I had to read this after watching the series “Killing Eve” and I was not disappointed. This is a fast paced thriller about a highly skilled, dangerous female assassin and a female espionage agent’s obsession  with tracking her down. Having said I watched the series, I should point out there are deviations from the novel in the tv series but this merely enhances the flow of narrative onscreen and in no way detracts from the novel. 

I love the realness of Eve – even though she is in a skilled professional position, she has these human weaknesses. For example, her dress sense is described as appalling by one of her colleagues and she is described at one point as knowing that her dress is woefully inadequate for the occasion yet she picked it according to the catalogue description. More is made of her husband Nico in the book so I can understand their relationship more than in the tv series.

Villanelle is less playful in the book than onscreen. Viciously terrifying in her ability to kill without remorse, there is also something about her that brings us closer to her, wanting to know why she is the way she is. Hopefully I will find out in the later books!

Highly recommended read!

Juste génial, on tourne les pages, on ne pose pas le livre, hate de commencer la suite !

Un thriller rafraichissant et féminin. A lire de toute urgence!

Like a lot of people I have come to this book after watching the BBC series and was intrigued to see what the source material was for what I felt was a great piece of television.

This book is in four parts and this reflects the fact that it was originally published as four separate e-books. It also reads like this. Although the four parts do act as one sequential narrative you can, as it were, feel the joins and is does feel a bit “jumpy” when you start reading a new section. This could probably have been ironed out this a bit of careful copyediting but it’s a minor quibble.

Jennings must be applauded for  having two main female characters, both of whom are situated far from stereotype territory. It wasn’t possible to get Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer out of my head whilst I was reading but that is more a tribute to their performances rather than anything to do with Jennings’ writing. He writes in a  just-enough style. You get just enough to give you an impression of where the characters are and how they’re feeling. It’s not spare, it just avoids excess and is all the better for it. 

This is an enjoyable book that you can read at quite a gallop. Jennings is holding back on the identity of the Twelve which works well and by the end of these stories Villanelle and Eve haven’t met yet (unlike the TV series). It will be interesting to see how he develops the characters in further books in the wake of the TV series

This is quite a story, and I'm glad I've read it after seeing the TV series based on it.

But inevitably I've compared the style and twists and turns from both. The TV version is understandably different but also much smoother in its storyline, whereas this book almost reads roughly and and unpolished.

It is still enjoyable and the little chunks of chapters make it an easy read, just not quite what I was expecting!

I haven't watched the tv program yet as I like to read the books first. I was over th moon when NetGalley were giving it away free for review. Well written fast pace thriller. Not something I would normally pick up but glad I did. 

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

This is an enjoyable book in an easy, forgettable way. Though I haven't yet seen the television adaptation, I can understand why it was snapped up with a compelling character like a drop dead gorgeous, promiscuous sociopath at its epicentre. Sarcasm intended. The unfortunate thing is that sociopaths are always difficult to write with any believability, and Villanelle is no exception. She's flimsy at best, but entertaining. Eve of course is her polar opposite, as we are to infer from how often her frumpiness is mentioned and how many times she wrings her hands over mistreating her long suffering husband. 

Though some sections did drag and I did find myself impatient with endless descriptions of the posh things that everyone was buying, wearing, eating, drinking and so on, I did still get drawn in to the story as it unfolded. I also take my hat off to what must be my new favourite description of a fatal wound as it made a noise "like the last dregs of a milkshake". My eyes did roll though and I definitely removed a star from my rating at the amateur hour "No, it's just beginning" cliffhanger ending. Never go full cliffhanger, you're better than this!

Whilst binge-watching the BBC’s excellent Killing Eve I kept promising myself that I would hunt down a copy of the source material to learn more about the fascinating female protagonists. So I was thrilled to discover that Netgalley were offering free copies of Codename Villanelle to members.

It was certainly intriguing to hear the inner workings of Eve’s & Villanelle’s minds and to discover more about their backstory. I particularly enjoyed learning how Villanelle was moulded into the cold-bloodedly efficient assassin that fans of the show have come to love and fear.

“Black, white and red. Darkness, snow and blood. Perhaps it takes as Russian to understand the world in those terms.”

The novel is well written and clips along nicely. There are some well-executed (pun intended) set pieces in exotic or glamourous locations, it easy to see why it was targeted for adaptation. I’m glad that they resisted the temptation to give it the big screen treatment, turning it into what would probably have been a beautifully shot but ultimately forgettable ‘sexy spy’ film.

