The Confession Room by Lia Middleton is a fast paced thriller that feels really current because of it's use of social media in the plot. Many social media platforms have "Confession Rooms" where people can go to confess their wrong doings both light hearted and more serious , and this is what the author has based her story on - a website where someone has begun confessing to murders. The protagonist of the story is Emilia Haines, a former police officer who left the force following the murder of her sister, and who regularly visits the confession room site, though she has not yet confessed her own dark secret- the guilt she feels that she ignored her sister's calls on the night she died. When a video is posted and the body of the person making the confession is found, Emilia finds her self drawn into a personal quest to uncover the murder, but as the bodies begin to stack up and her involvement comes to the attention of her former colleagues in the police , she is putting her own safety and freedom in danger if she continues the investigation.
Obviously I can't reveal anything more without spoiling the book, but I can say that the author does her best to keep the reader engaged and I really liked Emilia as a character, I found the ending a little disappointing but overall this was a fast paced and fun read.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own

Ahhhh the confession room 🙂 what a book! I loved it!!! An online forum for people to go onto and post their confessions. Seems simple enough and many people have done this and continue to do this, until one day the darkest of confessions is confessed. Murder.

Emilia Haines is an ex police officer, she left after her sister was murdered and made a confession on the forum saying if she ever found the person who killed her sister she would kill him. Emilia often goes on the confession room forum and one day she is shocked to discover that someone has confessed to murder, however it wasn’t just one murder it was two, and as time goes on many more people are taken and are murdered.

This keeps on going and the police have no idea who is behind this, and they have no leads to follow. Whoever is behind these murders clearly knows how to cover their tracks.

Emilia makes it her personal mission to get to the bottom of who is behind this and becomes obsessed with the confession rooms, she soon discovers that people who have made a confession on the forum are the ones who are being taken. People begin to panic as they have no idea who will be taken next and they soon start to panic. Will Emilia be able to get to the bottom of this or will more lives be lost before she can put a stop to this.

I loved the confession rooms, I was hooked right from the start of this book and every chance I had I was picking up my kindle wanting to know more, and what was going to happen next. At one point I found the book a little creepy, I even had to get up in the night to shut my balcony door whilst reading and turn the light on 😂

A brilliant read with plenty of twists I didn’t see coming. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review.

I’d like to thank Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Confession Room’ written by Lia Middleton in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The Confession Room is a forum on the dark web where people can visit and give their confessions without fear of consequences. Emilia Haines is a private investigator who left the police force when her sister Sophie was murdered and while she’s browsing online a new confession is posted giving the names of two victims. Emilia can’t help herself but become involved despite being warned off by the police and soon finds herself caught up in a web of danger, lies and omissions.

Although ‘The Confession Room’ is classed as mystery & thriller and true crime I do hope this book isn’t based on a true story in any shape or form as I’ve found it quite chilling with an underlying atmosphere of suspense and horror. The concept of the story is excellent with characters that are well-described, and although it slows down in the middle there are enough twists and turns to keep me involved as Emilia continues with her amateur sleuthing. But just as I think the story is going to end with Emilia settling down to a quiet life, I reach the last chapter and final massive twist and realise that I’m totally wrong.

A gripping read about Emilia, whose world shuts down after the murder of her sister…..then suddenly she becomes entangled in the emergence of the Confession room, where murders are happening….couldn’t put it down….

WELCOME TO THE CONFESSION ROOM: An online forum for anonymous atonement.

Emilia Haines is an ex police officer turned private detective, one day she stumbles across an online forum, The Confession Room, where people are sharing their deepest darkest secrets with anyone that cares to listen, someone has just confessed to murder, the first of many incidents posted where two victims are named each time, but why are these people being targeted and should people be admitting their misdemeanours if there are consequences involved. Can Emilia help track down those responsible or is she just putting herself at risk with her obsession?

The Confession Room is an intriguing read, with a plot that, at times, suspended belief but isn't that what fiction is all about, to broaden the readers mind and stretch the imagination? I was drawn into this story from the outset, with the whole online confession aspect leaving me wondering where this tale was heading and what part Emilia would play with the perpetrators and, whilst the ending was unexpected, I did feel it was just a little bit too out there, even for the broadest of minds. This is the third book I've read by this author and, whilst I thought it was a great read, I did enjoy her others more.

I'd like to thank Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for inviting me to read this, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Another tense thriller from Lia Middleton- she sure knows how to write them.

