilarating pace. There is nothing quite like the thrill of reading a multi-voiced novel and watching for the moment when the protagonists' separate journeys begin to intertwine with one another, the meeting of the waterways. Quinn proves herself up to the task, and when she ratchets up the stakes and the story fires up on all cylinders, nothing could have pulled me away from the page.
There is no shortage of WWII-themed historical novels, and Quinn's novel leaps up as a brilliant, bold, and innovative addition to the genre. Her determined attention to the seldom sung histories of the women who were key figures in WWII, who bore just as many scars, and inflicted just as many wounds, proves that historical fiction does not have to confine itself to its hoary tropes and settings. There is depth here, and a clear tenderness in the rendering of the characters, who each, driven by passion, duty, and—just as often by—humanizing terrifying flaws, follow you off the page.
If ever a standalone novel cried out to become a full-fledged series, The Huntress might just be it. I could have easily read 3 more books in this world, with these characters.
Meanwhile, in Boston lives Jordan McBride, a budding photographer who welcomed into her family an Austrian refugee named Annaliese as her new step-mother. But Annaliese’s lies and secrecy do little to dispel Jordan’s feeling that there is more to her father’s new bride than meets the eye...
What a ride. For a novel that veers from character to character, and from past to present and back again, The Huntress maintains an exhilarating pace. There is nothing quite like the thrill of reading a multi-voiced novel and watching for the moment when the protagonists' separate journeys begin to intertwine with one another, the meeting of the waterways. Quinn proves herself up to the task, and when she ratchets up the stakes and the story fires up on all cylinders, nothing could have pulled me away from the page.
There is no shortage of WWII-themed historical novels, and Quinn's novel leaps up as a brilliant, bold, and innovative addition to the genre. Her determined attention to the seldom sung histories of the women who were key figures in WWII, who bore just as many scars, and inflicted just as many wounds, proves that historical fiction does not have to confine itself to its hoary tropes and settings. There is depth here, and a clear tenderness in the rendering of the characters, who each, driven by passion, duty, and—just as often by—humanizing terrifying flaws, follow you off the page.
If ever a standalone novel cried out to become a full-fledged series, The Huntress might just be it. I could have easily read 3 more books in this world, with these characters.
October 9, 2022
"They called her die Jagerin-the Huntress. She was the young mistress of an SS officer in German-occupied Poland, the hostess of grand parties on the lake, a keen shot. Perhaps she was the rusalka the lake was named for-a lethal, malevolent water spirit."
Here lies Chelsea, dead from a book slump brought on by The Huntress, because for once the hype lived up to my expectations and the book's execution. I'm not an avid reader of historical fiction, and in the past year I decided that I was taking a break from WWII fiction, due to the saturation and burnout I was feeling in the genre, but this is mostly post WWII fiction, so it doesn't count. Right? RIGHT. After seeing so many rave review surrounding The Hunty, I was cautiously optimistic that this would be an enjoyable read, but friends, this was a mind-blowing masterpiece.
"Lake Rusalka: a lake in Poland named for a creature of the night, and during the darkest years of the war, a woman lived on her shores far more fearful than any witch who crawled from a lake's depths."
The beauty of this novel is that it carries a powerful current of suspense without masquerading as a whodunnit. You know from the very beginning who has done what, but the format in which the author chooses to let the story unfold is profound, intoxicating, and dare I say more efficient than if she had tried to make any of the reveals embedded in the characters's identities. Multiple POVs, three to be exact, keep the pace moving quickly, and we are given bits of information from each angle, which plays out to be a beautiful weaving of many lives affected by a single monster of a woman. Not only are we privy to this tangling of fates, but inserted we have rich development of the hunting team and well as lush, atmospheric descriptions of the multiple settings, past and present.
"What about the Huntress? She vanished at the war's end. She was not worth pursuing-a woman with the blood of only a dozen or so on her hands, when there were the murderers of millions to be found. There were many like her-small fish, not worth catching. Where will they go? Where did she go? And will anyone take up the hunt?"
Of the many fabulous characters, Nina was my favorite protagonist, and that's a tough choice because they were all wonderfully flawed. But Nina, oh Nina, that woman has my heart. Talk about a complex, strong female who has no patience for laziness, yet shows her vulnerabilities in her own ways. I also felt that the character of the Huntress was one of the better villains I've read to date, and quite possibly the most excellent female monsters to grace the pages of a novel. Die Jagerin is truly a monster, but Quinn has given her so many dimensions and, most importantly, she has given her a horrific cause that she believes in with every fiber of her being. The moments she crafts between her and the other characters, especially Jordan, give an unsettling conflict that causes the reader to wrestle with the Huntress's disgusting "calling" and her humanity, emotion, and weakness. When an author can cause me to stop and ponder my feelings toward a monster, that is the telling of an excellent story.
Fellow readers, I highly recommend you pick this one up, even if you aren't traditionally a fan of historical fiction. This one reads much more like a thriller; the beginning sets the stage and carries forth with an initial slow burn that develops into a full-blown compulsive page turner. I can see that this will easily be one of the top 10 novels of 2019 that I read, as it checked all the boxes for me, and I hope if you choose to read it as well, that you'll acquire your own precious experience with these characters.
*I received a review copy via the publisher.
Here lies Chelsea, dead from a book slump brought on by The Huntress, because for once the hype lived up to my expectations and the book's execution. I'm not an avid reader of historical fiction, and in the past year I decided that I was taking a break from WWII fiction, due to the saturation and burnout I was feeling in the genre, but this is mostly post WWII fiction, so it doesn't count. Right? RIGHT. After seeing so many rave review surrounding The Hunty, I was cautiously optimistic that this would be an enjoyable read, but friends, this was a mind-blowing masterpiece.
"Lake Rusalka: a lake in Poland named for a creature of the night, and during the darkest years of the war, a woman lived on her shores far more fearful than any witch who crawled from a lake's depths."
The beauty of this novel is that it carries a powerful current of suspense without masquerading as a whodunnit. You know from the very beginning who has done what, but the format in which the author chooses to let the story unfold is profound, intoxicating, and dare I say more efficient than if she had tried to make any of the reveals embedded in the characters's identities. Multiple POVs, three to be exact, keep the pace moving quickly, and we are given bits of information from each angle, which plays out to be a beautiful weaving of many lives affected by a single monster of a woman. Not only are we privy to this tangling of fates, but inserted we have rich development of the hunting team and well as lush, atmospheric descriptions of the multiple settings, past and present.
"What about the Huntress? She vanished at the war's end. She was not worth pursuing-a woman with the blood of only a dozen or so on her hands, when there were the murderers of millions to be found. There were many like her-small fish, not worth catching. Where will they go? Where did she go? And will anyone take up the hunt?"
Of the many fabulous characters, Nina was my favorite protagonist, and that's a tough choice because they were all wonderfully flawed. But Nina, oh Nina, that woman has my heart. Talk about a complex, strong female who has no patience for laziness, yet shows her vulnerabilities in her own ways. I also felt that the character of the Huntress was one of the better villains I've read to date, and quite possibly the most excellent female monsters to grace the pages of a novel. Die Jagerin is truly a monster, but Quinn has given her so many dimensions and, most importantly, she has given her a horrific cause that she believes in with every fiber of her being. The moments she crafts between her and the other characters, especially Jordan, give an unsettling conflict that causes the reader to wrestle with the Huntress's disgusting "calling" and her humanity, emotion, and weakness. When an author can cause me to stop and ponder my feelings toward a monster, that is the telling of an excellent story.
Fellow readers, I highly recommend you pick this one up, even if you aren't traditionally a fan of historical fiction. This one reads much more like a thriller; the beginning sets the stage and carries forth with an initial slow burn that develops into a full-blown compulsive page turner. I can see that this will easily be one of the top 10 novels of 2019 that I read, as it checked all the boxes for me, and I hope if you choose to read it as well, that you'll acquire your own precious experience with these characters.
*I received a review copy via the publisher.
December 30, 2021
This was going to be a 4+ star read until the ending, wow that bumped it up to 5+ stars!!! The authors notes at the end of the book are just as interesting to read as the book. Knowing that much of the book is based on actual events and real people made the book come alive for me that much more.
From the blurb you know that there is a team that is still hunting Nazi war criminals even after the Nuremberg trials. We are now in the late 1940’s and it’s getting harder and harder to find survivors who can identify the Nazi SS who committed the more horrendous acts.
Ian is a former British war correspondent who has teamed up with Tony a former US soldier working in a small office in Vienna trying to find information on Nazi’s who have fled and are hiding in Europe and now the US.
