The Huntress

By: Kate Quinn

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the author of the New York Times and USA Today best-selling 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, 17-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes home 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.

©2019 Kate Quinn (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Good weekend read

A good read overall, the characters were likeable if the plot a bit predictable. My struggle with Kate Quinn continues to be that she relies a little too much on coincidence in her novels and that trend continues in this book. However, I do find the historical aspects interesting and enjoyed the book!

26 people found this helpful

Spellbinding

This is an exciting historical novel about the hunt for a Nazi war criminal after the war.

The book is well-written and researched. The story of each character was interesting. The book is long enough to allow for good character development. The story went back and forth between that of the female Nazi war criminal (The Huntress” and the three Nazi hunters. The hunters were an English journalist whose brother was killed by the “Huntress”, an American linguist and a Russian female pilot who was attacked by the “Huntress”. A side story was of Nina, a Russian and her life during the war as a navigator then pilot in the Soviet all female bomber group known as the “Night Witches”. I found the story about the women bomber group extremely interesting. Nina flew over 6000 missions. The Soviets really pushed their military compared to that of the English or Americans. The book had lots of suspense and was hard to put down.

The book is eighteen hours and thirty-nine minutes. Saskia Maarleveld does a good job narrating the book. Maarleveld is an actress from New Zealand. She was a 2018 Audie Award nominee and has won the Earphone Award. She is a voice-over artist and audiobook narrator.

21 people found this helpful

Predictable-disappointing

As much as I liked Alice Network I was really looking forward to listening to The Huntress
But it was predictable, too much romance, and no suspense. Disappointing although I do think the narrator is very good.
Sorry I will return it

14 people found this helpful

Fantastic!

I devoured this book! I love historical fiction and The Huntress did not disappoint. It was a rare book where I really liked all of the characters, even the ones you are meant to root against. I did read one negative review likening it to science fiction, which I can't make sense of. There is nothing even remotely science fiction about this novel, so don't let that deter you!

64 people found this helpful

EVEN BETTER THAN ALICE NETWORK

I read The Alice Network last year and absolutely loved it, so when this book came out it was a no brainer. I got to say...I loved it even more!

The character development was great along with the story line. I loved all three characters: Jordan, Ian and Nina. Each story was completely engulfing.

The narrator was also fantastic! I was so sad when this book ended!

80 people found this helpful

Incredible!!!

There are not enough words in my vocabulary to describe how I feel About this story..
Fiction but fact! Hard to believe what the people of the holocaust endured and that there were some who actually survived these atrocities. A tale of horrors and survival made more personal by wrapping them around a small group of people and the effect the conditions of this war and the destruction of friends and family had upon them. I would give this book a10 if I could. Would recommend to all readers and listeners. About

19 people found this helpful

Kate Quinn and Saskia Maarleveld equals marvelous!

Kate Quinn is an excellent author. Her descriptions of places is almost literary but not quite. However her characters are 3 dimensional and believable. The plot is excellent with a few twists and turns. Told in through the viewpoint of 3 characters. Saskia Maarleveld is amazing! Her range of pitch and her foreign accents gave the book a lot of depth. She didn't just read the book....she acted it giving her interpretations of how a line might be said. I found myself totally immersed in the lives if these characters

Quinn obviously did a lot of historical research. Her detailed descriptions of what it was like to fly and fight in the bi-plane during the war made me feel like I was in the plane. She mixes in real historical people and the history she puts them in is very accurate. I only know that because I googled the characters to read about them. I actually learned a lot of history.

I never knew about Marina Raskova or that Russia had all-female divisions of fighter and bomber pilots. Her character Nina a Russia pilot was my favorite. The voice and accent Maarleveld made me actually laugh out load in some places. She was a memorable complex character.

Saskia Maarleveld's performance was so good I looked up other books she had narrated and bought a couple.
Oh and after I finished the book I wanted to actually hunt down Nazi war criminals until I realized they were probably all dead or near death!

27 people found this helpful

OK I guess

I had hoped it would be as good as The Alice Network but it just didn’t have that same captivating impact. It was ok but I had to make myself continue on. I didn’t get that “I can’t wait to get back to the story” feeling. I guess it was alright.

8 people found this helpful

Great Female Characters & Performance, Weak Plot

This title features a nice trio of strong, independent female characters doing things that were most definitely considered male tasks in the era the book is set in--and, indeed, by some even today. In addition to their vocational success, these women also cast off the prudish, patriarchal model of sexual behavior for a liberated, modern approach. The male characters also display a near-21st Century level of enlightenment and have enough development to avoid being hackneyed or one-dimensional.

On the other hand, there's a major hole in the plot that sustains about a third of the book's content. (The prey going unnoticed right under the trio's noses.) Other minor weaknesses added to the effect. There were also some notable technical blind spots related to the processing of film (versus the printing of pictures from negatives) and the basic identity and function of guns (rifles and shotguns are fundamentally different things) and it somewhat undermines the overall effect. What good is it to write strong female characters if you ask your readers to overlook weak thinking and technical flaws in the story? It honestly undermines the whole effort by minimizing the knowledge required by these women to do the things that they do. Full technical accuracy and a bit more detail about the processes and challenges involved would improve the work overall.

I loved the narration! Great job on that front.

5 people found this helpful

Captivating

Story was long but all characters fully fleshed out. Narrator did an excellent job. I read that the character of The Huntress was based on two real female Nazi war criminals.

17 people found this helpful

Enthralling story

Another excellent offering from Kate Quinn expertly narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. Characterisation and plot beautifully crafted.