The Huntress: A Novel

Kate Quinn

Feb 2019 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Don’t miss the thrilling new novel from Kate Quinn, The Briar Club, coming July 9th!

"...compulsively readable historical fiction…[a] powerful novel about unusual women facing sometimes insurmountable odds with grace, grit, love and tenacity.” - Kristin Hannah, The Washington Post 

Named one of best books of the year by Marie Claire and Bookbub

“If you enjoyed “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” read “The Huntress,” by Kate Quinn." The Washington Post

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

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

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

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

Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new 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. 

 

Ratings and reviews

After the war several groups were dispatched from the allies to bring war criminals to justice, everyone knows of Nuremberg and the trials for the Nazis, but what I hadn’t known, before this book, was that Russians were also being sought, most peculiarly women from the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber regiment – women running combat bombing missions targeting Germany during the war. Brutal times and even more shockingly, brutal women, highlighted by the search for The Huntress, responsible for many horrible crimes including leading 6 Jewish children and one escaped POW into a cabin in the woods, feeding them before murdering them, and moving on. She’d disappeared during the war, and the story is of the people hunting her. Ian and Tony along with Ian’s wife Nina, a former member of the Taman Guards are hunting the woman named ‘The Huntress” all gather in Boston, where they meet Jordan – a young woman who wants to be a photojournalist and is intrigued with the allied hunters’ quest. Four people ostensibly working together with a singular purpose, the story is told in three points of view. Jordan and Ian are more ‘current” to the actual hunt in the 1950’s, with Ian’s search being highly personal as his brother was killed by this self-same huntress during her spree. Nina’s point of view, as a member of the Taman Guards has multiple reasons to want the Huntress captured, preferably dead, and her story is ‘real time’ in the war years, spanning the years between 37 and 44. Each of the stories are tension filled – either with the actual hunt, or the reader wondering what will befall each character next, and the dialogue feels plausible, while the factual information shared all fit together to make a cohesive package, and it was fascinating to find these bits of history that I hadn’t known before. What emerges here is classic Quinn, with the well-defined characters, each a mix of self-serving and looking at the ‘bigger picture’, with descriptions and some over-dramatization, as well as the mystery surrounding the identity of “The Huntress” did dance with overplaying a hand, and the tension often fell off as description took precedence over action and revelations. It wasn’t enough to frustrate me overmuch, but the inconsistency in pacing and tension did make this more a four than a five star read. But – I never knew much of Russia’s wartime force or their use of women in combat, and while intrinsically I know that war breeds beastly behavior, it was all the more shocking when relayed by and performed by a woman, apparently our baser instincts are not limited to the males of the species. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

After Reading The Alice Network, I bought this book. Complete disappointment. Early on the plot is given away and you clearly know how it will play out. Beside that, the plot seems contrive and the dialogue often pedantic. Skip this. It not worth the time or money. But read The Alice Network. Great book.

Another outstanding novel by Kate Quinn. You are one amazing author Kate. I admire your work and enjoy both this and "the Alice network". From beginning to end I'm pulled into an amazing story I enjoy more than words can explain. I can't wait to hear of your next book release and I will be an avid reader for every book to come. 💚

About the author

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 bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga and two books set in the Italian Renaissance before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The Diamond Eye. All have been translated into multiple languages. She and her husband now live in California with three black rescue dogs.