

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.
