This is the story of Morgan Christopher a woman seeking redemption for her past ; her story begins in 2018 . Anna Dale’s story begins in December 1939. Morgan is released from prison early with the stipulation she restores Anna’s mural within the deadline of 2 months.
The book is told with the two voices in alternating chapters.
I enjoyed Anna’s story immensely. She was a very interesting woman who seemingly disappeared in 1940,

I was pleased how the two characters tales tied up so nicely in the end.
Thank you NetGalley and the St Martin’s Press and Katie Bassel for the opportunity to read this digital galley.

Big Lies in a Small Town is another great read by Diane Chamberlain. Shrouded in mystery, a young woman named Morgan is sprung from prison because of a strange offer-restore a mural originally meant for a post office in the small town of Edenton, North Carolina by a certain date and she will be rewarded with both her freedom and money. Morgan, an artist who gave up her dreams, takes the mysterious offer and soon finds herself unraveling the story of Anna Dale, the mural's original artist who disappeared in 1940.

Told in alternating timelines, the story is woven together like one of the great works of art highlighted in the novel. Prejudices ran deep in town in the 1940s and Anna, from New Jersey, is not prepared for what awaits in North Carolina. As Morgan restores the mural she finds she's restoring more than just art-as the biggest mystery is unveiled. Pick up this beautiful novel!

Thank you to the the publisher, writer and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I'm afraid I didn't get too far into Chamberlain's book. I really wanted to - the narrator Morgan seems somewhat interesting, the atmosphere of the novel a curious interchange between the art world, the academic, and jail. However, about 10% of the way into the book, I just couldn't really buy into the premise of Morgan being let out of jail to pursue a muralist's work. It is a bit too complicated to be believable, and unfortunately, I just could not gain much interest in the book, despite wanting to. I've delayed even writing this review as a result, and I've tried multiple times to pick up the story again, but my interest just isn't sustained.

It's 2018, and 22-year-old Morgan Christopher is starting the second year of her sentence for a crime she did not commit. Her incarceration in the NC State Correctional Center has completely derailed her hopes for a career in art. When she is offered a chance to be released to restore a WPA Post Office mural, which was never hung in the Edenton NC post office. The offer comes from the daughter of Jesse Jameson Williams, a renowned African-American artist from Edenton. Jesse had a history of helping young artists, but Morgan has no idea how he learned of her work and can't ask since he is now deceased. She, of course, jumps at the offer, despite her lack of any experience with restoration. There are several other strings attached, chiefly a hard date for the completion of the repair. The mural must be hung in the gallery that Jesse wanted to be built in Edenton. Compounding the mystery is the question of why the mural was not hung in 1940, and the fate of the young NJ artist, Anna Dale. Anna disappeared, and nothing has been heard of her since. The story is told from the viewpoint of Morgan in 2018, alternating with Anna in 1940.

I found Big Lies in a Small Town a somewhat difficult read. It pushed a lot of buttons for me since I grew up in a small town not that far from Edenton, and not that many years after Anna's time. Growing up in the Jim Crow South in the 1950s made me aware of the dangers and prejudices that a forward-thinking young woman from NJ faced in Edenton. Added to those problems, Anna had won the contest for the mural over a local, "favorite son." Reading Anna's viewpoint filled me with foreboding as to what her fate might have been. However, I came away from the book with an appreciation for its sense of place and time, and indelible characters. It's a wrenching story, beautifully told. I had never read anything by Diane Chamberlain before Big Lies in a Small Town, but I hope to read more of her work in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

Big Lies in a Small Town is a solid five star novel - I would rate it higher if I could! Diane Chamberlain has a talent of creating characters that are incredibly compelling and REAL. I was captivated with the lives and stories of both of the main characters, and found ALL of the characters to be intriguing as well. They each held an important piece to the story and added even more flavor. There was a variety of real life controversial topics that were presented, and Diane captured each one with amazing skill. I felt a myriad of emotion while reading this and truly enjoyed reading every single page. This a powerful and important novel, and I highly recommend it.

This latest book by Chamberlain focuses on two female artists in two different time periods.

Morgan Christopher is serving a prison sentence in 2018 for a crime she did not commit. She is given the opportunity to be released from prison if she will follow the dictates of a man's will and restore a mural in a post office in a southern town.

Anna Dale is the artist who originally painted the mural in 1940 after winning a national contest. Anna Dale mysteriously disappeared before completing the mural.

This book is very engrossing, and is filled with secrets and prejudices across time.