Emilia was a complex character with demons of her own after the loss of her sister and the ‘what ifs’ that surrounded her murder.

Her police background actually hindered her in some respects when she went through what she did as she knew procedure but couldn’t - or wouldn’t- stick to it to protect her family.

Well thought out with a fantastic twist at the end; this was one that I devoured in 24 hours

Sorry but I couldn't get on with this.
The murders were very weird and overly complex, and the motive of the perpetrators no way strong enough to come up with such a convoluted method of killing complete strangers, after being completely normal people.
The problem with the serial killer novels coming out now is everyone is competing to come up with the most strange and unusual MO, which means a lot of realism, authenticty and characterisation is left behind.
I cared little for the people involved and I didn't believe in the lacklustre love story running alongside.
And the twist at the end rather limp, because again - why? I just didn't believe such a strong leap from supposedly normal human to outrageous murderer.

The Confession Room was marketed as a ‘psychological thriller with a dose of horror’ and I really should have taken note of ‘horror’ element as this book had too much of it for my liking.

In the plot the Confession Room is an online forum where people can confess anything they have done in an anonymous space. It’s mostly things like affairs and petty crime until one day someone confesses to murder giving two names and a location. This is followed by a disturbing video and soon after two bodies are found. This pattern repeats and the narrative gets more and more chilling.

Meanwhile, Emilia Haines is doing surveillance work as a private detective trying to spot unfaithful spouses for her clients. Emilia used to be a police officer but following the murder of her sister, Sophia, has left the force and split up with her boyfriend, Ciaran, who is still a police officer. Emilia has been watching posts in the online Confession Room as she spends a lot of time trying to work out who murdered her sister.

Emilia gets more and more involved with the online confessions until things get even more horrific for her. Apart from the unpleasant horror side, I found it a little repetitive and did some speed reading as I really just wanted to finish the book and know how it ended. It was not a great book choice for me.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked:
• The reader getting each perspective - the victims, the detective and the murderer.
• The suspense and intensity.
• The twists.

The Confession Room has rendered me speechless. This was such an intense and suspenseful read that had me perched on the edge of my seat. Just when you think you know everything, it takes another turn.
I find that some thrillers can fall a little flat at the end, but this book left my jaw on the floor!

I loved how the reader was able to get perspectives from not just Emelia as the main character, but also the other victims and the murderer themselves. All the characters were phenomenal in their own right and each had me feeling something different towards them.

As a thriller, it contributed to me feeling all that I should while reading one - thrilled, anxious, tense and shocked.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time and I urge everyone to pick up a copy of this upon release! This is easily one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lia Middleton and Penguin for allowing me to be an arc reader in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping read that gets you from the first page, kill or be killed….what would you do ? A thought provoking story that isn’t that unbelievable given the horrors that happen in the world today.

This is a creepy, terrifyingly eerie book that will keep you up at night and that won't be to read!!!
It follows a former police officer (Emilia), whose sister is murdered and she blames herself. She lives with this guilt every day. It blew her world apart. She discovers a forum online, where you can share your confession about things that have happened to you, and how you feel about it.. Usually bad, very bad. This forum takes on a life of it's own, and people who have commented on there are turning up dead, with the video evidence being shared on this forum too.
Emilia's life becomes horrific, and the way this is written really plays with your mind and stays on your mind!! No gore needed!!!.
I love books like this, so I was loving every second!!! The twist at the end will blow your mind!!!!
I received this free arc book for an honest review.
#aNetgalley, #michaeljbooks, #liamiddletonauthor.

The Confession Room
Lia Middleton

3.5 stars rounded to 4!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks a mil to Netgalley.co.uk and the Author Lia Middleton for an advanced reading copy of this book prior to its publication date, in exchange for my honest review.

I have never read a book by this author before but I Ioved the sound of the blurb so was delighted to be approved a copy and couldnt wait to get started.

The Confession Room is an online forum where people are invited to post to fellow members and confess their sins or anything they feel guilt about. Alot of the posts are mainly minor wrongdoings, some admit to things like theft or adultery. Until one day someone posts on the forum confessing to murder....

Thats where the plot kicks off and the story begins. It started off so fast paced and was one of those books that are hard to put down as its so intense and grippy.

I dont want to give any spoilers or give too much away about the plotline and the conclusion but I thouroughly enjoyed this one and flew through it.

