In this gripping, page turning, heart wrenching story, 22 year old Morgan Christopher is serving time in prison for a crime she didn’t commit. One day, a woman by the name of Lisa Willams, and an attorney, Andrea Fuller, walk into this prison, and walk out with Morgan. They explain to her that if she wants to be free, she will complete a difficult, unbelievably time consuming art-restoration project for a mural created years before. Morgan agrees for this chance at freedom, without knowing exactly how to undertake such a huge commitment.
Nearly 100 years prior, in the local town of Edenton, North Carolina, New Jersey artist Anna Dale arrives to complete a mural after winning a contest. Little does she know that this small, quaint town, has dark and dirty secrets that will destroy her. The mural is never completed. The news papers write about Anna Dales so appearance, but no answers are found. What really happened in Edenton? What happened to Anna Dale?
Can Morgan work with what she has to complete this task of restoration all while uncovering the heavy past of Edenton?!

Diane Chamberlain covers so many things in this novel. While I do feel that it started a bit slowly, I was totally engrossed and curious at every page turn. This novel covers heavy subjects, such as murder, rape, racism, mental health, and abuse, so keep that in mind. This was my first Chamberlain book, and definitely not my last!

This is a lovely, extremely well written book that was a pleasure to read. It goes back and forth in time from the depression era in a small rural community in the south has been chosen to have a mural designed and installed by a young New Jersey art school graduate after she wins a federal grant for the work.In the current time, a young artist is offered a chance to get out of jail early for a crime she was wrongly convicted for by restoring this never hung but badly damaged mural and seeing it successfully installed. It alternates the two story lines and really presents a well presented study of prejudice in the south against black individuals as well as the way women behave as society demands during this era.

I thought the characters were well developed and interesting. This is a very good book. I received an advance copy in return for an honest review. This is really quite a fascinating book about a very different point in time. It deals with prejudice in a small rural community in the south where those of a different color are simply expected to know their place and even the town’s elite also have to know their place. For example, early on there is a meeting of the town’s leaders and the newspaper editor actually deliberately uses bad grammar because he doesn’t want the others to think he is acting above his station. Many truths have been hidden for years and are slowly revealed as the story progresses. I highly recommend this very special book. Women in the south during this time are also expected to behave in a very different manner regarding being alone in certain settings, wearing pants instead of skirts and even handling certain jobs because they might be taking a job from a man. Times have evolved in the north compared to the south and the artist Anna has a lot of trouble dealing with this very conservative, racist world.

Uncovering town and family history while restoring an old mural. The unraveling of this mystery kept my attention. Great story.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain.

Morgan has just been unexpectedly released from prison early. But her conditions are what have her baffled. She has been asked to restore a mural done by an artist who went crazy and disappeared. And even more baffling is the one requesting Morgan's work is a famous African American painter who had already passed away.
But as Morgan begins restoring this bizarre piece of work, she learns more and more about the artist who painted it as well as her connection to the artist who requested her.

Ah Diane Chamberlain, I'm A FAN. I don't think she's disappointed me once. This was just lovely, I had a lot of fun with it, and it was very moving. I do struggle to know where the fine line is between historical accuracy and "white saviorism" which is just a thing to help white people feel better about how messed up our history it. But, I don't think this was based off of a true story, so I don't know.

Anyway, well written, so readable, such good characters, lot of intrigue. Read it.

Thank you, Diane Chamberlain, for pulling me out of my two-month book slump. Big Lies in a Small Town is an intriguing read. It’s set in small-town Edenton, North Carolina, in dual timelines—1940 and 2018. Both narrators are artists, Anna Dale and Morgan Christopher. Morgan is under a tight deadline to restore a 58-year-old mural, originally painted by Anna, for an art gallery opening. The plot is rich, very rich. This is not an action-packed, fast moving novel. It takes its time, but I thought that suited the subject material perfectly. Many questions are planted in the mind of the reader early on, and the journey to answers is compelling. Despite leisurely reading and frequently stopping to consider the entire situation, I was only able to come up with one of many answers on my own, and that didn’t happen until 86%.

The core of the story centers around the restoration of a 6-decade-old mural. Though I have little interest in art, Ms. Chamberlain actually made this subject matter engaging to me. But there is so much more to this tale. It deals with the workings of a small southern town, racial prejudice, life-altering acts, friendship, discovery, and redemption. I just loved how it all evolved and came to a most satisfying ending. Another shining feature is the character development, which is simply terrific. As I indicated above, this book came along at a perfect time for me.

The author details in her acknowledgements the vast amount of research that went into writing this novel. This section, located at end of the book, is worth reading.

I discovered Ms. Chamberlain’s works only a few years ago. I’ve read five of her novels now, with my favorites being Pretending to Dance and then this one. I am one happy girl knowing there are many more left for me to dive into. Kudos to a wonderful storyteller!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Net Galley, and Ms. Diane Chamberlain for an advanced copy of this novel. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

This was a great read! Great little mystery that kept me turning the pages. It was a bit hard for me to get into because of the frequent changes in narration from past to present in the beginning; they were too short and choppy to really get me interested and then before I knew it they were switching again without much having happened. But after a fairly lengthy set up, the mystery was in full swing and it really kept me interested. There were a few things that were never made clear in my opinion, most notably was Anna suffering from the same issues her mother was? I felt that was a big piece of the story that was never resolved. Otherwise a good read.