Diane Chamberlain has done it again! I truly enjoyed this book! I love the way she was able to write two equally compelling storylines and weave them seamlessly together. It starts with in 2018 Morgan is in a North Carolina prison convicted of a crime she did not commit. When she is approached with an opportunity to get out of jail if she is willing to restore a 70-year-old mural, she jumped at the chance. The only problem is Morgan is not certain she has the skill set to do the restoration and there is a time crunch. The mystery is trying to figure out what the tie is between this mural and Morgan. In the second storyline, it is 1939 and Anna is a struggling artist in New Jersey. When she enters and wins a contest to paint a mural on a PostOffice wall she temporarily relocates to North Carolina. When she reaches North Carolina she is met with many difficulties and ultimately the mural was never finished and there is a rumor that Anna went crazy and fled with the mural.
I found both Morgan and Anna to be strong sassy characters who were quite relatable.

This was a fantastic book to read and I could hardly put it down. Diane Chamberlain is a phenomenal writer and story teller. She pulls you in and keeps the reader interested. I loved how the storylines were almost like reading 2 different stories, but then as they started to come together I could hardly wait to see what would happen next, and how it would all be tied together. I loved the character development, and how connected I felt to each character by the end of the book. I could picture their faces, felt like I had a real glimpse into their lives. A beautiful story with love, redemption, racial topics, friendship spanning generations, mental illness, secrets, finding hidden talents, and most of all the idea that people can change, and most are fundamentally good inside. Even when hard things have happened to them in their past.

(I receive an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review of the book)

I loved this book. Diane Chamberlain is becoming a favorite author of mine. I enjoyed the story set in 2 different time periods and was equally fascinated by both periods. I learned a bit about art restoration and I enjoyed the bit of romance in the book as well. The book kept me guessing until the final chapter. I highly recommend this book for book clubs.

Excellently written, excellent characters and settings. The time is perfectly adjusted in such a way that the reader feels to be part of the novel. A beautiful, sentimental theme but at the same time with a great content of overcoming, faith and empathy. Because the times of the chapters and scenes were very majestic, empathy and the comparison of epochs is extraordinary. A deep and beautiful theme. The reality of life, friendship and commitment to another human being and with art is well represented. Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this beautiful book that I wanted so much to read, it is my first book by the author and I can't wait to read more. The opinions given are strictly mine and nobody else's.

This book rocks! The alternating voices of Anna and Morgan are very effective in driving the story forward. And while you may have an idea of what the mystery is and what happened to Anna ..... I guarantee that you won't be able to predict all of it! Kudos to the author!

Big Lies in a Small Town follows a dual timeline of Anna Dale, an artist in 1940, and Morgan Christopher, a failed art student in 2018. Morgan is serving a sentence in jail for her role in a DUI accident that almost took someone's life. She is hired to restore a mural that was painted by Anna Dale in 1940. This might just be her get of of jail free card, so to speak. But there are a few requirements: she must stay out of trouble and complete the restoration by opening day of the art studio, which is only a few weeks away. Left with many questions and a daunting task, Morgan is determined to do what she has to do to stay out of jail. review: Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors and for good reason - she has a way with words and always writes a book that is utterly unputdownable! Big Lies in a Small Town is no different and I highly recommend this one. I was unfamiliar with the post office mural contest that happened around the country in the 1940s, so I thoroughly enjoyed learning about that as we journeyed through Edenton in 1940 and 2018. The dual timelines and point of views helped create a very compelling, detailed story that kept me flipping the pages. This book deals with a lot of heavier topics including sexual assault, alcoholism, and race relations. It had a great amount of history, mystery & an suspense! rating: 4 out of 5 ⭐️

I love any novel by Diane Chamberlin and am so happy that I was able to read this one! Seriously y’all will love it. I highly recommend!! Go for it!

This book was nothing like I expected! I was expecting a thriller and instead was delightfully surprised to have discovered a gem of an author and a layered story of two narrators of different generations with sub plots and cultural references and all of the things! I couldn't imagine how the story lines could converge but this author crafted a strong story line for both narrators and kept me engaged throughout. I learned a lot about art restoration and I looked up the US Dept Section of Fine Arts Special 48-States Mural Competition and it's a real contest! I never doubted it to be true but that gives us just one more layer of history for this layered novel.

I enjoyed the writing a lot and even though this was my first book to read by Diane Chamberlain, I will definitely be reading more!

