The Huntress by Kate Quinn - My Review

The Huntress by Kate Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Why did I pick up this book?
I noticed my wife, Rashmi, reading The Rose Code in Dec’21. Curious, I looked up other works by Kate Quinn and zeroed in on The Huntress for a quick weekend read. I am a fan of WW2 fiction in general and had fond memories of leafing through The Odessa File which also features a Nazi-hunting plot. I was also intrigued that the Eastern Front forms the backdrop of the story, something several popular western WW2 works of fiction (cue Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan etc.) conveniently ignore. The book promised to be a page turner, featuring a premise that I could follow without much effort and protagonists whose cause I could (obviously) root for.

Did I enjoy reading the book? Why? Why not?
While lacking true edge-of-the-seat excitement, the book was enjoyable in parts. The story should have been a cat and mouse chase; instead it relies on chance and serendipitous encounters to further the plot. The main characters are well fleshed out. The author goes to great lengths to dive into backstories and motivations of our protagonists - the British-American buddy-cop duo of Ian and Tony, the irreverent Soviet siren Nina and the Nancy Drew-ish Jordan. Only our villain, the sophisticated and aristocratic (Prussian?) Nazi (view spoiler)[Lorelei (hide spoiler)]‘s motivations are not explored in detail. While we get glimpses of her tradecraft, I would have loved more flashbacks from her WW2 mistreSS (haha) days. The climax was a let down, (view spoiler)[ relying on another villain who points but doesn’t shoot. You never feel that the protagonist are in any mortal danger. A few well placed flesh wounds would have definitely raised the stakes. It ain’t a chase if the fleeing villain does not get to fire a few rounds at our protagonists over her shoulders (hide spoiler)]

Any nitpicking?
The novel passes the Bechdel test in a very strange way. While all the romantic sub-plots add virtually nothing to the story, the Nina-Yelena arc was especially disappointing. Here are two tough-as-nails aviators, the feared Nachthexen, exchanging dialogue that could be from a 1980s romcom. Never mind the fact they are flying a laughably outdated plane against a vastly superior Luftwaffe or living on breadcrumbs and amphetamines, they speak to each other like giddy teenagers. I would have loved some tactical discussions and more details of their death-defying bombing runs. I wish the author wouldn’t have given in to the temptation of giving Nina a heartbreak (sic) backstory, just so that we would need charming Ian to work extra hard to break down her walls.

The critic’s apology - link

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