Review: If We Were Villains (M.L.Rio)

Title: If We Were Villains

Author: M.L. Rio

Genre: Mystery, thriller, dark academia

Pages: 368

Published on: April 11th, 2017

Summary:

Dellecher Classical Conservatory is a prestigious fine arts institution in which only seven students have made it to the fourth and final year. Well, seven until one of them turns up dead just short of the Thanksgiving break. Murder. 

“Murder’s as near to lust as flame is to smoke.”

What follows is a tangled web of lies, deceit, and hatred. The remaining six, all supposedly 22-year-olds, have to prep for their final performance of King Lear while navigating all sorts of emotions, administrative pressure, and legal proceedings. 

With its Shakespearean backdrop against the modern-day drama school setting, the plot is a lovely concoction of love, lust, hatred, mystery, and envy, tied up in a taut story. 

Review:

“Shakespeare is real, but his characters live in a world of real extremes.”

Straight up, you can tell that the author is a Shakespearean. With an incredible amount of research behind her debut novel, M.L. Rio explores the darker side of fine arts with precision and delicate behavioural analysis. 

What worked:

The imagery of it all. M.L. Rio has managed to make us feel like we were there all along, experiencing and witnessing the unfolding events ourselves. 

The book being divided into five acts, with each act divided into multiple scenes, is the cherry on top. 

What didn’t work:

The Shakespearean references. As a layman with little to no knowledge of Shakespeare’s writings, I found myself lost in places. When the characters referenced Shakespeare’s words, I struggled to understand the relevance. 

The mystery was a bit lacking as well. Midway through the book, I knew the ‘who’ and continued reading only to find out the ‘why’. 

If you overlook the two minor points, the book is, overall, a great, binge-worthy read. Because, as the author says herself:

“You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough.” 

And if there is only one word to describe If We Were Villains, it would be ‘poetic’.

Rating: 3.75/5

Recommendation: Yes, for the love of art and words and mystery.