The Actor

Critics Review

• Brilliantly evoked, totally compelling. A first-class thriller

  Daily Mail

• This compelling psychological thriller set in the acting world is both uncompromising and unsettling, with deeply layered characters and a narrative voice that grabs you from the opening line and won’t let you go. Fascinating.

  Alex Michaelides

• A barnstorming performance

  The Times

• Twisty, compulsive fun

  i

• The Actor is both a compulsive thriller and a fascinating insight into the world of method acting. Chris MacDonald’s writing captures it all, and beautifully: from the glamour of Hollywood to the grunge of 90s Camden. It’s also very, very moving, packed with characters both lovable and entirely detestable. I adored it.

  Abigail Dean

• 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

• A darkly dazzling and glamorously wicked thriller. Take a bow, Chris MacDonald.

  Chris Whitaker

• What an incredibly tense, immersive debut. I was completely absorbed by this window into the world of method acting and the dark, twisted consequences of such intense commitment. A bravura performance from MacDonald – I didn’t want it to end.

  Amy McCulloch

• An intense, absorbing read about the danger of sacrificing everything for your art, with echoes – in its fascinating depiction of the relationship between student and mentor – of The Secret History and Black Swan.

  Mark Edwards

• Brilliantly twisting (and twisted) tale of method acting, madness and Hollywood glamour. I loved it.

  Mat Osman

• If you are interested in the world of acting, this is one for you. If you like to be kept at the edge of your seat, this one is for you. If you like classy, unique thrillers with richly-drawn characters at their heart, then, you’ve guessed it – this one is for you. I loved it!

  Emily Koch, bestselling author of If I Die Before I Wake

• A blistering story of obsession and where it can lead; a crackling whiplash of a book

  Lou Morgan

• An unsettling, all-encompassing read that explores obsession and ambition. So sharp, so visceral, I just couldn’t look away.

  Jo Jakeman

• I was obsessed. Laughing one moment, absolutely speechless the next, I was completely swept away in Adam’s story. This book lives up to expectations – and then exceeds them

  Sam Holland

• Brilliant, dark, immersive, and ultimately hugely satisfying

  Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

• Enthralling and unsettling, The Actor will get you wondering how far one would go for recognition and acceptance

  Laure Van Rensberg

• A masterful thriller that keeps you guessing until the final twist. Exploring a group of drama students in thrall to a toxic tutor and methodology, it has echoes of The Secret History. MacDonald skilfully treads the line between taut, suspenseful thriller and a layered exploration of method acting, with a very moving ending

  Alice McIlroy, author of The Glass Woman