Published By: VERVE
Pages: 272
Released On: 19/03/2026
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?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and VERVE for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I’ve read a few property-based thrillers recently, which seems bizarre given how niche it is, but I think it is a promising angle for thrillers going forward.
I loved Jemma. Sure she’s a bit unhinged but I can’t really blame her. I felt she stood for all of us, like so much of her was recognisable and we could all be in her situation – just with hopefully less violence. Some thrillers can focus too much on the action and forget about the characters, but Samantha has managed to balance both, so we get an exciting engaging story but also fully fleshed out characters. They aren’t all particularly pleasant but they’re all fun to follow.
She reminded me of characters such as Rhiannon from C.J Skuse’s Sweetpea series, or the female protagonists of Bella Mackie’s thrillers, and there’s a lot to like about these kind of characters.
What I really enjoyed, and what set this apart is the way it’s written. I generally prefer third person in thrillers but this is first person, and we get Jemma’s inner monologue which helps bring the story closer to the reader and almost lets us in to a secret, like we’re in her inner circle.
I rarely laugh out loud at books. I can find books funny but it’s more of an inside laugher, but I found myself physically laughing at this. It’s a dark, morbid humour and things that probably shouldn’t be funny, but they were and I make no apologies for that.
It’s a relatively short book, yes, but it’s also fast paced and whizzes by. It’s full of twists and turns and surprises but nothing feels too overwhelming.
It’s set in Scotland which I liked because I love Scotland. There are bits in a Scottish dialect or inner jokes or language that are only known to Scots. It’s not a negative because it didn’t interfere with the enjoyment of the book, but just to make you aware. If anything, I think it helps bring us closer to the characters.
It’s not subtle. It’s all loud and very intense. I like reading books that are quiet, that you have to slowly unwrap, but I also like books that you don’t have to work for and you can just enjoy them for what they are, and that is this. It’s utterly fabulous and grim and morbid and vulgar and OTT and I loved it.
I believe this is Samantha’s debut, and if so then it is very impressive and she’s definitely a name to keep an eye out for.
Books By Your Bedside 