Name: azliana aziz's review of Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings
Item: Codename Villanelle
Rating: 4
Author: azliana aziz

Luke Jennings

She is the perfect assassin. A Russian orphan, saved from the death penalty for the brutal revenge she took on her gangster father's killers. Ruthlessly trained. Given a new life. New names, new faces - whichever fits. Her paymasters call themselves The Twelve. But she knows nothing of them. Konstantin is the man who saved her, and the one she answers to. She is Villanelle. Without conscience. Without guilt. Without weakness. Eve Polastri is the woman who hunts her. MI5, until one error of judgment costs her everything. Until stopping a ruthless assassin becomes more than her job. It becomes personal. Originally published as ebook singles: Codename Villanelle, Hollowpoint, Shanghai and Odessa.

Codename Villanelle

Alisha 

The basis of BBC America's April 2018 release "Killing Eve," starring Sandra Oh--A stylish game of spy vs. spy played by Villanelle, a peerless international assassin, and Eve, the fiercely intelligent MI6 analyst whose mission is to take her out 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. The ensuing chase will lead them on a trail around the world, intersecting with corrupt governments and powerful criminal organizations, all leading towards a final confrontation from which neither will emerge unscathed. Codename Villanelle is a sleek, fast-paced international thriller from an exciting new voice in fiction.

azliana aziz

“The truth, Oxana Borisovna, is that the world has a problem with people like you. Men or women who are born, as you were, without a conscience, or the ability to feel guilt. You represent a tiny fraction of the population at large, but without you…”
He lit another cigarette, and sat back in his chair. “Without predators, people who can think the unthinkable, and act without fear or hesitation, the world stands still. You are an evolutionary necessity.”


those flashbacks of villanelle's previous life was amazing. finally i know who is anna to her.
also it was interesting how v is bisexual but she seemingly can only connect with women whereas for men she was just mainly using them. 


and more importantly i love that we get eve's perspective on her work. why she was obsessed with female serial killers and that but where she said she tried to hide this other part of herself from other people.
damn i can't wait to watch all of this unfolds in killing eve.

The basis for KILLING EVE, now a major BBC TV series, starring Sandra Oh, written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge 'Gloriously exciting' Metro She is the perfect assassin. A Russian orphan, saved from the death penalty for the brutal revenge she took on her gangster father's killers. Ruthlessly trained. Given a new life. New names, new faces - whichever fits. Her paymasters call themselves The Twelve. But she knows nothing of them. Konstantin is the man who saved her, and the one she answers to. She is Villanelle. Without conscience. Without guilt. Without weakness. Eve Polastri is the woman who hunts her. MI5, until one error of judgment costs her everything. Then stopping a ruthless assassin becomes more than her job. It becomes personal. Originally published as ebook singles: Codename Villanelle, Hollowpoint, Shanghai and Odessa. Villanelle: No Tomorrow is available for pre-order now! Praise for Killing Eve TV series 'A dazzling thriller . . . mightily entertaining' Guardian 'Entertaining, clever and darkly comic' New York Times

The Basis for Killing Eve, Now a Major BBC TV Series

Laura Mauler

Holy fuck is this book an adrenaline rush.

Juliana Matias

A few months ago I finally gave in and watched season 1 of Killing Eve, and I really enjoyed it. Something about Villanelle and Eve's twisted obsessive relationship was fascinating to me. I'm not caught up to the series, but when the book showed up on an Audible deal, I snatched it up and thought I was in for a fun ride.

Turns out, not quite so.

Here's the thing: Codename Villanelle was not originally a novel (which I didn't discover until after I finished the audiobook), but a collection of 4 novellas which were grouped together in 2018. After the success of the TV show, the author decided to cash in and then started writing sequels which actually diverge from the show.

As a collection of spy/detective novellas it is fine, I guess. But it doesn't really work as a novel because you lack the overarching cohesive narrative. You keep getting re-introduced to the characters and I was so confused. If I had gone in with the different expectation, I might have enjoyed it more.

The underlying story is mostly similar, though different chronologically. The first story tell us the story of Villanelle - no Eve yet -, and how she has come to be an assassin. Sociopath girl who eventually gets arrested and offered the job and lots of money and clothes. I warn that the whole thing doesn't make too much sense, so if you plan on reading it, remember to turn off your brain.

The second story introduces Eve, who works for MI-6 and who is tasked with protecting a crazy radical Russian professor. Villanelle kills him and all of a sudden Eve is on to this female serial killer. The third story takes place in Shanghai for reasons I cannot explain to you. Villanelle kills another guy and Eve goes there with a colleague. In the fourth one Eve is looking for revenge over Simon's murder, and Villanelle is on a rescue mission for her handler and none of it seems to be connected or makes any sense.

All of it is unexplainably boring somehow. I can't explain why. I normally love audiobooks - my attention rarely wavers. But for this book, I kept having to rewind because my mind kept wandering off and thinking of other things.

All in all, I few things really irked me:

- The present tense, third person narration is strange and sounded wrong to my years. It didn't flow.
- On audio, you kept jumping from one POV to another with no warning and it was very confusing.
- The supporting characters are so one-dimensional even having watched the series I still couldn't tell them apart. There is no connection to Eve's team, they were all cardboard cutouts. And don't even get me started about the husband, he did not even need a name. Even the main characters are a bit one-dimensional.
- Everything is overly sexualized, and for no foreseeable reason. It's forced and unnatural, and I can only think of one other book with as awkward sex scenes as this one
- The book is narrated by a woman and has its 2 main characters to be women, but it was written by a man and you can tell (see point above) - I felt the same way as that time I read a Russian crime procedural novel written by a British person - it just sounds wrong and stereotypical and somewhat prejudiced

As much as I generally prefer the books behind the movies, in this case the TV show is far superior to the source material. I honestly applaud the BBC America showrunner and writers and cast and crew - what they managed to do it nothing short of astounding.

Rowan Myers

I have no idea how a very clever TV show came from this. The plot is decent but the writing is so jarring that my desire to edit the book takes me away from any enjoyment I could have had.

Elinor

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

Me gusto! Tiene variaciones respecto al TV Show, pero se entiende qué las hayan hecho. Algunos eventos varían, por lo que aun si se ve la serie, se puede leer el libro perfectamente. Desarrolla mucho mas los Orígenes y quién es Villanelle, que es fascinante. Voy a leer el resto de la saga, espero que mantenga el nivel.

Fraser Simons

Not bad but not as good as the show. It’s a bit sterile but a fun popcorn-like story. Kind of like a Dan Brown level of a novel for me. The novella format zooms past any significant moment so it’s hard to care about the characters. But it was still enjoyable.

Lulu

This was one of the rare instances in which I appreciate the adaptation more than the original text. While I do appreciate knowing more about Villanelle, and I believe the show managed to encapsulate the essence of both her and Eve, I am also so very charmed by the cast of people involved in the show and, especially, by Sandra and Jodie's performance that these short stories simply fee flat by comparison. It's certainly not bad, and I do appreciate that it is a story centered around two very interesting women, but ultimately I felt that something was missing. Still a good read, though, and I would highly recommend especially for fans of the show on the grounds of V's background alone (even if KE doesn't use it).

Nadia

Erin 

Lisa Beasley

I really enjoyed this. Having watched the tv series I wasn't sure if I would still like the book but it was really good. I like the writing style and the slightly different characterisations. A good solid thrilling read.

Alisha &
Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

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