I was overjoyed to receive a copy of Codename Villanelle from Luke Jennings. Though I haven´t seen the television show Killing Eve, I had heard about it and was inspired to read the book behind the inspiration. I was rivetted from the first page and inhaled the book in just two days. Though Villanelle is a sociopath, I couldn´t help but be fascinated by her life in Paris and her adventurous spirit. I felt that I could relate to detective Eve and the feelings she experienced when she felt like her life was spiraling out of control. It was refreshing to read a novel with such strong female characters. I like thrillers and am a huge fan of James Bond but am often disappointed at the limited roles women play in these novels. Luke Jennings offers another outlook on the traditional genre with Codename Villanelle.

I am really looking forward to the sequel of Codename Villanelle and hope to catch the television show soon.

The book is almost always better than the adaptation isn’t it. It is here! And I loved the series!!

2.5 stars

Villanelle is a psychopath and a highly skilled assassin.
She wasn't always called Villanelle, but she has left her past behind and now works for a secret organisation that targets high profile and powerful people.
When Villanelle murders a Russian politician, she attracts the attention of Eve Polastri, an ex-MI6 officer. Eve is determined to track down this mysterious new female assassin, and follows Villanelle's trail around the globe.

I requested Codename Villanelle after watching the TV adaptation (which I really enjoyed) and it's hard not to compare the two.
For me, the writing style is what let this down - it took me a while to get into the story and there were times that I found myself skipping paragraphs, wanting to get to the action.
The plot was okay. There were parts that I liked and parts that I didn't.
Villanelle and Eve were interesting characters but as this was only a short novel, I felt like they could have been fleshed out a bit more. Eve especially.
I definitely preferred the TV series - and plot were more interesting, and I was more gripped when watching it compared to when I read this.

Overall this was an okay read.

I absolutely adored the Killing Eve tv series and it was great reading a bit more about Villanelle. A must-read for anyone who enjoyed the TV show! Have ordered the next book in the series!

I decided to read this book as I adored the TV series so much. It’s a quick read that I did enjoy, but I would have to say that this is one of the few times when what is shown on screen is even better than the book.

I think I was probably expecting too much after watching the series which definitely coloured my view, but with a bit more fleshing out of the characters this could have been a great read instead of just an enjoyable one. 3 stars.

This book got me HOOKED from the start. It left me 'O' mouthed at some of the more brutal and graphic scenes. It just always seemed to shock me whenever someone got killed, even when I saw it coming. I loved the flip between Eve and Villanelle's narrative and between the different countries. Okay, it got a bit long winded at some points with all the names and organisations. But this is some real kick-ass book that had a 'Line of Duty' vibe to it, which of course, I loved. The ending! It was so abrupt and left me on the edge! I was expecting so much more but I guess I'll have to pick up the sequel now.

Overall, I was thoroughly surprised by how good 'Codename Villanelle' was! It was such a gripping book and definitely left me on the edge of my seat.

A brilliant short booknow that is every bit as good if not better than the TV series. Really enjoyed this original story.

I hadn't read the other books in this series nor seen the TV show, but that didn't seem to matter.

This is a very short book which ends on a cliffhanger and that's my biggest problem with it. Well, that and the jumping between perspectives without warning so it could be hard to follow what was going on.

While the characters were interesting and the action tense, I can't help but wish they'd combined this book with the sequel for a more complete story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

This book is very obviously written by a male author from a female perspective. Which is to say that it's not a queer female perspective at all but a male imagining of it.
Though the premise of the book is quite compelling, the telling and editing detracts from the story so much that it's unreadable in parts.

Loved this book, so different from other thrillers. Even though Villanelle seems to be a cold hearted killer she seems vulnerable and you feel that you desperately want to understand her.

Copies provided by the publisher via NetGalley. I am reviewing Codename: Villanelle and its sequel No Tomorrow together, as they feel like one book.

I’d watched the TV adaptation of these novels and also knew the author was experienced and has won prizes, so I was doubly disappointed by just how pedestrian the writing is in these two books.

To start with, the idea of a Villanelle has been done before - the TV series Nikita featured an uncannily similar female psychopath, also taken from prison and groomed to become the perfect killing machine by a shadowy organisation. In this case we have The Twelve, an international organisation of powerful men whose interest is the protection of stability in politics as well as organised crime, in order to ensure the continued flow of capital. If an individual threatens their interests, a sentence of death is passed, and one of their network of assassins is despatched to execute it. Villanelle - young, cool, clever, almost completely emotionless - is their star killer.

Eve Polastri, meanwhile, heads up P3, a department within MI5 dedicated to assessing the threat to prominent individuals visiting London and liaising with the police for their protection. For some time she has been growing increasingly interested in reports of a female assassin’s involvement in recent unsolved killings of prominent figures, so when the charismatic advocate of Russian-European relations Viktor Kedrin visits London, she is on guard. When he is killed on her watch, the stage is set for the start of a cat-and-mouse game between Eve and Villanelle.

The plotting felt quite lazy to me. Very little effort is expended on building up a plausible narrative, and there are great gaping holes where plot development would have been very welcome. So for instance, the first few chapters focus entirely on Villanelle, with some background and a couple of kills. The story then switches to Eve Polastri in London, with a similar outline of her back story. Eve is pulled from her job at P3 and set up in a secret office to track down Viktor Kedrin's killer, and suddenly there are references to how deeply she is hurting her husband with all the secrecy, but with no insight into any events that actually show their relationship changing over the course of time - we go straight from loving couple to strained relations with little sense of a progressive breakdown. Similarly, we are invited to believe that a seasoned, emotionless killer becomes obsessed with the detective investigating her, just on the strength of being told by her handler that a female detective is on her case. And indeed, why is Eve so obsessed with Villanelle, to the point of endangering her marriage and her life? There is no psychological insight, no nuances - all we get is being told, and we're expected to go along with that.

