Books play a central role in the series – Joe is a massive bookwork and used to work at a bookstore – but was the show itself based on a novel? Read on for everything you need to know.

Is Netflix’s You based on a book?

The short answer is yes, the show is based on a series of novels by Caroline Kepnes, whose first book, You, was originally published back in 2014.

Kepnes has released three novels in the series so far, with the original followed up by Hidden Bodies in 2016 and You Love Me in 2021.

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Is You season 3 based on a book?

Here's where things get a little more complicated – while You season three is in some ways an adaptation of Kepnes' novels, the events in the new run do not correspond to the third book in Kepnes' series (which should come as no surprise, given the new book was only published earlier this year).

Instead, You season three is based – as was the case for the second season – on Hidden Bodies, book two in Kepnes' series. This is made clear in the opening credits for each episode, although in truth there are some major differences between the book and the new season.

In the books, Love never becomes a killer as she does in the series, while she and Joe do not raise baby Henry together – instead, Joe is arrested in connection with the earlier murders and remains in jail until after the child is born.