Petronella McGovern's third work of fiction, The Liars, is being published on August 30.

McGovern, who used to work for IDP Education in Deakin, is an expert in "suburban suspense" or "domestic noir", taking us to people and places we know, the characters ringing so true.

The Liars sounds like another hit: "a heart-stopping cocktail of family secrets, sinister unsolved killings and a community at war with itself".

"The early reviews have been wonderful, with The Liars described as a captivating crime story with a ripper twist," McGovern said.

"The Liars is about how we deal with our history - what we hide and what we reveal, both on a personal level and on a community level.

"The story touches on a range of contemporary issues - including toxic masculinity and its effect on both girls and boys growing up - played out within a page-turning mystery."

The bestselling author of Six Minutes and The Good Teacher will be returning to Canberra next month as part of her book tour for The Liars.

She will be speaking at Harry Hartog's at the ANU with fellow author Karen Viggers on Tuesday, September 13 and at the Kingston Library with The Canberra Times' Karen Hardy on Wednesday, September 14.

Both events start at 6pm and are free but you need to register.

Tickets are available for the Harry Hartog's book launch here and the Kingston library event here.