Leona Deakin

LEONA DEAKIN is a psychologist, author and public speaker, published by Transworld at Penguin Random House.

Her debut novel, GONE, was Woman & Home’s Best Thriller of the Year 2019 and this was followed by three more novels in the series: LOST, HUNT and THE IMPOSTER.

In February 2024 Leona published her first stand-alone thriller, THE ESCAPE ROOM, under the name L.D. SMITHSON, also with Transworld. A second, THE SHAME GAME, is due in 2025.

All Leona’s novels draw on her experience as a psychologist. She began her career recruiting officers for West Yorkshire Police and went on to advise the likes of the Ministry of Defence and the Crown Prosecution Service on all aspects of human performance and behaviour.

Leona met her husband, an ex- Royal Navy Commander, while researching her second book, LOST, and the rest is history. They spend half their time in their house in Ilkley and the other half on their Narrow Boat in Worcestershire. She is published in 14 countries.