I really enjoyed this read and it kept me guessing until the end. The characters were relatable and I found myself really rooting for them. I liked the back and forth history of the mural and the way that the author used it to portray life in the south in the 1930’s. Definitely recommend!

4.5/5 stars. This book is amazing. Can we just take a few minutes to discuss how fabulous of a storyteller Diane Chamberlain is? Yes. Yes, we can. Her writing is so vivid and detailed, I feel like I’m right there in the scene with the characters. I love the mystery, intrigue, and creativity that she incorporates in her stories. I highly recommend this one!

This author is such a great storyteller.

In this one, Anna (in the 1940s) wins an art competition and heads south to do research on the town she has been tasked with immortalizing in a post office painting. Morgan (in the present) is in jail and is presented with an offer to leave after her minimum sentence has occurred and restore a mural in time for a gallery opening. Except she's never done art restoration. And that sets the scene.

Like all of her novels, this is filled with intrigue and romance and prejudice. This one also includes a murder mystery and an artist that vanished off the face of the earth.

I definitely recommend this. Or any of her other novels.

Review of Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is actually my first novel by this author but I am officially a fan. I love the setting, characters, and story line. The ending was one of the best I’ve read in a book lately.

Morgan is a young artist who is in prison for DUI and paralyzing another person when she gets a visit from a woman who is the daughter of a famous artist named Jesse. She tells Morgan that her father has recently died and in his will requested that Morgan specifically restore a mural he had in his possession from then 1940s. Her release is arranged and she heads to the small town to begin the work. She becomes obsessed with the story of her original artist named Anna. She disappeared under mysterious circumstances and there are very odd features discovered in the mural.

This book goes back and forth between Anna’s story in the past and Morgan’s in the present. The writing was perfect and I was very invested in the characters. This is more of just a fiction novel with hints of mystery. I will be reading more from Diane Chamberlain in the future.

While I wasn't a big fan of the art and art restoration of this novel, the overall story was very enduring and sweet.

Not the best book I’ve ever read, but this was pretty good. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this ARC. Definitely one of the better ones I’ve received!

I want to give a very belated thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read and review this amazing novel. A partner read with an online reading friend finally got me reading this book that I should have read last year. My biggest goal this year is to try to catch up on my Netgalley books.
I have become a fan of Diane Chamberlain after reading this engaging story. I hope to read more of her back list in the near future.
Using two time lines, 1940 and current day, helped bring more intrigue and depth to the plot. Anna Dale goes to the small town of Edenton, North Carolina after winning a national contest for do a mural there. She is not welcomed with open arms since many townspeople believe a local man should have won. As she continues work, she finds underlying secrets and prejudice that threaten her.
In 2018, Morgan Christopher is in jail serving a sentence because of being betrayed by a boyfriend. When someone offers to get her out of jail to do a restoration of an old mural, she accepts, even though she has no experience. As she works on the grimy mural, she wonders whatever happened to the original artist. Town legend has it that she went crazy, but Morgan believes there is more to the story.
I loved the way the author did the slow reveal of the past and the development of the present. Even with alternating chapters the tale flowed smoothly. Towards the end it was hard to put the book down as the author ramped things up.
I felt all the characters were well developed and shown flaws and all. I know some reviewers said they saw the ending early on, but I am bad at even cozy mystery endings, so it was a surprise to me.
If you haven't already read this engaging book, you need to get to it soon. Don't postpone as I did and miss out.

“You have to make peace with the past or you can never move in to the future.”

Another great book by Diane Chamberlain!!
I loved the mystery, the characters, the need to know what was going to happen and how the duel timelines would connect.
Such a great listen! Definitely recommend!

Thank you St. Martins for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Big Lies In A Small Town
By: Diane Chamberlain

REVIEW ☆☆☆☆
Big Lies In A Small Town is a compelling story set in different time periods and told alternately from multiple points of view. Regardless of era, it is clear that some things never change, and good and bad people and situations and injustice are unavoidable. Dramatic and thrilling story with well developed characters!

I'm ashamed in myself for taking so long to submit this review! My tardiness certainly does not reflect how much I enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed this story, The two main characters, Morgan and Anna, are quite likable and I felt bonded to them as Chamberlain slowly divulged more of their stories. I knew there must be some connection between the two women, why would we be learning about both of them? I could NOT figure out what it was, though. I stunning and original story, with fantastic characters, a little mystery, and a dapple of art.

There is not much to dislike about "Big Lies in a Small Town," I would recommend it to nearly everyone!

Big Lies In A Small Town – Diane Chamberlain

It’s 2018, and Morgan Christopher is currently incarcerated in the North Carolina Prison System. She had been a third-year art student when she was involved in a motor vehicle accident that left another young woman paralyzed. A year into her sentence, she is still struggling with the truth of her situation, when a guard summons her to a visitation room. Upon entering the room, she finds two women waiting for her, one of whom is a lawyer, and they have an amazing proposition for her.

Morgan has somehow caught the eye of a famous artist, who has recently died. While she is well acquainted with his work, she cannot fathom how he could possibly have known her, nor how he would have chosen her for the project she’s being offered – the opportunity to be paroled and to restore an old mural that was originally planned to hang in the Edenton, NC Post Office. However, the offer comes with a catch. The work on the mural must be completed in two months’ time. Desperate to be free, Morgan accepts the offer.

