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In The Shadows
A stunningly original murder mystery set in the glamorous world of 70s Rock and Roll
“Chris is the kind of dark storyteller I love. His writing is both intelligent and compelling.” Jennie Godfrey
“No-one writes about fame, obsession and dark secrets quite like Chris MacDonald” Mark Edwards
******
Chelsea, 1977.
Rock icon Nereus Forbes is found dead behind a locked door.
The suicide.
The murder.
Decades later, Winter Harris is still haunted by rumours that her father — Nereus’s one-time closest friend and collaborator — was to blame.
Determined to uncover the truth, she delves into the glittering, treacherous world of seventies a place of fame, envy and betrayal.
But as old secrets resurface and her search turns dangerous, Winter begins to how far will someone go to keep the past buried?
“Chris is the kind of dark storyteller I love. His writing is both intelligent and compelling.” Jennie Godfrey
“No-one writes about fame, obsession and dark secrets quite like Chris MacDonald” Mark Edwards
******
Chelsea, 1977.
Rock icon Nereus Forbes is found dead behind a locked door.
The suicide.
The murder.
Decades later, Winter Harris is still haunted by rumours that her father — Nereus’s one-time closest friend and collaborator — was to blame.
Determined to uncover the truth, she delves into the glittering, treacherous world of seventies a place of fame, envy and betrayal.
But as old secrets resurface and her search turns dangerous, Winter begins to how far will someone go to keep the past buried?
325 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 27, 2026
Back in the early ’70s, Graeme Harris was the lead guitarist in the Satyrs, a band that burned like a supernova for a brief few years and then died along with its brilliant singer/songwriter, Nereus Forbes. Just twenty-five, but old enough to have created a legend that would last for decades, Nereus – Neil to his friends – was a flawed genius, inspiring obsessive fan worship but progressively more addicted to drugs and excess. His death was put down to an accidental overdose, though it may have been suicide. But some fans believed he was murdered and, since Graeme disappeared at the time of his death and has never resurfaced since, for some he is still the chief suspect.
Decades later, Graeme’s daughter, Winter, is now middle-aged with two grown-up daughters of her own. Her parents split up when she wasn’t much more than an infant, and her memories of Graeme are few and sketchy. Her mother, Sadie, preferred never to talk about those heady days when she too was a member of the Satyrs. Now one of Winter’s daughters has received an anonymous picture of Nereus with the word ‘God-killer’ scrawled across it, and Winter decides she must find out the truth, and, if she can, find her father. Soon she finds herself going down the internet rabbit-hole towards the obsessives, the fanatics and the just plain weird who have built their lives around this long-ago tragedy. And then she begins to feel that she is being followed…
A crime novel in the sense that it has at its heart the mystery of Nereus’ death and Graeme’s disappearance, I found this read much more like contemporary fiction. It gives a wonderful depiction of that part of the music scene back then that was all a bit mystical and New-Age, heading towards glam, with songs full of folklore or fantasies. MacDonald, despite being far too young to have been there, clearly knows that era’s music history inside-out, and catches it perfectly. I was reminded of Marc Bolan before he went electric, early Bowie when he was still singing about sun-machines, the two dominant figures of Queen – the brilliant flamboyance of Freddie Mercury and the balancing steadiness of Brian May. And concept albums like The War of the Worlds or Tubular Bells, and the ridiculous clothes that were more costume than daywear, and the pansexuality or androgyny of some of the stars – shocking, so soon after the legalisation of homosexuality, and driving enraged, red-faced Telegraph readers to harrumph and declare the nighness of the end of the world. You know me and anachronisms – I spotted none!
The current storyline is just as convincing about these weird groups that grow up online, sharing conspiracy theories on every esoteric subject under the sun, convinced that they know the truth and that someone – the establishment, the deep state, the capitalists, the powerful – is hiding it for nefarious purposes. MacDonald shows Winter as initially seeing them as weirdos too, but gradually getting sucked in until eventually she’s right there too, sharing theories, adding little fragments from her own childhood memories, beginning to believe that someone, for some reason, is trying to suppress the truth, even to the point where her life may be in danger. She is the narrator, and when she’s telling the story of the band in the past, she tells it as a third-person researcher/observer. But in the present-day sections where she’s personally involved, there’s a kind of stream of consciousness style and an unsettling feeling that she is in danger of losing touch with reality, if she hasn’t already. She is neglecting her work as an academic, and maybe neglecting her family too, and for what? To find a man who deserted her half a century ago? To solve a murder that probably wasn’t?
In parts I found the book a bit slow and it has a tendency to meander around the same points a little repetitively. Despite that, I found it wholly absorbing and found both past and present equally well done and interesting, which is rare in dual timelines. Both Nereus and Graeme are brilliantly drawn – completely convincing within their environment. Their styles clash, in music and lifestyle, and Graeme’s feelings about Nereus are conflicted – he feels he’s the more talented musician, but Nereus has the star-power and the spark of genius. The ideas are Nereus’ but it’s Graeme who knows how to turn them into playable music. They love each other but perhaps they also hate each other a little. In a sense they are symbiotic – their great success happens when they are together, but can either of them make it alone?