Nina is a former Russian fighter pilot, their regiment was called “The Night Witches” because their planes descended so silently that the Germans on the ground didn’t hear them coming until they had dropped their bombs. These women were young and fierce and did as many as 8 to 10 runs a night, in planes made of wood and fabric, with an open cockpit! Nina met Tony when she was recuperating at a hospital, but I will leave that story for you to discover. I found Nina’s story to be mesmerizing, what heroes these women were! The Soviets were the only air force that used women pilots.
Ian’s and Tony’s next target is a woman SS soldier who was known as “The Huntress”, she showed no mercy, killing hundreds of innocent people including many children. Nina will team up with Tony and Ian to find her. Both Nina and Ian have personal reasons for bringing justice to “The Huntress”, they are prepared to do whatever it takes to hunt her down. A quote from Nina “Die Jagerin (The Huntress) She kills because she likes it, and she hunts what she thinks are easy targets--children, people on the run, those who can’t fight her”.
Jordan is a young woman of about 18 living in the United States. She helps her father run an antique shop in Boston but is an avid photographer. Though she has a serious boyfriend, later fiance, she still has hopes of making photography her lifelong passion. Her father meets a German woman whom he starts to seriously date, she has a young daughter, Ruth. Jordan isn’t sure why but she doesn’t trust this woman, Anneliese. Her 4 year old daughter. Ruth, has nightmares that can’t be explained. It is obvious that the little girl has suffered some trauma in her life.
All of these storylines are woven together wonderfully, from one character to another, from past to present until they become one, fantastic writing!
This is wonderful historical fiction with a great plot to immerse yourself in. I found the ending to be exciting, satisfying and memorable. Kate Quinn has written another winner, I would recommend this book to any fan of historical fiction!
This was a Traveling Sister read. I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
From the blurb you know that there is a team that is still hunting Nazi war criminals even after the Nuremberg trials. We are now in the late 1940’s and it’s getting harder and harder to find survivors who can identify the Nazi SS who committed the more horrendous acts.
Ian is a former British war correspondent who has teamed up with Tony a former US soldier working in a small office in Vienna trying to find information on Nazi’s who have fled and are hiding in Europe and now the US.
Nina is a former Russian fighter pilot, their regiment was called “The Night Witches” because their planes descended so silently that the Germans on the ground didn’t hear them coming until they had dropped their bombs. These women were young and fierce and did as many as 8 to 10 runs a night, in planes made of wood and fabric, with an open cockpit! Nina met Tony when she was recuperating at a hospital, but I will leave that story for you to discover. I found Nina’s story to be mesmerizing, what heroes these women were! The Soviets were the only air force that used women pilots.
Ian’s and Tony’s next target is a woman SS soldier who was known as “The Huntress”, she showed no mercy, killing hundreds of innocent people including many children. Nina will team up with Tony and Ian to find her. Both Nina and Ian have personal reasons for bringing justice to “The Huntress”, they are prepared to do whatever it takes to hunt her down. A quote from Nina “Die Jagerin (The Huntress) She kills because she likes it, and she hunts what she thinks are easy targets--children, people on the run, those who can’t fight her”.
Jordan is a young woman of about 18 living in the United States. She helps her father run an antique shop in Boston but is an avid photographer. Though she has a serious boyfriend, later fiance, she still has hopes of making photography her lifelong passion. Her father meets a German woman whom he starts to seriously date, she has a young daughter, Ruth. Jordan isn’t sure why but she doesn’t trust this woman, Anneliese. Her 4 year old daughter. Ruth, has nightmares that can’t be explained. It is obvious that the little girl has suffered some trauma in her life.
All of these storylines are woven together wonderfully, from one character to another, from past to present until they become one, fantastic writing!
This is wonderful historical fiction with a great plot to immerse yourself in. I found the ending to be exciting, satisfying and memorable. Kate Quinn has written another winner, I would recommend this book to any fan of historical fiction!
This was a Traveling Sister read. I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
July 15, 2023
2 stars. I simply couldn’t connect with this book.
This novel revolves around a Russian female bomber pilot and a British war reporter who work together as Nazi hunters. Their main goal is to track down “The Huntress” a notorious Nazi war criminal who is said to have taken on a new identity living in the USA.
I am the outlier with my feelings on this novel. I had the same disappointment happen with the author’s previous book, The Alice Network. My biggest issue was the characters - they lacked authenticity. The dialogue and demeanor of the characters didn’t have natural ease making many situations feel forced and awkward. Unfortunately, my disconnect with the characters completely overshadowed any enjoyment I may have attained from learning about this time in our history.
I read this with the Traveling Sisters and I was the only one who felt this way. I am thrilled that they all loved this one and I urge you to read the numerous raving reviews out there before deciding on this one.
I think this comes down to me simply not being the right reader for this author.
Thank you to Edelweiss, William Morrow and Kate Quinn for providing me with an ARC to read and review.
This novel revolves around a Russian female bomber pilot and a British war reporter who work together as Nazi hunters. Their main goal is to track down “The Huntress” a notorious Nazi war criminal who is said to have taken on a new identity living in the USA.
I am the outlier with my feelings on this novel. I had the same disappointment happen with the author’s previous book, The Alice Network. My biggest issue was the characters - they lacked authenticity. The dialogue and demeanor of the characters didn’t have natural ease making many situations feel forced and awkward. Unfortunately, my disconnect with the characters completely overshadowed any enjoyment I may have attained from learning about this time in our history.
I read this with the Traveling Sisters and I was the only one who felt this way. I am thrilled that they all loved this one and I urge you to read the numerous raving reviews out there before deciding on this one.
I think this comes down to me simply not being the right reader for this author.
Thank you to Edelweiss, William Morrow and Kate Quinn for providing me with an ARC to read and review.
April 12, 2019
4.5 stars rounded up!
Ian, Tony, and Nina join forces to track the Huntress. Nina was a Russian Bomber Pilot. The Huntress was a Nazi War criminal. In the aftermath of the war Hunter becomes the hunted.
Nina gambled everything to join the Night Witches, which is an all female night bomber regiment wrecking havoc on Hitler's eastern front. But when she is thrown across the path of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the huntress, Nina must use all her wits to survive.
Jordan McBride is seventeen years old and grows up in Post WWII Boston. She is determined to become a photographer. Her father brings home a fiance and Jordan thinks that she is hiding something. Jordan has to look into her past and what she finds may threaten all she holds dear. She realizes that there are mysteries buried deep.
This was a historical fiction novel and I just love this genre. I loved the descriptions of the 1940's and 1950's Era and felt like I was there. The author did a great job researching this.
I loved the author's writing style. I loved The Night Witches and the bonding of the sisters. They were bad asses. I fell in love with the characters. They were so well developed. I thought the author brought them to life. I loved the dynamics.
My favorite character was Nina. She was bold, reckless, daring and very brave. She feared nothing. I also loved the Rusalka. The huntress was a monster. She was just plain evil and a mystery. She was also a coward. I loved the revenge against her. It was just so clever. I loved Jordan too.
I just loved the ending. It was just amazing. It was gripping, nailbiting, and so suspenseful. My heart was pounding and I had to come up for air. Wow!
This one is one of my favorite historical fiction novel for this year so far.
I can't wait to read The Alice Network!
This was a Traveling Sister Read and it was a great and fun discussion.
I want to thank Netgalley, William Morrow, and Kate Quinn for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Ian, Tony, and Nina join forces to track the Huntress. Nina was a Russian Bomber Pilot. The Huntress was a Nazi War criminal. In the aftermath of the war Hunter becomes the hunted.
Nina gambled everything to join the Night Witches, which is an all female night bomber regiment wrecking havoc on Hitler's eastern front. But when she is thrown across the path of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the huntress, Nina must use all her wits to survive.
Jordan McBride is seventeen years old and grows up in Post WWII Boston. She is determined to become a photographer. Her father brings home a fiance and Jordan thinks that she is hiding something. Jordan has to look into her past and what she finds may threaten all she holds dear. She realizes that there are mysteries buried deep.
This was a historical fiction novel and I just love this genre. I loved the descriptions of the 1940's and 1950's Era and felt like I was there. The author did a great job researching this.
I loved the author's writing style. I loved The Night Witches and the bonding of the sisters. They were bad asses. I fell in love with the characters. They were so well developed. I thought the author brought them to life. I loved the dynamics.
