“What’s a little poison between friends?”

A psychological thriller, set in St Andrews University, Scotland, in the 1990's, with dark academia vibes.
Obsessions, betrayals, toxic friendships: do I have to say more?

It’s impossibile not to compare When We Were Killers with The Secret History and If We Were Villains: Donna Tart’s novel is unmatchable, but I think that C. F. Barrington is not too far from M. L. Rio.
Maybe When We Were Killers is a little bit too chaotic, and not as gripping as If We Were Villains, but I enjoyed it very much.
We don’t have classical studies or Shakespeare, but the vibes below are quite similar.
Secret meetings at night around a fire, with wine, some drugs, surrounded by ancient ruins: all is quite magical, and whatever contributes to Scottish lore, Vikings, Celtic folklore and so on, seems to be called back to life.
However, you can’t go too deep without losing something…

Not a five stars reading because something is missing (something is too predictable and other things are too simple) but still a good work.

Thank you to C. F. Barrington, Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not usually my kind of read - but I found myself hooked!

University; where folk from all walks of life come together and learn to get along - or not. St. Andrews, in the east of Scotland is one of the best known educational establishments and Finn finds himself a bit of an outsider until he get pulled into a group of friends - four history scholars who are obsessed with ancient Scotland and the search for long-lost hallucinogens. Just how far will they go to find what they're looking for?

I was drawn firstly to this novel by the setting. I wasn't bargaining for the whole tale but, even as someone who neither reads nor enjoys fantasy, I just couldn't put this down. I've already recommended it to my husband as I'm sure it's much more his kind of read. Having said all this, while I'm not entirely sure I enjoyed it, I could not have given up as I just HAD to find out what happened. I'm sure there are many readers who would absolutely love this one and, for that reason, I find myself wanting to recommend it. For me, 4*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.

3.5 ⭐️
Although this was a slow paced thriller, it was haunting, atmospheric and had beautifully dark academia vibes.

Mainly set in St Andrews University in the 1990's, the author has managed to create a dark, unsettling atmosphere amongst a group of students exposing their obsessions and toxic friendships.

This story is steeped in history and folklore, an hallucinogenic adventure, traditional university life, friendships, dark secrets and murder.

I loved the setting and the characters and the storyline, however it was a little slow for me, but I did still enjoy the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

As my first journey into dark academia, I enjoyed When We Were Killers, however I did find it a little predictable.

The Viking lore and discussions of festivals were fascinating and I found myself swept up in the descriptions of university life - I thought most of the characters were well written and parts of the story kept me guessing.

There were sections where I felt the story dragged slightly but the relationships between the “Clan” drew me back in quickly.

Overall, I enjoyed this read but knowing the ending I would not be likely to re-read (the ending fit the story, but part of the intrigue of the book was being kept guessing!)

I was very hopefully for this but ultimately it lacked character development and there was too much emphasis on drugs to hold my interest.

This was a very atmospheric and unsettling read as blends mystery and folklore whilst exploring toxic friendship under the scope of obsession, privilege, and secrets.

Finn Nethercott feels like an outsider. When he arrives to study Divinity at St Andrews he feels out of place, certain he does not belong. We follow Finn as he finds himself befriended by an enigmatic group of older students.
The book follows Finn as he finds himself caught up in what can best be described as an obsessive friendship. The tight-knit group he has joined have their own share of secrets, and as Finn works out some of these secrets he finds himself in increasingly dangerous territory.
There is little about this group that appeals. Entitled and willing to pursue their own interests even when it places others at risk, it’s hard to understand why Finn doesn’t walk away. It’s even harder to comprehend his actions once we learn more about the group and their actions.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication. Finn has his own history, and when we learn about his past it seems increasingly obvious that this is a person living with trauma and desperate to cling to anything that creates a sense of belonging no matter how dangerous. The characters offer little appeal, and the only character who elicits any sympathy is the character who ends up the victim of this self-absorbed group.

What happens when academic ambition turns dangerous? Sure, we all expect obsession, betrayal, maybe even a body or two. But what happens when a secret society is also after you?When We Were Killers by CF Barrington is a dark academia psychological thriller that gives The Secret History or If We Were Villains energy—but with a quicker pace, less Shakespeare, and a little more chaos. It follows Finn, a first-year student pulled into an eccentric, obsessive friend group chasing wild nights, intellectual greatness, and something far more dangerous. It’s an academic found family—but one that comes with the darker sides of life: addiction, blurred morals, and the weight of belonging to the wrong people. I devoured this in one sitting. It was fast, fun, and gripping enough that I never even thought about putting it down. My only wish? I wanted more time with the characters. But what we do get is razor-sharp pacing and a smart twist on the genre. If you like fast-paced stories with smart but impulsive characters, this one’s for you.
Out June 3rd.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a very hard time with this one. Usually I like anything academia, but I found this really hard to get into. About 40% of the way I started skimming because I couldn’t find any kind of connection to any characters.

If you enjoy more of a history academia this is probably more suited to your liking.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for this wonderful opportunity!

