I don't think Diane Chamberlain can really write a book I don't love. This one was compelling because it touched on the historical post office mural project of the 1930s and seamlessly tied it to a modern day story line. I found myself searching for more information about the projects and wishing Anna Dale was actually a real person. That's when you know the story telling is REALLY good.

This is my first book by Diane Chamberlain and it will not be my last. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: This book takes you to North Carolina in 1940s and 2018, going back and forth between the artist Anna Dale and the troubled Morgan Christopher. Anna won a mural contest and finds herself in the town of Edenton, NC. She has no family and no idea what she is getting into in a town of prejudice, secrets and small minds. Morgan, on the other hand, took the fall for a crime she didn't commit and gets to go to Denton to restore Anna's mural as part of her crime retribution. What she doesn't expect to find in the painting is a story of madness, violence and secrets.

Review: The author beautiful weaves this story of suspense, finding the courage to forgive oneself and move on and makes you root for the characters. I wanted Anna to be safe, Morgan to find her way and the story took so many interesting turns. I loved how it all came together and could not put it down.

Follow the story of two women: Anna in 1940 and Morgan in 2018. In 1940, Anna won a contest to paint a mural in the small town of Edenton, North Carolina, though she originally wanted to paint a mural closer to her New Jersey home, but beggars can’t be choosers, as they say. Thus, Anna went to Edenton, never expecting to find a town filled with secrets, prejudices, preconceived notions, etc. Still, she stayed on to work on the mural, but never finished it. In 2018, Morgan, serving a sentence for a crime she did not commit, got released from prison to restore the mural, which suffered from years of neglect as well as poor storage, before a gallery opening. Though totally unfamiliar with painting restoration, Morgan saw this as a good chance to get out of jail and return to her disrupted life in the art world. However, as Morgan immersed herself in the restoration, she began to unravel a years old mystery about the young woman who was hired to paint the original, why it was never completed, why so many sections of the mural had inclusions that appeared to mean nothing to and detract from the overall work, and what eventually happened to the woman. In addition to learning how to restore a work OJT, Morgan delved into an old town mystery, with few apparent clues and ideas among the townsfolk.

This is a fascinating story, that is well written. I was taken in by the mystery surrounding the two women from the get-go and continued to be mesmerized throughout. The two main characters, Anna and Morgan, were well developed and interesting. In addition, it was interesting to watch how each in her own way was assimilated into the town and all it had to offer. Obviously, there was a lot about prejudice, as this was before Civil Rights, but that part, though important, did not overpower the story. I enjoyed reading about the town and its small-town, Southern culture and ideas. I thought the way the author handled the story, with each woman having a chapter, one after the other throughout, also helped me understand the story. This is a well-done book that any reader will find fascinating to read. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

Dual timelines. One is a contemporary story that centers on Morgan Christopher, a young woman who finds herself wrongfully imprisoned. The other is Anna Dale, a young female artist who has just been awarded the job of creating a large mural for a Post Office in North Carolina. The art assignment is part of the WPA project of 1940. The two timelines intersect over the mural. When Morgan is given a chance to leave prison before her sentence is over, she is anxious to do whatever is asked of her. Though she was once an art student, Morgan knows nothing about art restoration and yet that is her community service task – to restore the mural Anna Dale created 78 years earlier.

The stories of Morgan and Anna are engaging and touching. Both women are sympathetic characters who are essentially loners, but not by their own choosing. The mural that is being refurbished is covered in grime and upon cleaning away the dirt, the real picture emerges and along with it comes surprising and mysterious elements that hint at violence.

Just why was the mural never hung and why would a prominent artist who’s not the creator, keep it hidden away for all this time? Plus there’s a mystery surrounding what happened to Anna Dale who clearly was a talented artist and was never heard about again. These questions add to the engaging mystery as much as the strange mural details that are being uncovered. Not only does Morgan want answers, but she is under pressure to finish the restoration very quickly or possibly face returning to prison.

The mystery is fascinating, although the resolution is a little too tidy. Mainly, the stories of Morgan and Anna will definitely hold the reader’s interest. It’s not just their past that needs to be uncovered but Morgan’s future hinges on completing the job. It is through the cleaning of the mural and a little research that hints are slowly uncovered, revealing details of the mystery of Anna’s life. Fans of Chamberlain should welcome this newest title and enjoy the historical plotline as much as the contemporary restoration story.
3.5*

I like how this author always finds a way to connect different generations through her stories. This book is about artists in a small town in NC. Told in parallel between 1940 and 2018, you keep wanting to know when and how the stories will intersect. It also touched a bit in the topics of racial segregation (in the 40s) and there’s also a bit of romance and mystery

I take it back!

