The 2nd in the Tommy Wildeblood series following on the acclaimed Beneath The Streets and you have another cleverly written thriller, it’s a book which takes the reader on a journey superbly evocative of the times and period, but more than that is wonderfully character driven. As you read you get a real sense of who the characters are and the lives they had to live on a daily basis, you can instantly believe in them as people through the descriptive and rich narrative. It is hard not to take a liking to Tommy you can picture him in your head and throughout the book you learn a little more about his backstory, in this book whilst he does’nt seem as naive as in the first there is still a vulnerable side to him, someone determined to get their life on the right tracks at the same time not forgetting the past. In part it is a story of love found and lost of a longing to understand and seek some form of acceptance, but It is also a gripping thriller which blends fact and fiction and turns it into one highly satisfying read, there is a strong narrative running throughout, the question for Tommy is how far will he go to uncover the truth and see justice served this is where the plotting shines, the tension and drama rise and where the storytelling stands out, one thing you can be certain of you don’t see the twists coming and the author keeps the reader on their toes. It screams and portrays 80s Thatcher and what that entailed depending on your circumstances, you can sense the injustice This is a book that kept me engaged from the opening pages where you want to read every word, not sure in which direction I was to be taken and not sure what to expect, the ending however is totally unexpected and now has me eagerly looking forward to more. On an aside I particularly liked the passing reference and nod to Sandy and Julian Adam Macqueen has written an outstanding book in which the words and storytelling do the talking one which leaves an impression once finished

The second Tommy Wildeblood novel from Adam Macqueen meets back up with a slightly more grown up and a little less naive Tommy in 1984, as he is studying at a Polytechnic in North London. I highly enjoyed the first book, Beneath The Streets, but in this new story we catch up with our protagonist living a calmer and less dangerous life as a student, albeit with him protesting with others, against the acceptance of Patrick Harrington, a student who is a known member of The National Front. Although is it less dangerous? This is Tommy we’re talking about! Thankfully no it’s not, so while Tommy is standing watch outside on the look out for the arrival of Patrick, he meets, and instantly falls for, Liam, and as their relationships blossoms, we soon find him once again getting himself involved in the dark and violent world of current politics. Set around the bombing of The Grand Hotel in Brighton, as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet are staying there for the Conservative Party Conference, this novel wonderfully uses fact and real life characters to weave a fictional political thriller, full of grit, danger and fear, but also wit, depth and compassion. In the time of the miner’s strike and the emergence of a frightening and deadly new disease called AIDS, we follow Tommy as he embarks on a new relationship with fellow student Liam Delany. They seem to connect straight away. Liam knows little of the gay scene in London, so as Tommy introduces him to his friends and local groups and places they can go, and things they still need to be wary of, he finds a caring and thoughtful man. But when Liam suddenly stops seeing him and doesn’t answer his phone, Tommy starts to ask questions and soon discovers that he didn’t know anything about his new lover at all. Giving an insight into a time of much fear and hatred but still with the hugely lovable protagonist from the first book, The Enemy Within is another gripping thriller fully cementing this series as one well worth reading.