Big Lies in a Small Town

Thanks NetGalley, Pan Macmillan Australia and Diane Chamberlain for giving me the chance to read her new book: Big Lies In A Small Town.

2018, Morgan Christopher found herself serving time in the North Carolina Correctional Facility, she's young, very naive, she made a big mistake, trusted the wrong person and never considered she could be sent to jail! Once she understands she's in big trouble, she's tries desperately to explain that she didn't commit the crime, it's too late, no one will believe her and she's sentenced to serve three years in jail.

One day, she is taken to the private visitors room and two unknown women are waiting to see to her. Morgan is totally confused, one of the ladies is Lisa Williams and the other is her lawyer Andrea Fuller. Lisa explains to her that she's the only daughter of a famous artist called Jesse Jameson Williams, they need her to restore a mural, if she agrees, she can leave jail with Lisa and be released on parole. Morgan has been in jail for a year, she's been sleeping with one eye open and she's very keen to leave jail. Prior to going to jail, she was studying art, but they want her to restore a depression era mural and she's has no experience? Of course she leaves jail with Lisa, she will be living with her and plans have been made for her to meet her parole officer the next day. What had she gotten herself into now, the parole officer didn't beat around the bush, Morgan is to report to her fortnightly, wear a ankle bracelet and she must attend weekly AA meetings. Morgan discovers the mural she's to restore is dirty, it's damaged, it has to be fully restored by early August and she has two months to complete the restoration or Lisa will lose her inheritance. The mural is to be a major piece in the galleries opening exhibition, why did Jesse Williams want her to restore it and it made no sense?

The book has a dual timeline, the story seamlessly alternates between the present time of 2018 and goes back to 1940.

1940, Anna Dale, is a young artist living in New Jersey and she won a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton in North Carolina. Anna is lonely, her mother has just passed away, she needs to find work and she decides to drive to Edenton to take a look around. Once she arrives in Edenton, they want her to start painting the mural right away and she can board with sweet Miss Myrtle. Anna quickly discovers life in the South is very different to New Jersey, people still have very old fashioned ideas, ladies don't go out alone at night, they don't wear pants, they don't make friends with colored people and the locals are soon questioning her odd Yankee ways!
Big Lies In A Small Town, is a story full of surprises, it hooks you right in from the start and you don't want it to end. You quickly notice how similar Anna and Morgan are and they both had very difficult childhoods.
The book covers so many relevant issues that effect so many people now and their families. They include forgiveness, trust, judgment, domestic violence, mental illness, alcohol abuse, racism and the quest for justice.

I loved the book, I gave it five big stars, well done Diane Chamberlain and I look forward to reading her other books.

Diane Chamberlain is a hugely popular though I've only read one book by the American author, Pretending to Dance, published in 2015.

Her latest, Big Lies in a Small Town unfolds in two timeframes and is centred around two women whose livelihoods - and in some ways their futures - depend on an opportunity they've been presented in small-town Edenton, almost 80 years apart.

The thing I loved most about this book is that the stuff I thought would happen, didn't - which seems to be a common theme for me of late. Perhaps I'm getting more-stupid as I age.... or books are increasingly subtle.

Either way, it wasn't predictable. We can kinda guess where the book's going but Chamberlain veers away from obvious paths. We learn fairly early on (and it's in the blurb above) that Morgan claims she is innocent of the drink driving offence that had her imprisoned and her blind love for an ambitious young man saw her take the blame. Because I read way too much crime fiction, I kept waiting then to either discover that she WAS guilty after all and in denial or perhaps has blacked it out; or for him to reappear and for her to cast aside a new love interest and make the same mistakes all over again.

However... things didn't work out quite like that.

We first meet Anna in December of 1939 when she arrives in Edenton. And... it has to be said she is kinda naive in some of her actions (given the time and place). Unfortunately for her, she was awarded the mural gig over a local artist - a popular portrait artist with a wife and kids.

