Thank you NetGalley, author Samantha Lee Howe, and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for giving me a free Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
5 stars
This book follows Neva, a female assassin, who decides to go rogue against the very people who trained her to kill the targets and ask no questions and Michael, an MIs agent, who becomes drawn into the murder cases that allow him to cross paths with Neva!
This book was an action packed read! I loved how the author allowed the readers to follow the different characters through their povs. There were so many treads that connected the characters and events to make for an amazing cliffhanging ending! The characters were giving great voices and depth! This book was such a great start to what I hope will be a good series! Overall, I would highly recommend this book to those who loved spy novels! I can't wait for the next book in this series!

What a fantastic spy thriller. Killing Eve meets Jason Bourne indeed!

As the story began, I thought this is going to be a Killing Eve-ish story where the killer is obsessed with the agent assigned to catch her red handed. But no! It's much more than an obsession or the lust for killing. The twists are mind-blowing; just when you think 'Ah! I knew it!", the twists are sure to prove you wrong.

I completely loved this book! I was hooked on to the story from page 1. I am looking forward to reading the next two installments of the series (this is the first book in a trilogy!).

I Spy.

Neva has gone rogue against her agency and now she needs to be “retired”. But first her handlers want to know what caused one of their most valued assassins to quit.

The above description is only the beginning. Espionage, murder, and run for your life scenarios abound in this book taking the term survivor to the highest level.. Outwit and outplay equal outlast in a nest of viper killers. Being expert in weaponry is helpful too.

I’m drawn to espionage and hitman hitwoman themes and this is a great one. The bodies pile up as blood flows, however there’s no gratuitous gore. The writing and plotting were tense and I loved all the scheming. Count me in for a long game - one of my favorite things.

I read this quickly and didn’t want it to end. However, I’m in luck because it’s the first of a three book series with the second due to publish in May and the third in July. I’ll be there for the sequels and happy I won’t have to wait long.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for my advance reader’s copy.

The House of Killers is certainly action packed throughout the whole novel. It’s billed as Killing Eve meets Jason Bourne and I totally got that vibe from it. I enjoyed the book throughout and had a few inclinations as to where the plot would go and was intrigued to see how it would end. I would rate this book as solid 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

Not my usual type of genre however truly enjoyed this read. Found it high paced and kept me wanting to read. The main character was was quite intriguing and relatable

An interesting concept and a pleasant read. I was slightly disappointed in the characters as they lacked in substance and depth, and some story developments were quite predictable. I cannot say that I found it gripping enough to keep me hooked to the point of not wanting to put it down. However, I really enjoyed reading it and I now want to know what happens in the next installments.

The premise and the cover drew me into this first class thriller! We follow Neva, a conditioned serial assassin, as she undertaken her latest missions. But when her next assignment is one her her own, things begin to fall apart, and as a result, that instilled conditioning opens up fragments to a long hidden past, one she now starts to question. Thrown into the mix is MI5 agent, Michael Kensington who has been hot on Neva's trail for some time. And then their paths inextricably cross (as you know they must!) - and Michael follows his own path of hide and seek, not only with Neva but with his own agency.

But it is always with Neva that the reader will empathise, as more and more of her past is revealed. The author has provided the reader with an engrossing, well crafted cat and mouse game - assassin and victim - assassin and agent - assassin and employer. We never know if Neva will break free or will be drawn back into the tightly woven web that offers a rather curiously dystopian view where money and power and greed force humanity to take a backseat. There are so many reveals, and twists and turns that one wonders where you - the reader - will eventually end up!

It is the start of what promises to be an enthralling trilogy!

Not my usual genre, but this spy thriller really gripped me. Neva is a fully trained assassin, working for the Network. She has been brainwashed in to not asking questions but carry out her assignments. But during her latest assignment, something clicks in her. In fleeing the scene of her assignment she meets Michael, who is a MI5 agent. Together between them they hunt for the truth about the Network. A brilliantly told story and I loved Neva and Michael. Cannot wait for the next in the series. Put this book on your list.