My favorite character was Nina. She was bold, reckless, daring and very brave. She feared nothing. I also loved the Rusalka. The huntress was a monster. She was just plain evil and a mystery. She was also a coward. I loved the revenge against her. It was just so clever. I loved Jordan too.
I just loved the ending. It was just amazing. It was gripping, nailbiting, and so suspenseful. My heart was pounding and I had to come up for air. Wow!
This one is one of my favorite historical fiction novel for this year so far.
I can't wait to read The Alice Network!
This was a Traveling Sister Read and it was a great and fun discussion.
I want to thank Netgalley, William Morrow, and Kate Quinn for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 22, 2025
A journalist, a lawyer, and a Russian woman pilot are teaming up to find the ruthless, dangerous Nazi war criminal Huntress to bring back justice. This is a breathtaking, compulsive, fantastic journey with amazing and memorable characters.
My all-time favorites are Nina Markova, a curses-like sailor who flies like a bird in the air, a powerful, vivid, feverish, fearless pilot. She is a great portrait of a night witch hunter!
And Jordan, a young but so smart, talented photographer, the50’s version of Nancy Drew!
It’s a great combination of historical thriller and romance genres! I always adore books with strong, disobedient heroines!
And also the villain, Huntress, who was a great portrait of a relentless, merciless, cold-blooded child killer, Annalise, gave me so many creeps. She was depicted so real, so naturally that makes you think you’re reading a biography about a real-time war criminal.
Don’t forget the satisfying, exciting finale reminds you of old Hitchcock spy/ thriller movies!
So happy to read this book and can’t wait to read Alice Network and other books by this author.
My all-time favorites are Nina Markova, a curses-like sailor who flies like a bird in the air, a powerful, vivid, feverish, fearless pilot. She is a great portrait of a night witch hunter!
And Jordan, a young but so smart, talented photographer, the50’s version of Nancy Drew!
It’s a great combination of historical thriller and romance genres! I always adore books with strong, disobedient heroines!
And also the villain, Huntress, who was a great portrait of a relentless, merciless, cold-blooded child killer, Annalise, gave me so many creeps. She was depicted so real, so naturally that makes you think you’re reading a biography about a real-time war criminal.
Don’t forget the satisfying, exciting finale reminds you of old Hitchcock spy/ thriller movies!
So happy to read this book and can’t wait to read Alice Network and other books by this author.
September 13, 2019
Kate Quinn writes the finest in historical fiction in her well researched blend of fact and fiction, based on real life characters in this vibrant and thrilling novel set in the post-WW2 era of the 1940s and 1950s. Quinn illuminates the little known bravery, courage and fearlessness of what the Nazis referred to as The Night Witches, the all Russian female night bombers who managed to wreak devastating damage behind German lines. Nina Markova, a fiercely strong, independent, larger than life, frightened of nothing, woman gives her all to join The Night Witches and ends up downed behind German lines, encountering Lorlei Vogt, 'The Huntress', an accomplished Nazi killer of so many, including children. It is going to take all of Nina's smarts for her to survive.
British war correspondant, Ian Graham, has seen the horrors of WW2 and the Nuremberg Trials, where many countries have lost interest in pursuing Nazi war criminals. He has suffered his own losses, wants to do more than write as he takes up the mantle of becoming a Nazi hunter with his friend, former US soldier, Tony Rodomovsky. He is after the elusive The Huntress and is joined by the tough Nina as they sift through clues and evidence of her whereabouts. In Boston, the young Jordan McBride dreams of becoming a photographer, despite family opposition. When her widowed father brings home the German widow, Annelise (Anna) with her small daughter, Ruth, a traumatised child, she is glad for her father. However, Jordan is unsettled by a photograph she has taken of Anna that fuels her apprehension and distrust of her. She takes the momentous decision to look into Anna's past. Quinn weaves the interconnections between Nina and Ian who arrive in the US with that of Jordan that culminates in the most thrilling of finales.
Quinn's multilayered storytelling is atmospheric, passionate and vivid, with rich descriptions that make for truly gripping reading. Her complex characterisation is stellar, with a particular highlight with the compelling character of the unforgettable Nina, a driven and charismatic woman that holds centre stage in this wonderful novel right through to the very end. She is a fantastic example of the extraordinary women who served as The Night Witches, fully deserving of their stories to be known much more widely. This is a superb read, dealing with the repercussions of WW2 and spotlighting the horrors it comprised of. Highly recommended! Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.
British war correspondant, Ian Graham, has seen the horrors of WW2 and the Nuremberg Trials, where many countries have lost interest in pursuing Nazi war criminals. He has suffered his own losses, wants to do more than write as he takes up the mantle of becoming a Nazi hunter with his friend, former US soldier, Tony Rodomovsky. He is after the elusive The Huntress and is joined by the tough Nina as they sift through clues and evidence of her whereabouts. In Boston, the young Jordan McBride dreams of becoming a photographer, despite family opposition. When her widowed father brings home the German widow, Annelise (Anna) with her small daughter, Ruth, a traumatised child, she is glad for her father. However, Jordan is unsettled by a photograph she has taken of Anna that fuels her apprehension and distrust of her. She takes the momentous decision to look into Anna's past. Quinn weaves the interconnections between Nina and Ian who arrive in the US with that of Jordan that culminates in the most thrilling of finales.
Quinn's multilayered storytelling is atmospheric, passionate and vivid, with rich descriptions that make for truly gripping reading. Her complex characterisation is stellar, with a particular highlight with the compelling character of the unforgettable Nina, a driven and charismatic woman that holds centre stage in this wonderful novel right through to the very end. She is a fantastic example of the extraordinary women who served as The Night Witches, fully deserving of their stories to be known much more widely. This is a superb read, dealing with the repercussions of WW2 and spotlighting the horrors it comprised of. Highly recommended! Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.
February 1, 2019
I had such a hard time with this novel, kept putting it down, picking it back up, finally finished with mixed feelings.
What I liked:
All the parts that pertain to Nina, she was by far my favorite character.
Reading about the Russian women and their piloting adventures.
The amount of research that went into this book, which is detailed in the authors note.
Also appreciate said note, telling the reader was was factual and what was not.
What I had difficulties with.
The present day story, Jordan and her family. Just seemed trite after the intensity of the other chapters. Never quite bought into those parts of the story.
The length, this was much to long, longer than I wanted it to be.
Other reviewers loved this, didn't have the same reactions I had. Best always if you have an interest to read yourself and form your own opinions.
ARC from Netgalley.
What I liked:
All the parts that pertain to Nina, she was by far my favorite character.
Reading about the Russian women and their piloting adventures.
The amount of research that went into this book, which is detailed in the authors note.
Also appreciate said note, telling the reader was was factual and what was not.
What I had difficulties with.
The present day story, Jordan and her family. Just seemed trite after the intensity of the other chapters. Never quite bought into those parts of the story.
The length, this was much to long, longer than I wanted it to be.
Other reviewers loved this, didn't have the same reactions I had. Best always if you have an interest to read yourself and form your own opinions.
ARC from Netgalley.
March 23, 2021
5+++ stars
Well, I have my first serious contender to The Heart’s Invisible Furies as my book of 2019. I loved Ms. Quinn’s The Alice Network, but The Huntress is simply brilliant!
Three alternating narrators tell the story. We have Ian Graham, a troubled British war correspondent who after the war turns his mission into bringing war criminals to justice. Then there is Nina Markova, my favorite character by far. Nina is a lost soul until she fights her way into becoming a member of the Soviet all women’s night bomber regiment, nicknamed The Night Witches by the Nazis. Nina’s passion, brashness, toughness, and zeal are second to none. Our third main character is Jordan, a young American woman who is inspired to become a professional photographer as opposed to the usual routine of marrying young and having lots of babies. These character’s stories eventually merge as Nina and Ian come to America to search for The Huntress—a Nazi war criminal who performs many unthinkable acts before disappearing underground across the pond.
There are many things to love about this story. What enthralled me most was the character of Nina Markova. I thought she was brilliantly portrayed. Secondly, I seek to learn when I read historical fiction, and this book is a terrific introduction to the Soviet women aviators who were the only female flyers in the air during WWII. How brave these women were! Their courage, sense of teamwork and love for each other are inspirational.
The multiple themes of the book are wonderful: The brutality of the war, its fallout, and how our characters cope. The concept of teamwork, and how much more one can accomplish with compromise. When to go all in on goals and when to let them go. When to realize there is a better way. When to stick with a lover and when to fold. What is forgivable and what isn’t. I could go on and on.
