If We Were Villains

 If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, 354 pages.

Seven aspiring Shakespearean actors at an exclusive arts school have spent four years growing deeply entwined with each other. Through the years the roles they play onstage on offstage have blurred and grown deeply entangled. When one of their own dies, all of the bitter feelings and guilt begin to poison the survivors, as they have to convince not only the police they are guiltless, but also themselves. Oliver Marks has just finished serving a ten year sentence for his classmates murder, and he is finally ready to tell the truth to the retiring police officer who has been haunted by the case all these years. 

This book feels, in many ways, like a love letter to The Secret History by Donna Tartt. That being said, I actually liked this book better than that foundational text of the dark academia genre. Rio did a masterful job creating in the reader the feelings of the characters, transferring an atmosphere that was frequently both suffocating and frantic. I also found the tension between the characters conforming to their assigned archetypes and existing as complete people fascinating. It also feels worth mentioning that I have been thinking about the end of this book since I finished it a few weeks ago. I would heavily recommend this as a tense, character-driven drama.