The Enemy Within: A Tommy Wildeblood novel: Volume 2

by Adam Macqueen

It's 1984. Tommy Wildeblood, hero of Beneath the Streets, has put his days as a Piccadilly rentboy and scandal-hunting sleuth behind him and is studying at the radical Polytechnic of North London. But politics isn't ready to leave him alone. With the poly convulsed by the battle against National Front infiltrators and the miners' strike splitting the country, everyone has to pick a side. Tommy knows where his sympathies lie - and not just because revolutionary summer camps and trips to the pit villages provide an ideal excuse to spend time with handsome young Irishman Liam. But as the pair are drawn ever deeper into a web of radical politics, Tommy is forced to face up to how little he knows about his new lover - and how far he might be willing to go in the name of revolution.

The Enemy Within is a gripping thriller whose cast of real-life characters include taboo-busting artist Derek Jarman, corrupt Trotskyist leader Gerry Healy, a young Jeremy Corbyn, and major figures from Margaret Thatcher's government.

417 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 3, 2022

Reviews

[Tim Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave up half way through. As a gay man very involved in the punk and club scenes and left wing politics in the early 80’s, this should have been right up my street.
The book depicts a very realistic milieu, there is an interesting plot and a diverse range of characters. However None of those characters, including the narrator, came across to me as a real human being. For that reason I just couldn’t maintain interest in it

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Beneath the Streets Macqueen's last Tommy Wildeblood book and I loved this one. Full of historical references and figures. I was a young person myself during the era he is evoking and I could almost hear the soyndtrack. This an easy compelling read buy ultimately a very satisfying one. I look forward to the next instalment.