I found much suspense in this tale, particularly in the latter part of the novel. The tension had me riveted, and I ended up totally off schedule in my real life. Oh, and in the middle of the book there is a nod to The Alice network, a nice touch for those who have read that book.
The only negative thing I can say it that for the first half of the book I had a bit of a hard time reconciling the Nina of the early 40s with the Nina of 1950, but that faded away. Not a bad enough demerit to drop my rating.
I always appreciate a good epilogue and this book has one. Plus a mini “post-epilogue epilogue” at the end. And don’t pass by the Author’s Note at the end end.
All in all, this was a glorious read for me. No historical fiction fan of World War II stories will want to miss The Huntress. I would love to see some type of sequel with these characters. I see how it could be entirely possible if the author wants to grab the baton and run with it. Are you listening Ms. Quinn?
Many thanks to the Hennepin County library and the Libby app for loaning me an e-copy of this novel.
Well, I have my first serious contender to The Heart’s Invisible Furies as my book of 2019. I loved Ms. Quinn’s The Alice Network, but The Huntress is simply brilliant!
Three alternating narrators tell the story. We have Ian Graham, a troubled British war correspondent who after the war turns his mission into bringing war criminals to justice. Then there is Nina Markova, my favorite character by far. Nina is a lost soul until she fights her way into becoming a member of the Soviet all women’s night bomber regiment, nicknamed The Night Witches by the Nazis. Nina’s passion, brashness, toughness, and zeal are second to none. Our third main character is Jordan, a young American woman who is inspired to become a professional photographer as opposed to the usual routine of marrying young and having lots of babies. These character’s stories eventually merge as Nina and Ian come to America to search for The Huntress—a Nazi war criminal who performs many unthinkable acts before disappearing underground across the pond.
There are many things to love about this story. What enthralled me most was the character of Nina Markova. I thought she was brilliantly portrayed. Secondly, I seek to learn when I read historical fiction, and this book is a terrific introduction to the Soviet women aviators who were the only female flyers in the air during WWII. How brave these women were! Their courage, sense of teamwork and love for each other are inspirational.
The multiple themes of the book are wonderful: The brutality of the war, its fallout, and how our characters cope. The concept of teamwork, and how much more one can accomplish with compromise. When to go all in on goals and when to let them go. When to realize there is a better way. When to stick with a lover and when to fold. What is forgivable and what isn’t. I could go on and on.
I found much suspense in this tale, particularly in the latter part of the novel. The tension had me riveted, and I ended up totally off schedule in my real life. Oh, and in the middle of the book there is a nod to The Alice network, a nice touch for those who have read that book.
The only negative thing I can say it that for the first half of the book I had a bit of a hard time reconciling the Nina of the early 40s with the Nina of 1950, but that faded away. Not a bad enough demerit to drop my rating.
I always appreciate a good epilogue and this book has one. Plus a mini “post-epilogue epilogue” at the end. And don’t pass by the Author’s Note at the end end.
All in all, this was a glorious read for me. No historical fiction fan of World War II stories will want to miss The Huntress. I would love to see some type of sequel with these characters. I see how it could be entirely possible if the author wants to grab the baton and run with it. Are you listening Ms. Quinn?
Many thanks to the Hennepin County library and the Libby app for loaning me an e-copy of this novel.
September 5, 2023
This was my least favorite of the books I’ve read by Quinn. It wasn’t bad, but somehow I couldn’t fully engage with it the same way I did with the others. It was very long, and I felt like it could have been shorter and I would have liked it more. It goes back and forth in time, and I enjoyed the now more than the past which I felt lacked the same suspense and therefore dragged a bit. Still an interesting story and I’m glad I’ve read it.
March 24, 2019
Kate Quinn knows how to do historical fiction. The Alice Network was one of my favorite reads of 2018. And this book matches it. Five big stars!
I want a book that explores unknown areas of history. Here, it is the Nazi hunters, those that track down the villains of WWII. In this case, the hunted was once known as The Huntress. She was the mistress of an SS officer who took her own delight in killing Jewish women and children. She’s tracked by a former newspaper correspondent and a female Russian bomber pilot who was downed behind enemy lines and survived an encounter with the Huntress, both of whom have personal reasons for going after her.
Quinn does a great job of exploring the attitude of everyone after the war, not just the losers, but Americans also, that desire to put it all behind them.
I adored Nina. She might be a bit of a cliche of what we think Russians are like, but damn she was wonderful. You always hear the phrase that someone cusses like a sailor, but Nina would have you believe the phrase should be cussing like a pilot.
And who exactly here is The Huntress? As Nina says, there are soldiers and there are hunters. At the end of the war, soldiers go home and hunters, lacking that thing that says stop, look for the next thing to hunt. “Soldiers get made. Hunters get born. You either need to track danger, or you don't.”
Quinn also totally captures a photographer’s eye so Jordan rings true. Not just the eye that gets the shot but the eye that sees the minute expression that soon passes.
Quinn raises some interesting questions here. I loved that Anneleise is not the typical psychopath.
This book had me totally engaged. Such wonderful pacing and tension. While Jordan’s story starts off the slowest, by the end, I wanted to know exactly how it was all going to come together. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
And don’t bypass the author’s note which is fascinating.
February 17, 2019
This is my first book from Kate Quinn, and it definitely will not be my last!
Nina Markova. Wait until you meet her. She is born in Soviet Russia, and she’s fearless. When World War II is looming and about to knock on her front door, she joins the Night Witches, a group of all-female bombers.
Nina is shot down behind enemy lines and crosses paths with the Huntress, a Nazi with the worst reputation for murder you can possibly imagine.
Ian Graham. He’s a British war correspondent present from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials. He leaves his life of journalism behind to hunt Nazis who have escaped persecution, and who is the most elusive on his target list? The Huntress.
Nina and Ian join up to find the Huntress.
Jordan McBride. A seventeen-year-old living in post WWII Boston. She’s drawn to photography even though everyone in her family discourages her. Her mother passed away years ago, and when her father brings home a fiancée, Jordan finds the German woman unsettling and secretive. Jordan uses her camera to find out where her new stepmother comes from and what secrets she may be hiding from her past.
Overall, I found The Huntress to be original and heart pounding. Of all the WWII stories I’ve read, I had not heard of the Huntress. I also was fascinated with the Night Witches’ work, and I adored all the characters. This book has something for everyone with its engaging mystery, touch of romance, and riveting plot. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure of reading this novel.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
Nina Markova. Wait until you meet her. She is born in Soviet Russia, and she’s fearless. When World War II is looming and about to knock on her front door, she joins the Night Witches, a group of all-female bombers.
Nina is shot down behind enemy lines and crosses paths with the Huntress, a Nazi with the worst reputation for murder you can possibly imagine.
Ian Graham. He’s a British war correspondent present from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials. He leaves his life of journalism behind to hunt Nazis who have escaped persecution, and who is the most elusive on his target list? The Huntress.
Nina and Ian join up to find the Huntress.
Jordan McBride. A seventeen-year-old living in post WWII Boston. She’s drawn to photography even though everyone in her family discourages her. Her mother passed away years ago, and when her father brings home a fiancée, Jordan finds the German woman unsettling and secretive. Jordan uses her camera to find out where her new stepmother comes from and what secrets she may be hiding from her past.
Overall, I found The Huntress to be original and heart pounding. Of all the WWII stories I’ve read, I had not heard of the Huntress. I also was fascinated with the Night Witches’ work, and I adored all the characters. This book has something for everyone with its engaging mystery, touch of romance, and riveting plot. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure of reading this novel.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
January 18, 2019
This was my first novel by this author and I can see why she is a popular author. The research she did is evident and she included a very detailed account of the "Night Witches", an all female group of pilots who flew for Russia.
The bomber pilot is Nina Markova , she teams up with Ian who is a journalist who is out to catch a Nazi war criminal, known as "the Huntess". He has personal reasons for wanting to bring her to justice.
Jordan is a seventeen year old living in Boston, who gets entangled in the efforts of the Nazi hunters. She has suspicions of her father's German fiancée and when she captures an image on her camera, it "haunts" her and gives her a feeling of uneasiness. Things do escalate as Jordan digs for the truth.
I enjoyed Jordan's chapters the most and felt Nina's were almost too detailed to hold my attention and the book is a longer read. The suspense was spiked as the team closed in on the hunted.
Thanks so much to the publisher and EW for a review copy. Book comes out in Feb. 2019
The bomber pilot is Nina Markova , she teams up with Ian who is a journalist who is out to catch a Nazi war criminal, known as "the Huntess". He has personal reasons for wanting to bring her to justice.
