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Book Reviewed by:Intelligent, thrilling, and richly detailed, If We Were Villains is a captivating story of the enduring power and passion of words.
Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
She has an incredible gift for prose. I can hardly wait for her next book! (Melinda H). I loved every minute of it, thought it was brilliantly done, and was thoroughly captivated by the players and curious how it would end. A very special, well-thought-out, and well-executed debut novel (Diane S). This is one of the most intriguing, intricate and clever novels I've read in a long while (Shaun D)...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
According to Guinness World Records, William Shakespeare is the world's best-selling playwright, with in excess of four billion copies of his plays and poetry making it to press over the centuries. He is also history's most filmed author; his works have been adapted into 420 feature film and TV-movie versions (Hamlet alone has been performed on screen 79 times). While his plays are timeless works of art, some people find them challenging due to the Elizabethan prose. Over the years many attempts have been made to adapt the plays into a format that contemporary audiences might find more accessible (some resulting in a more faithful interpretation than others).
The past 25 years in particular have seen a rise in the production of ...
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If you liked If We Were Villains, try these:
by Mischa Berlinski
Published 2025
An exuberant, darkly humorous novel by the National Book Award–nominated author of Fieldwork.
by M. L. Rio
Published 2024
The author of sales sensation If We Were Villains returns with a story about a ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave.
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Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest
Much like Donna Tartt's The Secret History, M. L. Rio's debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...If We Were Villains will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.