So she's an outsider. But Anna's young and enthusiastic and recovering from her mother's death so decides to stay in town to complete the mural rather than returning home after finalising her design as planned.

I was actually surprised to the extent that Anna's accepted by the locals but there's a simmering unease and she stokes that with her naiveté and wilfulness.

In the present, Morgan's put under pressure by her benefactor's daughter to complete the restoration so his dream - the museum - can open as planned. Though the task seems impossible Morgan's fallen in love with the mural, and intrigued by the story behind it - particularly the weird dichotomies she's (literally) uncovering.

t's a second chance for Morgan and she's determined to make the most of it. And she's always been a huge fan of her (now deceased) benefactor's work though can't understand how he came to have the mural and - more importantly why he chose her to restore it.

It's this unfolding story of the original mural - why it was never unveiled and what happened to its artist that intrigues Morgan (and we readers I suspect) the most.

Interestingly, although the two (intertwined) plots unfolding simultaneously, we only learn of the outcome of the earlier years through the present story.

Both Morgan and Anna are likeable though I engaged more with the former. I guess I could relate to her more. She's up-front about her past and refreshingly honest about her lack of restoration experience and resulting nerves, and finds herself attracted to the museum curator, despite some understandable trust issues.

Anna's got an equally challenging backstory. The manner of her mother's death is only obliquely eluded to initially, before we learn of her mental illness, and - as events unfold - Anna becomes fearful of history repeating itself.

Race and racism plays a large role in this book. Jesse Jameson Williams, Morgan's benefactor, was African American, as is (obviously) his daughter - Morgan's now-taskmaster.

But in the 1940s race was a far bigger issue and Anna misjudges the extent of racism prevalent in Edenton when she offers an internship to a talented African American teenage artist. Chamberlain introduces us to his family so we don't only see the town's distrust and suspicion, but also the fact his family believes the family farm is his only option for the future.

Chamberlain offers a little history here (I'd not heard of the town's claim to fame, the Edenton Tea Party, for example - an 18th century movement in which the women of the town signed a petition to boycott all English products, including tea), and of course we're reminded of the history of race relations (then and now).

So it's in this context and through two likeable leads - Anna and Morgan - that Chamberlain touches on a number of weighty issues and reminds us of the importance of second chances and redemption.

EXCERPT: Edenton, North Carolina, March 23, 1940

The children knew it was finally spring, so although the air still held the nip of winter and the grass and weeds crunched beneath their feet, they ran through the field and woods, yipping with the anticipation of warmer weather. The two boys and their little sister headed for the creek, drawn to water, as they always were. The girl, only three and not as sure footed as her brothers, tripped over something and landed face-first in the cold water of the creek. Her big brother picked her up before she could start howling, cuddling her close against his thin jacket, a hand-me-down from one cousin or another. He looked down to see what she had stumbled over and leaped back, dropping his sister to the earth. Grabbing his younger brother's arm, he pointed. It was a man, lying there, his rumpled clothes sopping wet and his face as white and waxy as the candles their mother kept around the house for when the electric went out, which was every other day, it seemed.

The younger boy backed away. 'He alive?' he whispered.

The little girl got to her feet and started moving toward the man, but her older brother grabbed her arm and held her back.

'Uh-uh,' he said. 'He dead as a doornail. And look' - he pointed - 'his head all caved in.'

'Let's git outta here,' the younger boy said, turning to run back the way they'd come, and his brother was quick to follow, holding their sister beneath his arm like a football. He knew they wouldn't tell. Wouldn't say nothing to their mama or no one. Because though they were young, one thing they'd already learned. Colored boy found with a dead white body? That didn't look good to nobody.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: North Carolina, 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.

North Carolina, 1940: Anna Dale, an artist from New Jersey, wins a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton, North Carolina. Alone in the world and desperate for work, she accepts. But what she doesn't expect is to find herself immersed in a town where prejudices run deep, where people are hiding secrets behind closed doors, and where the price of being different might just end in murder.