The second book, No Tomorrow, is if anything, even less interesting. There are more imaginative murders, and a secondary plotline about Eve's boss which anyone can see coming from miles away. And finally, an ending which should be intriguing but, because of the dire quality of the writing, ends up simply being wholly implausible.

Don't bother - I certainly shan't if there are any more books in this series in future.

I loved this book and having the chance to read it as I am presently watching the series. The dialogue is brilliant and funny too. Looking forward to reading the next book too. Perfect for fans of the TV series, you won't be disappointed!

Absolutely loved this book!ast-paced, compelling plot progress. Villanelle is fascinating, efficient and quick on her feet. Enough details, but not too much. Far fewer characters than the TV series. It's entirely fresh and unlike anything else I've read, all in a good way.

Last year, the whole craze of the BBC series Killing Eve passed me by, but I did hear that the books were better - aren't they always!
Well, I still cannot compare the book to the TV series, as yet, but I certainly enjoyed this book very much.

Villanelle, the assassin, is a sociopath, but you find yourself drawn into her story and rooting for her in a strange way. Eve, the security officer is tasked with tracking Villanelle down, but this job will certainly be a game of cat and mouse and I am not sure who will win. I look forward to seeing how the story unfolds.

I did want to read this because I watched the show. I found that the two support one another, rather than being two distinct works. The characters are interesting and great to read about. And the storyline itself is solid. I do prefer how the show presents much of the storyline and context as a mystery but oh well.
I enjoyed this but it did feel just a little incomplete. It does make sense why - apparently this is a collection of 4 novellas that have already been published separately. Even so, I wish it had been reworked, especially the ending - which is quite abrupt.
I'm a little torn on whether i want to read the next book or not, because I don't want to spoil the show, but if you're not concerned with that, I would definitely read it asap.

Overall I enjoyed this book.

I watched the Killing Eve TV series before reading the books, and found the books to be more detailed with more realistic characterisation. There was quite a strong sexual theme throughout the story but it fit well with the characters. I particularly liked the attention to detail in the assassination plots which I thought were very well thought out.

I would recommend a read.

Villanelle (a codename, of course) is one of the world's most skilled assassins. A catlike psychopath whose love for the creature comforts of her luxurious lifestyle is second only to her love of the game, she specializes in murdering the world's richest and most powerful. But when she murders an influential Russian politician, she draws a relentless foe to her tail.

Eve Polastri (not a codename) is a former MI6 operative hired by the national security services for a singular task: to find and capture or kill the assassin responsible, and those who have aided her. Eve, whose quiet and otherwise unextraordinary life belies her quick wit and keen intellect, accepts the mission.

A mediocre novel unfortunately but the producers of Killing Eve made an incredible series out of it (thankfully!) The two main characters are built up more more effectively on the screen and often that's easier to do I accept but there could have been more in the book to bring out their personalities. Killing Eve (series) had me emphathising with both main characters even when I saw what they were both capable of - that's the trick to great television and also the trick to great writing (and acting!) I will completely support a second series on the screen but another book? No..

This novel written by Luke Jennings is intricately linked to the age and times we are now living in. The average person can no longer be sure who the good guys are even when these same people are tasked with responsibly for guarding the security and welfare of individuals and country. This book centres around Villanelle, forced from an early age to prioritise her own survival, needs and desires with no concept of right, wrong or conscience. The ideal candidate (given a new identity and back story) selected by a group of faceless individuals to carry out assassinations. Beautiful, clever and calculating, she would appear beyond the reach of justice, invincible and indomitable. The reader is then introduced to Eve Polastri, an experienced member of MI5, who is struggling to accept the limitations and restrictions placed upon her (in her opinion because she is a woman) in her efforts to combat terrorism and catch the terrorists and those who manage them. Can she even be sure the decisions made at the highest levels are for the right reasons or for a much deeper and darker purpose. And so the two protagonists move through events, each totally focussed on their own end game, slowly becoming aware of each other , determined and resourceful , intent on becoming each other's nemesis. This book unusually for the genre has women carrying out acts of extreme violence , showing little or no compassion and a single minded intensity towards the final acts of retribution leaving this reader shell shocked. A book of this time and highlighting women's changing role and place in orchestrating events.

Villanelle is the perfect assassin. A Russian orphan ruthlessly trained and given a new life. Eve Polastri is ex MI5 and makes it her mission to hunt her down.

This isn’t something that happens very often, but the TV series was a hell of a lot better than the book. Neither Villanelle or Eve were particularly well written. There seemed to be a lot of descriptive filler which made it a tad boring and it ended on a pointless cliff hanger. The main plus is that it’s a short read so I got through it pretty quickly.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Code name Villanelle

If you needed another reason to believe that the book is generally always better than the tv adaptation...this proves it! Code name Villanelle is the first of a 2 book series which formed the basis for tv’s Killing Eve.
A female killer is killing prominent powerful figures around the world. Ruthlessly efficient, and leaving no clues.
Eve Polastri is an unconventional, but doggedly determined, MI5 agent who has been tasked to find the assassin...and this is becoming a personal vendetta.
Can Eve uncover the assassin’s identity before Villanelle discovers who is chasing her down.
Well written first instalment which efficiently reveals the storyline from both assassin’s and Polastri’s viewpoints throughout the story.

A race against time...but who will be successful, and at what cost? Read this in two days!!

Looking forward to the concluding episode immensely....5 Stars