felix_minka_mcintyre 's review for:

Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

3.0

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Villanelle is uniquely suited her job. She can change her identity easily, slip across borders and kill efficiently and without remorse. When she takes out a Russian political agitator on British soil, Villanelle suddenly becomes the sole focus of Eve Polastri. After failing to prevent the killing, Eve loses her job at MI5 but is secretly recruited to head up a team that is pursuing Villanelle. But when one of her team is brutally murdered in the streets of Shanghai by their target, Eve decides she will let nothing stop her hunting this assassin down, even if it means losing everything she loves or even her own life.


This is a joint review for Codename Villanelle and No Tomorrow, the basis for the TV show Killing Eve. Having watched the TV series, it's kind of weird to read these books because they contain a feel of the same characters but aside from that are almost entirely different. It's like reading a parallel universe version of the show: it starts off at a similar point but then goes off in a different direction. I really enjoyed reading these books though because I just loved spending time with these characters - and the tv show sadly does not have the amazing exploding butt plug scene. I think Luke Jennings has created some amazing characters here and Phoebe Waller-Bridge has done a masterful job developing their relationship for TV. I wonder what I would have thought of the books if I'd read them first? Either way, I think they are definitely worth a read.

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