I found this book to be not only unconvincing, but poorly researched with a ridiculous ending. The plot was not fully developed with omissions that were not even hinted at. How could the second main character hide resources, equipment, cars etc when since a small child she had been brainwashed and manipulated by her 'owners', the Network and until the story developed she had no idea that she might need or want to escape? There were errors in the writing that had not been corrected i.e. 'Americanisms' and about halfway through the writing developed into a short sentenced, almost hurried style and that is how, i am afraid, this book came over to me as if to get this one done, another two in the pipeline. My view, probably not of others.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Neva is a well-trained assassin, raised to be one from the age of 5.
She is cold-blooded and ruthless and has been conditioned never to ask any questions. But something changes in her when she is told to "retire" one of her fellow assassins.


I loved the author's previous book, so I was excited to be approved for this ARC.
Unfortunately though, this book didn't turn out to be my cup of tea, and it had nothing to do with espionage novels not being my favourite.
The story follows Neva and Michael Kensington, an MI5 agent, and I enjoyed getting the dual perspective.
However, it was a slow burner, and because of this, I couldn't get into it. I found it lacked suspense, and I had trouble connecting with any of the characters.
Closer to the end, after the twist was revealed, the story turned into a fast-paced and gripping read. If the rest of the book was like the last 20 per cent, I would have given it 3 stars, but as it is, I can only raise the rating from the initial 1 to 2.
However, I'm curious about Neva and Michael's relationship, and I might reach for the next book in the series.
So far, my opinion is in the minority, so don't hesitate to check it out yourself.

This was an interesting book, told from alternating perspectives, and I liked it!

It’s very much a twist on the Bourne style story with some unique elements, written in a very action oriented fashion. Very strong potential for a movie/series tie in. If I say too much in the review, it could I get spoilery so I’ll be cautious. The main lead, Neva, starts out very cold/rationale and throughout the book you get to see a bit more of her internal struggles. Really fascinating to me how she uses her assassin tools to observe the rest of the world and figure out how to best interact.

Initially, I didn’t love the lead male character but he grew on me!

The ending felt a little rushed but it still tracked through the whole storyline, just sped up a bit more than maybe it needed to be.

This seems to be the first in a trilogy, with the remaining two books scheduled for later in 2021.

All in all a fun read!

I received an advance copy from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The House of Killers is the first part of a new spy thriller trilogy set mostly in London, about a beautiful young female assassin breaking away from the shadowy organisation that has controlled her all her life. The blurb describes it as a cross between Killing Eve and Jason Bourne, and the similarities are certainly there, but as the plot progresses Neva’s character comes into her own and a strong suspenseful tale emerges - although one requiring just as much suspension of disbelief. (I have only seen the TV show & movies, not read the books so don’t know how different the plots are.)

Neva is a highly trained and coldly efficient killer, taking out her victims when ordered to by The Network, without asking questions. When a new mark turns out to be a fellow assassin, “retired” for a perceived breakdown in their conditioning, Neva experiences something new - emotion - and sets out on a quest for freedom which begins with elimination of her handler. This brings her to the attention of Michael Kensington, a driven MI5 agent following a trail of executions for his secretive department, The Archive. Attracted to Neva in spite of what he knows, Michael must decide whether he can trust her - or will he too become one of her many victims?

Having got bored of psychological and serial killer plots, I’m reading a lot more action/spy thrillers, and especially like ones with a female heroine/antiheroine. This one was well done, as Neva is initially portrayed as too callous to sympathise with,, but as we gradually learn how she was made to be that way, and see her develop both a conscience and a moral code, I liked her more and more. Similarly Michael makes an interesting hero - suspicious of everyone except the person he should be most afraid of. There were plenty of twists here - some I didn’t predict because they were so far-fetched, but it certainly made for entertaining and compulsive reading. There was a bit too much reliance on coincidence and I was disappointed to discover it’s all written in present tense, but I will definitely want to read the rest of the trilogy. As a bonus, this is a new to me author from the UKCBC Facebook group so counts towards my (rather feeble) #ukcbcchallenge for the year.

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. The House of Killers is published on 26th March 2021.

This well-intentioned thriller rather annoyed me. I liked the concept (Gregg Hurwitz's "Orphan" series with a twist springs to mind), and it could have been a simple, quite exciting story.

However there were several moments that jarred so badly that I was temporarily put of reading:

1. I really don't believe that MI5 officers introduce themselves as "Agent xxx" - we're not talking FBI here;
2. Neva, who is English, goes to buy a new car in a suburban location in England - she asks the salesman to "pop the hood" - really?
3. Michael meets Neva at the opera and is waiting "for the first song" to start, and doesn't leave until after the "last song" is finished - really?