Jordan is a seventeen year old living in Boston, who gets entangled in the efforts of the Nazi hunters. She has suspicions of her father's German fiancée and when she captures an image on her camera, it "haunts" her and gives her a feeling of uneasiness. Things do escalate as Jordan digs for the truth.
I enjoyed Jordan's chapters the most and felt Nina's were almost too detailed to hold my attention and the book is a longer read. The suspense was spiked as the team closed in on the hunted.
Thanks so much to the publisher and EW for a review copy. Book comes out in Feb. 2019
July 14, 2021
Although this book seemed to have a slow start, I believe it was to build a strong character base, because by Part 2 (about a third of the way into the story), the plot begins to pick up.
I always read the Author's Note (both before and after reading the book) and was pleasantly surprised at how several of the characters and plot twists were based on real-life people and actual historical events! I found it especially appealing that the author used various folkloric female witches (Lorelei/Rusalka/Selkie/Baba Yaga/Nachthexen) to tie the characters to the overall plot.
One of the reasons I enjoy historical fiction is because I often learn something new, and Kate Quinn didn't fail to deliver when it came to her research regarding the Night Witches of the Soviet Union during WWII.
Overall, a fascinating book that I recommend to lovers of this genre!
I always read the Author's Note (both before and after reading the book) and was pleasantly surprised at how several of the characters and plot twists were based on real-life people and actual historical events! I found it especially appealing that the author used various folkloric female witches (Lorelei/Rusalka/Selkie/Baba Yaga/Nachthexen) to tie the characters to the overall plot.
One of the reasons I enjoy historical fiction is because I often learn something new, and Kate Quinn didn't fail to deliver when it came to her research regarding the Night Witches of the Soviet Union during WWII.
Overall, a fascinating book that I recommend to lovers of this genre!
April 24, 2021
The Huntress was definitely an improvement from The Alice Network but it sadly did not impress me even though I liked the general idea of it.
I won’t rewrite the plot since many are already familiar with it and simply summarize my thoughts on it:
- Yet again in this book, there was a character I didn’t care about at all: Nina. The history part of the Night Witches interested me a lot more than the character herself. Sadly, because of this, I didn’t like her chapters and couldn’t connect with her. Which made me lost interest in the historic part because no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t care less.
- The part that interested me the most was the “hunt” of the Huntress. Her identity was never a secret and even though it wasn’t explicitly stated who is she, it’s very easy to know (part of the plot).
- The romance between Nina and Ian wasn’t necessary to me.
- The audiobook was around 20 hours I believe yet it didn’t feel that long like I was worried. While the narration wasn’t memorable, if you’re thinking of listening to the audio, it’s good enough.
- The characters didn’t feel very natural to me except Tony, I liked him.
It was still an interesting story to listen to even if I didn’t love it. This book however made me realize that I need a break from WWII stories because I’ve listened to several recently and I’m just not feeling it anymore. I did like that this was set mostly after the war, however. I won’t be reading the Rose Code soon, maybe someday but not just yet. I will however check Quin’s book set in Italy sometime this year
I won’t rewrite the plot since many are already familiar with it and simply summarize my thoughts on it:
- Yet again in this book, there was a character I didn’t care about at all: Nina. The history part of the Night Witches interested me a lot more than the character herself. Sadly, because of this, I didn’t like her chapters and couldn’t connect with her. Which made me lost interest in the historic part because no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t care less.
- The part that interested me the most was the “hunt” of the Huntress. Her identity was never a secret and even though it wasn’t explicitly stated who is she, it’s very easy to know (part of the plot).
- The romance between Nina and Ian wasn’t necessary to me.
- The audiobook was around 20 hours I believe yet it didn’t feel that long like I was worried. While the narration wasn’t memorable, if you’re thinking of listening to the audio, it’s good enough.
- The characters didn’t feel very natural to me except Tony, I liked him.
It was still an interesting story to listen to even if I didn’t love it. This book however made me realize that I need a break from WWII stories because I’ve listened to several recently and I’m just not feeling it anymore. I did like that this was set mostly after the war, however. I won’t be reading the Rose Code soon, maybe someday but not just yet. I will however check Quin’s book set in Italy sometime this year
February 26, 2019
A trio of Nazi hunters, a lethal Nazi murder, a Russian bomber pilot and a gentle and quiet family where something just doesn’t seem right.
The Huntress is a suspenseful, exciting, compelling vividly written story that explores justice with a hint of romance to warm your heart. The hunter becomes the hunted in this.
Kate Quinn does a fantastic job here weaving three storylines together and throughout the story, my favorite changed as I read each one. A trio of Nazi hunters are on a search to capture the ruthless Nazi murderer who committed unspeakable war crimes. The hunter becomes the hunted. Each hunter has their reasons and is obsessed with finding The Huntress and each have their different ways of getting their revenge.
Kate Quinn does such a great job creating some interesting and exciting characters with some of them based on real people. She vividly captures the spirit of the team of Russian bombers called the Night Witches and brings them alive for us. My favorite character became bomber Nina Markova and I couldn’t get enough of her character. She is smart, bold, dangerously courageous and ferocious making her terrifying at times in her own way.
A bit high on drama and it does take on a bit of a climatic feel to it and is a bit longer than it needs to be. This did affect the way Lindsay felt about the story and it was hard for her to connect to the characters. This affected her enjoyment of the story.
The ending comes together so well. It’s a vivid tense climatic showdown that took my breath away. I was reading it so fast I had to slow myself down to take it all in. I highly recommend.
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada, William Morrow Books for my copy to read and review
For more thoughts from the Traveling Sisters
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/2...
The Huntress is a suspenseful, exciting, compelling vividly written story that explores justice with a hint of romance to warm your heart. The hunter becomes the hunted in this.
Kate Quinn does a fantastic job here weaving three storylines together and throughout the story, my favorite changed as I read each one. A trio of Nazi hunters are on a search to capture the ruthless Nazi murderer who committed unspeakable war crimes. The hunter becomes the hunted. Each hunter has their reasons and is obsessed with finding The Huntress and each have their different ways of getting their revenge.
Kate Quinn does such a great job creating some interesting and exciting characters with some of them based on real people. She vividly captures the spirit of the team of Russian bombers called the Night Witches and brings them alive for us. My favorite character became bomber Nina Markova and I couldn’t get enough of her character. She is smart, bold, dangerously courageous and ferocious making her terrifying at times in her own way.
A bit high on drama and it does take on a bit of a climatic feel to it and is a bit longer than it needs to be. This did affect the way Lindsay felt about the story and it was hard for her to connect to the characters. This affected her enjoyment of the story.
The ending comes together so well. It’s a vivid tense climatic showdown that took my breath away. I was reading it so fast I had to slow myself down to take it all in. I highly recommend.
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada, William Morrow Books for my copy to read and review
For more thoughts from the Traveling Sisters
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/2...
January 10, 2019
The most engrossing portion of this novel centers on Nina who is one of the Soviet Night Witches during WWII. The Night Witches is a moniker for the 588th Night Bomber Regiment consisting of all female members. Since their planes only held two bombs, these night flyers flew more than eight missions per night to harass and precision bomb the German military. Riveting stuff. Nina has a potentially deadly encounter with “The Huntress” and eventually winds up pursuing her with dedicated Nazi Hunters. Nazi hunting proves to be a tedious endeavor with a great deal of painstaking cross referencing lists and working against governments and countries no longer interested in pursuing free Nazis post Nuremberg. The Huntress has committed an atrocity but her reasons are never clear other than that “she likes it.” So, I was left thinking about her motivation. Is she an average German committing the incomprehensible out of Nazi Party zeal or is it simply that her murderous nature is given free reign due to the Nazis being in power? Either way what she does is beyond monstrous.
August 21, 2018
Warning: before you start this book, you need to clear your calendar and turn your phone off. You will not want to be interrupted until you get to the end. This book has it all - fantastic characters that you care about, a plot that will keep the tension high, some laughter and even more tears.
This book takes place in the early 1950s with some flashbacks to WWII. The war is over but everyone knows that there are still former Nazis hiding all over the world. Ian, a British war reporter and his friend Tony are tracking down Nazis and have a special interest in The Huntress, the lover of an SS officer, she shot several young children for fun near the end of the war. They are helped by Nina who can identify the Huntress due to a run in with her. Nina's story is so exciting - she was a member of the Soviet Night Witches - an all female group of night bombers who bombed Hitler's armies on the Eastern front. The third main character is Jordan who lives in Boston with her father and wants to be a famous photographer. She is thrilled when her widowed father meets and marries a German woman but can't help but think she is hiding something. Ian, Nina and Jordan are all from totally different worlds but their stories collide as they all try to find the woman who affected their lives so strongly. I loved the way all of their stories were brought together at the end of the novel.
