Samantha Dooey-Miles chats to Paul Burke about her debut thriller UNDER THE HAMMER, satire, the housing crisis, daytime TV, para-social relationships, marketing, stalkers, rage and humour.

UNDER THE HAMMER Jemma would kill to end the housing crisis – one landlord at a time…

Jemma has lost everything... Well, the very little she had. Her toxic boyfriend has run off with her best friend, leaving Jemma alone in their flat, and she can't afford the extortionate rent on her own. She's aimless, depressed and, above all, furious. Slowly but surely, her fury finds its focus: landlords. If only something could be done about them...

When Jemma's landlord has a fatal accident while carrying out a property repair, she stumbles across her life's mission: to punish as many landlords as possible. She begins targeting landlords who have appeared on her favourite binge-watch, a home-improvement TV show where their greed is laid bare. It's a messy job, but someone's got to do it.

Governed by her own rules, Jemma is convinced her actions are just – but how long before this vigilante turns villain?

Samantha Dooey-Miles - Samantha’s fiction focuses on first-person, female voices. Her work explores rage, shame, embarrassment and the significance seemingly small moments can hold. Her stories have been published in New Writing Scotland, Gutter and Postbox amongst others. In 2021 she won a Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award. She has had monologues performed by Slackline Productions and Coronavirus Theatre Club. Her short plays have been staged by Short Attention Theatre and at Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.

Recommended - Chris McQueer Hermit. Mentions American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis, Scabby Queen Kirsten Innes.

Paul Burke is the editor of Aspects of Crime, The Crime Time FM podcast, and is a CWA Gold Dagger Judge. His first book Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming will be published in September 26.

Produced by Junkyard Dog

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