Reluctantly, I’m deducting a half star because I did feel it was a bit too repetitive and therefore longer than it needed to be. But the quality of the writing, setting and characterisation and the very satisfying resolution really make me want to give it the full galaxy. Oh, why not – I’ve talked myself into it – five stars it is!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Decades later, Graeme’s daughter, Winter, is now middle-aged with two grown-up daughters of her own. Her parents split up when she wasn’t much more than an infant, and her memories of Graeme are few and sketchy. Her mother, Sadie, preferred never to talk about those heady days when she too was a member of the Satyrs. Now one of Winter’s daughters has received an anonymous picture of Nereus with the word ‘God-killer’ scrawled across it, and Winter decides she must find out the truth, and, if she can, find her father. Soon she finds herself going down the internet rabbit-hole towards the obsessives, the fanatics and the just plain weird who have built their lives around this long-ago tragedy. And then she begins to feel that she is being followed…
A crime novel in the sense that it has at its heart the mystery of Nereus’ death and Graeme’s disappearance, I found this read much more like contemporary fiction. It gives a wonderful depiction of that part of the music scene back then that was all a bit mystical and New-Age, heading towards glam, with songs full of folklore or fantasies. MacDonald, despite being far too young to have been there, clearly knows that era’s music history inside-out, and catches it perfectly. I was reminded of Marc Bolan before he went electric, early Bowie when he was still singing about sun-machines, the two dominant figures of Queen – the brilliant flamboyance of Freddie Mercury and the balancing steadiness of Brian May. And concept albums like The War of the Worlds or Tubular Bells, and the ridiculous clothes that were more costume than daywear, and the pansexuality or androgyny of some of the stars – shocking, so soon after the legalisation of homosexuality, and driving enraged, red-faced Telegraph readers to harrumph and declare the nighness of the end of the world. You know me and anachronisms – I spotted none!
The current storyline is just as convincing about these weird groups that grow up online, sharing conspiracy theories on every esoteric subject under the sun, convinced that they know the truth and that someone – the establishment, the deep state, the capitalists, the powerful – is hiding it for nefarious purposes. MacDonald shows Winter as initially seeing them as weirdos too, but gradually getting sucked in until eventually she’s right there too, sharing theories, adding little fragments from her own childhood memories, beginning to believe that someone, for some reason, is trying to suppress the truth, even to the point where her life may be in danger. She is the narrator, and when she’s telling the story of the band in the past, she tells it as a third-person researcher/observer. But in the present-day sections where she’s personally involved, there’s a kind of stream of consciousness style and an unsettling feeling that she is in danger of losing touch with reality, if she hasn’t already. She is neglecting her work as an academic, and maybe neglecting her family too, and for what? To find a man who deserted her half a century ago? To solve a murder that probably wasn’t?
In parts I found the book a bit slow and it has a tendency to meander around the same points a little repetitively. Despite that, I found it wholly absorbing and found both past and present equally well done and interesting, which is rare in dual timelines. Both Nereus and Graeme are brilliantly drawn – completely convincing within their environment. Their styles clash, in music and lifestyle, and Graeme’s feelings about Nereus are conflicted – he feels he’s the more talented musician, but Nereus has the star-power and the spark of genius. The ideas are Nereus’ but it’s Graeme who knows how to turn them into playable music. They love each other but perhaps they also hate each other a little. In a sense they are symbiotic – their great success happens when they are together, but can either of them make it alone?
Reluctantly, I’m deducting a half star because I did feel it was a bit too repetitive and therefore longer than it needed to be. But the quality of the writing, setting and characterisation and the very satisfying resolution really make me want to give it the full galaxy. Oh, why not – I’ve talked myself into it – five stars it is!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
August 15, 2026
Having enjoyed The Actor I was keen to read the author's next novel. Rather like The Actor, this also considers fame, although in this instance it is the legacy of being involved with the famous, rather than having fame personally.
Winter Blakely-Harris is an academic who sets out to solve rock music's greatest mystery. In 1977, rock star and frontman Nereus Forbes was found dead at the age of 25 (not 27 as tends to be the case). When her daughter is threatened due to suggestions that Winter's father was responsible for his death, she becomes embroiled in the past. Winter's father was guitarist Graham Harris, close friend of Forbes, and suspected of involvement in his death. Why did he leave the country after Forbes death, never to return to Winter or her mother, Sadie Blakely? As Winter finds herself being followed and struggling with obsessive fans, the crime seems impossible to solve. However, if she is to go on with her life, she needs to get to the bottom of the puzzle and discover whether her father was guilty of murder.
This is literary crime, with the emphasis on solving the puzzle of the past and unravelling what happened in the days of rock music and excess. I did enjoy it and like MacDonald's writing, which concentrates on the characters involved and meant I became very invested in Winter's search for the truth. I would definitely read more by him.
Winter Blakely-Harris is an academic who sets out to solve rock music's greatest mystery. In 1977, rock star and frontman Nereus Forbes was found dead at the age of 25 (not 27 as tends to be the case). When her daughter is threatened due to suggestions that Winter's father was responsible for his death, she becomes embroiled in the past. Winter's father was guitarist Graham Harris, close friend of Forbes, and suspected of involvement in his death. Why did he leave the country after Forbes death, never to return to Winter or her mother, Sadie Blakely? As Winter finds herself being followed and struggling with obsessive fans, the crime seems impossible to solve. However, if she is to go on with her life, she needs to get to the bottom of the puzzle and discover whether her father was guilty of murder.
This is literary crime, with the emphasis on solving the puzzle of the past and unravelling what happened in the days of rock music and excess. I did enjoy it and like MacDonald's writing, which concentrates on the characters involved and meant I became very invested in Winter's search for the truth. I would definitely read more by him.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews