The prime minister, the terror plot of the decade and an ex-rent boy who knows too much
‘Accomplished and gripping’ – The Observer
It’s 1984. Tommy Wildeblood, hero of Beneath the Streets, has put his days as a Piccadilly rent boy and scandal-hunting sleuth behind him, to study at the radical Polytechnic of North London.
During a pitched battle against National Front infiltrators at the Poly, he meets handsome young Irishman Liam and embarks on the sort of romantic relationship he never thought he would have. But is it too good to be true? Liam’s abrupt disappearance prompts Tommy to question how much he knows about his new lover.
Dusting off his old sleuthing skills, Tommy’s hunt for Liam takes him into the dark and violent netherworld of radical politics. As his search moves to an explosive climax, he finds himself in danger of carrying the can for one of the most shocking events of the decade.
With the twin spectres of Aids and nuclear armageddon never far away, The Enemy Within i s a gritty thriller built around a story of love in terrifying times. It captures the unique spirit of a dark and brooding age, with a supporting cast including Derek Jarman, corrupt Trotskyist leader Gerry Healy, a young Jeremy Corbyn and even Maggie Thatcher herself.
About the Author :
Adam Macqueen is a senior journalist on Private Eye and co-presents its podcast, Page 94.
His non-fiction books include the bestselling history of the magazine, and political miscellanies The Prime Minister's Ironing Board and The Lies of the Land: An Honest History of Political Deceit.
He is the author of Beneath the Streets and The Enemy Within - the first two in the Tommy Willdblood series of reimagined detective fiction. He has also published a collection of Ghost Stories. He has also been on the editorial team of Popbitch and The Big Issue.
The Inalienable Right is the third in the Tommy Wildblood series.
He lives on the South Coast with his husband, artist Michael Tierney.
Review :
‘Wildeblood is a thoroughly likeable hero’
‘I loved this – the kind of book I wish I’d written’
‘An accomplished and gripping continuation of Wildeblood’s adventures [in] a grim 1980s bedevilled by Aids, Thatcherism and IRA bombings. Cameos by everyone from Jeremy Corbyn to Derek Jarman add texture and wit’
‘The protagonist of the series is a former rent boy, and Adam Macqueen’s research is peerless, so these books are an intriguing combination of horny and historically accurate’
‘Rent boys. Revolutionary communists. Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And a plot to blow up Mrs Thatcher’
‘Brilliant. Beautifully drawn. A superb final twist’
‘This rollercoaster queer thriller is a cracking read: a complex love story, an adventure racked with radical threat and emotional trauma, an on-point political history of 80s social anxieties and protests, and a stonking good who-dunnit and who-dunn-what’
‘A moving and profound, emotionally powerful read. Gripping, unflinching and full of twists and turns. The blend of fiction with real history is superbly done’
‘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’
‘A gripping thriller which blends fact and fiction, superbly evocative of the times and period, and wonderfully character-driven. Outstanding’
