If We Were Villains: A Novel

“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."

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Published Apr 17, 2018

368 pages

Average rating: 7.18

698 RATINGS

Community Reviews

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Zoe E.

Aug 14, 2025

7/10 stars

7.5. I enjoyed this but I didn’t love it. Seven overly dramatic theater students take Shakespeare too far with tragic results. Things I liked: a juicy, engaging plot (sex, love, lust, death!), quick pace, generally well written (minus the occasional habit of using overly ornate language - though one could chalk that up to being from Oliver’s POV), for me it was fun to revisit some Shakespeare (though I’ll admit to having to refresh myself on some plots and characters) Things I didn’t: saw pretty much every plot twist coming a mile away, underdeveloped female characters, while I didn’t mind all the Shakespeare quotes it felt too on the nose at times, framing device fell flat for me

alina_ryyy

May 27, 2025

10/10 stars

written in a unique way. takes you in the story and does not let you stop reading. amazing book where you sympathize a lot. there is a lot of room for interpretation and your own imagination. insights on art and history and a lot of deep thoughts are triggered. amayzing for anyone that likes to think and to have discussions

Pherfer

Mar 25, 2025

8/10 stars

If you liked Donna Tart's Secret History, you'll love this dark academia novel. An elite East coast college, seven characters, a heinous crime, and the niche world of Shakespearean theater. I loved the setting and was immersed in the world. I found the plot engaging and it kept me enthralled until the very end. The author liberally sprinkles quotes from various Shakespeare play throughout the story, the characters sometimes speak to each through dialogues and monologues from the bard's works. This conceit adds another layer to the drama.
My biggest complaint is that the characters are superficially drawn - the frail ingenue, the overbearing villain, a siren, the naive, kind friend, the fool, the hero, and the cypher. Beyond these descriptions it is hard to understand motivations for some of their actions. I would remove three quarters of the Shakespeare quotes and add more insight into the characters. I am a theater person, so I appreciated the milieu, I remember students who had gone to conservatory schools like the one in the novel and were cut after their freshman year for being too fat. So I recognized this world. It was a bit of wish fulfillment for me to read the experience of these seven elite theater students, well except for the part where it all collapsed. I enjoyed reading this book and will definitely reread in the future.

Lucasdarke

Feb 03, 2025

9/10 stars

A book that captivated me and had me grinning, jaw-dropped, and near tears. The story is a celebration of Shakespeare that truly embodies the nature of a “tragedy. Only wish that I could see more depth of its core characters.

hideTurtle

Jan 21, 2025

10/10 stars

"First the reckoning, then the fall." In a dark academia tale set against the backdrop of theatre school, the lines between art and life become murky for a group of students. Friendship, love, passion, and jealousy give way to betrayal and ultimately death. The prose, mixed with snippets from various works of William Shakespeare, deftly sets the stage. The characters are easy to imagine -- not likeable, but easy to imagine -- with the appropriate amount of depth or shallowness necessary. The question of whodunit lurks in the background, a minor character in the drama of the lives of this group of friends, periodically reminding us that this is in fact a murder mystery. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that the point is not so much about the murder as it is about the tragedy. This is very clearly an homage to the genius of Shakespeare. I know I'm not the first to say it, but whispers of The Secret History by Donna Tartt echo here. And, strangely, a bit of Bunny by Mona Awad. Parallels to the former are fairly obvious (I won't spoil it for you) while those to the latter are much more subtle -- a similar urgent and intense tone fueled by the characters' passion for the crafts they are developing. Mystery lovers may not get into it for it's predictability. Lovers of drama, angst, suspense, and tension will probably get something out of this. Thesbians,theatre geeks, and Shakespeare fans alike will most likely love it. “Actors are by nature volatile—alchemic creatures composed of incendiary elements, emotion and ego and envy. Heat them up, stir them together, and sometimes you get gold. Sometimes disaster.”