In 1939, a young Anna Dale receives a letter from the US Treasury, indicating that she has won a contest, and is the artist selected to create a mural for the Edenton, NC Post Office. Having recently lost her ailing mother, Anna opts to take a short trip to explore the small waterfront town of Edenton, to gain a flavor for the town, and gain ideas for the painting. A young woman living in New Jersey, she’s aware of the divisions that still exist between races south of the Mason Dixon line and hopes to design a mural to honor all of the residents of this small southern town. Embraced by the townspeople, she opts to remain in Edenton until completion of the mural.

As Morgan gets herself settled in her benefactor’s home in Edenton, she’s appalled by the shape that the mural is in when she finally lays eyes on it – mildew, scratches and abraded areas of paint adorn the canvas, and with no experience in restoring old works, she’s realizing there’s likely no way she’ll be able to complete this project to its specifications. As she slowly works to uncover the images, she becomes very intrigued by the painter Anna Dale, who seemingly disappeared after the mural was painted. And why was the mural hidden away and never installed in its place of honor?

Told from both Anna’s time and Morgan’s present, this story will immerse you into a past southern culture, where the color of your skin dictated your very freedom, as it very quickly draws you in, captures your heart, and has you frantically flipping pages as you’re cheering Morgan on, and yearning to know what became of young Anna. I originally chose this book because of its NC setting, and my visits to the town of Edenton, and I’m so glad I did - this story is totally enchanting!! An absolute gem!!

What an amazing read! Everything this author writes is fantastic it this may be one of my favorites. History, mystery, art and family secrets converge in to keep the reader transfixed.

I really enjoy Diane Chamberlain's storytelling. This book wove together the past and the present very well, giving you just enough to keep you intrigued but not dragging you along unnecessarily. I liked both stories equally, which I've found to happen pretty rarely in a multiple POV book. It would definitely be a good book club discussion!

Diane Chamberlain stole my heart with The Dream Daughter and this book has cemented her as a fave author for me!

1940 - artist Anna Dale wins a competition to paint a mural that ends up never seeing the light of day

2018- When renown artist Jessie Jameson Williams passes away, he leaves instructions in his will for Morgan Christopher to restore Anna Dale's mural. Morgan is currently incarcerated and although she has never worked at restoration she knows this isn't an opportunity she can pass up when it means her freedom.

The dual timelines, the spinning of both artists' stories were so engrossing. You want to know how the two will intersect and solve the mystery of what really happened to Anna Dale all those years ago.

In Big Lies in a Small Town Chamberlain tells a heartfelt and masterful story of greed, small town prejudice, lies, family secrets, love and mystery. Highly recommend it for historical fiction fans!

Big Lies in a Small Town is a very good read I was engaged from beginning to end! Restoration of a mural is the literary device that merges the timelines, connects the characters, and drives the story forward.

The story is told in alternating perspectives and dual timelines ….one timeline illuminates the other. Short chapters allow the alternate timeline to immediately fill in the details that are missing from the previous timeline. The closely aligned and tightly crafted timelines are an effective literary device in this story. The author cleverly unravels the mystery and develops the characters as the mural is restored. By the time the mural is revealed, all the secrets are also revealed.

Characters: Both Morgan and Anna are likable, strong, and independent young women. When an author writes dual timelines, sometimes I am more invested in one character than the other. In this story, I loved both characters equally. We meet Morgan in 2018 as she is released on parole from North Carolina Women’s Correctional Center, and we meet Anna in 1940 as she wins a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton, North Carolina. Both young women are alone for various reasons, struggle with the same mural, and fight to make their own way. What decisions will define their lives? Will Anna overcome small town, southern prejudice to complete her mural? Why was the mural hidden in storage for decades? Will Morgan be able to finish the restoration in time? Will she be able to find out what happened to Anna and solve the mystery of her disappearance? How will these characters connect?

Themes: Poignant themes in this story include friendship, racism, prejudice, second chances, healing, finding your voice, safe places and people, mental health, taking risks, and making peace with the past.

Recommended: Equal parts character-driven and page-turning. This does not disappoint and is definitely a great read for fans of Diane Chamberlain!

This is my first book by the author, after glowing recommendations from several reading friends, and I'm so glad I tried her work! BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN includes the extremely intriguing story of a woman who is recruited, via the will of a deceased artist, to restore an historical mural that he designed prior to his death. There are so many twists and turns that I was not expecting and I found it to be well-written and very compelling. I will definitely look into some of Chamberlain's backlist now because I truly enjoyed this novel!

A little bit longer of a novel than I thought necessary but it did tell a great story.
I love the back and forth between Anna in 1940 and Morgan in 2018. I felt so bad for Morgan and what her boyfriend did to her just to escape punishment. I loved the little weird parts of the mural that Morgan uncovers and the reason we find the little clues to a very big mystery.
I was quite satisfied with the ending.

I have read a few books by this author, and one of my favorite things that she possesses is the ability to create fully developed characters that you will be able to relate to. That doesn't mean you will always like them, but there are times an author feels rushed and that is not the case. This book alternates between two time periods with ease, and weaves together a tale that draws you in and keeps you turning the page. I really enjoyed it.

I absolutely loved this book. Diane Chamberlain does not disappoint, and this book is as good as always. I loved the use of different times - it was like two stories were unfolding simultaneously.

I have always loved Diane Chamberlain's novels and this was no exception. I loved the multi decade story and I was drawn in instantly. Thank you so much for the advanced copy of this.