Upon publication of Eye of the Needle, critics compared Follett's novel to other contemporary thrillers produced by John le Carre and Helen MacInnes.

More importantly, Michael Wood's article in The Saturday Review places Follett's novel alongside the classic, The Day of The Jackal, because both thrillers contain "a double narrative focused on the pursuer and the pursued, with suspense extremely well sustained."

Also, both novels are based upon a fictional variation of World War II events that culminate in last minute action which is key to the Allied defense effort. As Publishers' Weekly concluded concerning the literary rank of Eye of the Needle: "This World War II espionage tale is right up there with the best of them."