First a foremost, a big thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

In 2018, Morgan Christopher is a young woman whose life led her down a path she never would've expected - serving time in prison for a crime she didn't commit. After the accident, she could kiss her dreams of working in art goodbye and had to drop out of school.

In 1940, Anna Dale has graduated art school in New York and was chosen to create a mural for the post office is Edenton, North Carolina. As a young woman in 1940, people all over the town had reasons for why they thought she didn't deserve to win the contest and create the mural. She just wanted to come down, get a feel for the town, and retreat to back to New Jersey to paint in peace, still coping from the death of her mother.

If I'm being honest, I wasn't sure I would get into this book. I was about 30% of the way through (Kindle reader here!) when I finally started getting into the story and becoming invested in the story. Each chapter goes between the viewpoints of the two different women in two completely different times, though their stories appear to run parallel.

They both have struggles of their own and have to overcome the thoughts and opinions of those around them. Anna struggled to conceptualize what she should include to do the town justice. Morgan had to unravel the strange pieces she uncovered as she began restoring the mural. Did Anna lose her marbles and leave town when the mural was complete? Why was it never installed in the Post Office? What happened to Anna Dale?

Overall, I really enjoyed the book once I got over the initial hurdle of that 30%. Diane Chamberlain does a good job of giving adequate build up of the story, and the ending wasn't something I saw coming, which I enjoy. While not a "can't put it down" book for me, I still really thought the story was lovely and ended it in a way I enjoyed, so I really have nothing to complain about! If you're thinking about giving this one a read, I say, "Why not?" If you find yourself not super interested when you first start, give it a chance. Get past that first 30% and then make your decision!

Diane Chamberlain has done it again and this is definitely on my short list of favorites from her. She has crafted a perfect novel in many ways. The structure made is compelling and kept me turning the pages quickly! The characters were complex and designed in such a way that I just wanted to know more and more about them. One thing I love about historical fiction books is when there is a dual timeline that involves some type of mystery, and this book did an amazing job of meshing those two thing together. If you thought art restoration sounded boring, you need to read this book. It was a fascinating process of discovery in many ways and I loved the author's use of it in the story. Please pick this book up as soon as possible!

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

You have to make peace with the past or you can never move into the future.

Two time settings, two women, one piece of historical art belonging to Jesse Williams. The narration goes between Anna and Morgan, Anna who is living in the early 1940's where racism is prevalent along with sexism. Anna has won a contest to paint a mural in Edenton. Coming to the small town, she was met with some resistance but she was excited to start and use local young people to help with her work. A teacher with a concern for her student Jesse Williams asked Anna to take him on as he was struggling with grades and being a black added to the tension. Why would Anna take on Jesse. She was met with protest and one of her student helpers to quit. Anna became obsessed with her art and not taking the advise of her landlord would work on her art late into the night. When Anna was faced with the ugliness of the small town of Edenton, Jesse becomes her saving grace.

Morgan has her own problems. Released from jail with a stipulation of to restore a mural from the late Jesse Williams. She has no ideal who Jesse is but freedom is the price she will pay to restore the work of Anna. When she begins the restoration, she finds a mural that has menacing meaning. A bloody hammer, a motorcycle, and Morgan becomes determined to find out what happened to Anna. She seems to has disappeared from the face of the earth. Her artwork seems to indicate that she had gone crazy. Morgan feels a connection as she is fighting her own demons and knows by uncovering Anna's demons, she will find the truth of the connection they share.

I loved how this played out and was surprised by the ending. Both women had something to share in the story and with each other.

A Special Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest revie

This is a beautifully told, emotional story. The dual timelines work well, as one woman works to unveil the life of another through the history of a painting.

I was more emotionally invested in the story from 1940. Chamberlain totally captured the turmoil of the era and the hardships Anna Dale faced in life. I loved her character.

All of the characters are complex and sometimes surprising.

The plot moves at a steady pace, though at times overly detailed parts slowed things down unnecessarily. Overall, though, I totally enjoyed the story.