It was so different to many in this genre, a lot of thrillers have a similar plot and/or storyline so this was a very refreshing new take on a murder
who'dunnit. It took us into the deepest depths of the internet and had a dark eerie feel at times which is great if you're looking for a dark creepy read or thrillers are your genre of choice. This is the book for you.

I did feel it started off so well but that it did slow a bit at the half way point. Its pace slowed slightly but it was still full of twists throughout and they kept on coming right until the end.

I did guess one of the twists that came near the end though 😉

Overall, this was a great read and one I will defo be recommending.

Added this author to my list already and I look forward to reading some more of hers now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wish that I had enjoyed this book more. It sounded great, but I struggled to connect with it, sorry to say.

A dark and compelling thriller which is not for the faint hearted. For its subscribers, the confession room is a space on the internet where they can offload their darkest thoughts and confessions anonymously. It soon becomes apparent, however, that this is not a harmless chat room but a real space where people are matched and forced to face the consequences of their revelations. An original idea and a good plot but unconvincing protagonist.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

I found The Confession Room to be unputdownable. It’s a book of murder, suspense and intrigue. A tense, pacy thriller with some great twists to keep you enthralled. Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph Penguin Random House and the author for the chance to review.

This was a read that slowly crept up om me and at first I wasn’t so sure I was going to enjoy it but very soon I found myself not wanting to put the book down and I was hooked !
It’s a difficult story to describe as there is little or no action it’s really all about feelings, thoughts, the claustrophobic terror of the confession room and the main character of Emilia who is trying to get to the bottom of the murders whilst feeling threatened herself. It’s a book I read quite quickly and was thoroughly entertained, I like the conclusion a lot also. The writing was good and the book well crafted and overall I would recommend it to mystery thriller lovers as a 4 star read and I look forward to more from Lia Middleton in the future.
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A good well written and for the most engaging story,it’s impossible to not be fascinated where the subject is an online forum dedicated to people admitting their wrongdoings anonymously,it did keep me reading,I just wish at times the story moved a bit quicker as sometimes wanted it to move on,all in all though a good and intriguing reqd

I requested this book after a recommendation on Instagram and I am glad I did. I don’t read a lot of thriller / serious crime, but the premise of this one had me intrigued.

An online forum where people anonymously confess to wrong doing. So far, so good. Until someone decides that confessing without consequences isn’t an option. The story is mainly told from the perspective of former police officer Emilia. She frequents the forum after the trauma of her sister’s murder and finds herself drawn in to the investigation by her former colleagues.

There’s lots to like about this book. It’s tense, terrifying and fast paced. It would be great for book clubs as it opens so many debates. What is justice? Who gets to decide how people should be punished? When are you a victim? Plus the can of worms that is posting online anonymously and the way it influences behaviour.

It loses a star as there were a couple of niggles and while I enjoyed the ending (it wasn’t one of my theories) I am not sure it was entirely resolved for me. It didn’t need to be neat, but I think I needed a bit more (or maybe it’s a want, I couldn’t stop reading).

The writing is great and I’ve whizzed through it in a day. I had to know! So it’s a big thumbs up from me. I’ve never read this author before, but definitely will again. A book I recommend and I can’t wait to talk about it with someone in real life! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this arc!

The concept of this was really cool and it was pulled off in a decent way. Unfortunately, i wasn’t able to gel with the story or characters and I felt it was a struggle for me to get through the book and I kept putting it down and picking it up. It took me a long time to finish jt

This is such a good and gripping read, I loved it! Lia Middleton is one of my new R authors as I just loved The Confession Room.

We meet main character, ex-copper Emilia. Traumatised by her sisters murder she is now a private detective, catching philandering partners. She has cut ties with her own partner amid what happened.

Emilia is part of an online group called The Confession Room and one evening she sees someone's awful confession that they are about to commit murder, the confession also has two names. When the confession soon turns into reality, Emilia is haunted by this and feels like she needs to find out who is behind these awful confessions. When more confessions come through she gets back in touch wither her ex-partner Ciaran and he basically tells her to stop investigating these murders. But she cant just stop, she has major guilt from her sisters death and she needs to help. There are quite a few twists and turns in this novel, and the ending was great yet unexpected.

I really enjoyed reading about Emilia, and found her relatable and likeable. For me, this novel reminded me somewhat of the movie Saw and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lia Middleton really knows how to write a brilliant and clever novel and I loved it. Thanks to Netgalley, Lia Middleton and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.