I am just intrigued as to how these sort of glaring "errors" get through the publication process.

Notwithstanding the above I did quite enjoy the book and would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

"The house of killers" was such a pleasant surprise. Earlier this year I read the author's first novel, a classic domestic suspense, and loved it, so I was a bit surprised when I first read "The house of killers" synopsis, as it was a complete change of genre, so I came into it a bit skeptical. But my skepticism was not justified at all cause she delivered a super entertaining tale of assassins and secret agents I could not stop reading.

A ruthless female assassin. The MI5 agent on her trail. Ring any bells? Exactly! Killing Eve was the first thing that came to mind when I started reading, so I could not stop looking for similarities between them. Although there were a few, both Neva and Michael soon became characters of their own and I forgot about Eve and Villanelle.

Thanks to the alternating chapters this was a super dynamic and quick read. It was also interesting reading some of the other character's POV. The plot soon evolved from a cat and mouse chase into a deeper and more disturbing one.

Although I called the villain early on, the last 20% caught me completely unaware, adding a very interesting layer to one of the characters.

My only critique, and the reason this was not a 5 stars read for me, was that at the beginning there were quite a few coincidences during the investigation that made everything seem to come too easily to Michael and his team.

Well drawn characters, a tense plot that read like an action movie were you have no time to catch your breath till the end, and a very compelling twist made of "The house of killers" a very nice start to what now I know will be a trilogy, with the 2nd and 3rd installments coming out May and July 2021, so I couldn't be a happier reader right now!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

An exciting thriller packed with action, telling the story of two lethal assassins that will not let anyone stand in their way. An excellent read!

Neva is assigned to assassinate a soon to be retried fellow assassin. But instead of disposing her body with the rest of the evidence she lays her to rest. She's starting to breakdown. Two years later her body is unearthed and MI5 agent Michael is on her radar. Told mainly from Neva and Michaels point of view, the agent and the assassin form a complicated, impossible, forbidden bond and opens up a massive can of worms.

I really enjoyed watching Killing Eve and was drawn in with the blurb and it is similar, dare I say better? Yes, it's even better!

As the story developed and you got to know the main characters you couldn't help but feel sorry for Neva, even though she is a trained assassin. She was a really likeable character. I was fascinating to get into her mind. The 'will they, won't they' ran throughout the story. As we find out more about Michael, I never saw that coming. Brilliantly executed the story develops and turns into a gripping and exciting thriller and I couldn't stop reading.

There are two more books to come in the series and I can't wait to see where the story goes next.

The "Bond to Bourne, Smiley to Polastri" copy unfortunately really oversold this book; while I love stories about female assassins, the voice and characterization just weren't all I was hoping for, so I couldn't get into it enough. Thanks to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

#TheHouseOfKillers #NetGalley
A good read.
Serial killer Neva has been conditioned not to ask questions of the mysterious Network, to remain perfectly incurious and perennially cold-blooded. She must simply execute the targets they text her and live to bury the tale.
But then she’s tasked with terminating a fellow assassin and glimpses her own future in her colleague’s fate. When she leaves flowers on the gravesite, someone notices.
Agent Michael Kensington knows he’ll have his work cut out for him when he’s recruited by MI5 onto operation Archive to piece together patterns in cold cases.
It was pacey and packed with Twists. Although it's ending didn't work for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for giving me an advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced e-copy of The House of Killers!!!

Wow!!! I really enjoyed this book! I liked how we got different points of view. These are all complicated characters and I liked how likeable most of them are especially Neva and Michael. Neva is an assassin who begins to question what she is being told to do.

There was a surprise twist in this book that I did not see coming. It was really well done and I completely enjoyed reading this book. I couldn’t stop once I started and I read it all in one sitting. I look forward to reading more by Samantha Lee Howe.

#TheHouseOfKillers #NetGalley
A must read.
Neva has been conditioned not to ask questions of the mysterious Network, to remain perfectly incurious and perennially cold-blooded. She must simply execute the targets they text her and live to bury the tale.
But then she’s tasked with terminating a fellow assassin and glimpses her own future in her colleague’s fate. When she leaves flowers on the gravesite, someone notices.
Agent Michael Kensington knows he’ll
have his work cut out for him when he’s recruited by MI5 onto operation Archive to piece together patterns in cold cases.
I loved it's characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for giving me an advance copy.