THE HUNTRESS by Kate Quinn
Ok, I admit it! I’m obsessed, morbidly fascinated with…and appalled by WWII books and the horrors of the time…before, during and after the war. I love the genre of Historical Fiction as it never fails to introduce me to little known areas of history that school and history books never explored.
Did you know that there were at least FIFTY-THREE Nazi war criminals living comfortably in the United States in 1973? Hard to imagine… Kate Quinn’s follow-up book to THE ALICE NETWORK is THE HUNTRESS , addressing this issue. Based on real people, we discover that in the aftermath of war, the hunter became the hunted. It mostly takes place in the early 1950’s with some flashbacks to WWII. The war is over, but everyone knows that there are still Nazis hiding all over the world.
Quinn weaves together the stories of a British Nazi hunter and his partner, a Soviet female war pilot and a 17 year old American girl, as they collaborate in the hunt for one of the most ruthless female war criminals of Nazi Germany. THE HUNTRESS is a very rich, character-driven story with many layers and secrets.
Ian, a war correspondent turned Nazi hunter; Tony, a former soldier and Ian’s friend and Nina, a Russian bomber pilot downed behind enemy lines, who survived an encounter with the Huntress, join forces to track and capture this heinous Nazi killer…”die Jagerin.” Nina was a member of an elite group, the Soviet Night Witches…the only female pilots in WWI. This all-female night bomber regiment wreaked havoc on Hitler’s eastern front! Add to this mix Jordan McBride, a teenaged girl growing up in post WWII Boston, determined to become a famous photographer. When her widowed father brings home a fiancé and Jordan snaps a photo of her that shows an evil side in a flash, she believes the woman is hiding something that will disrupt their peaceful lives.
THE HUNTRESS is a suspenseful, exciting, compelling, vividly written story that explores justice and revenge with a hint of romance to warm your heart…and characters you 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 make certain she’s punished for her crimes.
I love how Kate Quinn puts women back into the history of which they’ve long been written out. She reminds us that women were pilots and spies and fighters and…yes, even murderers. Plus, knowing that much of the book is based on actual events and real people made it all come alive that much more.
I would HIGHLY recommend his book to anyone who’s a fan of Historical Fiction.
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