Diane Chamberlain has done it again! She is a masterful storyteller and this really shines through in her latest novel. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Diane. Chamberlain has another hit on her hands.... I enjoyed every page of this book... Chamberlain weaves a story that shuttles back and forth from 1940 to 2018. She weaves this tale seamlessly. I found myself time and again rushing through my everyday chores so I could get back’ to this story. Her knowledge of the subject matter and the countryside of NC is a product of her research and commitment to produce the best possible book. I was always rooting for Morgan who has a very interesting back story in the book. Truly wonderful how this author tells a story with so many elements flawlessly. You find mystery, love, family dynamics, racial tension., all neatly put together and nicely tied together at the end. Another winner for any reader....

This started out a little slow for me but by the end I didn’t want the book to end! Great character development, a little bit of a mystery.

Diane Chamberlain has books I have really enjoyed, and then others I couldn't get into. This one was slow going for me. I liked how she took two different women in different eras and connected them. However, I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction. so it just wasn't my favorite.

Ashamed to say, I never read any of diane Chamberlain's books before. Something, I will not do again. The dynamics of friendship, even family, she brings to life, is amazing. The powerful words that segregation was alive and well in 1940. The friendship, really family, she makes out of North and South. The privileged, that think, because they were born, white , in the south, they can do as they please, and not get caught, sad to say, true. You can really figure the plot , but the story behind it, is awesome. You will root for the underdog, cry, rant, and laugh. You won't be disappointed!

I am a fan of Diane Chamberlain and this book continues my fan girl status.
Did Anna Dale commit the crime she is accused of? Will Morgan uncover the truth? Read this book and find out.
I am not generally a fan of jumping time periods but Ms. Chamberlain's skills as an author provide a smooth read that won't let you put it down!
Thank You NetGalley and the publisher for this book

I was so fulfilled when I read the last page and equally disappointed. The latter because the story was told, skillfully wrapped up and I was left on the doorstep so glad that I had read this book and so sorry I will not have any more pages to turn.

The United States Treasury Department’s sponsorship of the ‘48 State Mural Competition during the Great Depression sets the basic framework of “Big Lies in a Small Town”. The story hinges on two women who have a connection, but you will have to wait for that. They each narrate their portion of the story; Anna in the past; Morgan in the present. They each arrive in a small southern town, grateful for being offered a job, scared of what will be entailed, and unsure of the ultimate outcome of their undertaking. Their voices are soft, loud, sweet, confused, desperate, in equal measures. The ancillary characters in each of their stories are drawn perfectly, their voices, dialogs, silences flow and merge. The back and forth of the women’s stories are “hold your breath what is going to happen now?”

This book should appeal to anyone who enjoys, literature, historical fiction, great plot development and super great writing.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy.

I have read quite a few of Chamberlain's books and loved everyone of them. But I must admit this one is now my favorite. I am not a fan of the ending (that's just me) and almost gave it 4 stars because of it. But after pondering it for a while, I realized the story itself was really worth 5 stars.

It hit me in the heart. Such a warm story which switches back and forth between Anna (1940) and Morgan (2018) . Morgan Christopher's life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women's Correctional Center. Her dream of a career in art is put on hold—until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to leave prison, she accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence, and a conspiracy of small town secrets.

This description alone got a hold of me. But when the story jumps back to Anna in the 1940s and her part in the mural, what heartaches she went through...I was totally hooked. The story kept me turning pages way past my bedtime to absorb more of this amazing story.

This is a must read. I thank #netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and Diane Chamberlain for writing such a powerful book that makes you think about love, family, consequences, relationships and the extents people will go through to survive. Place this on your TBR list. (Available January 14, 2020)

Wow, another winner by Diane Chamberlain. When I first started the book I didn't think I was going to enjoy the story line, but boy was I wrong! I loved both the main characters, actually all the characters in the story. As a southern girl myself, it is always disturbing to read what our area of the country was like 60 years ago. Great intermingling of past and present.

“Big Lies in a Small Town” is not a mystery novel. It is a book full of mysteries—each carefully drawn and richly created. The book opens in March 1940 when two children discover a body laying in a woods by a stream. Who was the dead man? Why was he so brutally murdered? That mystery sits unaddressed through much of the book. But there are other mysteries to deal with.

First in 1939, there is Anna Dale. She had been picked by the Section on Art for the Department of the Treasury to create a huge mural to hang in the Post Office in Edenton North Carolina. But Edenton is certainly no Garden of Eden! Something wicked dwells in this Eden.

Then in 2018 there is Morgan Christopher. When we are introduced to Morgan, she is serving out a prison sentence for manslaughter resulting from a car accident when Morgan was drunk. Even through Morgan was not driving at the time, she was arrested, tried, and convicted of the crime. She won an early release so she can restore Anna Dale’s mural so that it can be hung in a new art gallery to be opened in Edenton. Famed artist Jessie Williams specifically named Morgan as the person to do the restoration by a specific date or be returned to prison. Why Morgan? Why an unknown art student who knows nothing about art restoration?

What Morgan discovers is a mural so grim and gruesome that it is hardly suitable for hanging in any post office. Why? What happened to Anna that caused her to create such a grim, blood and gore mural?

