Book review: "The Huntress"

Graphic by Aria Conti

“The Huntress” by Kate Quinn is a multi-perspective historical fiction with mystery and intrigue. Quinn is known for historical fiction centering on female characters, with her portfolio including works like “The Alice Network,” “The Diamond Eye,” and “The Briar Club.” 

Set during a time period during and directly after World War II, “The Huntress” features an antagonist nicknamed “die Jägerin,” the German translation of the titular character. Throughout the novel, die Jägerin, or The Huntress, is meant to be a representation of Hermine Braunsteiner, a real-life female guard of a Nazi concentration camp. Braunsteiner was known for committing violent acts against the children in the concentration camps. 

Nina Markova, a Russian bomber pilot, is like a firecracker in the novel, creating unexpected twists throughout the story that you don’t expect. Although she is fictional, Markova’s character helps demonstrate the life of a female pilot in the Soviet Union during World War II. She is the only witness and survivor of The Huntress’s violence, and later marries Ian Graham, a war journalist turned Nazi hunter and brother of one of The Huntress’s victims. 

Like many of Quinn’s books, “The Huntress” is based on true events, with many of the characters drawing inspiration from real people. The novel brings their stories to life while also highlighting important women, such as the Night Witches, an all-female Soviet Air Force unit. Known officially as the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, the group was active from 1942 through 1945 and created many opportunities for women in combat, but was essentially written out of history for a long time.

Throughout the novel, Quinn uses dual timelines and multiple perspectives in order to tell the story of the hunt for a ruthless Nazi war criminal years after the war. The characters, especially the fierce female Russian bomber pilot and the determined Nazi hunter, are compelling and complex. We usually love the mystery aspect of books, so when we picked up “The Huntress,” we were excited for a suspenseful puzzle to unravel. 

As said earlier, Quinn’s books most always center on a strong female character, and in this case we had Nina Markova. 

We were particularly intrigued by Nina Markova, a daring pilot of the first all-female night bomber regiment of the USSR, the Night Witches. Although Nina is fictional, her efforts during World War II resemble those of real women who devoted bravery and resilience to the fight against Nazi Germany. A notable quote from the book describes her character well: “There is nowhere she leaves off and the plane begins, he thought. Woman and machine, masters of the air” (p. 495).

“The Huntress” also explores themes connected to the LBGTQ+ community during that time, through the characters Nina and Yelena Vetstina, a fellow Night Witch. The book showcased a strong and beautiful connection between the two characters before they later broke it off. Even still, having this aspect in historical fiction is something not often done. 

One of the only downsides we found was that The Huntress’ identity was revealed relatively early on in the book, which took away from the reader's mystery while reading it. The characters themselves were not able to figure it out for nearly the entirety of the book. 

The story is told from multiple different perspectives because each of the three main characters are connected to the Huntress in one way and later become connected themselves. Nina is a survivor of the Huntress and only got away because of Ian’s brother. While hunting the Huntress, they encounter Jordan McBride, an aspiring photographer from Boston whose new stepmother has many secrets. 

Overall, we give 4 out of 5 stars to the book “The Huntress” by Kate Quinn. We would recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction, especially ones taking place during World War 2. It has mystery, romance and well-written characters that a reader can attach to immediately.