Withdrawn Traces: Searching for the Truth about Richey Manic, Foreword by Rachel Edwards

As someone with an interest in unsolved mysteries, this book piqued my interest. Although I recall hearing about Richey’s disappearance as a child, I'd always assumed that this was a "cold case" with a foregone conclusion. Certainly, the stereotypical image of an enigmatic rockstar, together with his darkly prescient lyrical output, have done nothing to debunk the widely-held theory that Richey died by his own hand. It was from this perspective that I approached the book and, in short, I enjoyed it for many reasons, most of which were entirely unexpected. Its trajectory follows that of a conventional biography, beginning with Richey’s early childhood and exploring the influence of key family members upon his psyche. The economic and cultural impact of Thatcherite policy is interwoven throughout, providing an unsettling backdrop to the happiness and stability of Richey’s idyllic early life. The narrative voice frequently includes that of his close sibling, Rachel, which lends it a semi-autobiographical dimension in the absence of its protagonist. This softens the book's diligent chronological approach and builds a fascinating picture of the man behind one of the UK's most famous unsolved mysteries - one that evidently continues to provoke much debate. The scope of the book is enormous and includes a wealth of literary, musical, and historical references as well as numerous personal narratives and archival documents from Richey’s family and friends. There's no undue focus on any singular event or causative factor, and it draws no conclusions as to what ultimately happened to Richey, which (granted) may be unsatisfying to some. As the book broaches the difficult subject of his disappearance, the authors expose a myriad of important details concerning the mishandling of the investigation, much of which I had never heard about until now. I get the impression that the authors wanted to cover all bases and remain neutral by doing so, whilst bringing home the message that these discrepancies indeed account for the reason why the public may never learn about Richey’s fate. The book is certainly ambitious, and there's no room left to pander to the sensationalism of a "whodunnit" or align with a particular idea above all others. But, for those who are interested in unsolved mysteries as well as Welsh history and culture, this is a fascinating read that does a lot to challenge the public perception of Richey’s case in a sympathetic manner. It makes for vigorous as opposed to light reading, and not everyone will appreciate its historical relevance. From my perspective, I was enlightened to some important details that I was never previously aware of, and additionally, I got to know Richey through a very different lens. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the band, modern mysteries and fans of pop culture.

This book also contains many glossy pages on the original writings of Richey.

Parts of this were weirdly antisemitic and many of the theories are completely absurd

I thought this was a fascinating book, having read all the others covering Richeys disappearance, it was good to find something a bit more up to date, including the anomalies in his case that have materialised more recently. It also gives a more full account of the two sightings in the early days of him being missing, for example it calls in to question the significance of the famous cab driver account of the young man he picked up, which is always cited, but doesn't really sound like Richey by the physical description. It also questions how the case was handled by officials, which I think is important, especially as it's taken over 20 years for the anomaly of the toll bridge ticket to be discovered, which immediately throws out the timeline by 12 hours, also raising the question about who signed him out of the hotel at 7am. There is a quite an extensive portion of the book dedicated to Richeys early life, I found some of it more relevant than other bits. The book does look at the contents of the gift box he left behind for his ex girlfriend, the contents of which remained a mystery for years, so it was interesting to know what the contents were and and see quite an in depth look at them, but I recall from earlier mentions of this 'box' in other publications, that there was a photo of a house in a location that wasn't recognisable to those who know him, which was painted at the time of having some mysterious significance, but no reference of this in the book. The book raises more questions than it answers, and these questions do need answers, even down to the way the investigation was conducted at the time. I found the book reinforced both of the popular opinions of what may have happened to him. I think he was an insanely clever man, capable of orchestrating his own disappearance, whatever happened next still remains a mystery. We have to remember that when he vanished we lived in different times, where disappearing was much easier without a paper trail. I hope those who knew and loved him finally get some answers one day. So was the book worth the money?... to me it was, I've been following his story since the news that he went missing, for those who are a bit unsure, there is a paperbook version of this book due out in the new year so you may like to wait for that.😊

This book is presented as being not merely a biography of a person missing presumed dead, but as an appeal for new information in an ongoing case; an effort to finally solve the mystery of what exactly happened to Richey Edwards after he vanished from his hotel room in 1995. Unfortunately, it is the exact opposite of what it claims to be. What we get is 80% biography and 20% wild speculation about his disappearance, with frustratingly vague details and no new insight. The first three quarters of the book are essentially a condensed biography of Richey Edwards, and as a biography it is above adequate - it presents a vivid enough picture of the man behind the myth, without sensationalizing him, and we get a detailed insight into the mind of a troubled young man who comes across as very likeable and fascinating, and one of the few genuine people within the music industry - thus increasing our empathy with his sister Rachel and ex-girlfriend Jo. However, when it finally comes to his disappearance, over three quarters of the way in, the details of his vanishing are simply glossed over with the vaguest of detail, before jumping into wild speculation. Readers who have followed the case in the past will learn almost nothing new, since all we get is a regurgitation of the vague details and conspiracy theories we've heard hundreds of times before. If the author's intention was really for the book to serve as an appeal for fresh information in a case that has been closed by the police, then she fails miserably - the foreword from Rachel states how the accepted timeline of events in Richey's disappearance has recently been proven wrong, yet the author does not even bother to give a detailed timeline of events as is currently known. Instead, we are given laughably vague information to the point that it is clear even the author is not telling us everything she knows - how, for instance, are Richey's three bandmates aware that Richey was visited in the hotel that evening by a girl called 'Vivian' and even of specific details of the conversation he had with her, when not only were none of them in the room with him but two of them were in different cities at the time? The whole deal behind how the band know about this mysterious 'Vivian' is never explained, and if the book is supposed to be an appeal for fresh information and a new insight into the case, then it really does not help the author's cause - or that of Richey's sister - by being deliberately vague with the details. If this 'Vivian' exists then she could be a key witness who could give the police and the family the information they need - so it makes no sense for the author to be deliberately unspecific regarding what is known about her. With such vague information and no new insight, all that is left for the author to do is venture into a murky mess of wild speculation and conspiracy theories, none of them based on any solid evidence. We can speculate all we like about alleged clues in Richey's lyrics and in the books he read, but nothing conclusive or even particularly helpful can be drawn from such speculation, and when we go venturing into the world of wild conspiracy theories (the idea is even entertained that Richey had knowledge of government paedophile rings who may have wished to censor him from exposing them) then we know we've seriously lost our way. What is certain is that the police's investigation into the disappearance seems to have been particularly incompetent, and the other band members do not seem to have been co-operative at all (they come across very poorly in the end, derided for putting their career above the wellbeing of Richey's family and it is even suggested they and the band's management know more than they are admitting - though of course there may be another side to this), but if there is ever going to be a cat's chance in hell of new information coming to light, then simply complaining about these matters is not going to help in the slightest. What is needed is a detailed, chronological look at all the evidence that is known, collaboration from as many parties as possible, and a fresh appeal for people who were in certain places at certain times, or may know someone who was involved in Richey's disappearance - to come forth. And sadly, this book has gone in the complete opposite direction, and can only do more harm than good to the chances of the case ever being resolved. Rachel may well have found the right author to portray her brother in a sympathetic light and write a reasonable biography - but with regards to actually finding out what happened, she drastically needs to look elsewhere.