After I read the [b:The Nightingale|21853621|The Nightingale|Kristin Hannah|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451446316l/21853621._SY75_.jpg|41125521], I told myself I needed a break from depressing novels about World War II... so when I picked up [b:The Huntress|38376046|The Huntress|Kate Quinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534172306l/38376046._SY75_.jpg|60039109] in a bookstore just a week after [a:Kristin Hannah|54493|Kristin Hannah|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517255843p2/54493.jpg] shredded my heart, I almost didn’t buy it.

But here we are.

The majority of this book takes place in the 1950s, which was a refreshing change in the realm of World War II fiction. Quinn chronicles a team of investigators, Ian, Tony, and Nina, as they search for a war criminal (the titular huntress, i.e. die Jägerin). I hadn't read any books covering this topic before, and after reading [b:The Huntress|38376046|The Huntress|Kate Quinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534172306l/38376046._SY75_.jpg|60039109], I'm definitely interested in ~hunting~ down a few more ;) ;). Ian is a brooding English gentleman and former journalist, Tony is a young, smooth-talking New Yorker, and Nina is a former lieutenant of the Soviet air force. We also get to know Jordan, an aspiring photographer in Boston, and her family.

Quinn tells the story from three main perspectives: Ian, Nina, and Jordan. Don't ask me why there aren't any Tony-centric chapters, because I have no idea- Personally, I loved Tony and would have liked to hear from him too.

Spoiler

I suppose as the major foil for Ian and love interest for Jordan, he was more of a supporting role than main actor.

Or maybe 4 perspectives just becomes overwhelming for the reader.

This is not an easy book to rate. There were parts of this book that were completely exhilarating, and parts that dragged.

Let's start with the good. You might expect that a book with war crimes as a significant plot point would be very gory and depressing. It's a valid assumption, however, Quinn manages to strike a good balance when it comes to describing heinous acts and leaving the details to the reader.

Spoiler

For instance, we know that die Jägerin has killed children, but we don't know how or why- we don't get any details. We also never know exactly what happened to Ruth's real mother. We do, however, get the scene in which die Jägerin kills Seb, which directly impacts Nina and Ian.

In addition to saving the reader from unneccessary gore, this reflects the unknowns that the characters are grappling with. The hunt for war criminals is also a hunt for answers. In order to get the job done, the team must prioritize the who, not the why or how. I really enjoyed the chapters narrated from Nina's perspective because they were the most exciting. Nina's emotions are the fiercest and the most captivating- even in the chapters narrated from other perspectives, if Nina is featured, she's the star. Even though I have an obvious favorite, I think that all of the characters were interesting, well developed, and distinct (which is CRUCIAL for a novel featuring multiple perspectives). I was also happy about (and surprised by) the LGBT representation in this book.

Spoiler

We get not one, not two, but THREE significant, non-straight characters, one of which is a bisexual woman who defies the stereotypical portrayals of bi women in the best ways.

Quinn integrates queer characters into her story without making their sexualities their most important features or even notable plot points- this is representation done right.

Now for the bad. It's oddly difficult for me to describe a specific plot point that I disliked. Rather, I think that Quinn is guilty of overusing suspense.

Spoiler

We spend a painfully long amount of time waiting for the team to realize that the huntress is right under their noses!

I like some drama as much as the next girl, but if you make me wait for too long I stop being frustrated and start to lose interest. My final comment is on the romance: simply because two characters could get together doesn't mean that they should. The hunt alone is compelling enough.

Spoiler

Between Jordan and Garret, Nina and Yelena, Nina and Ian, and Tony and Jordan, there were a LOT of couples in this book. Quinn does use some artful parallelism between these relationships to make their narratives a bit more coherent, but personally, I think less would have been more. Things almost seemed to wrap up too neatly in the end, with the whole team coupled up, watching a baseball game. I have to admit that I'm mad at myself for not being able to appreciate the happy ending, but it just didn't feel quite right.

All things considered, this book is smart, well-written (even if a bit long-winded at times), and different from anything else I've read lately. I’m definitely interested in reading more by [a:Kate Quinn|2974095|Kate Quinn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534961441p2/2974095.jpg], I think [b:The Alice Network|32051912|The Alice Network|Kate Quinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492238040l/32051912._SX50_.jpg|50492909] is next on my list!