In 1940, artist Anna Dale enters a competition and is given the opportunity to create a mural for a post-office in a small North Carolina town. Having just lost her mother, Anna is looking forward to the distraction and the work. But not everyone in Edenton is welcoming, especially not a local artist, or his friends and family, who felt Anna had stolen his opportunity. When she takes on a young African-American student at the request of his teacher, even more of the town come out against her.

In 2018, former art student, Morgan Christopher, is offered a unique opportunity to gain early parole from a North Carolina prison. She has been tapped by a recently deceased artist, whose work she admires greatly, to restore a large mural as the main focal point of his new art gallery. Confused as to why she would be an integral part of the will for a man she had never met, and completely underqualified, Morgan jumps at the opportunity for freedom.

As Morgan works on the mural, she learns that Anna Dale disappeared under mysterious circumstances, rumored to have gone mad and that the mural itself never made it to the post office. Uncovering several gruesome oddities underneath the grimy paint, her fascination with the artist grows.

Told in two timelines, we follow the two women through the creation and restoration processes, as well as through their personal struggles and trauma.

A bit of a slow burn at first, it doesn't take Big Lies In A Small Town long to kick into high gear and the last two-thirds was read at a breakneck pace. Diane Chamberlain clearly does her research and it shows. Her characters in both timelines are well fleshed out and you can't help but be drawn to them. The timelines paralleled each other perfectly and every situation, no matter how heavy, was written with compassion and care.

While not a traditional mystery, Big Lies In A Small Town is a riveting read filled with family secrets, lies, and a couple of lovely little twists, all wrapped up with a very satisfying ending.

What I Loved:
Big Lies In A Small Town weaves together past and present in a uniquely wonderful way. With well-drawn characters that you want to root for and situations that are believable, even when they're uncomfortable, you are going to feel all the feels.

What I Didn't Love:
A little bit of a slow start, but it doesn't take long before you're riveted.

Conclusion:
A great historical novel/mystery with insight into life in America's South at the end of the Great Depression. With wonderful and compassionate writing that doesn't shy away from uncomfortable topics, Big Lies In A Small Town has made me a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title!

Love any book from Diane Chamberlain!! She is s great storyteller! All her books capture your attention. This book was no different! Can not wait for her next book!!!

I really enjoyed this book. The story line was a little different and the main characters were interesting.

There two plotlines in this novel that go between 1940 and 2018 in Edmonton, NC. From the beginning I knew that they were going to tie together at the end. It became increasingly easy to guess how it was going to happen after I reached the second half of the book. It all seemed a bit too predictable for me. At no point did I feel immersed in the story and I never felt a connection to any of the characters. There are themes of addiction, mental illness and racism in the novel, but none of these serious issues are tackled with any depth. I can’t say any more without giving away some of the plot twists. Nevertheless, if you like historical fiction and you are a fan of Diane Chamberlain you should definitely read this one and decide for yourself.

Fantastic!! Diane Chamberlain has given us another great book. I was fully invested in both main characters, Moran and Anna. She went from past to present with such ease and I liked both story lines equally. I enjoyed not knowing the back story of Anna from the beginning and trying to figure out the mural’s secrets.
I will recommend this book for sure. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley!

An Old Mural Connects Two Women Artists from Different Time Periods

Morgan Christopher is serving time in the North Carolina Women’s Correctional Center for a crime she didn’t commit. It’s hard enough to be in jail, but it has also derailed Morgan’s desire for career as an artist. Then in a surprising twist two visitors come to the prison. Lisa Williams, the daughter of Jesse Jameson Williams a prominent artist, and Andrea Fuller, an attorney. They offer Morgan a chance to get out of prison immediately if she agrees to the terms of Jesse’s will. She will be expected to restore a seventy-year-old mural in two months for Jesse’s museum opening.

The mural was painted in 1939 by Anna Dale. She was encouraged by her mother to enter a government contest to paint murals in post offices. Now her mother is dead and instead of winning a chance to paint a mural in Plainfield, New Jersey where she lives, she is given Edenton, North Carolina. When she arrives, she realizes that the project won’t be easy. The men who run the town wanted the local artist, Martin Drabble, to have the commission. Working in the town is difficult for Anna, and she discovers that the polite Southern atmosphere covers a myriad of secrets and prejudices.

