Joan Sauers will be in conversation with Petronella McGovern on her latest and highly anticipated new book in the Rose McHugh Mystery series, Murder at Thornwood Park.

About the Book

For lovers of smart and witty cosy crime. Set within an intriguing village community of friends, neighbours (and enemies), all living at the edge of the atmospheric forests of the mysterious Southern Highlands, historian turned detective, Rose McHugh, channels her expert skills to solve an historical series of murders.

When historian Rose McHugh is left a mysterious bequest after the death of the reclusive heiress of Thornwood Park, she's excited to visit the estate.

But when Rose realises she may have found evidence of women going missing, she delves deeper. During World War II, the nearby Robertson Hotel housed trainees of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force, who often attended lavish parties thrown by Thornwood's wealthy owners.

Unearthing a decades-old mystery is a challenge ... particularly when it may lead to the unmasking of a serial killer. And it appears that someone in the misty Southern Highlands will do anything to keep the killer's identity hidden.

About the Joan Sauers

Born in New York, Joan Sauers is a screenwriter, producer and author who worked in London, Los Angeles and New York before settling in Australia. She has lectured in screenwriting in Sydney, London, Paris, Berlin and Casablanca, and has had seventeen books published in Australia, the United States, India and Japan. Joan has written for television series including Heartbreak High, Wakefield and Ladies in Black, and currently has a comedy feature film in development with Denim Pictures. She lives with her family in the Southern Highlands.

About Petronella McGovern

Petronella is the best-selling author of Six Minutes, The Good Teacher, The Liars and The Last Trace. Her books have been nominated in the Ned Kelly Awards, the Davitt Awards and the Australian Independent Bookseller Awards. The Liars was selected in the Top 100 Big W/Better Reading list for 2023. Her new novel, Every Time She Wakes, is a time-bending thriller about family and identity, which will be released in July 2026.