Hailing from Sydney, the former secondary teacher took the world of young adult fiction by storm in 1992 with her debut bestseller Looking for Alibrandi.

Marchetta is the product of both pre- and post-war migration, with strong Sicilian roots on both parents’ sides, so it makes sense that her first novel was based around the life of an Australian girl with Italian heritage.

This raw and relatable story of a 17-year-old finding herself, falling in love and unearthing the truth about her family history – all while completing her final year of high school - proved to be a massive success, and was adapted for the screen in 2000.

Eight novels, two screenplays and myriad awards later, Marchetta has taken a step out of the YA sphere and carved a unique space for herself in the crime fiction scene with her ninth novel Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil.

Set between the backdrops of the controversial refugee crisis in Calais and the tense climate fuelled by racism and prejudice in Britain, Marchetta’s first crime novel is a riveting reflection of the questionable treatment of minorities and vigilante justice in the digital age.

After over two decades of writing YA novels, Marchetta’s move to crime fiction was more of a natural progression than a conscious decision.

“It all comes down to the character that comes to you,” she says.

“I didn’t feel as if I had to step completely out of what I usually write about; it just has a backdrop of a crime.”

In fact, the latest product of Marchetta’s storytelling ingenuity is still very much a “Marchetta novel”, in more ways than one might expect.

Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is a mosaic of complex characters that draws on their experiences of family, love, and a sense of identity and belonging, all recurring themes in Marchetta’s own life, which she enjoys exploring through her work.

The explosive opening of Marchetta’s recent masterpiece narrates an act of terror targeted at a busload of international students in France.

While this may seem like an extremely topical and timely plotline given the tragic events which have occurred over the past 18 months, Marchetta began writing the novel back in 2013, when France wasn’t exactly a “target” of terrorism.

What did influence her choice of setting was the build up of refugees in the French port city of Calais, while the storyline was inspired by real-life cases of false imprisonment, such as the Guildford Four in Britain or the West Memphis Three and the Central Park Five in the US.

“I felt that what most of them had in common was race and class,” Marchetta explains.

“It began out of a concern for how minorities are treated and the idea of vigilante obsession that comes from social media.”

While Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil certainly speaks to many controversial issues which currently riddle the global community, Marchetta didn’t necessarily put pen to paper with the intention of conveying a specific message to her audience.

And she never really does.

“That’s not to say that when something comes across I don’t want to own it,” she laughs.

“But it’s never an intention.”

In saying that, Marchetta has enjoyed the way in which her novel has evoked a sense of self-awareness among its readers, albeit in a negative way.

“They realise that they’re the actual people who might look at someone in a suspicious way, and recognise the prejudice that we as individuals bring into the everyday life, rather than what the authorities or the terrorists are doing,” she reflects.

“It’s the idea that when you look up close and personal at someone who is supposed to be so completely different from you, what you actually see are many similarities, and I think that’s what draws these characters together.”

Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil has only been on the shelves for a few months, yet it has already received the praise typical of a Marchetta book.

It’s one of those reads that will consume you and leave you wanting more at the turn of the final page.

But not to worry when you reach the end; Marchetta is currently working on the film script for her second novel Saving Francesca, ensuring more great things to come from one of Australia’s favourite authors.