Under the Hammer by Samantha Dooey-Miles review: Kill the Landlord
Scotland’s answer to the Sweetpea series.
Under the Hammer by Samantha Dooey-Miles: Key details
- Publish date: 19 March 2026
- Genre: Thriller
- Publisher: Verve
- Available formats: Paperback, audio and ebook
- Series/standalone: Standalone
- Length: 288 pages
Blurb: 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?
Under the Hammer by Samantha Dooey-Miles: The review
Jemma is sick of renting. She’s sick of landlords taking the piss, of repairs not getting done, or sloppy jobs that barely pass. And with her long-term boyfriend suddenly out of the picture – after shacking up with her best friend, no less – something snaps. An unfortunate accident of her own landlord getting electrocuted sets her master plan in motion: she’s going to punish landlords for being crap humans.
That’s the plot of Under the Hammer, a brilliantly written darkly comic thriller with a protagonist you won’t forget in a hurry. Dooey-Miles has grounded Jemma with a human, relatable voice that makes her instantly likeable – even if she does have a penchant for hitting people over the head with a hammer. It’s reminiscent in style and tone to the Sweetpea series, so if you’re a fan of that, make sure Under The Hammer is on your radar ASAP.
A large part of the plot is ‘Fixer Uppers Go Under the Hammer’, a daytime TV spoof of Homes Under the Hammer that Jemma is obsessed with. With scripts of episodes smattered through the book, it’s a very nice touch – especially to anyone who happens to tune into BBC on a weekday lunchtime. The format has been nailed, down to the cheesy shots of empty houses, terrible puns and questionable use of music. I loved these sections, and only wish there was a few more of them! Jemma uses the landlords featured on the programme to pick out her next targets, and while her judgement might not always be the clearest, well, it’s hard to fault her sometimes…
Under the Hammer is a fairly short and very entertaining read, one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. From Jemma’s witty perspective to the odd bit of Scottish dialect dotted throughout, this is a unique and enjoyable book that I can’t hesitate to recommend.
Thanks to the publisher, Verve Books, for providing an advanced copy of the book to facilitate this review.
Discover more from What The Book
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
