Beneath the Streets

Reviews / Votes

'After I finished writing A Very English Scandal, I took a solemn vow - that I would rather spit-roast my own offspring than read anything else about the Jeremy Thorpe Affair. Seldom have I gone back on my word with more pleasure. As boldly conceived as it is vividly realised, Beneath the Streets is a delight' - John Preston, The Critic;

'Gripping... this very English scandal has wit and invention to spare' - The Observer

'Adam Macqueen's excellent debut thriller [has] a thoroughly likeable hero while the plot skilfully mixes fact with fiction' - Mail on Sunday;

'What if Jeremy Thorpe had succeeded in murdering Norman Scott? That's the gripping premise behind this smart story of corruption, murder and establishment cover-up' - iPaper, 40 best books of the year

A gripping and occasionally hilarious depiction of what, up to this year at least, must have been the craziest period of modern British politics. The twist, on literally the last page, is superb. While some 1970s scandals were played out beneath the streets, some were hiding in very plain sight' - Law Society Gazette.

`A wonderfully evocative walk on the wild side of 1970s London, Beneath the Streets is darkly comic and deeply moving. A breathtaking, heartbreaking thriller' - Jake Arnott

'You think you know how mental the 1970s was? This book will remind you that it was even more insane than that: a time when the prime minister's personal doctor seriously offered to poison one of his aides. Any TV adaptation would probably have to feature 10 percent fewer blowjobs' - Helen Lewis'A thrilling read...incredibly powerful' - Nina Sosanya


'Ticks all the boxes for me. Gay history. Jeremy Thorpe. And a rent boy turned detective called Tommy Wildeblood. Fantastic' - Jonathan Harvey

'A f***ing fantastic read. A gripping what-if thriller, packed with vivid period detail and page-turning twists. To find myself actually making an appearance in the final chapter was just cream on the cake' - Tom Robinson

'A page-turning mystery, skilfully plotted and filled with tension, Beneath The Streets lifts the lid on 1970s subculture to spine-tingling effect' - Paul Burston

`A thrilling and brilliantly imaginative novel. It takes you into the secret world of Soho in the 1970s. But then suddenly it opens another door into the hidden world of violence and corruption that still lies underneath the England we know today' - Adam Curtis; 'Stonkingly good' - Rose Collis

'Really well done. The detail and the authenticity is all there: London as a really scary, edgy, ugly place. The atmosphere is brilliant... As a portrait of a world I thought it was really fantastic, and I also read it with my computer by my side because I was constantly looking up the real-life figures and I was constantly shocked and amazed by how much of this is true' David Nicholls

'A thrilling and brilliantly imaginative novel. It takes you into the secret world of Soho in the 1970s. But then suddenly it opens another door into the hidden world of violence and corruption that still lies underneath the England we know today' Adam Curtis

'A gripping thriller, interwoven with a really important thread about the condition of being gay in the 1970s' Harriett Gilbert, A Good Read

'I love, absolutely love, alternate history and conspiracy thrillers. I particularly enjoy works grounded in great historical moments. Real historical figures and events are weaved seamlessly through [this] novel's narrative. It also looks at the injustices gay men faced in the seventies. This human element is well done and compelling...I look forward to reading book two, wherever it takes us' Adventures in Crime Fiction Land

'A cracking read...a real page turner, with many twists...and a surprising and shocking ending. I raced through this 'what if' thriller, enjoying it very much but after I'd finished, I felt angry: about the exploitation of young boys by both thugs and 'officer class', about police corruption, about government cover-ups and what seems to be a quite illegal use of the Secret Service for purely political ends' Call Me Madam

'A dark, realistic, totally gripping and intriguing thriller that had me glued to the page. A great blend of fact and fiction... full of tension and superb characterisation' Babbage and Sweetcorn

'A wonderfully concocted storyline and plot which blends fiction with real-life characters in a gripping and intriguing thriller' AMW Books *****

'What a cracking book! It's addictive, thrilling and utterly delicious and has the most chilling of twists at the end' Brown Flopsy