When We Were Killers

"'Saltburn' meets 'The Secret History'" - Ian Rankin

Five friends. One deadly obsession.

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, the group will learn just how deadly obsession can be…

A shocking fever-dream of a thriller perfect for fans M.L. Rio's 'If We Were Villains', Ashley Winstead's 'In My Dreams I Hold a Knife' and Ellie Keel's 'The Four'.

C.F. Barrington is the author of the Pantheon thriller series about a deadly battle royale game featuring a cast of characters fighting for their lives on the rooftops of Edinburgh. The first book, 'The Wolf Mile', was published in 2021.

© 2025 SAGA Egmont (Audiobook): 9788727139524

Release date

Audiobook: May 1, 2025