This story works well in two time periods. Both women are talented artists and their stores mesh perfectly to reveal the town secrets: racism, mental illness, abusive family relationships, and injustice, among others. The two women are strong characters faced by difficulties, some brought on by their own actions. The atmosphere is normal and yet there is an under current of tension that keeps the story moving. If you enjoy mysterious stories about strong women, this is a good one.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

This book will be released on Tuesday. I highly recommend that you pre-order, put it on hold, or whatever you need to do. I devoured this book in less than two days. I could not put it down. The story is told on a duel timeline, in the 1940s by Anna Dale and in 2018 by Morgan Christopher. Anna Dale is a young artist from Plainfield, NJ who has won a national contest to paint a mural for a local post office. Due to a mix-up, she is assigned the post office in Edenton, NC. In order to complete the mural, she travels to Edenton and lives there for the duration of the project. Morgan is a young art student who is in prison for being involved in an accident that severely crippled a young girl. She is visited by the daughter of a famous artist who offers her a chance to be free, by restoring the mural that Anna painted all those years ago. I don’t want to give to much away, because the story is told in the most remarkable way, and every detail is important. There is an underlying sense of something tragic happening, and there is an unexpected twist. I cannot recommend this book enough. Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of this book. Thank you to the author, Diane Chamberlain for such an intriguing and well written read.

A great historical-fiction/dual narrative read that bounces between the early 20th century and the present day.

I loved Diane Chamberlain’s writing, and I breezed through this pretty easily.

Solid 3.5 star book, and will be loved by fans of dual narratives.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.**

Parallel stories that are intricate and fascinating. Then Diane Chamberlain not only wraps it and ties it with a bow, she delivers it and watches the reader unwrap it with a smile.

Wow, just wow.

This book is about Anna Dale during the 1920s and 1940s; and Morgan Christopher in 2018. While switching between two independent stories in two different time frames can be frustrating, the author does it well. Both are artists and both end up in Edenton, N.C.

Their challenges are not the same. Anna deals with perceived female frailties common during the time period. Morgan’s nightmares are of her own making. Alone, they are exquisite. Together, the tension peaks often and only gives time for a quick breath before peaking again.

As is typical with Diane Chamberlain’s novels, the writing is crisp, the characters are enchanting and the narration is tight. This book is highly recommended.


I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

Great read depicting the lives of artist Anna Dale and art restorer Morgan Christopher . Anna Dale had the honour of painting a mural for the small town of Edenton ‘s post office in 1940. Her youth, artistic abilities combined with her caring and non judgmental attitudes made her a target in this small town. She saw others in town in a very perspective way and although she tried her best to overcome the racism , jealousy, abuse of this town it was bigger than her. Meet Morgan Christopher who had her own tumultuous life for a young person. Serving a prisoner sentence for drunk driving in 2018 she suddenly finds herself on probation and in the care of Lisa Williams whose artist father , Jesse Jameson in his will demands a mural from the 1940’s be restored by Morgan before Lisa ‘s can make claim to her inheritance .These two women have interlocking stories . An interesting and entertaining read.

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain
Welcome to Edenton, North Carolina. Small town USA. As with most small towns, everyone knows everyone and everyone has an opinion about everything.
The story revolves around a State Mural Competition during the late 1930’s. When a northern artist is picked to do the mural over the hometown boy, people are visibly upset. The story toggles between Anna, the artist, and Moran, the girl hired to do the restoration of the mural in 2018. Morgan is hired by the estate of her favorite, now deceased, artist.
The twists and turns of the plot start out slow, but pick up fairly quickly. The characters are well-developed. You want to cheer for the good guys and boo the bad guys. And you will certainly want to figure out how all of this is connected.
This book is definitely worth a read!
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced reader copy at my request.

Everyone has their secrets and some demons that lie in the past can come back to haunt the present. Ms. Chamberlain has provided her readers with the story of the lives of three artists whose circumstances and backgrounds are separated by over 70 years but whose lives are, nonetheless, inextricably joined.

Sprung from a North Carolina women’s prison where she was serving time for a crime she didn’t commit, Morgan Christopher is solicited and mildly coerced in to restoring a badly damaged mural that originally commissioned for placement in the post office of a sleepy Southern town back in 1939. The mural disappeared before being hung and has recently reappeared in the collection of a recently deceased black artist.

Filled with complicated dynamics between the seamlessly intertwined characters Ms. Chamberlain has skillfully created a narrative that examines how the past effects the present when her protagonist becomes obsessed with investigating the life of the mural’s creator as well as discovering what abstruse clues the mural itself holds.

BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN provides a marvelous insight into legacy, humanity, identity, personal beliefs and the astonishing ways in which art has the power to inspire and can ultimately set one free.

Big Lies in a Small Town intwines two women from different lifetimes in such a unique way. I loved watching (reading) the mural being restored and it telling Anna's story! I couldn't get enough of the two main characters that alternated between 1940 and 2018 every other chapter. I enjoyed both character's stories and LOVED the ending!
I started reading Diane's work about 4 years ago and immensely anticipate her next book. If you haven't read a Chamberlain book, you are missing some great books!

Right from the start, this story is intriguing. That's the word I'd use to describe the whole twisty mystery behind the creation and restoration of the Edenton Post Office mural. It was incredibly easy to connect with both story lines with Morgan in the present restoring the mural and Anna in the past creating it for the first time. Their lives have so many parallels that span the time gap between them: loss, unstable childhoods, ill parents, and mental illness. Both Morgan and Anna felt very real to me, well-rounded and complex but still uniquely themselves.

As their stories continue, you can feel the threads coming undone as you're clued into more of their histories and happenings. Their struggles are heart wrenching to the reader but their triumphs are equally as joyful. I think the characters are a huge part of this story's success for me. The pacing is absolutely fantastic with the lens switching to the other timeline at the perfect point, making it absolutely impossible to put down. And the ending is right on the dot, the perfect amount of closure and good feelings despite all the horrors that happen in these two lives. Really fantastic read I'd recommend to everyone. What a great way to start off 2020!

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press, and the author Diane Chamberlain for the opportunity to do so.

Last year I was so disappointed in The Dream Daughter, so much so, I didn’t even finish. Time travel was out of my mental comfort zone. Now I can happily say that - Ms. Chamberlain is back!

Big Lies in a Small Town is a quick paced novel, telling the story of Anna Dale, an artist in 1939, who is picked to paint a mural for a post office in North Carolina. Anna was born in raised in New Jersey, just a quick bus ride to NYC. Her Yankee upbringing and liberal social views do not fit in well with the small southern town and some townsfolk are out for revenge.

Morgan Christopher is a young 22 year old who is mysteriously paroled early from prison after serving 12 months of her sentence for severely injuring a girl during a DUI. Her task in order to keep her freedom is to restore Anna Dale's strange mural. In doing so, Morgan has her own issues to figure out. Will she be able to meet her deadline, maintain her sobriety, and figure out the mysteries hiding in the small town? It's a lot of pressure for one vulnerable person.

Ms. Chamberlain's mysterious historical fictions are such a comfort to read. If you enjoyed Necessary Lies and The Stolen Marriage, this book is for you!

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.

If you are a fan of dual timeline stories, Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain is for you! I really enjoyed reading about both Anna and Morgan's stories. The setting of a small town and racial tensions was interesting to read about. Chamberlain is a master at these kind of big, sweeping novels. Don't miss this one! Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

4.5/5

I love when a book is told in alternating timelines, especially if the author manages to seamlessly switch between past and present and I don’t know if any author does this better than DC. Can she do any wrong?! I’m beginning to think not, I’ve only read a handful of her books and have finished each one feeling so impressed and awed.

One of my very favorite things about cracking open a DC book is I always know that I’m going to learn something new and I’ll most likely be fascinated with whatever topic she covers and this was no exception. I know next to nothing about art in general, never mind art restoration but I was totally taken with the whole process was which is something I never would’ve guessed. Add in a mystery and her trademark characterization and I was all in. Fans of the author will be thrilled with her latest and if you’ve never read her before get on it!

A satisfying read and an intriguing story with just the right touches of history, romance and mystery.

"Big Lies in a Small Town" is a well-written book by Diane Chamberlain. The chapters alternate between two female narrators living in different time periods. Each woman is dealing with a personal crisis and has to find the courage to persevere through the difficulties life throws their way. I didn't personally find myself interested in the characters or their plights, but I can understand why others found this book compelling.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

First I would like to thank @stmartinspress @netgalley and @diane.chamberlain.author for an ARC of ‘Big Lies in a Small Town’ in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. I’d you are unfamiliar with Ms. Chamberlains work, she introduces the characters, sets the plot, and weaves a story with a bit of mystery. The stories are rich with characters that are complex and full of depth. The writing is superb.

There are two primary character POVs and timelines used to tell the story and they are clearly labeled. One timeline involves a painter named Anna who ventures from NJ to NC pre-WWII (for the USA). The other timeline is present day, centering around Morgan as she sets out to restore Anna’s work.
I don’t want to give too much away; however, I loved it. The book releases on the 14th so put it on your TBR list!
#dianechamberlain #stmartinspress #netgalley #advancedreaderscopy #goodreads #january2020release #readonvacation #readallnight #thankfulreader #gotoauthor #bigliesinasmalltown #justread #kindle