I had planned on reading this one in anticipation of meeting the author at the Tucson festival of books this year. I selected it as our local book club pick and purchased a hardback to be signed (along with another book of hers), but she was on of the first authors to cancel. I was super bummed so I felt it jaded this book for me. I hope to finish this one eventually, but right now I'm just not feeling this one.

What can I say, Chamberlain is the Queen. EVERY. SINGLE. BOOK. That I have read of hers has been gold. It is safe to say I am a fan for life, and that Chamberlain is a favorite Author of mine, and has been put on my Auto list. This book is exceptional.

I really enjoyed Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain. Told in alternating POVs and alternating historical eras, it’s an intriguing, masterfully crafted story. Anna Dale is an artist in 1940 who wins a contest from the US government to paint a postal mural in Edenton, NC. Morgan is a convicted drunk driver serving time in 2018. The two have famous artist Jesse Williams in common. Morgan is released from prison to restore a canvas that Jesse leaves. behind, the mural created by Anna Dale. As Morgan restores the mural, the story of Anna is revealed. I loved all the details Ms. Chamberlain incorporates into this beautifully crafted story.

Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy.

While serving a sentence in prison for an unexpected death, Morgan receives an offer that will provide her with an early release- one that she can’t refuse. The catch? She must restore a mural in North Carolina. She has a lot to learn and complete in what seems like an unreasonable amount of time.

While working diligently on this given project, she discovers the true story of the mural’s original artist. One that involves a crime, a coverup, and lives that were changed forever. However, what Morgan doesn’t expect to find out is that these secrets hit home more than she ever imagined.
Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

I have never been disappointed by @diane.chamberlain.author ‘s books. This one is no exception. For awhile I wasn’t quite sure where this one was headed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed how this one turned out and would recommend it! Who else has read it? 🙋🏼‍♀️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

I have read every single one of Diane Chamberlain's books and have loved them all. Big Lies in a Small Town was no exception. I completely lost myself in the alternating chapters about Morgan and Anna. Both young women, both at a crossroads in their lives. I felt like I was there in Edenton, NC in both 1940/41 and 2018. It was such a great read that I didn't want to put down!

"He kilt somethin' in you. The way I see it, that's just as bad."

I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but the added mystery makes it quite addictive. I fell in love with Diane Chamberlain's writing with The Dream Daughter and knew I wanted to read more of her books. I still need to get her backlist books because I love her characters and the how engrossed I get in her pages and words. Morgan and Anna are treasured friends I'm so honored I got the chance to just spend time with them.

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain is an engaging mystery interwoven with historical fiction about the Treasury Department’s contest to get murals painted in post offices in 1940. Two timelines -- 1939 and 2018 – reveal the story about two different painters leaving readers to wonder, how could they possibly intersect?

A contemporary painter, Morgan Christopher, a recent releasee from prison in North Carolina, is given an opportunity for redemption by restoring the unfinished mural created in 1939 by Anna Dale, an artist from New Jersey, who disappeared before ever installing her mural that reveals violence, madness, and the conspiracy of secrets in a small town.

Through the clues in the painting, Morgan gets her life back on track and discovers what happened to Anna Dale in Edenton, North Carolina, in 1939.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 10, 2020.

I highly recommend this historical fiction novel as the Treasury Department’s mural contest is not a widely known story that’s been played out in other historical novels. Diane Chamberlain, a writer living in North Carolina these days, has created an intriguing story about two women and their art. This has been a favorite read that I’ve recommended in my Bookshare group.

I’d like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Loved this book! I'm a big Diane Chamberlain fan, and this one didn't disappoint! I feel like this could be my hometown in North Carolina. Even the name is extremely close. Take of the ton and you have where I'm from, Eden. Anyway, this book was amazing. Chamberlain has a style of writing that just flows perfectly. You connect with the characters and the story.

