“This is the story of the Newtown Murders..” A story of sex and repression, rejection and hate. An intellectual thriller in the tradition of ‘The Name Of The Rose’ and ‘The Interpretation of Murder’. 
Two gruesome murders occur at midnight, in the pouring rain, of a man and a woman. All the suspects have their motives, of lust and love, greed and revenge; but it proves hard for a famous detective to decide between a shady M.P., gangsters and prostitutes, between a celebrated philosopher and his wife. Somebody is lying. But who? Who is the monster hiding within this web of deceit? As the story unfolds, the lies mount up and the truth becomes even less certain. Motives begin to shift as we learn more about the victims. Then there are events and conversations which, as the reader looks back, take on an entirely different significance, now seen as containing clues, perhaps previously missed, towards the eventual unmasking of the murderer. All is finally revealed through the killer’s own psychoanalysis, a story of sex and repression, rejection and hate. 
The Midnight Lie falls with the tradition of thrillers with an intellectual core. It is philosophical-psychoanalytical murder story set in Manchester. Wrapped around a rapidly unfolding story – with a cast of shady and memorable characters - are clues embedded within discussions on the nature of lying - how we can deceive others and ourselves - on the meaning of love and hate, and on the inner compulsions that can lead to revenge and murder.

Michael Palmer is a widely-read English philosopher, whose work has been translated into many languages. After a lifetime teaching in schools and universities, this gruesome story of a Manchester double murder is a new departure, making use of Palmer’s expertise in philosophy and psychoanalysis.