This is a fantastic novel with characters I won't soon forget. Nina is armed with a straight razor, Ian with his words and Jordan with her camera as they attempt to find the Huntress and bring her to justice. You'll be cheering them on as attempt to bring this evil woman to be punished for her crimes.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
This book takes place in the early 1950s with some flashbacks to WWII. The war is over but everyone knows that there are still former Nazis hiding all over the world. Ian, a British war reporter and his friend Tony are tracking down Nazis and have a special interest in The Huntress, the lover of an SS officer, she shot several young children for fun near the end of the war. They are helped by Nina who can identify the Huntress due to a run in with her. Nina's story is so exciting - she was a member of the Soviet Night Witches - an all female group of night bombers who bombed Hitler's armies on the Eastern front. The third main character is Jordan who lives in Boston with her father and wants to be a famous photographer. She is thrilled when her widowed father meets and marries a German woman but can't help but think she is hiding something. Ian, Nina and Jordan are all from totally different worlds but their stories collide as they all try to find the woman who affected their lives so strongly. I loved the way all of their stories were brought together at the end of the novel.
This is a fantastic novel with characters I won't soon forget. Nina is armed with a straight razor, Ian with his words and Jordan with her camera as they attempt to find the Huntress and bring her to justice. You'll be cheering them on as attempt to bring this evil woman to be punished for her crimes.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
December 8, 2019
What attracted me to this book were the two areas the author explored, that of the men and women who devoted their lives to hunting down war criminals, commonly called Nazi Hunters, and the Russian female fighter and bomber pilots nicknamed by the Germans, ‘Night Witches.’ As a fan of historical fiction, there’s so much to be mined and in this one I was once again panning for gold, but ended up with dust bunnies instead.
There’s a certain predictability to the storyline as we are introduced to the titular character very early on and there is no question who she is as the story unfolds, there is only plodding through many pages to see how and when she gets her comeuppance. Then there are the stock characters, only Nina the Russian aviatrix was a fully fleshed out person, and the dialogue felt clichéd when it wasn’t a bit dull. As for the exposition, excuse me, Miss Quinn, but your research is showing.
Despite the alluring title and promise of adventures within, when an author’s notes are significantly more interesting than the story they evoked in the previous 500+ pages, I’ve come to suspect that the author became rather enamored of the research and felt that it all needed to be captured. Mastery of the subject does not always translate to great storytelling, especially when the narrative doesn’t bring the subjects to life.
This is a book I never looked forward to reading, one in which I interspersed two other books which I enjoyed vastly more than this and one that left me hungry to learn more about those that hunted Nazis after the war. The search continues.
There’s a certain predictability to the storyline as we are introduced to the titular character very early on and there is no question who she is as the story unfolds, there is only plodding through many pages to see how and when she gets her comeuppance. Then there are the stock characters, only Nina the Russian aviatrix was a fully fleshed out person, and the dialogue felt clichéd when it wasn’t a bit dull. As for the exposition, excuse me, Miss Quinn, but your research is showing.
Despite the alluring title and promise of adventures within, when an author’s notes are significantly more interesting than the story they evoked in the previous 500+ pages, I’ve come to suspect that the author became rather enamored of the research and felt that it all needed to be captured. Mastery of the subject does not always translate to great storytelling, especially when the narrative doesn’t bring the subjects to life.
This is a book I never looked forward to reading, one in which I interspersed two other books which I enjoyed vastly more than this and one that left me hungry to learn more about those that hunted Nazis after the war. The search continues.
March 16, 2019
OH MY GOD YES! 5 STARS! A perfect blend of historical fiction and crime solving.
Synopsis: Ian Graham used to be a British war correspondent. But after 15 years of writing, he needed to “do” rather than tell; so he started an independent business hunting Nazi leaders and bringing them to justice. His most elusive target remains. She’s known as the Huntress. And he has a personal vendetta against her.
Then you have Nina who, unfortunately, witnessed the Huntress’ lethal crimes. She barely survived as a prisoner of war and now joins forces with Ian to locate their target.
And lastly, there's Jordan, a 17-year-old Bostonian. Her dad has been widowed for years and has finally found love again. But something is off about her dad’s new love interest. As their relationship turns toward marriage, Jordan starts to dig into her future stepmom’s past. What she finds could shatter everything.
Review: HOLY CRAP! This was brilliant. Kate Quinn was masterful in weaving three distinct perspectives into one plot. Everything written was necessary. I found that I craved the backstories of Nina, Ian, and Jordan. It helped tremendously in building their individual pursuits. I don't think this plotline would have been successful otherwise.
They all had one objective - justice. Jordan's tethered on the need to know the truth, while Ian and Nina wanted to avenge Seb.
I immediately connected to Jordan's subplot. Her story is very coming of age - defining her path in life outside of just being a bride. I loved it. I loved her tenacity and curiosity. She set the "detective" air in motion from the get-go.
But I found myself rooting for Nina most. Her tough, reckless exterior is so apparent that when you see glimmers of raw emotion escape her, you truly have a visceral reaction. She was magic.
Ian is the backbone. He was the glue that brought everyone together and kept the story emotionally engaging. His pain is real and his need for community is pure.
Tony is a terrific supporting character. I adored him. He was a breath of fresh air when all the tensions were high. The dynamic would be so different if he wasn't a part of this.
God, the ending! It was so suspenseful, noble, unrushed, and real. The tie in with the Rusalka was fantastic. Again, Nina was the star!
PLEASE GO READ THIS. It's utterly worth it! My review is sparse because I don't want to spoil anything!!
PS. Please tell me that there are some of you begging for a sequel?!
Synopsis: Ian Graham used to be a British war correspondent. But after 15 years of writing, he needed to “do” rather than tell; so he started an independent business hunting Nazi leaders and bringing them to justice. His most elusive target remains. She’s known as the Huntress. And he has a personal vendetta against her.
Then you have Nina who, unfortunately, witnessed the Huntress’ lethal crimes. She barely survived as a prisoner of war and now joins forces with Ian to locate their target.
And lastly, there's Jordan, a 17-year-old Bostonian. Her dad has been widowed for years and has finally found love again. But something is off about her dad’s new love interest. As their relationship turns toward marriage, Jordan starts to dig into her future stepmom’s past. What she finds could shatter everything.
Review: HOLY CRAP! This was brilliant. Kate Quinn was masterful in weaving three distinct perspectives into one plot. Everything written was necessary. I found that I craved the backstories of Nina, Ian, and Jordan. It helped tremendously in building their individual pursuits. I don't think this plotline would have been successful otherwise.
They all had one objective - justice. Jordan's tethered on the need to know the truth, while Ian and Nina wanted to avenge Seb.
I immediately connected to Jordan's subplot. Her story is very coming of age - defining her path in life outside of just being a bride. I loved it. I loved her tenacity and curiosity. She set the "detective" air in motion from the get-go.
But I found myself rooting for Nina most. Her tough, reckless exterior is so apparent that when you see glimmers of raw emotion escape her, you truly have a visceral reaction. She was magic.
Ian is the backbone. He was the glue that brought everyone together and kept the story emotionally engaging. His pain is real and his need for community is pure.
Tony is a terrific supporting character. I adored him. He was a breath of fresh air when all the tensions were high. The dynamic would be so different if he wasn't a part of this.
God, the ending! It was so suspenseful, noble, unrushed, and real. The tie in with the Rusalka was fantastic. Again, Nina was the star!
PLEASE GO READ THIS. It's utterly worth it! My review is sparse because I don't want to spoil anything!!
PS. Please tell me that there are some of you begging for a sequel?!
October 16, 2019
Is it ethical to kill a killer? Does survival trump morals? Is there a difference between justice and consequence?
My interest was compelled during the beginning. The first hundred pages or so are great. The mystery is built up colorfully, but then begins to drift about halfway in. The style became routine and tiresome. I did not find myself aching to finish this story since the plot had hit a stalemate. But, I did…after taking breaks.
The chapters alternate between Nina, Jordan, and Ian. Nina’s chapters are lengthy and require a lot of patience. Jordan and Ian’s chapters are more enjoyable.
