Screens go blank, radios go silent, and the government is advising everyone to stay indoors. The residents of a rural Scottish community abandon their picnics and return home. Everyone can sense that something is wrong, but little do they suspect just how wrong... The Hamlet is a new novella by Scottish author Joanna Corrance, who delivers a fabulous tale that dances between horror and science fiction with an added dash of weird. Our cast of characters are all inhabitants of the Hamlet, including Eve, a businesswoman stranded when the planes are grounded; Robyn, an artist who accepts a commission to create a dollhouse to exacting specifications, with dire consequences; Helen, desperate to provide content for her online followers; Jeanie, for whom monsters may be more real than even she realises; Polly, a neglected child who has her own unique way of coping with reality... Together, the lives of these and others enable us to piece together what really happened in a very peculiar rural community when ‘things got strange’. “The Hamlet takes the reader on a surreal tour of a small community as they get to know their true selves in the height of a national emergency. With vividly drawn characters, and a strange and compelling narrative, this part body horror, part fairy tale novella marks Joanna Corrance as a writer to watch. I can’t wait to see what she does next.” – Sarah Pinborough “This book is a work of genius.” – Jim McLeod