I absolutely love Diane Chamberlain and have read all of her books. I have enjoyed every story of her so far, but this one fell short for me. I was bored half way through and gave up sadly.

I would have never thought a book about art restoration would be interesting but I was fascinated by this. The story is in 2 time periods and follows an artist who is making a mural for a post office in a small southern town and a woman who is tasked to restore the mural in present day. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the artist and mural and this makes for a very interesting and, at times, tense and suspenseful read.

I really enjoyed the character development and rich atmosphere described in this book. I was very interested in the history of the public murals that are described in the story so I researched them online as there is one such mural in my hometown post office. I found some very interesting information about it and was surprised to find that my town mural also had some controversy surrounding it.

I always enjoy Diane Chamberlain’s books, they have a little bit of everything and evoke many feelings and this one was no exception. I definitely recommend this story!

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Quite a great story this one was!


Big Lies in a Small Town has the voices of two women, Ana Dale and Morgan Christopher. One's past and one's present connected in the most unusual way.


Morgan Christopher has had a rough time. She is only twenty-two but she has already known tragedy. She has a problem with alcohol and she was involved in a car accident. She not only lost faith in her boyfriend Greg that night, but she also lost her freedom. She has been in prison serving her sentence in Raleigh, NC until she's offered a deal of a lifetime. In his will, a famous artist, Jesse Jameson Williams, has requested for her to restore a post office mural done by a female artist in the 1940s. A new lawyer will work on her release if she accepts the job.


In the 1940s, Ana Dale has won a national mural painting in the town of Edenton, NC. As an artist, recently out of school, she’s excited to have won the competition and she can’t wait to begin painting it. Her mother recently committed suicide and a change in venue is something Ana welcomes. What Anna was not expecting is for the "movers and shakers" of Edenton to have their own opinions about what she should draw, or for a local artist to be jealous of her winning the competition instead of him or for racism to be so prevalent around her and her mural.


Little by little as the story progresses, we learn more about these two women’s lives in different timelines. Their voices were powerful and demanding of the reader's attention.


Diana Chamberlain is a master at threading an interesting story and transporting us to the past and making us live the moment in time.


4.5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by ST. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Big Lies In A Small Town by Diane Chamberlain is the story of two female artists; Anna Dale in 1940 and Morgan Christopher present day.
Anna was hired to paint a mural of a small town, to be hung in their post office, and Morgan was hired to restore the same mural many years later. Under the layers of grime the painting reveals a story of violence, madness and a collusion of small town secrets. What was Anna involved in? Murder? What exists beneath the layer of lies?
Both artists have captivating stories, which are told in alternate chapters, which ultimately tie together.
A Compelling Read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first time reading Diane Chamberlain, and man, she did not disappoint. I loved every minute of this book. Chamberlain did an amazing job in unraveling the mystery of Anna Dale and the mural. I loved the two storylines where you slowly find out everything. It just kept me wanting to read more and more. You know it's a good book when you are sad to see it end, and that's how I felt.

*Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the copy in exchange for an honest review.*

I cannot think of a better way to start 2020 than with a great Diane Chamberlain book!

Told in alternating time periods we have two artists, Morgan and Anna. Morgan has been hired to restore a very large mural that has not been seen in about eight decades. Anna is the artist of this mural and it is up to Morgan to uncover its secrets and to discover why it has been hidden away for so long.

I knew this was a historical fiction book before jumping in, but I was pleasantly surprised by the captivating mystery that was written throughout. Nothing makes me happier than when I can combine my love of historical fiction with my love of mysteries!

I was slightly more drawn to Anna’s storyline than Morgan’s. Anna is confident and yet there is an underlying sadness due to the recent loss of her mother. Being given this opportunity to paint the mural is just the fresh start she needs. Morgan’s storyline is compelling and her growth and self-awareness is admirable. Her determination to finish restoring the mural is unwavering.

Diane Chamberlain is a gifted storyteller and never disappoints! I am a fan for life!

During 1940, artist Anna Dale won a contest to paint a mural for a post office in a small rural town called Edenton, North Carolina. Having just lost her mother, she decides to accept the offer and heads there for what she thinks will be a three day stay.

There she is greeted by some folks with excitement, as they have never known a woman artist, but others, such as their own local artist Martin Drapple, who also had entered the contest but lost, and his wife, are not only not thrilled by her presence, but angry. Anna decides to stay in Edenton and create the mural there so she can include all of its people and landmarks.

As she begins the mural, she gets assistance from a few local high school children, one of whom is African American. But race relations in this small town is very tense and sides seem to be drawn as to whether whites and blacks should be allowed to work together. Anna decides to listen to herself rather than the townsfolk and ignores their warnings.

