If We Were Villains

A Novel

Formats and Prices

Format

ebook

Format:

ebook

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around April 11, 2017. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

“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.”

On Sale
Apr 11, 2017
Page Count
368 pages
Publisher
Flatiron Books
ISBN-13
9781250095305