Fantastic!! Diane chamberlain never fails to be amazing!! This book was no exception!
I loved the dual story lines, how they entertwined and eventually came together... I couldn’t put this book down! Absolutely amazing!!

Big Lies in a Small Town had more plot layers, character development, and unpredictable events. You could totally see this happening in a small town in the 1940s. The way that Diane Chamberlain connected Morgan Christopher's life in 2018 to the artist Anna Dale, who painted a town's post office mural, was incredibly original.

It took me a little bit to get into the story, but then I couldn't put it down. You will feel every emotion throughout this book and then some.

I received this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an honest review.

Can I just say how much I love this book and Diane Chamberlain!!! This is my second book of hers and she hit another homerun!! Chamberlain is seriously a master storyteller. This magical book is a wonderful mix of historical fiction and mystery. She alternates between two main characters and two storylines. They flow smoothly together to weave an intricate story of passion, love, loss, regret, injustice and restoration. The characters are so well developed and each one has a very specific role in the story. There are no wasted characters, scenes, words or moments in this book. I became so invested in the character's story. I loved reading how they grew, faced the obstacles and struggles in front of them and navigated that maze.

I love the story. Love the characters. Love the setting. Loved how the paths crossed in the most unexpected ways. Love the author. I just overall love this book. This is one you do not want to miss!!! Big Lies is a BIG book to fall in love with. Hands down this is one of the best books of 2020 I have read.

My many, many thanks to Diane Chamberlain, St. Martin's Press and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An amazing story written by a talented author. Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain takes the reader on a journey through time between 1940 and today. When Morgan Christopher is released from jail to restore an old mural, she is confused as to why she was chosen. And after she sees how damaged the mural is, she wonders how she will do a good job of it with her limited talent of restoration. But others are depending on her to not only finish it, but finish it on time. And as she works on it, she becomes intrigued by the original artist, Anna Dale, who’d created the mural in 1940. Her interest soon becomes an obsession to learn what had become of the artist after tragedy had befallen both her and the small town.

Just like the mural, this story is full of layers about the small town of Edenton, North Carolina and its inhabitants. Mystery, murder, and a touch of a love story all combine to create a story that you just can’t put down. Those who love a good duel-timeline historical novel will love this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

*Any quotes are from the finished copy I checked out from my library.*

I apologize in advance for how long this review is going to be.

I loved this story so much that I made my boyfriend sit down and listen to me explain the whole plot to him. He pretended he was interested, so I'll give him points for that.
This novel is being added to my "All-Time Favorites" list, and I will be purchasing it for my shelves whenever I get the opportunity. I'll stop raving and explain to you exactly why this story is wonderful!

Trigger warnings: Sexism, rape, alcoholism, racism, mental disability: manic-depressive psychosis.

"You have to make peace with the past or you can never move into the future."

2018. Morgan Christopher has been put in the North Carolina Correctional Facility for Women because of a crime she technically didn’t commit. Her minimum sentence is one year, but the maximum was three. Her parents are alcoholics, so she’s never really had company for the year that she’s been there, until Lisa Williams and Andrea Fuller show up. Andrea is an attorney, and Lisa is the daughter of Jesse Jameson Williams, a famous black artist. He was in the process of creating an art gallery in Edenton, North Carolina, before he died. In his will he stated that he wanted Morgan to restore a 1940s mural by August 5th of that year, or Lisa won’t be able to keep his house that she’s living in. He offered her $50,000 and extra thousands for art supplies. The problem? Morgan doesn’t know how to restore a mural.

