If We Were Villains

A Novel

By: M. L. Rio

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Oliver Marks has just served 10 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. 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. Intelligent, thrilling, and richly detailed, If We Were Villains is a captivating story of the enduring power and passion of words.

©2017 M. L. Rio (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Much like Donna Tartt's The Secret History, M. L. Rio's sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession.... If We Were Villains will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments." (Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, New York Times best-selling author of The Nest)

This is the best book I have ever read!

The large as life main characters, all passionate students of the Bard lead the reader into and through a modern Shakespearean whodunnit. Held my attention throughout. Didn’t want it to end.

Absolutely an amazing story!

This story was amazing! It’s breath taking, attention grabbing and a must read book! Absolutely loved it!

Interesting

I needed a break from fantasy and this was the perfect escape.
Its clear from the beginning the author comes from an acting background and it was exciting to get such an interesting peek into that world.
It's a colorful dive into the minds of those surviving trauma and how different people cope. I thought for a time our narrator was unreliable, telling us what he crafted into a story rather than the truth, but all is revealed in the end.
I only struggled with the love interests a bit. It was unclear throughout the story if the narrator had real feelings for anyone until the end. Maybe I've listened to too many true crime podcasts, but I asked myself several times if this was just the story he wanted told, in true actor fashion, or if it was finally the truth. That led to my questions of his reliability as a narrator and perhaps that was the author's intention.
I ended this book thinking I'll never really know what happened much like real life tragedy.

Great for theater major or Shakespearean lover

Not a fan. Listened on audible and I can’t really give the narrator more props. He was amazing and kept me going.

I’m not a fan of jumping around time periods in a book. This did that.

It was much longer and drawn out than what it needed to be. Edited it may be better.

It’s predictable even for someone who’s not in love with Shakespeare. At first all the ad lib, scripts, characters and Shakespearean dialogue peaked my interest but there is just so much it got old.

I suppose character development was ok… maybe some better than others… you definitely understood they were pretentious, self-absorbed theater students… and the fights… omg.

Not that pretty perfect ending if someone is hoping for that…

Tragic and beautiful and oh so painfully real

This book ripped my heart out in a way undefinable by any word or language that has ever graced human ears.