And that is where Anna Dale's story seems to mysteriously end. No one knows what ever happened to Anna Dale and no one knows where the mural ever ended up.

In 2018, Morgan Christopher who is in a North Carolina jail serving a sentence for a serious drunk driving accident suddenly gets an unexpected new lease on life. In college Morgan had been working on an art degree. When she is given an offer to restore an old mural by a certain date for her freedom from jail, she jumps at the chance.

Why she is the one who was chosen is just the first of many mysterious questions surrounding this mural and it's artist Anna Dale. As Morgan begins to adjust to her newfound freedom, and tries to come to terms with her former life, the restoration begins to take over her life. What she starts to uncover under all the dirt, makes no sense. It's as if there are clues which have been hidden for some reason, but why?

Is Anna Dale just a crazy woman who had a breakdown while working on a mural? Or is there some deeper dark story she left behind which needs to be deciphered? But how can you decipher something the trail of which went cold over 40 years ago?

Diane Chamberlain is a master of getting one's attention and keeping it. From the very first page of Big Lies in a Small Town I was riveted as Chamberlain took mixed up pieces of a puzzle, by flipping back and forth chapters from Anna to Morgan, and began to fit them together one by one so we could find the beautiful secret picture being told.

Thank you to #NetGalley #St.Martin'sPress #DianeChamberlain #BigLiesinaSmallTown for the advanced copy.

Compulsively readable page turner! It's been too long since I've read a Diane Chamberlain book. I enjoyed the alternating timelines which wove Anna and Morgan's stories together seamlessly. Fans of Ms. Chamberlain's books will love this book as well. Ms. Chamberlain has a gift for strong female lead characters set against the backdrop of time, place, and ties, family and otherwise (like friendships and partners). Thank you for letting me read this ARC!

This was my first Chamberlain book, and it wasn't disappointing in any way. Told between two perspectives and timelines, it's a story about a mural/painting, but also about social class, racism, love and forgiveness. Our two main characters, both women, and both from very different backgrounds, share a creative mind. One of them is hired to create a mural, and the other, decades later, is asked to refurbish it. During both their timelines, they experience cultural norms that many of us have experienced or heard from our generations past. There is some content that some may consider triggering, so be aware. This includes racism (and language), sexual assault, and marginalization of women.

Big Lies in a Small Town has a little bit of mystery in it as well, and I think that's what drew me to it in the first place. But the story kept me reading. Even though it wouldn't normally have been something I'd read, I enjoyed it thoroughly. In fact, I'll be looking for more of Chamberlain's books in the future.

5/5 Stars

I really enjoyed this dual timeline story. It centered around art and art restoration and it was very well done.

Diane Chamberlain is a favorite author of mine, and once again she did not disappoint with Big Lies in a Small Town.

There are two main characters in the book, Morgan Christopher and Ann Dale.

We meet Morgan, in 2018, when she has a visitor at the prison where she is currently serving time for a crime she didn’t commit. She has been given a very strange proposition. She can get out of jail early if she agrees to restore a mural. She knows nothing about restoring murals, has no idea why she was chosen, but the reward of getting out of jail is too great and she agrees to do it.

We meet Ann Dale in 1940. She is an artist who has been commissioned to paint a mural in a small southern town. Not only is she not from that town, but she is a yankee from New Jersey.

When Morgan gets to see the mural for the first time, she is astounded. It is a mess, in terrible shape and looks like it was painted by a crazy person. Not at all the kind of mural that you would hang in a small southern town’s post office.

From there on, we are told the story from two different perspectives. We watch as Morgan slowly uncovers the mural. We watch as Ann slowly paints the mural.

A very successful use of story telling in two time periods by two different characters. I was riveted following both women in the journey.

I couldn’t put it down.

I received an ARC of the book.

I was looking forward to reading this book as it is written using one of my favourite techniques of dual storylines. We meet Anna in 1940 and Morgan in present day. Anna was an artist chosen by the government to paint a mural on the post office wall in a small town. Anna arrives in the town in the south and is surprised to find all the racial injustices that still prevail. As she works on her mural she makes friends and enemies. Morgan is in jail for drunk driving but is out on parole with the stipulation that she repair the mural that Anna painted. It was never hung up in the post office and the reason why is a mystery. In fact everything about Anna seems to be a mystery. This becomes more apparent as Morgan restores the mural and the odd painting is revealed. Did Anna have a nervous breakdown and is that the reason the mural is so off brand? Morgan starts to dig deeper and deeper into Anna and her life. As the mystery evolves do Anna and Morgan have more in common than we thought? I enjoyed the stories of both women and looked forward to finding out the true story of Anna.

Very interesting story set in the 1930’s and present day. The author does a great job of telling the story from both vantage points. The characters are compelling and the story is very well written. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

I loved this book; I was hooked from page one. I really enjoyed the character development of Morgan and Amy and learning more and more about them. I was so sad when I finished the book- I was not ready for it to end! The book was written really well and was very captivating. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.