From New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes a novel of chilling intrigue, a decades-old disappearance, and one woman’s quest to find the truth… “A novel about arts and secrets…grippingly told…pulls readers toward a shocking conclusion.”–People magazine, Best New Books North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher’s life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did … life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, her dream of a career in art is put on hold–until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will get her released from prison immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to be free, 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 in great need of 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?
“Chamberlain, a master storyteller, keeps readers hooked, with a story line that leavens history and social commentary with romance and mystery.”–Lexington Dispatch
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Loved this book! I loved how she tied all the characters together.
What an interesting plot. I have not read anything as original as this.
Love the tension between characters, time line and lack of skill to finish a job and remain free.
Well donel.
I have read so many of Diane Chamberlain’s books and loved them all. This one, however, made me wish I could put my life on hold so that I could JUST READ!
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.
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!
Very good for book club discussion
See my review on Goodreads
Excellent
Really enjoyed this book. It was quite intriguing and had a great story line.
A superb piece of women’s fiction combining art & history into an excellent, enthralling & utterly absorbing read. Told in alternating points of view, with chapters named for each narrator, this was well written (one wouldn’t expect any less from this author) & a truly original story. I could not recommend it any more strongly.
Morgan Christopher is a young woman currently incarcerated for the DUI she was involved with which seriously injured another young woman. Her sentence isn’t long, but she was drunk & even though she wasn’t the driver, she is paying the price for him, her ex-boyfriend. She used to be an art student but with her career on hold, her sole focus is on surviving prison. Until, one day, she is offered the opportunity of a lifetime & everything changes for her & the people she comes to know as a result.
Do not miss this outstanding story. Thank you to Netgalley, the author Diane Chamberlain & the publisher St. Martin’s Press for the free copy I was given in return for an honest review.
This is such a great story about two women in two different eras, whose stories are tired together before either of them know it.
This was a fast read. I loved the characters that The author created. Anna and Morgan’s character came to life immediately. A must read!
Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors. This is a great book with alternating time periods connected by a mural that was chosen in the 1940’s to be placed in the post office of Edenton, NC. The artist that won the competition was from NJ and there was some dissent among the town … since they had a competent artist living among them and they were not happy he was slighted for a woman from the North. We follow Anna and her creation of the painting while also reading about Morgan Christopher in 2018. She is chosen to restore this mural that has been in a closet for years and uncovers not only the mural that has been hidden but the story behind the mysterious Anna Dale.
I listened to this one and really enjoyed it. I loved the back forth between Anna Dale’s story in 1940 and Morgan Christopher’s story in 2018. Anna was to paint mural in 1940 in Edenton, North Carolina. I loved what a very strong character she was and how she advocated for Jesse and his help and for him to be able to go to art school. She angered some of the townsfolk because Jesse was black. Something horrific happened to Anna while she was painting the mural and Jesse’s family helps her. In 2018, Morgan is incarcerated for something she took the blame for to save someone else. Jesse has passed away and has asked that Morgan restore the mural. Morgan will be allowed to be out of the prison for doing this. Morgan is not sure why Jesse has asked that she be the one to do this. I loved Morgan and Oliver learning about Anna’s past and the connection Morgan begins to feel for her and towards the people of Edenton. I loved the connection revealed between Anna and Morgan at the end.
A story of resilience, of making peace with the past. A plot with twists and turns, and rich characters. A masterful writing and pleasant reading. This was my first book by Diane Chamberlain, but certainly not the last.
Another fantastic author!
Captivating story with great characters and interwoven timelines. A real page turner.
What an interesting story on the lives of both Anna and Morgan. It was fun and interesting to go back and forth between the two women and 1940 and 2018. A lot happens to both women some good, some bad but what happens to both in Edenton changes their lives. The mural is an interesting part of history for some towns. Reading this book is fascinating watching two young women try and live their lives. Anna has everything to live for and the freedom to do it but then she ends up in Edenton. Morgan has nothing to live for and needs a fresh start and ends up in Edenton. I do have to say everytime I read anything that is historical I am happy that I never lived in that time. I am way too independent to live in a time when men ruled everything.
*I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This story is told by two narrators, Anna Dale in the 1940’s, and Morgan Christopher in the present. We begin with Morgan, a former art student who is now in prison for her second DUI, which resulted in an accident leaving a young woman paralyzed. Two women arrive to meet with her, and they have a fantastic offer for Morgan. She is being released on parole, with the condition that she restore a mural for an art gallery grand opening. With release from prison and the promise of $50,000 at the end of the restoration if she meets the deadline, Morgan readily accepts.
Once in Edenton, North Carolina, she learns that she is to restore the mural Anna painted for the post office in the 1940’s. Anna had won a contest to paint the mural as a depiction of the town – the cotton mill, the fishery, the peanut farms and the famous Tea Party the town is known for. But as Morgan starts the restoration, she hears the rumors that Anna had gone mad after finishing the mural and went missing. The painting’s strange symbols of violence lead Morgan to find out more about the mystery surrounding it.
I have to say that I liked the storyline of Anna and the past much more than I did the storyline of Morgan and the present. Anna decided to take the job for two reasons. First, it was a great opportunity for a budding artist, and second, her mother had just committed suicide and Anna was alone. Unlike Morgan, Anna is a strong personality with a can-do attitude, who was kind and did what was right. Morgan just seemed to have a woe-is-me attitude, which didn’t endear her to me. Perhaps it was also that Anna’s storyline was much more interesting and attention-grabbing. Anna had to deal with the town’s resentment of her for many things: being a woman, being an outsider from the north, being kind to blacks in a segregated community. Morgan dealt only with her own insecurities, and it became tiring after a while to hear her complain.
Overall, it’s a good story, well-paced with good character development, even if it was a bit predictable and the ending hurriedly tied everything and everyone together. I would have loved to have seen the mural as part of the cover.
Diane Chamberlain does it again with this very well written story about a young artist who needs to face her troubled past and an old mural she is hired to clean. She becomes obsessed with its artist, solving an old mystery. I loved the plot and the characters were very likeable and real to life.
4 stars and a must read!