The story revolves around finding a Nazi murderess. Over 95% of this novel is about after the war. It does not focus on the events in Germany, it’s occupied regions, or the crimes that were committed against the Jews and other sub-populations during the war; rather, it centers around the crimes of one female Nazi and the relationships of those who are looking for her. Because of this, the story lost it’s spice and the ending becomes predictable early on.
Great start, high hopes, but let down.
(Please be aware--There is a lot of of sex and adult language in this book.)
My interest was compelled during the beginning. The first hundred pages or so are great. The mystery is built up colorfully, but then begins to drift about halfway in. The style became routine and tiresome. I did not find myself aching to finish this story since the plot had hit a stalemate. But, I did…after taking breaks.
The chapters alternate between Nina, Jordan, and Ian. Nina’s chapters are lengthy and require a lot of patience. Jordan and Ian’s chapters are more enjoyable.
The story revolves around finding a Nazi murderess. Over 95% of this novel is about after the war. It does not focus on the events in Germany, it’s occupied regions, or the crimes that were committed against the Jews and other sub-populations during the war; rather, it centers around the crimes of one female Nazi and the relationships of those who are looking for her. Because of this, the story lost it’s spice and the ending becomes predictable early on.
Great start, high hopes, but let down.
(Please be aware--There is a lot of of sex and adult language in this book.)
September 10, 2019
It took me 3 weeks to finish this book. Not much to say except it was way too long for my tastes. Could have cut out 200 pages in my opinion.
April 1, 2019
Such a disappointment! A monumental amount of padding and extraneous details that did nothing except drag the story out to the point of mind-numbing boredom. It just goes on and on and on!
The novel has a great idea and reveals a lot about wartime and post-war history. Far too many Nazi criminals escaped justice because they were small-fry or the authorities turned a blind eye or they got lucky and escape before anyone caught up to them. With the 100-year anniversary of WW2 just 20 years away now, the survivors are getting fewer and fewer and far too many people today have no idea of the sheer level of devastation and suffering these monsters created.
Lorelei Vogt is a fanatical Nazi and murderess who has killed numerous times, including a 21-year old downed British pilot and a group of Jewish refugee children. The pilot’s brother Ian Graham, his American friend Tony Rodomovsky and former Soviet pilot Nina Markova have banded together to chase her down. Meanwhile Jordan McBride is living in Boston MA when her widowed father brings home German war widow Annaliese.
The story is told from three viewpoints: Jordan, Nina and Ian. Unfortunately, the only interesting one of these is Nina. Following her from growing up in abject poverty on the shores of Lake Baikal through becoming one of the legendary Night Witches (a Soviet all-female bomber regiment) to getting shot down and nearly dying at the hands of The Huntress, she is the most three-dimensional character in the book. Ian is written so stiff upper-lipped he’s almost a cartoon version of the stalwart English middle-class gentleman, while Tony Rodomovsky is a totally blank slate and Jordan is barely more than stereotypical American teenager of the late 1940s.
The novel also cries out for an editor who had the nerve to cut a lot of the text! Ms Quinn has clearly done her research and the historical details of the Night Witches are fascinating, but the rest of the novel is too drawn-out and clichéd. Critics have praised the novel for being wonderfully suspenseful but I found myself repeatedly skipping thro sections just to avoid the tedium.
The only person who doesn’t get a backstory is The Huntress herself. For most of the novel we know absolutely nothing about her! Not her upbringing, how she became mistress to a war criminal, how she ended up in Poland luring Jewish refugees to their deaths nor how she managed to escape. All we hear are her nauseating excuses for feeding and then slaughtering one innocent after another. Whilst knowing the intimate details of a sociopath’s life isn’t particularly pleasant, having some kind of information as to how Lorelei becomes what she is might have added insight into how so many women in Nazi Germany became willing accomplices and participants in atrocities.
I haven’t read anything else by Ms Quinn and based on this effort I won’t bother because altho I love historical fiction, this was a poor and turgid effort.
The novel has a great idea and reveals a lot about wartime and post-war history. Far too many Nazi criminals escaped justice because they were small-fry or the authorities turned a blind eye or they got lucky and escape before anyone caught up to them. With the 100-year anniversary of WW2 just 20 years away now, the survivors are getting fewer and fewer and far too many people today have no idea of the sheer level of devastation and suffering these monsters created.
Lorelei Vogt is a fanatical Nazi and murderess who has killed numerous times, including a 21-year old downed British pilot and a group of Jewish refugee children. The pilot’s brother Ian Graham, his American friend Tony Rodomovsky and former Soviet pilot Nina Markova have banded together to chase her down. Meanwhile Jordan McBride is living in Boston MA when her widowed father brings home German war widow Annaliese.
The story is told from three viewpoints: Jordan, Nina and Ian. Unfortunately, the only interesting one of these is Nina. Following her from growing up in abject poverty on the shores of Lake Baikal through becoming one of the legendary Night Witches (a Soviet all-female bomber regiment) to getting shot down and nearly dying at the hands of The Huntress, she is the most three-dimensional character in the book. Ian is written so stiff upper-lipped he’s almost a cartoon version of the stalwart English middle-class gentleman, while Tony Rodomovsky is a totally blank slate and Jordan is barely more than stereotypical American teenager of the late 1940s.
The novel also cries out for an editor who had the nerve to cut a lot of the text! Ms Quinn has clearly done her research and the historical details of the Night Witches are fascinating, but the rest of the novel is too drawn-out and clichéd. Critics have praised the novel for being wonderfully suspenseful but I found myself repeatedly skipping thro sections just to avoid the tedium.
The only person who doesn’t get a backstory is The Huntress herself. For most of the novel we know absolutely nothing about her! Not her upbringing, how she became mistress to a war criminal, how she ended up in Poland luring Jewish refugees to their deaths nor how she managed to escape. All we hear are her nauseating excuses for feeding and then slaughtering one innocent after another. Whilst knowing the intimate details of a sociopath’s life isn’t particularly pleasant, having some kind of information as to how Lorelei becomes what she is might have added insight into how so many women in Nazi Germany became willing accomplices and participants in atrocities.
I haven’t read anything else by Ms Quinn and based on this effort I won’t bother because altho I love historical fiction, this was a poor and turgid effort.
March 20, 2023
This was a nailbiter! I fell in love with Kate Quinn’s writing back with “The Alice Network” and was so eager to read this one. Told in dual timelines, we are treated to the perspectives of Nina, one of the Night Witches, a group of elite Soviet air force pilots—I actually had no idea women got to fly during WW2, Jordan, a teenage girl living in the US who loves photography and has concerns when her father remarries to a German woman who doesn’t seem to be entirely trustworthy, and Ian and Tony, who track down war criminals.
It’s a game of cat and mouse as we see Nina, Ian and Tony try to track down “The Huntress” in the years after the war. Nina is the only person who can recognize her on sight, and her crimes are brutal. You have a sense even from the first pages of who the players are and what will eventually happen, and still the fun is in watching the tension build, seeing the clues unfold, as well as the relationships in this work of historical fiction. Loved the way this worked in historical detail and period accuracy while keeping the plot moving and not letting things get bogged down. And, ack, that ending!!!
It’s a game of cat and mouse as we see Nina, Ian and Tony try to track down “The Huntress” in the years after the war. Nina is the only person who can recognize her on sight, and her crimes are brutal. You have a sense even from the first pages of who the players are and what will eventually happen, and still the fun is in watching the tension build, seeing the clues unfold, as well as the relationships in this work of historical fiction. Loved the way this worked in historical detail and period accuracy while keeping the plot moving and not letting things get bogged down. And, ack, that ending!!!
October 22, 2018
I had the distinct pleasure of reading an early copy for a cover quote and I was taken in from page one hook, line and sinker. Expertly researched, perfectly constructed, this is a riveting dual-time periods read. Kate Quinn excels in transporting the reader back in time, without so much as a bump or wrinkle or awkward yank. She's one of the reasons why so many people love historical fiction. If you loved THE ALICE NETWORK, you'll want to grab this one when it hits bookstore shelves.
March 15, 2019
I love Kate Quinn’s masterful pacing in ‘The Huntress.’ A suspenseful page-turner seeped in the accounts of Nazi hunters and Russia’s Forty-Sixth Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (The Night Witches), this novel is a historical fiction lover’s dream. Quinn very skillfully lands hooks at chapter ends that draw me forward, wanting to know more. She uses third person narrative voice to switch between three main characters, stitching her stories and timelines together seamlessly. Nina Borisovna Markova, the Russian girl who grows up on the banks of Lake Baikal in Siberia is my favorite character, but not by much. I am almost equally invested in Jordan McBride, the Boston girl whose father owns and runs McBride’s Antiques. Jordan sees the world through the eyes of a Leica camera and has dreams of creating award-winning photography like her two heroines, Margaret Bourke-White, and Gerda Taro, a fearless photographer who died on the frontlines of the Spanish Civil War. Our third POV character is Ian Graham, an Englishman, who, disillusioned with his father’s world of drinking and complaining, becomes a journalist at age nineteen. After the Nuremberg Trials, Ian throws down his pen, “I’m done writing instead of doing,” and starts chasing Nazi war criminals.
