These reviews are crossposted from my Goodreads account and can be read here, here, and here.
Killing Eve book 1: Codename Villanelle
*2.75
She’s guarding him from the truth about herself. From the side of her that he knows exists, but that he chooses not to acknowledge. The side of her that is utterly absorbed by the woman she is hunting, and the dark, refracted world in which she exists.
I’ve seen 3 seasons of Killing Eve. While I’ve obviously slipped, my initial goal was to read all three books before I watch the final season. And going into the books straight from the show, it’s a lot slower moving.
“My enemy,” she murmurs in Russian, touching Eve’s hair. “Moy vrag.”
The action is a bit dull when the characters don’t have as much build-up, and the spy drama really gets in the way of just absorbing Eve and Villanelle. I get that there’s more to the plot, but without the characters I came here for it’s not as interesting.
Music, for Villanelle, is at best a pointless irritation and at worst a lethal danger. In silence lies security.
The first half of this book is pretty slow – it’s notable only for its backstory of Villanelle, but I feel like Villanelle is an interesting character because of Jodie Comer’s incredible delivery and strength – and what we see Villanelle do. So starting off with her backstory is an interesting choice. And we don’t have nearly as much with Eve -and without Sandra Oh, obviously. You know the scene where she’s able to learn on her own that the attacker from episode 1 is a woman? That scene, in the book, is actually an observation made by Niko, not her.
Things picked up more in the second half of the book, with Eve actually doing some detective work. The part with Simon and Janie wasn’t bad, or the hacking, but I’d still rather be watching the show. Although I did really like this part:
*spoilers here*
Villanelle killing Konstantine and not Lara. I’m interested to see where they’ll go.
2.75/5 stars.
Read from February 8, 2022-August 20, 2022
