Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
I found "Big Lies In A Small Town"
by Diane Chamberlain to be an addictive, interesting & creative story that pulled me in & didn't let me go until its final page.
I loved how she used dual timelines to tell the story & connect the 2 main characters.
This the 1st book that I have read from Ms. Chamberlain & I can't wait to read her newest book, "The Last House On The Street" which will be released in January 2022.

It took me a few tries to get into this book, but it turned out to be really good. They first 15% or so is just so slow. Once you get into more of the historical sections it picks up nicely. Diane Chamberlain always does a good job of describing her settings and creating atmosphere. This was a nice mystery. I could have done without the romance but that's a minor quibble. I look forward to her next book.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

Big Lies in a Small Town is a captivating piece of historical fiction. Told in dual timelines by two strong female characters, this is a case where dual timelines really add to the story. In the 1940s, we hear from Anna Dole, an artist from the North who won a competition to paint a mural in small town North Carolina. In 2018, we hear from Morgan Christopher, an emerging artist, recently in prison, who is given a chance for early release at the bequest of one of her favourite artists who recently passed away, if she comes to Edenton, North Carolina to restore the mural painted by Anna.

Chamberlain does a great job at creating her characters and their worlds. The book tackles racism in the South, sexism, friendship, family and love. I'm a big fan of dual timelines and these two compliment each other beautifully. While there are elements of a mystery, this one falls firmly under historical fiction for me as they mystery element was really secondary and less the focus of the book. The ending was a bit too convenient for me, but I understand why it made sense for the characters journeys.

This book will appeal to readers who love historical fiction , dual timelines and strong female characters.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the e-copy to read and review. All thoughts are my own.

This was a very atmospheric story! It had secrets, mystery, and art! I like how it had everything I could wish for in a novel! I also like the dual timelines about two artists that had to face many different obstacles! The writing was strong and the characters were very realistic! I recommend this for fans of Lucinda Riley!

Did not care for this one. Couldn’t be bothered to finish it. It was a bit of a let-down because other people were raving about it. So…maybe it was just me.

This book was refreshingly different from anything I’ve read in a while. I love the twists and turns of small town life and drama. Everyone has secrets and everyone else thinks they know everyone else’s dirt. While there were some lulls in the story, I was invested enough to keep reading and I’m glad I did.

Diane Chamberlain is an author whose books I never miss simply because she tells a fully compassionate story without melodrama. In Big Lies in a Small Town, she melds two stories, decades apart, and brings them together in a logical but surprising conclusion. A mural for a post office is the thread that brings an artist chosen for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the 1940s together with the present day life of an imprisoned artist in pastoral Edenton, North Carolina. Chamberlain's attention to detail not only about the characters' own historiesbut also the concept of the WPA and the painstaking job of art restoration make this story unique and highly satisfying.

I have really enjoyed every Diane Chamberlain book I have read, and this one did not disappoint. They usually touch on some societal issues, and this one scratched the racial surface, but not in a beat you over the head way. It is a well-researched work of historical fiction set in the South, and the story is told in alternating timelines from the past and present. Her characters were fully developed, and I enjoyed the strong women characters. Small town settings always appeal to me, and I particularly enjoyed the storyline of restoring a piece of art. The storyline felt true to me, and I could envision the time and place the story was set. Another winner by Chamberlain.

I did receive a review copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Another fully engrossing winner by Diane Chamberlain! I was totally captivated by both stores and timelines and thought the author did a wonderful job with each and all together! I felt all the feeling and loved this one!

This light mystery had two main characters, both women, years apart, a mural, the thread that ties them together.

Anna, the past timeline character, is a woman artist who wins the post of painting a town mural. She’s strong and independent in a time when single woman were still not normally in positions of power or leadership. And certainly in a small town, where the beloved local painter didn’t win the post, there is much animosity that Anna must work through. The mural was never provided to the town and Anna went missing, leaving a mystery that has yet been unsolved.

Morgan, the current timeline character, has made poor decisions that have taken away her ability to have control over her own life. She is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to clean and restore the mural that Anna had originally painted, under very specific circumstances.

As she works on the restoration, she uncovers the secrets that surround Anna’s disappearance.

The story is intriguing, a light mystery that beings with questions surrounding why Morgan would be offered this opportunity, grows into what happened to Anna and end with a resolution to both. The characters are well developed. Anna was very likable and I connected to her right away. Morgan, less so.

I tried not to run ahead of the storyline to guess what might be happening, although that was a bit hard as the storyline often plodded along with no real urgency.