The author does a marvelous job of portraying the two women in their very different circumstances. The reader feels the excitement and creative wonder of Anna as she happily creates her image, has it approved by the Section, and transfers it to canvas. Likewise, we feel the fear and discomfort of Morgan as she leaves prison to do a restoration job for which she has no training. We feel the startled awe as Morgan uncovers images of bloody axes, hammers, and broken images that don’t make sense.

I was quickly drawn into the story and admit that the mysteries surrounding Morgan kept me moving into the book. Oh, Anna’s story became much more intriguing as the image was transferred to canvas, but Morgan was still my point of entry. The Anna thread started slow and lacked the "oomph" that the Morgan thread did. Though the ending of the book involved more of the Anna thread, it felt like the conclusion of the Morgan thread.

This is the second book by Diane Chamberlain and I have to say that I was not disappointed. I loved the book---with all of its mysteries—and recommend it highly. I was given a copy of the book to read in exchange for this review and am immensely grateful for the opportunity to do so.

I love Diane’s books. This one was an enthralling novel that takes place in North Carolina. Diane creates a vivid picture of all of her characters and always keeps you guessing until the last page. I loved the storyline and suspense. Thank you Netgalley for the Advanced. of This book in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait to tell everyone to go out and read it. It was wonderful!

I really liked this book: the story of 2 artists, one from 1940 and one from last year, working on the same mural. The original piece was created by someone outside the small town where it was to be displayed, by both gender and race. The piece disappeared as did the artist.
Fast forward to now, and a woman is in jail for a terrible accident that she in fact did not cause. Out of the blue, an offer to get out of jail comes with the requirement that the old mural be restored and displayed with a really short deadline. This seems to have no connection to her or anyone she knows but this is a chance she is not willing to squander.

The affect of the story is the alternating chapters between then and now for each of the artists. It can be a bit irritating as things seem to jump and start and it can feel a bit jarring. At the end of the book, all the pieces fall into place and the secrets revealed.

One person's tragedy ultimately becomes another's opportunity and I did like the way things were tied up.

An emotional and intriguing plot with relatable characters. This story explores injustices, family secrets and prejudice in a small town.
This novel goes back and forth from the 1939 to 2018. Anna Dale is a young artist in 1939 picked to paint a mural for a town she’s never been to. And in 2018, Morgan Christopher is released from prison on the condition that she completes the restoration of this same mural by an impossibly close deadline.
Desperate to get out of prison where she constantly fears for her life, Morgan takes on the job, even though she has no experience as an art restorer, never finished art school and has no idea why she was chosen for the job.
Two stories, two mysteries. Rape. Murder. Disappearances. A tiny dose of romance. The separate tales of the two girls come together in a totally satisfying ending.

Another wonderful novel by Diane Chamberlain historical fiction with characters that come alive and drew you into their world. #netgalley#st.martinsbooks

I truly enjoyed this dual timeline story about two women who face enormous personal challenges that are borne out of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In parallel we learn about Morgan Christopher, the current millennial 20-something who is involved in a DUI and ends up in prison for a crime she didn't commit. In alternating chapters, we also get absorbed into the story of Anna Dale, an artist who arrives in North Carolina in the 1940's to complete a mural that she has been awarded through a government works program. While their circumstances are vastly different and separated by decades, both women confront their demons - both real and imagined - in the same small town of Edenton, North Carolina with unexpected connections that aren't revealed until the very last pages.

Chamberlain's research of small town North Carolina was so engaging it made me feel like I was stepping into this town's world, with its prejudices and small town politics, but also it's seaside beauty and hard-working, proud residents. She also makes art a central theme in this story - its intangible expression of history and unique capacity to evoke strong emotions no matter the decade. This page-turning novel was well worth the late hours of reading to finish it in just a few days. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review- this was definitely one of my favorite reads in the last few months!

Solid women’s fiction novel with a good story. But, slow beginning and nothing really revelatory here.

I loved this book. It is beautifully written and flows gracefully throughout from start to finish. This story has it all - mystery, intrigue, violence, love, hope, forgiveness, compassion, the list goes on. Best book I have read in a long time - I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Diane Chamberlain for the advanced copy of this book!

This book was slow moving and took a little bit to get into the characters but overall I enjoyed the plot and thought it was a good book. The switching back and forth between characters was a little bit cumbersome at times.

I really love books about history whether fiction or non-fiction. Not only is it interesting to see how people lived but it’s also fun to see how much the world has changed, if at all. Big Lies in a Small Town delivered accurate history plus a wonderful story. The book isn’t all historical fiction. The chapters go back and forth between Morgan Christopher in the present and Anna Dale in the past. At first, I couldn’t see a connection between the two main characters. But then the beauty of Diane Chamberlain’s plot began to emerge. Not only are Anna and Morgan connected but there is so much more! I don’t like to give away anything in a review. I try to keep my opinions strictly based on how well-written and well-developed the book may or may not be. This is very hard to do with this book! I want to talk to someone that has read it so we can discuss when we first realized...or, did they figure out...or, could you believe...get where I’m going? The book is so stinking good!! Don’t skim or skip any part and don’t assume any minor character isn’t important. There are no filler scenes or words in this story. My suggestion is for the reader to make uninterrupted time to read the book. Trust me when I say you will be glad you did. I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

Really enjoyed this story. Characters were well developed and there were plenty of twists and turns along the way to make it compulsive reading.