| Title | : | The Huntress |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 560 |
| Publication | : | First published February 26, 2019 |
| Awards | : | Goodreads Choice Award Historical Fiction (2019) |
Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina’s bravery and cunning will keep her alive.
Transformed by the horrors he witnessed from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials, British war correspondent Ian Graham has become a Nazi hunter. Yet one target eludes him: a vicious predator known as the Huntress. To find her, the fierce, disciplined investigator joins forces with the only witness to escape the Huntress alive: the brazen, cocksure Nina. But a shared secret could derail their mission unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.
Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new fiancée, Jordan is thrilled. But there is something disconcerting about the soft-spoken German widow. Certain that danger is lurking, Jordan begins to delve into her new stepmother’s past—only to discover that there are mysteries buried deep in her family . . . secrets that may threaten all Jordan holds dear.
In this immersive, heart-wrenching story, Kate Quinn illuminates the consequences of war on individual lives, and the price we pay to seek justice and truth.
The Huntress Reviews
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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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"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. -
“Building a generation is like building a wall—one good well-made brick at a time, one good well-made child at a time. Enough good bricks, you have a good wall. Enough good children, you have a generation that won’t start a world-enveloping war.”
If ever a standalone novel cried out to become a full-fledged series, The Huntress is it. Quinn’s storytelling is suffused with grace, dazzle and heart—not to mention a sharp, saw-toothed edge of darkness. Telegraphed in clipped prose and dialogue that's as taut as ship ropes and anchored in an ever-present undercurrent of tension that occasionally bursts into tiffs, The Huntress (mostly) maintains an impeccable pace, even as the novel veers from character to character, from past to present and back again.
World War II is over, and former war correspondent Ian Graham is standing in its ashes. It might have been enough to say that they have all passed through a long, dark time and come out of it alive and strong. Ian might have turned aside and gone about his life, giddy with relief that such burdens weren’t his to shoulder anymore. Most would have. Ian Graham didn’t. Not when the Huntress is still hanging over his head like an axe. “ I’m done writing instead of doing,” says Ian who, alongside his partner and Jewish polyglot Tony Rodomovsky, has made the road his home when he’d embarked on the shabby affair of hunting war criminals. One name gleams brighter than the others: Lorelei Vogt, also known as the Huntress—a Nazi who was responsible for the killing of several Polish refugees, many of whom were children. Ian’s desire for the Huntress to face justice has never been so piercing, the chasm of his hatred for her opening even deeper when Ian learns that his brother also died at her pitiless hands. And he's not the only one.
In the darkness behind her shut lids, Nina Markova sees the same thing as Ian: the Huntress. Nina is one of the famed Russian bomber pilots known as the Night Witches. She is also the only person who faced the Huntress and lived to recount the tale. Together with Ian and Tony, Nina weights the fact, examines the strains and weaknesses of every claim and claimant, turning the scattered clues this way and that, upside down, then righting them again, but, often, there came the sense that they were all running full speed into a brick wall.
Meanwhile, in Boston lives Jordan McBride, a budding photographer who welcomed into her family an Austrian refugee named Annaliese as her new step-mother. Annaliese’s laconism and secrecy did little to dispel Jordan’s feeling that there was more to her father’s new bride than met the eye. A dozen times suspicion and doubt scorch Jordan—the discovery of a swastika charm concealed in Anna’s bridal bouquet and a candid shot of Anna that lent a chilling cruelty to her face—but its fire never burn through her skin. Her step-mother’s explanations are incontestable, and Jordan’s conviction, once absolute, wavers. Annaliese has only ever shown Jordan kindness, and was the only person who encouraged her to nudge at the tantalizing door of her dreams with all its luminous secrets, even when her own father treated her ambitions as the trappings of a child, to be doffed as a grown woman.
Though the novel sags slightly in the middle, it's when the characters' separate journeys begin to entwine with one another, their struggles inexorably congealing into an overwhelming whole, and we come to the meetings of the waterways, that Quinn proves herself up to the task. She soon ratchets up the stakes to another level entirely, her writing and storytelling firing on all cylinders, and I felt as if there were a rope attached to my middle, towing me forward into the denouement.
