Books
The Huntress

by Kate Quinn
William Morrow, February 2019, $26.99

Ian Graham was a British WWII correspondent, parachuting behind enemy lines to send dispatches from the front. But after the death of his younger brother at the hands of a ruthless woman known as the Huntress, he retires his notepad and devotes himself to hunting down Nazis in the years following the war. Despite the number of men and women he has brought to justice, the whereabouts of his brother’s killer still haunts him.

Nina Markova was raised on the icy plains of Siberia, escaping a troubled home to join the regiment of Russian female bomber pilots and navigators who terrorized the Germans and became known as the Night Witches. Nina carries her own scars from the war and has personal reasons for also wanting the Huntress brought to justice—even if that justice is at the end of Nina’s own razor.

Jordan’s new stepmother is everything warm and polite, but her mysterious past raises Jordan’s interest—and her suspicions. As Jordan digs deeper, she finds that the lonely Austrian woman isn’t all that she seems.

Kate Quinn’s research is impeccable and she seamlessly weaves several different timelines together until they collide. Despite being an intimidatingly long novel, it is brilliantly paced and impossible to put down. Although there weren’t many surprises—obviously Jordan’s stepmother is the woman the others are hunting—each step on their path to discovering the coldhearted woman was thrilling, thanks to beautiful writing and fine characterization.

I found myself invested in each of the principle characters. Quinn’s The Huntress takes a close look at the complexity that lies within each of us. How can Jordan’s warm stepmother be the same person who killed six Polish children and numerous others in cold blood? And how far are we willing to go to gain the justice we seek and put our nightmares to rest?

Erica Neubauer
Teri Duerr
6382
Quinn
February 2019
the-huntress
26.99
William Morrow