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A small photograph of the author Chris Jones

Book: If We Were Villains

If We Were Villains

By M.L. Rio
Published in 2017 by Flatiron Books
Finished reading: July 3rd, 2023
Rating: 3.5 / 5

Description:

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.

Review:

Overall the novel felt like a very light mystery wrapped in a soap opera. It’s not particularly sophisticated, the main characters are never quite developed beyond the surface but are all somewhat relatable, drawing the reader in a bit more than the story itself. You can basically see the eventual ending coming from a mile off, I wished it had been left alone. It’s a quick and easy read, perfect for a summer novel, but I was left feeling a little disappointed overall, perhaps because it felt like the victim mostly deserved their fate, the culprit mostly absolved of murderous intent. For a novel based on the words of Shakespeare it felt like it could have embraced a lot more tragedy.

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