Book Review: If We Were Villains by M.L.Rio

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Synopsis:

Oliver Marks has just served ten years for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day of his release, he is greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, and he wants to know what really happened a decade before.

As a young actor at an elite conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same characters onstage and off – villain, hero, temptress – though he was always a supporting role. But when the teachers change the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into real life.

When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless… 

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My Review

“You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough” (pg. 298)

I was drawn to this novel by the blurb. I wanted to know Oliver’s story. I wanted to know what really happened.

I enjoyed learning what happened to this group of friends. The group were a bunch of pretentious students obsessed with Shakespeare and begin to blur the lines between the plays and reality.

I was super invested in the murder mystery, but the play scenes began to wear thin. Sometimes I felt like I was reading Shakespeare and I studied most of the plays mentioned in this novel. I didn’t really want to read them again.

I did enjoy the way that the story was divided into acts like a real play. I did struggle with the characters as the story progressed as I felt they didn’t really change, but maybe this was intentional since we’re seeing them through Oliver’s eyes.

All in all, it was a good read, and I’m glad I finally picked it up.

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