Bookmarked: M.L. Rio’s ‘If We Were Villains’ is an Insightful Scare

Content warning: Murder, substance misuse, depression 

As we turn the page on summer and begin aching for changing leaves and pumpkin scents, we begin to welcome things that draw comfort. Conjoint with the changing of seasons is a change in the to-be-read lists of many book lovers searching for the perfect autumnal read. Full of mystery and scares, readers can look no further than M.L. Rio’s “If We Were Villains.”

Encapsulating the dark academia many have taken to their fall Pinterest boards, the murder mystery surrounds seven students attending Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a fictitious boarding school in Illinois. The aftermath of the murder of one of Dellecher´s students plunges readers into the lies, broken bonds and guilt carried by each character. 

The book’s main character Oliver Marks believed himself to be the outcast of his friend group. Oliver consistently delivers as the kind and caring friend — one everyone looks to for help but receives no help in return. Constantly feeling insecure in his acting abilities, surprise swarms in as Oliver receives a high standing role in the school’s fall Shakespearean play “Macbeth.”

With an intense commitment to the role, the line between actor and character begins to blur for Oliver. Consumed in their acting, Oliver and his friends, Alexander, Richard and James, begin to take on the characteristics of their characters in real life. In their play, the duality of death can foreshadow the death that occurs at Dellecher.

Having finished their performance of “Macbeth,” the friend group’s celebrational festivities halted abruptly. On the surface, the party held in Dellecher’s castle hall captured the typical high school house party filled with cheap drinks, music and sweaty teenagers. But underneath, a much darker scene begins to unfurl, kicking off the book’s suspenseful murder mystery. 

Burdened by the loss, Oliver and the other five students are left pondering how such things happened to their peer. With an eerie unknowingness lingering, each character grapples with the heartache and grief caused by the death afflicting Dellecher. 

Complementing the uncertainty surrounding the death is the setting of Broadwater, Illinois — an unsettling small town darkened by the tragedy. Like any small town during fall, the anticipation of Halloween with spooky decor and a vastness of land in itself added to the book’s chilling mood, making for the perfect fall read. 

Heavily explored themes of guilt, pain and afflictions with grief connect writer to reader through each character’s own struggle. Being so close to a person that their death feels like losing a part of yourself is a feeling many can likely take hold of, as Wren did. Approaching grief in a haphazardly frantic way, Wren’s character reveals the lasting impacts of grief and the process of healing. 

“But maybe everyday we let grief in, we’ll also let a little bit of it out, and eventually we’ll be able to breathe again,” Wren said     

The genre of mystery was never one I would pick from a stack, but I was  immediately compelled by the suspense of “If We Were Villains,” finishing the story in two days.

When the students pin together the pieces of who murdered their peer, guilt is taken upon the group of six as a whole.

Oliver’s kind, caring nature renders itself as he takes responsibility for the death, fraudulently turning himself into the police. To those that relate to the archetype of the selfless friend, the scene resonates, given the difficulty of seeing the people you love most suffer. Although in my opinion it wasn’t his smartest choice, he seemed to make the choice out of love. 

The book’s ending staggers in its delivery and likely would’ve been better with each of the students bearing the punishment of the death. 

Unlike many murder mysteries, the characters all share internal guilt and blame rather than just one — but leaves Oliver to admit to it. This addition was interesting to see a different view on a murder and the accomplices tied to it. Complicity and the extent to which the characters defend each other exemplifies the close-knit relationship they’ve created with one another. 

Being the first mystery novel I’d ever read, I was daunted by the size but kept turning the page. The 368- page novel was a quick read, leaving me stunned at the vastness of events that occurred. Rio’s formal style of writing incorporated with Shakespearean writing gave the read a smooth flow.

Ending on an upsetting note, Rio’s novel “If We Were Villains” encapsulated insightful angles connected with my favorite scary halloween feelings, segwaying into a chilling and thrilling fall. 

Featured image courtesy of Cat Kenney / Flatiron Books