‘The kind of dark storyteller I love – his writing is intelligent and compelling’ JENNIE GODFREY
PRAISE FOR CHRIS MACDONALD ‘A compulsive thriller . . . it’s also very, very moving, packed with characters
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He was the most famous rock star in the world. And everyone thinks your father killed him . . .
‘Ego and ambition, guilt and redemption collide in this masterfully plotted and beautifully written psychological thriller. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the page’ ERIN KELLY
played at the Southwark Playhouse and as an actor
the opening line and won’t let you go. Fascinating’ ALEX MICHAELIDES
No-one knows what really happened. But the fans have never stopped whispering, not when Graham Harris, Nereus’s bandmate turned bitter rival, was seen nearby – before leaving the country for good that very night.
he’s worked for the BBC, the RSC and Amazon Studios among others. His screenwriting includes social horror
This Merrie Land for Agile and his band Playground Champions have soundtracked the ITV show Buffering.
‘A darkly dazzling and glamorously wicked thriller. Take a bow, Chris MacDonald’ CHRIS WHITAKER
A world-famous rock star. An unsolved murder. Only you can discover the truth . . .
His novel The Actor was widely praised, including by the Daily Mail as ‘a first-class thriller’.
Now, desperate to silence those rumours and to know the truth about her father, Graham’s daughter Winter decides to investigate for herself. Her questions will lead her back to when Nereus was still called Neil, to when Neil and Graham were just two best friends in a band – before Neil shot to fame, and Graham was left to watch enviously from the shadows. But Graham wasn’t the only one with a grudge against Neil. And when Winter realizes someone is following her, it becomes clear her investigation might prove more
I S B N 978-0-241-70832-3
Jacket images © Steve Tulley / Alamy and © Shutterstock Author photo © Phil Sharp
9780241708323_InTheShadows_JKT.indd All Pages
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CHRIS MACDONALD
dangerous than she ever imagined . . .
‘No-one writes about fame, obsession and dark secrets
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780241 708323
ROYAL HB
Trim Page Size
153 X 234 MM
Print Size
156 X 240 MM
quite like Chris MacDonald’ MARK EDWARDS
£0.00
19/11/2025 10:45
31.5 MM MATT LAM
Special Colours
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Inside Cov Printing
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Endpapers
BLACK 658
Case Stock
BLACK 601
Case Foil
K20 ( BLUE ) -
FINISHES
‘Deeply layered characters and a narrative voice that grabs you from
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H&T Bands
CHRIS MACDONALD is a novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. His debut play Eye of a Needle
FEB 2026
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Nereus Forbes was a trailblazing 1970s rock icon – a supremely gifted performer whose star shone blindingly bright. And then he died, suddenly, behind a locked door in his Chelsea townhouse.
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both lovable and entirely detestable. I adored it’ ABIGAIL DEAN
JON