The author of the well reviewed The Alice Network is back with another big historical fiction. The Huntress is a Nazi woman who most famous crime is shooting a group of children after feeding them a meal. She has slipped though the many cracks around after WWII and disappeared. The story is set during the war and a few years after in Boston.
An odd trio of Nazi hunters are after The Huntress, hoping to find her in Boston. Tony is a disillusioned American ex-GI. Ian is a revenge seeking Brit whose brother was a victim of The Huntress. Finally, there is Nina, a Siberian who fled a horrible life to become a decorated Russian female war pilot. Nina has many sides to her, most of which she keeps from Ian (who has wed her to get her British citizenship). The title can go both ways as the trio, particularly Nina, are also Hunters, searching for the infamous Huntress. Then we have the innocent family that the Huntress is hiding within. An antique dealer widow and his teen daughter. They are taken in by the Huntress’ cover story, or are they? Finally there is a charming little girl, whose background is uncertain. Like others in the story, we only know she had “a bad war”.
The story unwinds nicely, although the reader knows from the very start who is really the huntress. The characters are all well-drawn. I loved the touches of Boston and the time period – who roots for the Red Sox and who prefers the Yankees. There is also plenty on the little known female pilots who helped Russia succeed against Germany.