Photography credit: Lily Barnes Photography
lia middleton
Agent: Kate Burke
Assistant: Sian Ellis-Martin
Biography: Lia Middleton is a barrister who specialises in crime and prison law, and lives with her husband and two young children in Buckinghamshire. When she isn't writing, Lia enjoys reading, travelling, and discovering new food markets and festivals.
Penguin Michael Joseph published THE CONFESSION ROOM in August 2023.
THE CONFESSION ROOM
Thriller, 368 pages, Michael Joseph, August 2023
Welcome to The Confession Room, an online forum for admitting your sins.
Some people confess to affairs, others to stealing. Some admit deep, dark wishes. And former police officer Emilia Haines, reading strangers' secrets is the perfect distraction from the past.
But one day, Emilia stumbles on the darkest confession yet:
MURDER.
At first, it seems like a hoax. But when a body is found, then another victim is named, Emilia can't look away.
How are the victims linked? Who is confessing to murder to publicly?
And how do you catch a serial killer who is hiding in plain sight?
YOUR WORD OR MINE
Thriller, 384 pages, Michael Joseph, September 2022
Ava Knight, a brilliant young prosecutor, always follows the rules. Until she meets Lily Hawthorne - a troubled fifteen-year-old, accused of stabbing charismatic hotel magnate Michael Osborne in cold blood.
From the outside, it seems a tragic, hopeless case. But Ava suspects something everyone else does not: MICHAEL OSBORNE IS LYING.
Because eighteen years ago, Ava was brutally assaulted. She identified her attacker; the case went to trial. But the jury let him go. His name? Michael Osborne
Back then, it was Michael's word against Ava's.
Now another girl's future hangs in the balance, how far will Ava go to be believed?
WHEN THEY FIND HER
Thriller, 384 pages, Michael Joseph, May 2021
Naomi always wanted to be a mother. But three years ago, her husband left, taking their child with him. Now, her daughter has come to stay, and Naomi knows it's her one chance to re-build her family. But the night ends in a terrible accident. And Naomi has no memory of what happened. Panicking, desperate, Naomi finds herself telling a lie:
'My daughter is missing.'
NOW SHE CAN NEVER TAKE IT BACK...