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.

I liked this! Scottish dark academia with a murderous, hallucinogenic twist. Definitely slow to start and a little long winded on the religion stuff. I did however really enjoy the historical fiction aspect on the Viking mythology. Overall recommend!

While I enjoyed the reading experience and I was kept riveted the entire time, I can’t help feeling that the ending was slightly lacking. Would have liked to see some real consequences for those entitled rich kids.

☠️ T O X I C T U E S D A Y review ☠️ featuring “When We Were Killers” by C.F. Barrington!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤.5/5

Finn Nethercott is attending the prestigious St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. Arriving alone and living in a single dorm room pushes Finn to meet people … which doesn’t take long. Finn finds himself totally drawn into a group of 4 friends that are obsessed with the ancient history of Scotland.

Hope, Laurie, Magnus and Madri introduce Finn to a world of late night rituals, secret meetings and a search for an ancient hallucinogen. But it doesn’t take long for Finn to catch on to the sinister and toxic dynamics of this group and the rivalry between them … and him.

If you are a fan of dark academia, atmospheric thrillers and deep rooted history and folklore, then this one is for you! Full of twists and turns, out of body/mind experiences and untrustworthy characters, this book will put you through the wringer!

Thank you kindly to @cfbarrington_notwriting @headofzeus @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on May 27, 2025!

a dark, atmospheric read with a strong sense of place and simmering tension throughout. It blends toxic friendships, obsession, and folklore into a moody, slow-burn thriller that lingers after the final page.

This is a dark academia thriller based in St Andrews, Scotland.
The setting works really well for the academia and secret society plot lines. The toxic friendships in this are well written and the entire story leaves you thinking carefully about how things could go wrong when you get into all the wrong things.
I found the berserker history plot a really interesting topic for their reasons for doing what they did.

Omg I loved this book had me gripped from the first page. If you loved a secret history, dark academia and story's of legends and whimsy this is for you. The characters are so well written and brought to life so vividly you can feel everyword. The story line flowed really well leaving you guessing where it might end up. A story of friendship, relationships and just how far we will go to fit in or run from our own trauma. Thanks netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an early arc of this book

I thought this booked sounded amazing when I read the description and I am pleased to say it lived up to my expectations. I have never read a book quite like it that blends almost a contemporary style with magical/mystical elements at times. The story had good pace, drive and I loved the whole idea of being sucked into this world because you have lost something in yourself. The setting was really interesting and the history, particularly the Scottish was great to read. The characters all stood out on their own, for good reasons and I felt each of them were understandable and relatable in a lot of ways. Overall it was a great read and I would recommend it.

Fascinating book about the Berserkers where the main character doesn't know what he lays in store for. Loved the writing and the pacing of the book. Definitely recommend. 4/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for an ARC of When We Were Killers in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

I encountered some challenges while trying to engage with this book. It seemed to progress at a pace that was slower than I had anticipated, which made it difficult for me to immerse myself fully in the narrative. However, if you appreciate intricate storytelling and a deeper exploration of themes revolving around faith, this book might be right up your alley. The complexity of the narrative could resonate with readers who enjoy a thoughtful and reflective reading experience.

set under the watching eye of st andrews, this book is a mystery waiting to be solved, horrors waiting to occur and a trip that desperately needs to end.

we follow a handful of strong and intriguing characters, belonging to the clan of dàl riata. this clan pays homage to many an ancient tradition, often following the pagan calendar and holidays and paying respects to the norse, celts and vikings belonging to the scotland of old. our groups founder magnus has a particular obsession with untangling the mysteries of the viking berserkers and the question stands - what made them so indestructible and will there be a prestige to figuring out their secrets?

the line 'life lingered in her' particularly struck me in its powerful us as both an opener and a closer in the book, though sparking intrigue at the start its truly haunting by the end. the pre-technology setting of the 90's added to the morbidity, forcing our characters to sit with their grief and guilt. despite this darkness we still have a unique found family with our cast, including more wholesome points in which our author pays homage to actual st andrews traditions.

coming out in may, this is a great thriller academia to pick up and enter the darker months with.

Since i loved “If we were villains” I couldn’t not read this! Even though the author’s writing didn’t really worked for me , the story , the characters and the atmosphere kept me glued to the pages!

When they sait this was saltburn meets TSH, they weren't lying!!! My goodness, I would not want to be in class with these people, but I loved it.

As a dark academia fan, when reading the summary for this book it was completely up my alley. A brooding university in Scotland, history scholars, faerie lore. I really couldn’t ask for more. That said, I did have a bit of mixed feelings once I got stuck into the book.

The setting for the book is absolutely stunning. The author does a fantastic job of making you feel like you are right there in those long, dark corridors and hallways on campus. It was an interesting backdrop to the story that also played a major part in the plot as it added into the historical aspects of the story, I.e. the students’ major. This proved to be one of the most interesting parts of the book to me. Being able to learning about the differing Scottish cultures through the eyes of our main protagonist Finn, we really got a deep dive into the passions behind the studies. This helped keep the book interesting even through the more slow parts of the plot.

I understand that with books such as this, there is a necessity to the slow burn of it all. There needs to be a slow building of tension that leads into obsession and decent into madness. However, I will say at points the slow burn felt like molasses. There were multiple points throughout where I felt bogged down and a bit bored in the plot. Then once the plot really started to pick up it kind of felt like a bit of a fever dream with a major plot point being the hunt for these ancient hallucinogens. It led to far more questions and confusions than answers and intrigue. However, to give credit where it could be due, this could’ve been the entire objective for the author. Maybe the author wanted us to feel as disjointed and out of it as the characters were. Maybe to toy with the unreliable narrator troupe that is prevalent in dark academia novels.

I did enjoy the prose but that wasn’t enough to distract me from the depth that was lacking in the plot itself. The concept and set up for the book was quite interesting but I think it lacked a compelling enough execution. Finn, in my opinion, wasn’t a compelling enough main character and the ending fell just a bit flat for me. Even still, it was worth the read and a lovely book to add to my collection of dark academia reads.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, C.F Barrington and Netgalley for the ARC.

When We Were Killers by C.F. Barrington. What an incredible book. Already a huge fan of the author's Pantheon series, this standalone piece of dark academia cements him as one of my favourite authors at the moment

This was a fascinating story that absolutely kept me hooked. This story mixed rituals, folklore, friendship, jealousy and academia in an disturbing story of a group of students in Scotland.
I really enjoyed the writing and this was an easy read that really drew me in. It was a creepy and slightly menacing novel and I found it thought provoking. It shows how easily it is to get drawn into someone elses reality even when that reality is rather skewed.
Would definitely recommend.