It was an inspired decision to inject humour into the TV show; Phoebe Waller-Bridge brought this book to life in a darkly, deliciously, delightful way. Because of that I was a little disappointed with the book itself. Eve’s kookiness and Villanelle’s bat-s**t craziness are absent and sorely missed by anyone who has seen the series. It is still a good read but Waller-Bridge has shown us what the characters are truly capable of.

I am going to try and review these two books (which I was given recently in exchange for a review), without spoilers. The review will be for both together, because I think they are a unit and you do need to read them both to get the full story. 
Before reading the books I had (coincidentally) binge watched the TV series on iPlayer, which I loved, and was disappointed when it finished. If you have seen the telly version, the books are different enough to keep you interested.  I thought the books were better than the show, and some of the differences made me wonder why the screen writer had changed certain things.
A lot of thriller/spy/crime fiction I find preposterous (Child 44 for example), some, only too believable (any John le Carre), and these novels while being a bit daft, sat somewhere between the two poles allowing appropriate suspension of disbelief. The books were, I thought, more satisfying in a narrative and plot sense, than the TV show, by a long way. 
The two lead characters are quite believable in themselves, and attractive personalities-I found myself liking both women a lot, even when doing things I considered daft, or murderous. The writing is good, it’s unobtrusive, if you know what I mean. It’s written with a lot of cutting between the two protagonists, which suits a filmic portrayal, but it’s also a standard device. I had no issues staying with the books. The ending is different to the telly version, and I prefered it in as much as I thought it more believable within the dramatic logic of the story. I would recommend these books and I would love a third.

Drawn in by the fantastic TV series I requested this book! A fast-paced, thrilling tale of a sociopathic assassin and the MI5 agent pitted against her.

After watching the thrilling series of Killing Eve on the BBC, I was very excited when I received a free copy through netgalley in exchange for a review. 

The show drew me in with the out-rightness of it all, leaving me with high hopes for the book. And I was not disappointed. The book portrays the same exciting cat-mouse-chase of the show, with added plot lines and more mystery.

 I absolutely love the character of Villanelle,  yes she may be a psychopathological series killer, but the depth to her character and the details that Jennings reveals about her are fascinating. Eve is equally mesmerising as she seems to go through this journey of finding her killer, while also in a way discerning her own character throughout. 

This is quite an explicit novel, something that I wouldn't normally go for, so at times I did feel a little uncomfortable. But I still really enjoyed it!

Like most people here, I came to Codename Villanelle after watching the much-hyped BBC adaptation, not really knowing what to expect - certainly not a carbon copy of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's vision nor an entirely different story. Instead, try seeing each as complementing the other. There is plenty of well-paced action, lots of glamorous name-dropping (people, places, products) and enough convincing detail to make you appreciate Luke Jennings' skill as a journalist/novellist. A great read as a stand-alone novella (I went straight into the next instalment), or to read after watching the TV version to fill in the gaps.

This is a fast paced thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. 
I have seen ‘Killing Eve’ and was intrigued to read this book. I liked how I could visualise Eve and Villanelle after seeing them act out the story on TV, and there were enough differences in the plot to make it feel like another story. 
There’s obviously elements that have been transferred to the TV programme but overall the book was a good introduction to both characters, and left me wanting more. 
Thanks to John Murray and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

A very slick if a little short, book telling the story of a female Russian psychopath  who is trained to be an assassin. 
We find out why she has chosen Villanelle as her codename and what she has to go through to become the woman that she is and why she does the things that she does. 

I have to admit to having loved the TV series when I saw it earlier in the year and was intrigued to read the book - which I don't think it particularly well written but I was happy enough to continue reading. 

If I had read this first, I very much doubt that I would have bothered with the series. 

I do believe that this is one of the rare occasions when the TV series / film is better (and different, but in a good way) than the book.

Alright homefries, gun to your noggin: TELL ME A STORY ABOUT A FEMALE ASSASSIN! What do you come up with? If you’re as braindead as me, your empty mind will go to Marvel’s Black Widow and it’ll go something like: hot Russian babe skilled in martial arts and guncraft shoots henchmen John Wick-style before taking out the boss gangster. 

Well guess what Codename: Villasmellypants is? Exactly that - and hacky Luke Jennings didn’t even has a gun to his head! 

Jennings’ prose is utterly flat and unengaging - as lifeless as Lee Child’s yet somehow more dull. There is nothing worse than reading descriptions of scenery, clothing, etc. when none of it is relevant to the story and you get pages of that useless filler in this so-called “thriller”. 

