New Delhi, Aug 21 - London-based novelist Jaishree Misra, who had stirred a hornet's nest with her last bestseller 'Rani', a fictionalized account of the warrior queen of Jhansi, treads new ground in her latest novel 'Secrets & Lies'.

While 'Rani' - the story of the rebel queen of Jhansi and her secret love affair with a British agent Richard Ellis - was banned in Uttar Pradesh and the writer's effigy burnt in protest, 'Secrets & Lies' is about school-day friendship and suspense.

'I try to be consciously different in all my books. Since I have written about weddings, divorces, bereavement and human relationships and fictionalised history, I thought friendship would be a nice subject to write on with a bit of twist,' Misra told IANS in the capital.

'Secret & Lies', the first of a three-book deal Misra has with Harper Collins-India, was released by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor in the capital Tuesday.

It has already sold more than 8,000 copies in Britain. 'Secrets & Lies' is Misra's fifth book, all of which are bestsellers.

'The book is about four school friends -- Anita, Zeba, Bubbles and Sam -- whose friendship, forged in a posh Delhi girls' school, spans over 20 years. Intelligent, beautiful and secretive, the four come together for a school reunion to confront a terrible secret that has haunted them all their lives -- friend Lily D'Souza's mysterious death on the night of the school prom,' Misra said.

'I am very close to my school friends and try to stay in touch. I enjoyed writing this book. It brought my school days alive. But it is a shade dark -- there are at least three deaths in the book which help carry the story forward,' said Misra, a former BBC journalist.

She now works as a film and video examiner at the British Board of Film Classification.

Misra's life is as dramatic as her books. Born in a traditional family in Delhi, she fell in love as a teenager in school but was directed into an arranged marriage.