I felt that overall, it was a decent story, but didn’t require the length to tell it.

Thank you to #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Fantastic. Exactly what I have come to expect from Diane Chamberlain. This is a story of redemption and love and family. Could not stop reading it!

I was given an Arc by NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I’ve read several Diane Chamberlain books and enjoyed them. I liked this one, it’s told in two different timelines and was a suspenseful mystery, well written.
I recommend reading this one.

I can't believe this is my first book by Diane Chamberlain! I have a couple of her novels on my Kindle but time and massive TBR piles keep getting in my way. I was drawn to this book right off the bat as historical fiction is my jam, and I love dual narratives and timelines. I also love art and stories about artists and their process, so I enjoyed how vividly those aspects were captured both in Anna painting the post office mural as part of the New Deal Public Works of Art Project, and in Morgan's restoration of Anna's work decades later. I am impressed with the research that the author did on these subjects, as well as the local history of the very real Edenton, North Carolina. I always say that the best historical fiction has me Googling the historical events surrounding it, and Chamberlain had me reading all sorts of extra information.

Character-wise, she pulled me into these two young women's lives immediately, both are lost and at a crossroads, and both have tragedy in their pasts. I found myself happy to flip back and forth in the chapter perspectives, equally interested in both story lines. There was enough tension built in wondering what happened to Anna that I sped through the book and didn't want to stop reading it, but I wanted to savor it too. I also liked how well Diane Chamberlain tied the stories together, particularly at the end of the book. My only very minor complaint is that the ending and epilogue had me wanting even more of both women's stories. That's testament to how much I enjoyed Big Lies in a Small Town. I would recommend it to any fans of historical fiction, southern-set fiction, art, and mystery fans. I am going to be investigating Chamberlain's The Silent Sister next as, it's on my Kindle and ready to go.

As usual, Diane Chamberlain managed to grab me, I love good dual timeline, and this one didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the basis of the story, based around a mural.
It's hard not to give the story away and when it all gets tied together, you can't help but be impressed with the authors sheer talent to tell a story and one that captures so many readers.

This is my first Diane Chamberlain book, but it definitely will not be my last!

I absolutely loved Big Lies In a Small Town! What a beautifully sad story. The way Diane weaved the two stories of Morgan and Anna had me sucked in from the beginning. The book is so poignant, especially now with racism and the forefront. These two woman are brought together through a piece of art, finding it hard to finish with the many challenges they find in a town filled secrets and lies.

There is so much more to this story, but I never want to give anything away in my reviews. I highly recommended this book to anyone, it is beautiful written and Diane did a great job with the sensitive nature of the many topics in this book.

Diane Chamberlain writes excellent books, and this one is no exception. This book takes place in the present, with journal entries from Anna Dale taking place in 1940. In the present timeline, Morgan has been released from prison under the condition that she restores an old mural from 1940 (painted by Anna). She has a tight timeline and no experience with restoration. It seems impossible, but she's up for the challenge.

In 1940, Anna has no family and is now living in Edenton, North Carolina. Coming from the north, she is unaccustomed to the way the South works... which results in trouble for her at times.

Without going into the ending, this one captured my interest even though I figured out what would happen. It was predictable, but still enjoyable.

In the past a girl named Anna is chosen over a local artist to paint a mural on the post office wall. To make matters worse she also chooses an African American boy Jesse to help her. This does not set well with the town and soon the people start talking and taking sides. The town, Anna, and Jesse all have secrets of their own which carry over to the present lives of Jesse's daughter and a troubled art student named Morgan who is serving a sentence in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Morgan must restore the mural or else Jesse's daughter may lose everything.

Ms. Chamberlain does a great job of weaving the past and present lives of a small town. The story is told from multiple points of view and the reader finds themselves on the edge of their seat wanting to know what happens to the mural, Jesse, and Anna. The past and the present stories are very well connected and their are no gaps in the storyline.

Diane Chamberlain's' books are not really my choice genre, but sometimes I need to read a book of hers just to get balance in my life. Her books are so beautifully written, full of love and sympathy with the characters that the reader is left with a sense of true satisfaction and warmth inside. This book was another brilliant offering by a very talented author, and I can't wait to read the next one by Diane. Highly recommended.
TB

This book is a great book, the author describes the life of a famous past artist and a modern day artist, with such great detail that you feel like you are living with them. Anna the artist in earlier times is dealing with prejudice in the south. She is originally from the North and doesn't deal with the same type of issues. She is from the 1940's and the more modern artist Morgan is following Anna painting and restoring the art. The use of past and comparing to the present is well written, I could not put this book down.