This dark academia novel, set in 1990s Scotland at St Andrews university, paints a graphic and feverish picture of the perils of obsession and toxic friendships.

It follows new student Finn Nethercott. He is attempting to move past the trauma of losing his family. Almost immediately, he has two paths available to him - the sweet, academic and faith-filled company of his Divinity classmates, who have his back, bake him cakes and sit with him through his tears, and the dark allure of the Clan Dal Riata, a group of risk-taking history students hell-bent on discovering the drug that allowed Viking berserkers to fight rage-fuelled and pain-free. Sadly, I’m sure you can guess which path he chooses. What follows is a blur of hallucinogenic experiences, harmful romantic attachments, fraternal rivalries and, ultimately, murder.

It’s a real page-turner, playing on the dichotomy of dark and light, right and wrong, and it feels like a descent into madness. I’d call Finn’s experience a corrruption arc. It shows how susceptible we are to curiosity, ambition, pride and longing, and how brutally formative our young adulthood can be. It also captures the seductive call of tight-knit friendships - the invincible feeling of standing together, shoulder to shoulder, against the world.

The insights into Scottish folklore and history are interesting, and the pretentious nature of the Clan allows for a lot of information to be conveyed without it feeling info-dumpy or overbearing. Honestly, as far as dark academia goes, this feels more like a character study than a story steeped in quotes and learnings, and that doesn’t come across as a bad thing.

Moreover, if you’re a fan of this genre and enjoy speculative thought, educational settings and spiralling hallucination scenes, I recommend it.

disclaimer : I received this free from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review

When We Were Killers follows Finn, a first year student at St Andrews, where he is soon drawn into a 'clan' who are obsessed with finding a long lost hallucinogen that made the Berserkers have a trance like fury. This obsession turns deadly (obviously).

Well, what can I say? This story has been done to death over and over and C.F Barrington added nothing original to his take. Yes, it is a fast-paced novel. Yes, I enjoyed the setting. Yes, it is atmospheric but it is also boring, unoriginal, and extremely predictable. It had potential but was poorly executed.

When the usual modern day drugs just aren’t cutting it anymore, you go in search of mystical old ones? Not rehab, it’s a long lost hallucinogen they need.

When We Were Killers follows five friends at St Andrews University. Finn, a first year, is brought into a group of friends obsessed with the history of Scotland - going on multiple adventures to ‘forgotten castles and faerie lochs’. There is, however, sinister motivations lurking and Finn will soon learn ‘just how deadly obsession can be’ when rivalries are made and the search for the drug is on.

Loved the setting - so atmospheric and perfect for the dark academia genre. I really enjoyed the St Andrews location and the immersive way in which the author set the scene.

Slow start but picked up around the halfway point. I was intimidated by the sheer amount of religious references and in depth discussions of Christianity - which kind of took me out of the story. This does show the authors research, but wasn’t the vibe for me!

Overall the characters were highly unlikable - but I assumed they were supposed to be. We weren’t meant to be rooting for them. As such they fit the vibe well, and made for an interesting read.

ARC copy provided by Head of Zeus & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

CF Barrington presents a dark academic thriller in When We Were Killers. Readers follow our perspective character, Finn, upon his admittance to St Andrew's where he is to study Divinity. Finn is quickly swept up into the Clan dal Riata, a group of five friends including himself who are fascinated by pagan holidays of the Celts and Vikings. Nothing holds the attention of Magnus, the supposed leader of the clan, like the Viking Berserkers. Magnus is determined that a substance is responsible for the rage-fuelled aggression and resistance to pain of the berserkers and he is determined to find it. Even though a Clan member has already died in the search. Even though there is a very real threat that more might be next unless the search is stopped.

When We Were Killers does for the Viking lore what The Secret History does for the Greeks and what If We Were Villains does for Shakespeare. An absolute mess of toxic friendship and love and lore. This is absolutely the pretention and the isolation of academia accompanied by the camaraderie and misery of research.

The writing is sometimes slow and winding, but with a driving pace behind it that seems almost characteristic of the dark academia works that hit hardest for me. Barrington clearly researched the topics well and the cover art is the final nail in the coffin of impact for this book. When We Were Killers stands strong with the pillars of the genre and forges its own place beside them. Is it perfect? Undoubtedly not. But I couldn't ask for more from it.

I will absolutely be looking into Barrington's backlist and will be purchasing my own copy of this book.

The salt-scented quadrangles of St Andrews University greet misfit first-year student Finn Nethercott with indifference. It is a place where privilege counts, and those from the right backgrounds can get away with murder.
Finn is quickly seduced into a new circle of friends – four history scholars obsessed with the deepest roots of ancient Scotland – who sweep him away on wild adventures to forgotten castles and faerie lochs.
But he soon discovers the darker sides of his new friends: deadly rivalries, midnight rituals, and a desperate search for a long-lost hallucinogen. And as Finn sinks into a world where he can't always trust what he's seen each night.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s starts slowly but builds tempo as the story progresses. It has some likeable character and some not so likeable. All the ingredients for a great read. It’s well written and although a little over descriptive in places it paints a vivid picture of Scottish history encompassing academia. Great twist at the end.