What happened to Anna Dale? Are the clues hidden in the decrepit mural? Can Morgan overcome her own demons to discover what exists beneath the layers of lies?

MY THOUGHTS: I read this book in two sittings, completely immersed in the story. I don't quite know how to describe my feelings about this book. It is a 'quiet' read. It is not in your face, nor is it shocking. It is not exciting. It is compelling, richly detailed and flows beautifully between two timelines, the 1940s and 2018, gradually weaving disparate threads into a fascinating story connecting the characters of Anna Dale and Morgan Christopher.

While this is a 'quiet', it deals with some serious subjects - racism and other prejudices, rape, spousal abuse, and mental illness. The characters are strongly portrayed, my art education enriched.

This is only my second book by this author, and I am enamored. Big Lies in a Small Town is a compelling and enthralling read. I was heavily invested in the outcome. When I finished I just sat there, book clutched to my chest, smiling.

*****

#NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Diane Chamberlain is the New York Times, USA Today and (London) Sunday Times best-selling author of 27 novels. The daughter of a school principal who supplied her with a new book almost daily, Diane quickly learned the emotional power of story. Although she wrote many small “books” as a child, she didn’t seriously turn to writing fiction until her early thirties when she was waiting for a delayed doctor’s appointment with nothing more than a pad, a pen, and an idea. She was instantly hooked.

Diane was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey and lived for many years in both San Diego and northern Virginia. She received her master’s degree in clinical social work from San Diego State University. Prior to her writing career, she was a hospital social worker in both San Diego and Washington, D.C, and a psychotherapist in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia, working primarily with adolescents.

More than two decades ago, Diane was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which changed the way she works: She wrote two novels using voice recognition software before new medication allowed her to get back to typing. She feels fortunate that her arthritis is not more severe and that she’s able to enjoy everyday activities as well as keep up with a busy travel schedule.

Diane lives in North Carolina with her significant other, photographer John Pagliuca, and their odd but lovable Shetland Sheepdog, Cole.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you St Martin's Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinion.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my profile page on Goodreads.com or the about page on Sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage.

Diane Chamberlain writes a compulsive and gripping novel that skillfully weaves the stories of two women from the past and the present. In 2018, 22 year old Morgan is coming to grips with a tragedy from her past all while restoring a mysterious mural from a small town. In 1940, Anna Dale enters an art competition, this leads to her being offered the opportunity to paint an art mural for the Post Office in Edenton, North Carolina. What happened to Anna Dale? Are the clues hidden in the decrepit mural? Can Morgan overcome her own demons to discover what exists beneath the layers of lies?

While this book felt like it was SUPER long, I think I was just being a slow reader. It was written so well and I really enjoyed it. Sometimes books that move from present day to past can feel forced, but Diane Chamberlain keeps you hooked at the end of each chapter. While some bits in the middle felt a bit slow, from about two thirds in, I couldn't stop reading. Chamberlain throws in a diary with hidden secrets that blow everything out of the water. The ending was brilliant and not the ending I expected. However, it did leave me wanting more answers. I think I need a sequel.

I, for one, did not find this slow, boring, or ridiculous unlike some of the lower star rating comments. And to the reviewer who stated “I don’t know why so many people loved it”, that would be because we’re individual. It’s a comment I don’t think is appropriate, and pretty rude.

Anyhow. I enjoyed the two different time periods which isn’t something I usually like because I can get confused 😂 I’m not much of an art buff... actually not at all but I loved the processes being explained to us and I can’t be the only one who wishes the mural was real so I could see it! So intriguing.

I loved Anna’s character I really bonded with her and really cared about her. I thought he life was handled with care and compassion and her feelings were very real and raw. I did not see the end coming, and I loved it!

Thank you so much for my copy 🙏🏼