M. L. Rio Books

If We Were Villains is a smart, upmarket literary page-turner in the tradition of The Secret History Oliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends - a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago. As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off - villain, hero, tyrant, temptress - though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else's story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life. When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless. Beautifully written with a thrilling plot, If We Were Villains is a story of friendship, passion, and obsession.

A group of night shift workers in a college cemetery discovers an unexplained open grave, sparking their curiosity and leading them into a web of local mysteries. The ensemble, consisting of a bartender, rideshare driver, hotel receptionist, church steward, and an ambitious journalist, becomes entwined with a mysterious gravedigger who may hold the key to recent unsettling events in their town. With a blend of atmospheric eeriness and a familiar academic setting, this modern Gothic tale explores the secrets lurking beneath the surface.