A wife burning with resentment. A husband hiding the past. Their teenage daughter crusading for the truth. Who can we trust?
From the bestselling author of Six Minutes and The Good Teacher comes a compelling family drama of marital secrets and family tensions set within an investigation of sinister unsolved killings.
The close-knit community of Kinton Bay is shocked when fifteen-year-old Siena Britton makes a grisly discovery near a cave in the national park. Siena believes it’s a skull from the town’s violent colonial past and posts a video that hits the news headlines.
But her parents, Meri and Rollo, think the skull is related to their teenage parties in the Killing Cave back in the 1990s. And a school mate who went missing then.
None of them foresees the dangers that the discovery will create for their family. The dangers of past deceits, silences and lies that have never been resolved.
The Liars is a heart-stopping cocktail of family secrets, unsolved disappearances and a community at war with itself.
Petronella McGovern’s 2019 debut novel, Six Minutes, was shortlisted for both the Ned Kelly Awards and the Sisters-in-Crime Davitt Awards. It was followed up by her bestseller The Good Teacher. Now with book number three, it’s clear McGovern has hit her stride, taking her place amongst this country’s top thriller writers.
McGovern excels at delivering complex characters, with quite a lot of background information, without impacting plotting or pace. This story zings along, essential in any good psychological thriller, but there is a lot of depth to be found here too.
The Liars is divided into five parts, each opening with a quote about whales. The opening quote is about how a female humpback whale will fight to the death to save her calf. Right from page one, it’s clear what we’re in for – a mother’s fight to protect her child.
The ocean themes are threaded throughout, with some of the younger characters working on school projects about whales. Added to this, the novel is set in Kinton Bay, near Wreck Point National Park, overlooking a point that claimed several ships. The setting is vividly described and key to the story, with the infamous Killing Cave nearby.
The novel is plotted to perfection, switching perspectives between a number of characters – including a killer – keeping the reader guessing about motives, secrets and how this will all end.
The main protagonist is Meri who grew up in Kinton Bay, with dreams to be a top journalist. She’s still in town, married to Rollo, mother to twins Taj and Siena, and works for the local paper. Siena is particularly interesting, trying to save the world, but stirring up trouble in the process. In Meri’s desperation to protect her daughter, she doesn’t realise her son is in trouble.
The Liars is a propulsive thriller that covers a surprising amount of ground and some serious subject matter. An excellent read from start to finish. Don’t miss this!
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