I am so blown away by this book. I will admit that the cover vibe didn’t go with what the book was about; I was expecting something totally different.

However, once I started, I couldn’t stop! I loved hearing about the racism in the 40s and how different people lived. Even just hearing about how a woman is an artist and not providing for her home (old school for sure). It wasn’t too over the top in detail. It was just enough for me to really feel for Anna and how she Loved art and wanted to help others.

I also loved how the two povs flowed really well together. They always ended at points where I was thirsty for more information and had to wait. Such a great story on friendship, love and staying true to yourself no matter what.

"Big Lies in a Small Town" is a riveting novel by Diane Chamberlain. It interweaves the stories of Morgan Christopher in 2018 and Anna Dale in 1939 and the mystery around a mural painted by the latter that must be restored by the former.

Morgan receives a literal get-out-of-jail-free card from the estate of a famous artist named Jesse Jameson Williams but it comes with a condition - the former art school student must restore a mural for the opening of Williams' gallery even though she has no experience doing anything like that and had never met the now-deceased artist. Why was she chosen for this important job and can she finish it in time for the opening? As Morgan dives into her work, she wrestles with the reasons she landed in jail and finds herself drawn to the mural's artist, Anna Dale, as she tries to uncover the story behind the artists' unconventional work and redeem herself after the mistakes of her past.

Anna is a talented artist who after losing her mother wins a national competition to design a mural for a post office in Edenton, North Carolina. With no reason to stay in the Northeast, she relocates to the small town and begins her work, finding it hard to be accepted by the locals not only because she's an outsider but also because she's a woman. With the help of some local students, Anna begins work on the mural and starts to win over the townspeople but one terrible night changes her life and her art, as well the lives of those close to Anna.

Chamberlain is a master storyteller and the mysterious backstories of both Morgan and Anna are revealed in intriguing ways. There are twists and turns throughout the book and it's not until the very last chapter that the connections between all of the parties come to light. I couldn't put the book down until I found out the final secret!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Another highly satisfying novel from author Diane Chamberlain, Big Lies in a Small Town is historical fiction with a touch of mystery and romance. Chamberlain skillfully weaves the stories of two characters and time periods. One is Anna, a young artist, who won a contest and received a commission in 1940 to create a mural for the post office of the small town of Edenton, NC but who vanished before completing the project. The second is Morgan, also a young artist, who is paroled in 2018 through an early release agreement, from a prison sentence for a crime she did not commit, in order to restore the mural prior to the opening of a new gallery.

Big Lies... featured a number of interesting characters and multiple issues as it cleverly puts the pieces together of the two women's lives in a very enjoyable read.





FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another winner by Diane Chamberlin! I only wish there was one more chapter to explain Morgan’s final question. This book had a great storyline and jumped between the two main characters, a young female artist from the 1940s and a ex-prisoner out on parole from 2018. By the end you see how their stories intercept and you are left wanting more!

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

I am a fan of the author's work so I was thrilled to receive this book for review. The author is one of my favorite author's. This is a beautifully crafted story that seamlessly moves from past to present as the author tells their stories . This is complex story of two people from different times and a mystery surrounding a disappearance of a talented artist. The stories are richly drawn and their stories come to life for the reader. I enjoy the way the author builds on her charcters amid their story and lives. A outstanding read by this fine author who I highly recommend.

Big Lies in a Small Town was my first Diane Chamberlain novel and it definitely will not be my last. When a friend said they thought I would love this book because of all the art/art references in it, I knew I would probably like it, but never thought I would devour this book up like I did.
I fell in love with most of the book’s characters right away. Anna and Jesse, and their beautiful friendship and the struggles they both went through. Morgan and Oliver’s time spent together was refreshing, easy and felt safe (in a good way).
I felt like I was right there in that warehouse, watching Anna paint her masterpiece. I felt her struggles and mourned with her through her heartache and loses. I was proud of Jesse and his artwork, and his eagerness to learn more about art. Their friendship was pure and so trusting.
I felt like I was right there watching Morgan restore the mural, with every brush stroke. I even heard the music playing in her earbuds.
As an growing artist myself, this book made me feel the art. It was a constant reminder of the wonderful feeling making art gives me. It also a reminded me of how important family is and how special a true friendship can be.
I also loved young Nellie and “mama” Nellie, I mean who wouldn’t?!
This may have been my first Diane Chamberlain read, but it definitely will not be my last!! I will definitely suggest this one to my bookish friends!!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make some beautiful art.....
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!!! Beautiful bright artistic stars!