The Liars is the third novel by Australian author, Petronella McGovern. When fifteen-year-old Sienna Britton and her indigenous friend Kyle Cooper find a skull near a cave in Wrecking Point National Park, the nearby resort town of Kinton Bay speculates: it can’t be the toolie who disappeared the other day; might the skull belong to a local teen missing for over two decades? One of various other persons gone missing over the years: a Swiss backpacker, a Brisbane nurse? A local businessman who received threats? But the teens are convinced that the skull belongs to one of the victims of a nineteenth century massacre of indigenous families carried out by the town’s founder, Geoffrey Kinton.

Needless to say, Kinton Bay’s business people, those reliant on the tourist trade, would be very reluctant to draw attention to the town’s dark history. But instead of taking the information to her mother, Meri, a journalist at the Coastal Chronicle, Siena posts it on her YouTube channel, making it a moot point: soon the whole country knows, and not everyone is willing to accept the adverse publicity with equanimity. Some have long-held secrets they don’t want exposed. Then, more bones are uncovered…

The story is carried by five narrators, one of whom is initially anonymous, observing what is happening in Kinton Bay and having a more intimate knowledge of the fate of those missing than anyone else. Flashbacks to 1998 gradually reveal a town in the grip of toxic masculinity, homophobia, sexism and racism.

DCI Doug Poole is determined not to sweep allegations under the carpet as an apparently corrupt predecessor had done. His investigations and interviews with residents also expose not-exactly-innocent victims, false leads and shameful secrets, guilt over trust betrayed and long-held resentments.

With popular culture references and evocative descriptive prose, McGovern conveys her setting and era with consummate ease. Her characters feel familiar, exactly the sort of people you run into in a town of this type, all the more credible for their very human flaws. Her journalist frustrated by her editor’s unethical stance, the tourism dollar taking priority over honest reporting, will likely strike a chord with residents of resort towns.

The story also touches on bullying, plagiarism, the conservation of whale species, and the recognition of the mistreatment of indigenous peoples by colonisers. The final chapter offers a delicious irony that will leave the reader wondering how a certain character of integrity will handle the dilemma about to land in their lap. Atmospheric and topical, this is a gripping page-turner.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Better Reading Preview and Allen & Unwin