Quinn also uses her setting to great effect and allows bursts of humor and camaraderie to shoot through the moral murk of the story, but it is the way she channels, with vivacious flourish, the triumphs and tribulations of real historical figures into a unique, engrossing and thought-provoking work of fiction that will last long after her conclusion is reached. Nina’s and Jordan’s narratives, especially, sing to the extraordinary women in history who worked tirelessly around, under or through the patriarchy that shaped their reality and went on to accomplish extraordinary feats. It's what makes the Huntress a bold and innovative twist on the genre that proves that historical fiction does not have to confine itself to its more durable tropes and settings.The dead lie beyond any struggle, so we living must struggle for them. We must remember, because there are other wheels that turn besides the wheel of justice. Time is a wheel, vast and indifferent, and when time rolls on and men forget, we face the risk of circling back. We slouch yawning to a new horizon and find ourselves gazing at old hatreds seeded and watered by forgetfulness and flowering into new wars. New massacres. New monsters like die Jägerin. Let this wheel stop. Let us not forget this time. Let us remember.
Quinn’s characters are also vibrantly human—driven by passion, duty and humanizing, terrifying flaws—and the third-person narration alternates seamlessly between Jordan, Ian and Nina.
There’s such a gravity to Ian Graham’s character. The war had burned his youth away, but the best parts of him had not been chipped away and sanded down to a hard callous. Ian is tough yet vulnerable, prickly yet charismatic, but for all his appearance of amiable, obdurate stability, he is actually a reckless, wildly erratic character. Ian’s shoulders strained to heft the weight of his grief-sprung rage; he wouldn’t let his brother become just a name in a casualty ledger, and he is willing to use up every ounce of his energy in this colossal, incessant yearning for justice. He's given up on writing; “see enough horrors, the words run out,” says Ian. But it still pounded through him, hot as blood—the hunt. Ian's hands tingled with it. And that’s where the lines of red he’s marked in his mind’s eye to keep his job from straying into “personal vendetta” territory begin to dim and wither. Was it still justice Ian sought so arduously or was it just a mask his impotent rage, fierce and red, has worn? This question underpins a large part of Ian’s characterization, and it’s quite arresting to read about.
Nina’s character is animated by a spiky, dangerous energy, and the slow but deft way Quinn peels back the hidden layers of her character is very compelling. Nina’s memory of the war, the woman she so fiercely loved, and that terrible encounter with the Huntress by the river is still pounding in her mind. There was a wildness to her, of hope and terror, that held its own allure. Nina is not easily frightened. She has never has been. Growing up with an abusive, drunkard of a father, Nina has only allowed herself one fear—a beseeching terror born the day he tried to drown her and she escaped. From that day forward, other fears have become for other people, not for her. There’s a scene towards the end where we witness Nina leap at her fear’s throat and conquer it that held me quite literally at the edge of my seat.
Ian and Nina are united more tightly than ever in their condemnation of the Huntress. For most of the book, Ian is simply too wary of Nina to look away, the rodent watching the pacing cat. Nina recognizes the hunger that lays concealed in Ian—the kind that you can’t find a way to cheat or break: the one that made him “go to war with a typewriter instead of a gun” and not count the cost, and prompted her to seek a life of soaring into the sky like a wind-borne flower. I really loved their dynamics—how they rubbed their rough edges smooth against each other. Nina had molded too much of herself into cool marble, and Ian did not want her to shatter. Into the guarded world of her heart, he wished to enter, hoping that, one day, she’d feel for him some glimmer of what she felt for “her dark-eyed Moscow rose.”
There is also a stark vividness to Jordan's character, as the girl who wouldn't yield any of her dreams and ambitions. Although the way her doubts about Annaliese never caught flight—and the way her thoughts kept eddying out for most of the novel, too fast to grab hold of, conclusions always out of reach—often strained credulity, I enjoyed reading her POVs. Tony was also such a fun presence, handsome and relentlessly charming, and his friendship with Ian had warmth as fire does (even when they bicker as old, married couples do.)Battered souls like ours, Ian thought, tramping out of the wreckage of wars, always have guilt. Ghosts. Lakes and parachutes.
Overall, this is a novel not to be missed! Highly recommended!
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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. -
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. Check out our blog that features the variety of our opinions on this at:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/2...
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. -
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. -
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. -
I wanted to read this because I really enjoyed
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I loved reading about the women of a spy network, who played important and dangerous roles in WWI that I had never heard about. These women were not in my history textbooks. In this novel, Quinn has given us another story of courageous women, this time depicting the role of the Russian women flyers, known as Night Witches who flew planes and bombed Nazis during WWII. I had no knowledge of these courageous women either, so I’m grateful that Quinn has enlightened me through these novels. While this is a work of fiction, it is well researched and I appreciate that we are told about the real individuals that these characters are based on as well as the actual events.
