Expertly plotted, beautifully written, If We Were Villains will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.” Both comic and tragic, this novel asks what people are willing to sacrifice in the name of ambition. Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession. “Much like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, M. John Mandel, New York Times bestselling author of Station Eleven I can’t recommend this book highly enough, and can’t wait to read what M. 'This is a rare and extraordinary novel: a vivid rendering of the closed world of a conservatory education, a tender and harrowing exploration of friendship, and a genuinely breathtaking literary thriller. “Bloody, melodramatic, suspenseful debut… This novel about obsession at the conservatory will thoroughly obsess you.” Recommended for readers who enjoy literary fiction by authors such as Tartt or Emily St. 'Echoing such college-set novels as Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and mixing in enough Shakespearean theater to qualify readers for the stage, Rio’s debut mystery is an engrossing ride…Rio crafts an intricate story about friendship, love, and betrayal.

A well-written and gripping ode to the stage.A fascinating, unorthodox take on rivalry, friendship, and truth, IF WE WERE VILLAINS will draw readers in and leave them pondering the weight of our biggest actions and their consequences.' 'Pulls the reader in from the first page. 'Nerdily (and winningly) in love with Shakespeare. 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.' 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. 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.īut in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.Ī decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. 'Nerdily (and winningly) in love with Shakespeare…Readable, smart.” Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession.will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.”

If we were villains paperback