If We Were Villains
A Novel
-
-
4.3 • 453 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Much like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, M. L. Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.”
—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest
"Nerdily (and winningly) in love with Shakespeare…Readable, smart.”
—New York Times Book Review
On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.
A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras.
But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent.
If We Were Villains was named one of Bustle's Best Thriller Novels of the Year, and Mystery Scene says, "A well-written and gripping ode to the stage...A fascinating, unorthodox take on rivalry, friendship, and truth."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The premise of Rio's debut novel is intriguing: it's a murder mystery set at a Illinois college specializing in Shakespeare studies, led by a man with the coincidentally appropriate name of Holinshed. The story follows a group of college students' passions, jealousies, and insecurities, which, over time, escalate to murder. Rio makes effective use of her framing device a prologue set in 2007 introduces one of the students, Oliver Marks, who is about to be released on parole from prison after a decade behind bars for murder. The homicide detective who handled the case, Joseph Colborne, is about to retire from the force and attempts to convince Oliver to finally come clean about what really happened by promising him that anything he reveals will be off the record. Flashbacks disclose what led up to the death of one of the students in 1997 and the tensions Oliver observed among his classmates before and after. Though the plot twists may not surprise some readers, this is a solid mystery that keeps the pages turning.
Customer Reviews
Suspense & Tension
Lots of references to Shakespeare (if you like and know his plays, id think you’d appreciate this book more—I felt like I was lost half the time because I wasn’t understanding the references… but the author’s knowledge and interest in Shakespeare truly shines through (which makes sense as she herself studied Shakespeare)) and the novel itself felt very similar to Donna Tart’s The Secret History. The characters to me were all so stunning and captivating, kept me reading and flipping pages.
4/5 stars, interesting but not astonishing
I really like the relationship dynamics in this story. This book went a different way than I was expecting but overall I still enjoyed it. It’s not so much a mystery (like I expected) as much as a drama. Lots of Shakespearean dialogue.
What a journey…
This is such a beautiful tale of jealousy, profound love, and secrecy that left me bawling by the approach of the resolution. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all - to be honest, I didn’t enjoy the first hundred pages very much because I didn’t like the characters much at all. That changed, of course, as my heart grew fond of some and more distant from others. I myself was a theatre major in college and some of this hit too close to home, the ease of pretentious attitudes and the flow of illegal activities. Brought back some unsavory memories, if I’m being honest. It should have been a clear indication that an effective and entertaining journey awaited.
The second half of the book is worth the first feeling a little forced, at times. I could have done without most of the Shakespeare in it, as sometimes I felt like it was distracting from the important bits of the story (even though it was placed intentionally), but all in all, this book is solid. The emotion gathers in the second half and leaves you broken by the end.