This story is not perfect. It’s a little too long and a predictable romantic thread diluted the story for me some. Having said that, I was especially drawn into the story of Nina Markova, one of the Russian bombers. She crosses paths with “ die Jagerin, the Huntress, the young mistress of an SS officer in German-occupied Poland” capable of unspeakable violence against women and children. With a connection to Ian Graham who has lost a young brother in the war and to the younger brother, Nina joins forces with Ian in his work at The Vienna Refugee Documentation Center. Ian, a former war correspondent now working to find Nazi war criminals and bring about justice. The chase to hunt down the Huntress takes them to America and it held my interest until the very end. The narrative moves around in time until a satisfying ending. A very good work of historical fiction, in spite of a shortcoming for me in the story line.
I received an advanced copy of this book from William Morrow/HarperCollins through Edelweiss. -
A journalist, a lawyer and a Russian woman pilot are teaming up to find the one of the ruthless, dangerous Nazi war criminal Huntress to bring back the justice. This is breathtaking, compulsive, fantastic journey with amazing and memorable characters.
My all time favorites are Nina Markova curses like a sailor, flies like a bird in the air, powerful, vivid, feverish, fearless pilot. She is a great portrait of a night witch hunter!
And Jordan, young but so smart, talented photographer,50’s version of Nancy Drew!
It’s a great combination of historical thriller and romance genres! I always adore the books with strong, disobedient heroines!
And also the villain, huntress who was a great portrait of relentless, merciless, cold blooded child killer Annalise gave me so much creeps. She was depicted so real, so naturally that makes you think you’re reading a biography about 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 of this author. -
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. -
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. -
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 -
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 -
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. -
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 -
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 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.
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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. -
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?! -
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. -
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! -
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.) -
Author Interview:
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Have you ever picked up a book and known before even cracking it open that you’re going to love it? That at some point, you’re going to fall through the pages of the text and be lost in the imagination of truly gifted storyteller? That’s how I feel every time I acquire a novel by Kate Quinn and The Huntress was no exception.
Be it the functional operation of a camera, a well-placed Russian expletive, the batting line-up of 1951 Boston Red Sox, or the sensation of cutting through the clouds in the cockpit of a biplane, no detail is too small for Quinn’s discerning eye. I’m willing to bet there are many readers who won't care a whit that Anna can drop her R’s like a Bostonian and won't give two cents for the mythological symmetry in Quinn’s referenced lake spirits, but I find such detail truly appealing and think it contributes a great deal to the immersive quality of the narrative.
Thematically speaking, the Nazi hunters’ pursuit of justice is thrilling enough and might have proved captivating on its own, but Quinn’s decision to pair it with the emotional scars the war left on those who survived it took my breath away. Ian, Nina, and even Anna carry a great deal of baggage and I found something very raw and authentic in how each tries to move forward in the post-war years.
Though they are not called out in the jacket description, I feel the romantic elements of the story are worthy of note. Ian’s falling in love with his own spouse touched my heart, but it was the relationship between Nina and Yelena that captured my attention. The passion and dedication that brings them together are astounding, but I felt the course of their story deeply both perceptive and poignant.
In sum, Quinn writes on a level few can match and The Huntress illustrates it every way. Be it the audacity of the Night Witches, the unsung heroism of war correspondents or the boldness of those who sought to rectify injustice while the world tried to forget the horrors of WWII, this book touches it all. A fast-paced and thrilling tale that captivates from the first page to the last. -
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.
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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.
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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: -
“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 -
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.” -
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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5 shiny historical fiction stars to The Huntress
I have seen many rave reviews for this one, so I was truly hoping to like it. I'll be honest -- I loved it! This one is a compelling, sweeping, and engaging historical fiction tale. There are several characters and timelines in this one and I liked all of them.
We have Ian and Tony who are tracking down Nazis and war criminals after WWII and the Nuremberg trials. This time, they are on a quest to find the Huntress and they are following up on every lead to bring her to trial.
One of the storylines from the past features Nina who flies for the Soviets against the Germans in an all-female squad. This part of the story was fascinating and I really enjoyed learning more about the Night Witches. We learn about Nina's scrappy upbringing and she is a fearless fighter. She eventually teams up with Ian and Tony to track down The Huntress.
In the US, we meet a young woman, Jordan, who is an aspiring photographer and her father who runs an antique shop. Her father meets and marries a German woman and Jordan gets a new step-mother along with the adorable Ruth.
The two stories collide and have an amazing conclusion, filled with tension and danger. I highly recommend this book to those that like historical fiction. It was very interesting to read the author notes at the end and how some of these characters are an amalgamation of several real people. This one is long, but filled with meaty details and characters you really get invested with by the end.
I read the author's previous book ("The Alice Network")and liked it, but this one is a notch above that and I can tell that the author's writing has really grown.
