LoveReading Says
If you love hard-hitting psychological thrillers that make you think, keep you guessing and shake things up, look no further than Chris MacDonald’s The Actor. Set in the acting world, it’s an unsettling story of ambition, hubris and dark obsession. Of guilt, cover-ups and redemption. Above all, it’s a skilfully plotted, slow-burn story that ramps up Hollywood style, with a suitably show-stopping finale.
In his twenties, Adam enjoyed two Oscar nominations. The lauded intensity of his performances came largely courtesy of the tutelage of his brutal mentor at a London drama school, where students were forced to harness, exploit and unleash their deepest, most intense life experiences in accordance with method acting practices.
Partway along his career, a tragic incident sees Adam in rehab: “I was in exile, a method actor who’d taken things too far, an embarrassment to the industry. I wasn’t sure I’d act again.” But when the part of a lifetime comes along, Adam feels compelled to return to acting. As he receives his third Oscar nomination, the truth behind the tragedy threatens to be revealed as we discover Adam’s childhood traumas, and his controversial mentor is implicated in the disappearance of a female student.
Spiky and grittily stylish, thriller fans won’t forget this electrifying story in a hurry.
Joanne Owen
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The Actor Synopsis
TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS, HE MUST SACRIFICE EVERYTHING . . .
Read most original new thriller, a story of glamour, secrets and obsession
'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' Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient
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Actor Adam Sealey owes his Oscar nomination to mentor Jonathan Dors. It was Jonathan who trained him in the Method: digging deep into personal trauma in pursuit of the greatest performance.
It gets results.
But there's a price.
For Adam, it cost him the love of his life.
And then there's what happened twenty years ago.
An awful secret he's buried deep inside.
Yet as Oscar night beckons, someone is threatening to dig up the truth.
Adam is finally in the spotlight that he craved for so long.
But it might just mean the world is watching as everything falls apart . . .
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'A compulsive thriller . . . very, very moving, I adored it' Abigail Dean
'Twisty, compulsive fun' i
'A barnstorming performance' The Times
'A brilliantly twisted (and twisting) tale . . . I loved it' Mat Osman
'Brilliantly evoked, totally compelling. A first-class thriller' Daily Mail
'Brilliant, dark, immersive, and ultimately hugely satisfying' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781405958318 |
| Publication date: |
15th August 2024 |
| Author: |
Chris Macdonald |
| Publisher: |
Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
384 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Thriller and Suspense
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| Other Genres: |
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Chris Macdonald Press Reviews
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
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
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