First thoughts, not nice! How could so many people love this thing? I was plotting a scathing review in my head. Well, not exactly scathing. It was more that I was whining about this meh, this middling, this medium not heavyweight mass of words. Humdrum to the max. Here were my notes: “Just not rich enough—language is Plain Jane, the characters aren’t very interesting, the plot sort of boring. A flat 3. Period.”

But I take it back. (Ha, so much for that period!) Because once I hit halftime, I couldn’t take my eyes off the show. What a plot! More about this later.

First—the story. It’s about two women and a mural. One woman, Anna, is painting it in 1940; the other, Morgan, is restoring it in 2018. The chapters alternate between their tales. There is quite a bit about how terribly blacks were treated in the 1940s South, and that is sobering and heart-wrenching. There are mysteries: Why was Morgan asked to restore the mural? Why wasn’t the mural ever placed in the post office, like it was supposed to be? What happened to Anna?

I’m going to dive right in with my growls, because they were pretty steady throughout the first half of the book.

Complaint Board

-First half: too boring, too slow. The two stories were too similar—both artists working on the damn mural eternally, so it was double boring. We hear umpteen times what the mural looks like, but we also hear minutiae on how it’s being created. Times two. I didn’t need to hear one more word about tools.

-Language is Plain Jane. Sophomoric is what my head says.

-Cut the chatter about clothes, and jazz up the dialogue, please. All too simple and pedestrian.

-Not one big word.

-Few, if any, highlights.

-Stupid little love story that made it all chick-litty and Hallmark-y. Luckily the love story doesn’t get a lot of airtime.

-Wasn’t crazy about the last few pages. Not quite enough closure; it left me curious.

-There was one glaring (though super minor) logistical problem. Morgan was considering whether to get an Uber or walk to the phone store. She decided to walk. Good thing, because hello, you can’t get an Uber unless you already HAVE a phone!

But then….but THEN….

I hit the middle and OMG! The suspense started building and building and I could NOT put the book down. I had to find out what happened to Anna, I had to! The hell with my appointment in an hour (seriously, it’s not cool to do a no-show for a doctor, but I was crazed!). In my race to the finish, my head was making calculations in the background. How tight could I cut it? How fast could I shower and feed the cat? Could I let him starve (he was already starving, so I couldn’t be crueler). Shortcuts were essential. Ignore texts! Well, you can read the text fast but do not respond unless someone is dead or dying. I had fantasies of arriving late to my appointment and talking my way in, of course, but meanwhile, I kept my eyes and mind on the story. Amid this frenzy, I realized this Diane Chamberlain can write like a mad fool. The plot is so clever! This was a first-class mystery and drama.

Seriously, seldom does a book take over me so completely. I read nearly half the book (and it was a 400-pager) in one sitting—I don’t think I’ve ever read so much at one time. The plot, which had been building slowly and annoying me, ended up being so complex, so rich, so intricate and multilayered. There was no way I could figure out where the plot was going (with one exception, but I couldn’t figure out how it would get there). The suspense was over the top. This plot, these tricky puzzle pieces that fit together so brilliantly, trumped all.

So I ended up shaking my head in awe. What a wild ride that second half of the book was. No, I can’t forget how I felt at the beginning—the complaints are still there—but I also will never forget how happily whacked I was during the second half. I even cried, which hardly ever happens when I read a book.

Are all of Chamberlain’s books so exciting? Or are they more like the boring first half of this book? Her pedestrian language bugs me, as did the stupid love interest, but if I get a story like this one, will I care? I think I just might have to try another book by her.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Written in dual POVs and time periods, this novel is about Morgan Christopher in 2018 and Anna Dale in 1940. I'll try not to be repetitive concerning the blurb, but Morgan is in prison serving time for a crime that she actually did not commit when she is visited by two women claiming that they can get her released. One of the women is the daughter of the late Jesse Jameson Williams, Morgan's favorite artist. Her requirement for release is that she must restore a mural for an upcoming gallery opening in Edenton, NC. Sounds great, except, although she is a trained artist, she has never done any restoration. But she agrees anyway, of course, in order to gain her freedom. Then there is Anna Dale. After recently losing her mother, Anna travels to Edenton from New Jersey after winning a competition with the Treasury Department to create a mural for the Edenton post office. Initially planning to only spend a few days there to gather ideas for the mural, Anna finds herself a temporary resident in Edenton while getting to know the area and the people. She also discovers that things are quite different in this small town regarding racial tension and segregation, as well as, people making up and living by their own rules. 

