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“You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough.”
Review of If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
What It’s About
Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail — for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
What I Liked About This Book
If We Were Villains is a dark academia murder mystery about a group of 7 theatre kids: Oliver, Richard, Meredith, James, Alexander, Wren, and Filippa.
As a theatre kid myself, this book had me hooked just with the synopses.
The writing is beautiful and the atmosphere is impeccable. It gave me the fall, cozy vibes I was looking for.
