“Has the hornets’ nest been kicked too hard? Having taken down some of the most dangerous members of the UK Terror Watch List – Alex is persuaded to return to help track down the unrelenting Islamist terror organisation ‘the Interest Group’ – Tony Blunt is the only lead.

Where is Tony Blunt? The apparently radicalised former Paratrooper has gone to ground without a trace. Alex finds himself at the heart of the effort to find him. Working with a multi-agency force to track him down, can they find Blunt before he executes his masterpiece?”

Hello! Ryan here. Emma has left me in charge of the blog so I can share my review of Joseph Mitcham’s second book in the Atrocities Series – Where is Tony Blunt? – with you.  I enjoyed the first book, and was keen to find out what happened next…

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Where is Tony Blunt? but that has not influenced my review.

Joseph Mitcham has done it again. Another excellent book which builds to a powder-keg conclusion. Mitcham is an author who trusts his readers. He recognises that not many readers want continual action, and is prepared to blend slow build pressure and fast action strands together into his books.  This book bubbles up to perfection as slowly the atrocities planned by Tony Blunt become clear and we realise that the opportunity for Alex, John, Lucy and the team to stop him is held on a knife-edge.

If you enjoyed The Watch List you have to read Where is Tony Blunt?  After a cleverly written prologue to give us more back story on the mysterious Blunt, we are reunited with Alex in the café where The Watch List ended. Alex is an interesting choice as the lead character for these books. Rather than the go-getting, confident and charismatic leader so many authors choose as their main character, he is a techie who is often having to perform at his best to keep up with others when the action starts.

Mitcham creates a strangely forlorn villain in Blunt. From the prologue there is a temptation towards sorrow for this social misfit, but as the book evolves it becomes clearer that his history has led him to a place where he doesn’t want pity. He wants revenge. It was fascinating to see his doubts in his own ability – certainly he was no egotistical supervillain as you see in some stories, but a human plagued by the same self-doubts many feel in their day to day lives. But I assure you by the end of the book, your pity for this evil character will have gone completely!

The characters are once again well written and the team trying to stop Blunt’s attack are well balanced and generally likeable, yet clash against each other as group tensions and individual priorities threaten the operation.

I would happily recommend this book. The ending may leave room for the next instalment so book me in for that as this is a series that is growing in stature and quality and Mitcham must be one to watch for the future.  Is he on your watch list?

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Where is Tony Blunt? The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Where is Tony Blunt? by Joseph Mitcham was published in the UK on 12th November 2020 and is available in paperback and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you):
| amazon.co.uk | amazon.com | Goodreads |

Joseph Mitcham served with the British military in elite and technical units for over 16 years. His service not only gave him a thorough tactical and technical understanding of some of techniques and processes employed in his first novel, it also provided him with the opportunity to develop himself, earning a first class honours degree in business leadership by the end of his service.

His debut novel, The Watch List, was published in 2019.  The inspiration for writing ‘The Watch List’ was taken from personal experiences from the roles that he has served in and characteristics from some of the people that he has served with. Joseph has written an incredible, yet compellingly credible story that plays out in our world as he sees it today.