Book: The Huntress by Kate Quinn
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication date: 2019
Source: e-book borrowed from the library
Before the war begins, Nina Markova is a peasant girl in Siberia, living next to Lake Baikal. She dreams of leaving her hard life but can't envision a future until the day that an airplane is forced to land near her village.
After the war ends, Englishman Ian Graham abandons his successful career as a war correspondent and devotes his life, instead, to catching Nazi war criminals so they can be brought to justice. His ultimate goal is one war criminal, in particular, but she has proved elusive.
As the world is beginning to right itself after the trauma of the 1940s, teenage Bostonian Jordan McBride knows exactly what she wants for her future - to see her photographs published in famous periodicals, like Life magazine.
Weaving these three stories and timelines together takes us through many years of the middle of the 20th century.
Thoughts: With the Ukranian invasion dominating the news, this was an awkward time to fall in love with a Russian character. Or, with the Soviet Union for being the only country that allowed women pilots to fly fighters and bombers in World War II. It helped that Nina Markova didn't particularly like the Motherland, either, even if she did appreciate the opportunities that she had to train as a pilot.
In some stories with multiple characters and timelines, I feel kind of yanked between things, usually preferring the storyline that I just got pulled out of. I didn't have that problem with The Huntress. Nina is the least likeable character of the three at the beginning of her story, but her life is so fascinating that I was always ready to have another peek at it.
Challenges: Join us at the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge or check out the reviews of the books we've been reading in March.
Have you read this book? What did you think?
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books