First of all, I applaud the author for her amazing description of Edenton both in the past and present. Her commitment to getting this right and amount of research is clearly evident throughout the novel. This authenticity makes this incredible storyline even better. Everything from restaurants to amounts of time to walk from point a to point b seemed very carefully considered before being put into the novel.

Secondly, bravo to Chamberlain for creating two so different, yet incredibly strong female characters. Anna and Morgan are both artists, they are both trying to make it on their own, and they both are trying to understand Edenton and its residents. But because of the differing time periods, their lives are very different beyond that.

Anna is not only struggling with the loss of her mother and the pressure of creating the mural but dealing with daily gossip and judgment surrounding her decision to allow a young African American man to assist her with the mural. It's not that she was naive to the prejudices in the South at that time, she just wasn't quite prepared for the backlash of not agreeing with their prejudices. 

Morgan is facing enormous pressure to complete a task that she does not know how to do. Furthermore, this task assigned by her favorite artist is included in numerous stipulations in his will regarding his daughter Lisa and her home. That pressure combined with meeting the demands of her parole and confronting past demons prove to be a daily battle for Morgan, although I loved how she maintained her positivity. 

Big Lies in a Small Town ended up being an absolutely incredible surprise for me. Of course, I am familiar with Chamberlain, but this is my first time reading anything by this author. This novel is beautifully written, full of tension and emotion, and has numerous twists and turns - both good and bad. The secondary characters are just as well-developed as the main characters and truly complete this story. This was an absolute page-turner that I refused to set down until I read the last line and is a story I will not soon forget. I highly, highly recommend this one. 

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

There are times in your life when you need a good historical fiction book mixed with a bit of mystery. Diane Chamberlain succeeded with this one. From chapter one through 67 I felt like I was learning a bit about Anna and a bit about Morgan. Sometimes I struggle going back and forth between present time and the past, but this book worked for me. I enjoyed learning about art restoration and kept engaged as I tried to figure out why Anna went crazy. My only complaint was the end. It just ended and I wanted to know more. Great book though!

Not on of my favorites from Diane. It's a good story line between the Southern ways back during the times of the original artist and now with the restorer. However it wasn't executed very well.

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain is a psychological mystery. It is a fascinating look at small town life, both in 1940 and in 2018. I admit that I was completely enthralled by this book. In 2018, Morgan Christopher is serving a three-year sentence for a crime she did not commit. After serving one year, she is approached by a lawyer who will see to it that she is released on the condition that she restore an old mural. In 1940, Anna Dale is commissioned to paint a post office mural in the town of Edenton, North Carolina. Upon finishing the artwork, Anna and the mural disappear suddenly, never to be seen again until Morgan is asked to restore the artwork. Layer by layer, she discovers many details that lead to Anna’s real story. Edenton is put under the microscope and out comes prejudice, death, love, friendship, jealousy, etc. The book alternates between 1940 and 2018, taking the reader along for the mysterious story of a mural and the two artists who put their heart and soul into it. And the ending is totally unpredictable and very satisfying. Diane Chamberlain is an expert when it comes to writing about human relationships and she does not disappoint here. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read a number of intriguing reviews on this title, so was eager to read the book. It did not disappoint.

The novel tells the story of two artists, Anna in the 1940s and Morgan in 2018. Around them is famous, I recently deceased artist, Jesse. The most impressive feat in the novel is the way in which the author connects their stories.

Anna wins a contest to create a mural in a small southern town. Northerner Anna has many experiences in Edenton, culminating in a major event. In the present, Morgan is trying to atone for past poor decisions. Around each of these characters are many others who come to life.

This story is partly a meditation on family (good and bad), race, community and more. The author cleverly adds to the story with diary entries and newspaper stories.

Readers of women’s fiction and others will enjoy this novel that so excellently portrays its places and characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read in exchangefor an honest review.