This book follows a group of students as they attempt to discover what hallucinogenics made the warriors of the past so successful. With this book being dark academia I was immediately expecting a hard to digest text but I was absolutely delighted with how easy this book was to read. It was thrilling and easy to follow and I don’t know if that’s helped by the fact that I live near where this book is set to imaging the surroundings was a breeze. As you can probably tell from the title, this book is very like If We Were Villains in the best way! Take that complex cast of characters with a rich backstory and combine that with the stunning prose of The Secret History, mix in a big handful of scottish lore and you have this book! Getting to read this book early was truly an adventure and I’d highly recommend this to someone who enjoys scottish history or as an entry point into the dark academia sub-genre.

I’m still not 100% sure whether I am a fan of dark academia or not, I find myself in a bit of a quandary as I’m sucked in by some works of this type and others I find hard work. For me When We Were Killers by C.F. Barrington falls between the middle of the two extremes of opinion.

The MMC Finn Nethercott has just started attending the prestigious St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, encountering a level of society and people that he has no previous experience in, a society of money and privilege. Alone and feeling somewhat separate from the core student body, Finn is drawn to an intriguing and mysterious group of 4 - Hope, Laurie, Magnus and Madri, who obsessed with the Scottish myth and folklore introduce Finn to a world of late night rituals, secret meetings and a search for an ancient hallucinogen.

Amidst the world of St Andrews, Finn soon discovers that this group are not what he hoped they would be as he unearths the toxic and sinister rivalries within the group as they pursue their unt for a long-lost hallucinogen. And as Finn’s hold on reality spirals away he faces the ultimate question of what price he will pay in pursuit of knowledge.

Whilst I was intrigued and pulled in to how the book identified and explored folkloric, spiritual and cultural traditions rituals and rites, and was immersed in that unsettling, chilling environment, I found the slow-burn and pace of the plot not to my taste at the start but, soon was pulled into the wild rollercoaster ride of hallucinogens, lore and dynamic of obsession and madness that exploded in the latter part of the book.

Whilst this book still hasn’t resolved my dark academia quandary, it is a strong example of the theme, that anyone who loves dark academia, atmospheric thrillers, history, myths and folklore will be totally entwined in.

Huge thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When We Were Killers is a really unusual mix of dark academia, thriller and, despite being set in a very real place with very real people, it almost had a fantasy quality to the writing and story. Finn is starting at St Andrews University in Scotland and from the outset feels like an outsider. We know that he has had a difficult upbringing and this might be the reason he is instantly drawn to a group of 4 friends (Hope, Laurie, Magnus and Madri) who have established a private group called the 'clan of dàl riata' where they are all obsessed with mythology, history, lore and ancient traditions. One of these obsessions is with the viking berserkers and the group have been tirelessly experimenting with drugs to try and recreate the circumstances of this particular phenomenon.

I loved the structure of the story - we start with a really ominous prologue which is set thirty years ahead of the main story. In this prologue it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong but it is unclear as to how, why and who is involved. The rest of the book then builds up to this tragic event, gradually revealing more of the situation and how it came about. This is a wild story with lots of interesting cultural information woven into it. A dark and mesmerising fever dream of a novel!

Finn Nethercott arrives to start his year at St Andrews. He finds it to be full of people, who come from a different world than himself - a world of money and privilege. Shortly after arriving, he meets a group of History students, who take him under their wing. However, he learns that all is not what it seems when he discovers that they are made about ancient Scottish folklore. What happens next is a random event that threatens all of their lives. The story is well written especially the descriptions of Scotland and their folklore. The group dynamic is full of different personalities. It kept me entertained and glued to my seat.

Finn begins studying at St Andrews University and meets a new circle of friends who are obsessed with ancient Scotland. He soon learns that there are much darker sides to his new deadly rivalries and sinks into a dangerous world.

This sounded like it would be an interesting read and I liked the idea of reading some dark academia. This definitely ended up heavily focused on the academia and was a story with a difference. I found that there was a lot of attention on history and folklores, which is not something I usually love, but I did find parts intriguing in this novel. Saying that, it was rather a slow burn, sometimes to the point where it dragged so much I felt slightly bored, and the way the story is told did get confusing at times. I didn’t care much for the characters either. Even though this book wasn’t fully for me, I appreciate what the author was trying to achieve and I enjoyed the atmosphere and overall concept. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Wow! when I get an ARC, I'm never sure how it's going to turn out, especially when I've never read anything by the author before.

Being of Scottish and Norwegian heritage with a fascination in lore, coupled with a love for a crime thriller - this could be the perfect book for me.

The story of Finn, starting university with a traumatic past and the magic and mystery of folk lore weaved throughout the book.

I absolutely loved this and I'm now going to add all of the author's other reads to my list because it was absolutely fantastic. An unforgettable page turner which will surely be made into a film.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.