Quinn keeps secondary character Ian Graham’s sleuthing partner, Anton Rodomovsky ‘Tony’ on the sidelines, heartily present, but languishing a little, telling me just enough to make me want to know more about him. Don’t let this fellow waste away, I think. Then, voilà, she pushes him out into a starring role. As a reader, I felt incredibly smart, because I knew this guy was capable of more. I knew that he had star-like qualities. Now the author is polishing him up. See how he shines!
Quinn introduces Nina in chapter three with jaw-dropping prose that is so elegant it’s almost poetic. For me, it is the best prose in the book and most likely sets Nina up to become my favorite character. She’s tough, mad, and close to invincible. The rest of Quinn’s prose is not disappointing but is more straightforward. Dialogue is credible, peppered with Russian and German slang, and suits the characters. Ian’s ‘Bloody hells’ are so well timed that I’m grinning many pages later. For me, the relationships she creates are spot on, for example, the friendships between the women of the Russian bombers. They got little sleep and would take turns spelling each other for a nap. Making many flights each night, the pilots and navigators depended on each other for their lives. Often, they would see a sister plane shot down in front of them or behind them. It was a sisterhood that gave Nina the sense of family she’d never had.
Many Nazi war criminals hoped to disappear into normal life after the war. They would live beside unsuspecting neighbors and have friends and family who had no idea of the horrors they had perpetrated during the war. This story is about one such criminal and the people whose lives she touched. There is a very deep sadness about it because these people were often loved and loved others. With these complex and multifaceted characters, Quinn reveals how it could have happened, and in the words of fictional character Ian Graham, “Let us not forget this time. Let us remember.”
Quinn keeps secondary character Ian Graham’s sleuthing partner, Anton Rodomovsky ‘Tony’ on the sidelines, heartily present, but languishing a little, telling me just enough to make me want to know more about him. Don’t let this fellow waste away, I think. Then, voilà, she pushes him out into a starring role. As a reader, I felt incredibly smart, because I knew this guy was capable of more. I knew that he had star-like qualities. Now the author is polishing him up. See how he shines!
Quinn introduces Nina in chapter three with jaw-dropping prose that is so elegant it’s almost poetic. For me, it is the best prose in the book and most likely sets Nina up to become my favorite character. She’s tough, mad, and close to invincible. The rest of Quinn’s prose is not disappointing but is more straightforward. Dialogue is credible, peppered with Russian and German slang, and suits the characters. Ian’s ‘Bloody hells’ are so well timed that I’m grinning many pages later. For me, the relationships she creates are spot on, for example, the friendships between the women of the Russian bombers. They got little sleep and would take turns spelling each other for a nap. Making many flights each night, the pilots and navigators depended on each other for their lives. Often, they would see a sister plane shot down in front of them or behind them. It was a sisterhood that gave Nina the sense of family she’d never had.
Many Nazi war criminals hoped to disappear into normal life after the war. They would live beside unsuspecting neighbors and have friends and family who had no idea of the horrors they had perpetrated during the war. This story is about one such criminal and the people whose lives she touched. There is a very deep sadness about it because these people were often loved and loved others. With these complex and multifaceted characters, Quinn reveals how it could have happened, and in the words of fictional character Ian Graham, “Let us not forget this time. Let us remember.”
November 28, 2022
“That nighttime slaughter of six at the height of the war was only one of her crimes. There were others … they called her die Jägerin”
THE HUNTRESS is a story of a hunt for a Nazi war criminal based on the 1973 acknowledgement by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service to Congress that there were fifty-three known Nazi war criminals living in the USA at that time. The seed that germinated and became THE HUNTRESS in Kate Quinn’s imagination was a composite of one Hermine Braunsteiner,
“a brutal female camp guard at Ravensbrück and Majdanek, in Europe, then married an American and became a US citizen living in Queens, New York”
and Erna Petri,
“an SS officer’s wife who during the war found six escaped Jewish children near her home in Ukraine, brought them home to feed them a meal, then shot them.”
The plot, such as it is, is quite straightforward– the history of the development of a Nazi war criminal, those who would hunt for her, and the ultimate resolution of their lives in the capture of that target, die Jägerin – the Huntress. THE HUNTRESS is not a short novel and its thematic coverage is extensive – feminism and the use of women in combat roles in war (and the flip side of that coin – misogyny); the treatment of prisoners of war; life under Joseph Stalin in Marxist Russia during World War II; bisexual love in the mid-20th century; photo-journalism; the techniques and ethics of finding, arresting (and extraditing?) Nazi war criminals; gifted children; and more.
Kate Quinn has done an extraordinary job crafting an evocative, moving, and totally gripping novel with a tightly constrained list of characters that are lovingly, intricately, and credibly developed to an astonishing degree. This strength, surprisingly, is also its sole weakness.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, THE HUNTRESS deserves a place on your reading list and some shelf space in your library. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
THE HUNTRESS is a story of a hunt for a Nazi war criminal based on the 1973 acknowledgement by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service to Congress that there were fifty-three known Nazi war criminals living in the USA at that time. The seed that germinated and became THE HUNTRESS in Kate Quinn’s imagination was a composite of one Hermine Braunsteiner,
“a brutal female camp guard at Ravensbrück and Majdanek, in Europe, then married an American and became a US citizen living in Queens, New York”
and Erna Petri,
“an SS officer’s wife who during the war found six escaped Jewish children near her home in Ukraine, brought them home to feed them a meal, then shot them.”
The plot, such as it is, is quite straightforward– the history of the development of a Nazi war criminal, those who would hunt for her, and the ultimate resolution of their lives in the capture of that target, die Jägerin – the Huntress. THE HUNTRESS is not a short novel and its thematic coverage is extensive – feminism and the use of women in combat roles in war (and the flip side of that coin – misogyny); the treatment of prisoners of war; life under Joseph Stalin in Marxist Russia during World War II; bisexual love in the mid-20th century; photo-journalism; the techniques and ethics of finding, arresting (and extraditing?) Nazi war criminals; gifted children; and more.
Kate Quinn has done an extraordinary job crafting an evocative, moving, and totally gripping novel with a tightly constrained list of characters that are lovingly, intricately, and credibly developed to an astonishing degree. This strength, surprisingly, is also its sole weakness.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, THE HUNTRESS deserves a place on your reading list and some shelf space in your library. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
March 6, 2020
Ignoring the fact that the character represented by the title was perhaps the least developed character in the book, I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Huntress in question is not someone whose motivations or personality we ever really get to know on a deeper level, which was a little bit disappointing. But this book had three narrators/storylines and I don't know which one I liked best - Jordan the aspiring teenage photographer, Ian the journalist turned Nazi hunter, or Nina the fighter pilot/navigator. Probably Nina - she was so rough around the edges and had the most interesting backstory by far. I would happily read a book just about Nina alone.
This book reminded me a bit of Once We Were Brothers, another historical fiction/mystery/thriller type book set partially in WWII that I also really liked.
I would recommend the audiobook for this one as the narrator does a good job of distinguishing between all the different accents represented by the various characters (well, to my American ears anyways).
P.S. One small qualm I feel the need to point out, but is a bit of a spoiler:
This book reminded me a bit of Once We Were Brothers, another historical fiction/mystery/thriller type book set partially in WWII that I also really liked.
I would recommend the audiobook for this one as the narrator does a good job of distinguishing between all the different accents represented by the various characters (well, to my American ears anyways).
P.S. One small qualm I feel the need to point out, but is a bit of a spoiler:
January 20, 2019
I was lucky enough to get an early read of The Huntress, which is sure to be one of the biggest books of 2019. In it, Quinn weaves together the stories of a British Nazi hunter, a Russian female war pilot and a 17 year old American girl who quickly realizes her stepmother isn't who she claims to be, in a hunt for one of the most ruthless women of Nazi Germany. Original and suspenseful, the Huntress is, dare I say it, even better than Quinn's epic hit, The Alice Network, so race to get it when it comes out in late February!
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