1939. Anna Dale receives a letter that she is one of the winning artists in the 48-States Mural Competition, but she didn’t win for the state she lived in which was New Jersey. The judges were pleased by her work, so they offered her the opportunity to create a mural for a post office in Edenton, North Carolina.
She agreed, and left for a three-day trip to Edenton, a break from the harrowing task of burying her mother. “The one person in the world whose love and nurturing Anna could always count on.”
Before she died, she had given Anna a journal, and Anna agreed to hold on to anything her mother gave her for the rest of her life. It did state in the letter that she needs to become familiar with the town, so the mural can represent that town as much as possible.
Unfortunately, most people in the town were either upset that Martin Drapple, a long-time resident and well-known artist in Edenton, didn’t win or that she was a woman. All the men didn’t trust her ideas for the mural. There was a famous Edenton Tea Party where women stood up for their freedom, but the Mayor mentioned Edenton was tired of hearing about it.
Her plan was to leave Edenton after three days, but the Mayor insisted that she stay. She can live Myrtle Simms, a widow whose daughter just got married and left the nest. Anna can give her rent to help fix up her big house. Eventually, they find a warehouse for her to work in during the process.

That is where the two timelines start to connect. I don’t want to spoil anything because it’s so much fun watching all the layers unfold, and let me tell you, there are A LOT of layers.

I loved both female leads. They were strong-willed, persevering, and self-aware women, who took others into account even when they don’t have to. That does become a flaw, but they’re still human after all. They deal with a lot of obstacles, especially Anna, living in the 1940’s amidst the times of sexism, racism, and everything in between. These are definitely women I would look up to and strive to be. They take on challenges that are above their heads. They confront their mistakes...eventually. Outstanding characters.

There is the teeniest, tiniest romance that slowly forms throughout the book, but it definitely doesn’t take over the story. It’s actually quite lovely. It’s between Morgan and a man named Oliver. He helps her with the mural, and he’s the curator for the gallery when it opens. I enjoy how much they enjoy each others company.

The writing is really good! There’s nothing complicated or hard to understand. The back and forth POVs are done extremely well. I was never bored at any point throughout the story. Diane Chamberlain knows how to write a good story, and I commend her for that.

I will pick up Diane Chamberlain’s other books from the past and anything she writes in the future. This is one of my new all time favorite books. There are no plot holes that I could find, the characters have strong personalities, and the writing is beautiful. What more could I personally ask for?
I will be purchasing this when I can!

What I Liked:
The book is told from two different perspectives, that of Morgan and that of Anna. Morgan is in present time, having just been bailed out of prison on the contingency that she restore a mural to go up in a museum. The mural was originally painted in the early 1940s by artist Anna Dale. As Morgan begins uncovering the mural, she realizes that Anna has included a lot of images in the mural that don't make sense. While she's discovering this in the present, the reader is getting the story from Anna in the past. I like that the novel gave us the chance to learn about both women, and to discover along with Morgan what had happened to Anna.
I also just generally enjoyed the characters in the novel. Each one added an important piece to the puzzle, so it never felt like there was a character in the novel just to take up space.

What I Didn't Like:
My only real criticism of the book is that Morgan is made out to be innocent of the crime for which she was arrested. I felt like this was kind of lazy, like the author thought readers wouldn't care about a character who had made a grievous mistake. I think that Morgan is so well-written that we would have loved her anyway. I would have liked for the author to give Morgan that level of development, where she was guilty of the crime but had learned from the experience. Definitely just a personal preference!

Overall, this was a good read that I would recommend!

This book was absolutely the perfect read for me. It was just the right blend of historical fiction, present-day drama and a suspenseful plot line.

Set in small town Edenton, North Carolina, and transitioning between the 1940s and 2018, we meet two strong female characters: Anna Dale who has just been awarded the job of creating a post office mural depicting the town of Edenton and then Morgan Christopher who has been granted her early freedom from prison in exchange for her work restoring that same mural in 2018. The story unfolds for both women and I could not have been more drawn into their journeys and wondering when or how their storylines would cross. The town of Edenton and the mural itself are almost their own characters in the story. The writing is so descriptive that not only do the characters spring from the pages, but I could also envision the mural and the town.

Big Lies in a Small Town is most definitely a page turner with numerous surprises in store. I loved every minute and would rate this a 5 star read for me.

I received this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cute story. Happy ending. I expected it to be darker because of the premise. But it was a nice story that kept me intrigued.