Though the plot twists may not surprise some readers, this is a solid mystery that keeps the pages turning. Flashbacks disclose what led up to the death of one of the students in 1997 and the tensions Oliver observed among his classmates before and after. The homicide detective who handled the case, Joseph Colborne, is about to retire from the force and attempts to convince Oliver to finally come clean about what really happened by promising him that anything he reveals will be off the record. Rio makes effective use of her framing device-a prologue set in 2007 introduces one of the students, Oliver Marks, who is about to be released on parole from prison after a decade behind bars for murder. A vivid and immersive story of obsession perfect for fans of dark academia and Donna Tartts The Secret History Oliver Marks has just served ten years for. As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an. Change Photo Log Report Last Update: 3 months ago. The story follows a group of college students’ passions, jealousies, and insecurities, which, over time, escalate to murder. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago. Group: ML Rio Category: Literature 13 characters in If We Were Villains are available for you to type their personalities: James Farrow, Meredith Dardenne, Oliver Marks. The premise of Rio’s debut novel is intriguing: it’s a murder mystery set at a Illinois college specializing in Shakespeare studies, led by a man with the coincidentally appropriate name of Holinshed. Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller Published: Flatiron Books, April 2017 My Rating: 5/5 stars 'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages' - William Shakespeare If We Were Villains is often described as the theateric, YA-equivalent of The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

If we were villains genre