Review: The Huntress

Title: The Huntress
Author: Kate Quinn
Genre: Historical fiction
Page Count: 560
Published by: William Morrow & Company
Date Released: February 26, 2019
You can find it here: Bookshop.org

Synopsis

Nina Markova, who has survived growing up on the farthest reaches of the inhospitable, frozen edges of Soviet Russia, longs to fly. Full of gumption and fire, she runs away and does whatever it takes to be accepted into flight training, eventually joining the elite band of Night Witches who flew copious nightly bombing raids on the Germans during WWII.

War correspondent Ian Graham has dedicated his post-war life to hunting down Nazis and seeing them brought to justice for their war crimes. But one particular criminal keeps slipping his grasp, the infamous die Jagerin – the Huntress – who’s responsible for killing six children and his brother at her cabin on the cold Lake Rusalka during the war.

Young Bostonian, Jordan McBride longs to attend University, see the world; become a photographer. But women in 1946 are expected to marry their high school sweethearts and take over their parent’s businesses, not travel the world as a photojournalist. When Jordan’s dad remarries the newly immigrated German widow Anna, Jordan is convinced something is off about this stranger cloaked in mystery and shadows. Armed with her camera, she’s determined to discover the truth about her stepmother’s past.

All these stories will intersect as they each have their own cause to hunt down the huntress.

Overall Thoughts

This is one of those deep, all encompassing, thoroughly engrossing historical fictions that I love. The Huntress is able to create such an atmospheric read as it draws on our already strong, preconceived ideas surrounding WWII, Germany, Nazis and the post war world. The characterization is fantastic and I especially enjoyed how Kate Quinn’s leading ladies shone as independent, strong, especially brave, and intelligent characters. Romantic and absorbing as it is dense and detailed, The Huntress did, at times, feel like a bit of work to grind through. Depending on your mood that can be a good thing, if you want to stay awhile with this novel, for me I did stall out a bit wishing the pacing had been a notch steadier. Overall, a minor complaint in such a well researched piece and I truly enjoyed learning of the historical “Night Witches” of Russia. A great historical novel where women share equal footing with men, Kate Quinn delivers again for all fans of this genre.

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