Another great book by one of my favorite authors. The plot line of this book was so different from anything else I've ever read. I was quite impressed by its creativity. One of the opening scenes features Morgan Christopher being released early from her 3 year prison stint at the Women's Correctional Center in North Carolina. The catch for her early release is that she has to restore an old post office mural that was created in the 1940's and she has to have it done by August 5th (a deadline that's only 2 months away.) The whole proposition just seems so odd to Morgan. Although she has experience as an artist, she's never restored any art, and she doesn't understand why she's the only one who can restore the art. Why would the finish date be connected to someone else losing their inheritance if she fails? Nothing makes sense to her except for the fact that if she accepts the deal she gets a "Get out of Jail Early" pass - an offer she can't refuse. From here, the book rotates back and forth between 2018 and 1940. The 1940 story line features Anna Dale - the artist who won a national contest to paint a mural in the small town of Edenton, NC. Anna faces issues of prejudice pointed at herself and her new friend.

Usually when I read a dual story line, I find myself liking one of the story lines more than the other, but I couldn't really decide which one I liked more in this book. Both plot lines kept me interested and guessing about what was going to happen next. I thought it was fascinating to learn about how murals are made and also about some of the steps that take place during art restoration. Do I think either one of the story lines actually seemed plausible and could have happened in real life? Probably not, but that doesn't bother me. This book was such a fun read. If you love reading books by Diane Chamberlain, you won't be disappointed. I know that I wasn't. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All thoughts expressed in this review are my honest opinions of this book.

4.25 stars.

Thank you to St Martin's Press for offering me an advance copy through NetGalley.

Diane Chamberlain writes incredibly well, and always holds me captive page after page. Told in alternating perspectives of the two women, past and present, Anna painting the mural in 1940 and Morgan restoring it present day, it was never confusing but very cleverly tied in to each other. Great characters with back stories, racial tensions in the Southern U.S. There were some mysteries as to why a mural meant to illustrate small town life would contain blood drips and skeleton heads, and the story kept me guessing until the resolution.

I am always excited when a new Diane Chamberlain book comes out. This book tells a story about 2 women - Anna in 1939 and Morgan in 2018 and a mural. The book starts out slow but picks up about halfway through the book. Although I found the story a bit predictable, it was still an entertaining read. If you are into mystery and historical fiction, then you’ll enjoy this book.

One of my favorite types of fiction—pairing historical fiction with a contemporary story. Add in a well-crafted story about budding artists, with two strong women fighting an uphill battle against prejudice, equality, and family and small town secrets, and you have a winning book. Highly recommend. Thank you to Netgalley for sharing this arc in exchange for an objective and honest review. 4-1/2 stars.

3.5 stars. I liked this book, but I never felt SUPER into it like I probably should have. The mystery component was interesting and I was definitely curious about what happened to Anna Dale in the historical perspective and how that related to Morgan in the present day. I did truly feel like the dual-timeline/dual-character perspective worked well in this book and that isn't always the case for me. Overall, I just didn't connect with the characters in a way I would've hoped to. There were themes of racism and discrimination, sexism and legal injustice, mental illness, and poverty in this book and parts of it were hard to read but they really made the story stand out among other similar novels. The ending was also a bit far-fetched but also surprising and well done.

This book was fantastic. One of my favorite reads of 2020. I picked it up and stayed up into the wee hours of the next morning to finish it. I was completely engrossed. So much so that I planned a trip to Edenton to explore the area. A must read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Diane Chamberlain and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first novel by Chamberlain, but I had heard such good things that I just had to get my hands on one of her novels! I’m now a huge fan! I really enjoyed that the novel went back and forth between the past and the present to really weave you into the story line. I loved the two main characters, especially Anna, she seemed to easy going and like a close friend. Morgan was flawed, but who isn’t, it made her seem so real. I really enjoyed the locations that the book took place in and how she writes the scenery; I could really picture each scene and the mural. I loved the ending and how we find out what really happened. It was such an interesting book, I would definitely recommend.

I liked Big Lies in a Small Town better than the other Diane Chamberlain books I've read, but I found the plot and character to ultimately be too formulaic for my liking.

Interesting novel. Two well written narratives that come together in a satisfying ending. The women in both time settings face realistic conflicts and the author develops each with good pacing and fascinating detail about art restoration. Highly recommended.