Award-winning author and broadcaster Samantha Lee Howe returns in February with a gripping new post-war mystery, A THORN IN THE ROSE, the first novel in her compelling Mel Greenway Investigates series. Set against the crumbling elegance of post-war Britain, the novel weaves together class tension, buried secrets and the quiet resilience of women rebuilding lives in the aftermath of war. We sat down with Samantha to talk about the book, her life, and the experiences that continue to shape her work.
Q: A Thorn in the Rose introduces readers to the Avonby Estate and to Mel Greenway, a heroine very different from the brittle aristocrats we often see in post-war fiction. What drew you to this setting and to Mel as your central character?
Post-war Britain fascinates me because itโs a period where everything looks calm on the surface, yet underneath there is enormous upheaval. Avonby Estate felt like the perfect metaphor for thatโonce grand, now decaying, still clinging to old hierarchies that no longer quite work. Mel came to me as someone caught between worlds. Sheโs technically family, but never really belongs. As a former army mechanic, sheโs competent, practical and used to being overlooked, which makes her dangerous in the best possible way. She sees things others miss. When she discovers a body beneath the neglected rose garden, itโs inevitable that sheโs the one who refuses to look away.
Q: The novel explores sharp divisions between privilege and resentment, family loyalty and betrayal. Was that social tension always central to the story?
Absolutely. Crime fiction is a wonderful lens for examining society. The murder mystery gives you permission to dig into uncomfortable truthsโwho has power, who doesnโt, and what people will do to protect their position. At Avonby, the family are desperate to preserve their status, while the staff are tired of being invisible. Mel sits uncomfortably in the middle, mistrusted by both sides. That isolation becomes part of the suspense. Sheโs not just trying to solve a crime; sheโs fighting to assert her own worth.
Q: Youโve been remarkably open about surviving childhood abuse and a long marriage characterized by narcissistic control. At what point did writing shift from escapism to healing for you?
Writing was my refuge from a very early age. As a child, fiction allowed me to escape a difficult home life. Even then, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Later, during my first marriage, writing was discouragedโbelittled, evenโbecause it didnโt center on my husband. That was part of the control. But I couldnโt stop. When I became a stay-at-home mum, I returned to writing in stolen moments, and it quite literally kept me sane. Writing always made me feel that I had achieved something, even on the darkest days.
When I wrote The Stranger in Our Bed, I consciously drew on my experiences of coercive control. I wanted to explore the subtlety of manipulationโthe way it leaves you feeling stupid, selfish, ungrateful. Giving those feelings to a fictional character was both painful and cathartic. It was then I truly understood writing as a form of healing.
Q: Seeing The Stranger in Our Bed adapted for film and winning Best Thriller at the National Film Awards must have been extraordinary. What do you remember most about that experience?
The first time I watched the completed film is etched in my memory. Producer Terri Dwyer hired a cinema in London, and I watched it alongside cast, crew and agents. Seeing Emily Berrington, Samantha Bond and Ben Lloyd-Hughes inhabit characters that had once lived only in my head was surreal. Even the smallest elementsโthe music, the lightingโadded layers I hadnโt imagined. When my name appeared in the credits and the room erupted in applause, I cried. It felt like validation not just of the story, but of the journey it took to get there.
Q: After domestic psychological suspense, you moved into espionage thrillers with The House of Killers trilogy. What attracted you to that genre shift?
Iโve always loved morally complex stories. With The House of Killers, I was fascinated by the idea of a female assassin who isnโt a psychopath, but a victim of extreme conditioning. Nevaโs complexity comes from whatโs been done to her. Michael, by contrast, operates on the โrightโ side of the law, yet his actions are no less morally ambiguous. Researching that worldโspeaking to consultants, understanding recruitment and trainingโwas eye-opening. It reinforced my belief that good and evil are rarely straightforward.
Q: You write under different namesโSam Stone for horror and fantasy, Samantha Lee Howe for thrillers. How do those personas serve you creatively?
They give me freedom. Horror, thrillers, Gothic fictionโthey all explore fear and psychology, just through different lenses. The story itself usually tells me which name it belongs under. Readers come with expectations, and I respect that. As Samantha Lee Howe, Iโm expected to deliver suspense and mystery grounded in realism. As Sam Stone, thereโs room for the supernatural and the uncanny. Ultimately, itโs all part of the same fascination with the darker corners of human nature.
Q: Alongside your writing, you work closely with charities including Anna Kennedy Online and IDAS, using your platform as a survivor ambassador. What would you say to someone currently trapped in an abusive relationship?
Firstly, that they are not aloneโand that what theyโre experiencing is real. Abuse often begins with love bombing, then gradually shifts into control: isolation from friends, criticism disguised as concern, financial restriction. Not all abuse is physical, but all of it is psychological. If you recognise these patterns, reach out. Tell someone you trust. Call a helpline. Freedom is possible, and there is no feeling quite like being safe again.
Q: Finally, with A Thorn in the Rose launching the Mel Greenway Investigates series, what can readers expect next?
More secrets, more social history, and more of Mel refusing to stay in her place. Thereโs already been interest in adapting the series for screen, which is incredibly exciting. Mel is a character I feel deeply connected to, and I think readers will be surprised by where her investigationsโand her personal journeyโtake her next.
Samantha Lee Howe began her professional writing career in 2007 and has been working as a freelance writer for small, medium, and large publishers ever since. She is a multi-award-winning screenwriter and a USA Today bestselling author. She is the author or editor of over 30 published books, more than 60 short stories and two produced screenplays. Her back list includes Thrillers, Horror, Fantasy, SF and Steampunk.
An ardent supporter of charities, Samantha is Survivor Ambassador for the domestic abuse charity IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Services) which is based in Yorkshire. She also supports Anna Kennedy Online as sponsor, judge and presenter for the Autism Hero Awards and Autismโs Got Talent as well as the breast cancer charity, Pink Ribbon Foundation.
In 2026, the first two novels in Samanthaโs new co-sexy mystery series, Mel Greenway Investigates: A Thorn In The Rose and Fight Of The Turner; will be published by Bedford Square Publishers in 2026, with a third novel, Bride In Funeral Clothing, coming in 2027.
Samantha lives in South Yorkshire with her husband, historian, writer and publisher, David J Howe, and their cat Skye. She is the proud mother of a lovely daughter called Linzi.