Oxana/Villanelle has no personality and goes through the motions of this generic claptrap like the robot she is and no part of the formulaic, uninspired story was remotely interesting. 

I’ve not seen the recent BBC adaptation of this series, filmed as Killing Eve, but, going by the critical acclaim, I’m guessing this is one of those rare instances where the screen adaptation is better than the book. Either way, I won’t be reading any more of Luke Jennings’ garbage writing which has also put me off watching the show. 

I would recommend anyone curious about the show to check that out first rather than have that curiosity assassinated by its unimaginative and boring original source material!

Codename: Villanelle is a super sexy spy thriller, set in various glamorous locations all over the world. It’s your usual fare: a good cop character (Eve Polastri) is recruited to catch a sociopathic assassin (Oxana Vorontsova AKA Villanelle) who is working for a top secret consortium hell bent on creating a new world order. What’s different is that both the MI6 agent and the assassin are women. A bit one dimensional, yes and not brilliantly written but still, it’s nice to see female characters taking centre stage for a change. To be honest, their depictions could have been a lot worse (I don’t know anything about their breasts, for example) but I think that says more about the low bar that’s been set by other authors than the quality of the writing here.

Whereas the TV series elevates the (slightly generic) story from good to brilliant with the use of clever dark humour and a complex storyline, the book is far less amusing and has a more obvious narrative. The only positive is that the book does provide more of a back story for anyone who has watched Killing Eve and got a bit lost. You get to find out more about the consortium (The Twelve) and their ideas for the world which helps to place Villanelle’s actions within more of a logical setup. You also get to understand a bit more of her back story so there’s less of the “she’s just a sociopath, go with it” which seemed to be the image that the TV series presented.

On the plus side, the book is extremely fast paced and is a real page turner. It’s fairly short so easy to rip through and despite being a bit generic there’s something about the two main characters that’s utterly compelling. Villanelle is a ruthless killer utterly without remorse and although the book has softened her a bit, the things she got up to provided a great big dash of voyeuristic escapism. The cat and mouse games that she plays with Eve were creepy/enthralling in equal measure but I did find Eve’s leaps of logic a tiny bit wearing. From a multitude of options she seemed to guess correctly every single time, leading her in a direct line towards Villanelle. Hmmmmm.

Apart from the occasional need for the reader to suspend their disbelief, the only other thing that let the book down was the writing itself. I found the text somewhat clunky and as the book is four novellas smushed together the narrative flow is a bit start-stop. This can be jarring at times but the action ramps up quickly, helping to smooth out the obviously bumpy plot.

Overall, I found Codename: Villanelle to be exciting and fast paced but also kinda generic and dare I say it – a tiny bit trashy. Pheobe Waller-Bridge has done an absolutely terrific job in adapting the text for TV and if I were you, I’d definitely watch that first then read the books if you have a burning desire to get a bit more background info.

I always believe in reading the book before watching the tv various of it. This was certainly the case for this. I personally found the book better than the programme. The book is good.
Thanks to both NetGalley and John Murray Press for my ARC.

Having seen the tv series I couldn’t wait to read the book, to see if it was as quirky and funny and brilliant and clever as the tv show- I wasn’t disappointed. As with all adaptations there is a lot more detail to the novel and it was great to see these extra depths. If you enjoyed the tv series you will love the book! Fast paced and a quick read, events unfold at a rapid pace.

Was really looking forward to reading this book after watching Killing Eve which I absolutely loved but unfortunetly I cant say the same for the book. I loved the whole idea of it but it just didnt work out for me.

Great fun - romps along at a heck of a clip. Not necessarily the most endearing of protagonists, but you can see how this would make a cracking film. Sparse, short, exciting and globe trotting. Definitely a more entertaining Bond-esque romp for the modern era .. Eva's far more sympathetic and you do feel sorry for her home life given what she has to keep secret.. 
Will cheerfully buy more in the series on this showing - hugely enjoyable.

I think I am the only person on planet earth that hasn’t watched Killing Eve but friends have raved about it so I though the book would be a good place to start.

Well the book is good but it's made me want to watch the entire series now. There’s a lot to this story and the characters that I think will be better fleshed out on screen .There’s a lot going on here and I think I'm going to have to read more to really feel this series though. I did like the unique take on a spy thriller and the two main characters are quite something.

The fact that there are only a few characters and a short sharp plot made this a concentrated story which was very apt as it’s so intense! Overall however, the novel felt short and the ending a bit abrupt, there are more in the pipeline so I will be up for reading those too!

 And don’t get me started on the locations! You see certain places in a very unique light!