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
more
Wow, Diane Chamberlin has done it again. BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN seamlessly weaves the past and the present into a story I will not soon forget. Vivid, memorable characters, tense happenings in two timelines, and a wall-sized mural that connects two very different artists across the decades all kept me reading long past bedtime. Set with historical care in Edenton, N.C., this story needs to go on your must read list.
Another winner by Diane Chamberlin! I only wish there was one more chapter to explain Morgan’s final question. This book had a great storyline and jumped between the two main characters, a young female artist from the 1940s and a ex-prisoner out on parole from 2018. By the end you see how their stories intercept and you are left wanting more!
Big Lies in a Small Town is a brilliant mix of historical and contemporary fiction. It’s told in dual points of view, one in the past and one in the present. It also switches back and forth between first and third person, and in a lot of cases, that switch back and forth is distracting at best. However, it somehow works with this story. Another thing that impressed me was that I was equally interested in both women’s stories. A lot of times, when I read a book done like this one, I’ll tend to lean toward one character or another and will anxiously rush through the other parts to get back to that character, but I didn’t have that problem with this book, not even once. Diane Chamberlain certainly knows how to weave a tale, and I found this one thoroughly captivating. I won’t go into the details of this book because it’s one of those that if I start saying anything, I’ll want to go on, and you’ll get no spoilers from me. What I will say is this is a story that I won’t soon forget and I highly recommend it.
Wow. That was brilliant! I’ve not read anything by this author before, but I’ll certainly be on the lookout for more.
Big Lies in a Small Town is told one two povs, one first person and one third, one set in the past, and one in the present.
Absolutely brilliant story about an artist and her crazy mural and the artist tasked with restoring it. We get to watch Morgan fall in love with both the mural and the artist who created it, while also healing her own demons. We also get to see how Anna went from an excited artist ready to paint the perfect mural for Edenton’s post office to the woman who went a little crazy doing so.
A fantastic story of resilience and self belief, of friendships and heartaches. I love that it was both historical and contemporary fiction combined. A nice change to the books I usually read.
Highly recommend!
Big Lies in a Small Town is an intricately woven story of two women three generations apart with ties neither could fathom. This is the thirtieth novel by American author, Diane Chamberlain.
Treasured Southern artist Jesse Jameson Williams recently passed at the age of 95 leaving very specific stipulations in his will for his only child, Lisa, to carry out to keep the family home. The first is to complete the work begun to create his personal museum in his hometown of Edenton, North Carolina, by a grand opening date of August 5. Also, he has stipulated that a giant mural in his possession be restored and hung in the museum lobby. Next, Lisa and the executor attorney are to get a young woman released on parole to do the restoration of the 1940 ‘48 State Mural that had been created for the Edenton post office. While Lisa understands the first requirement, the other two are a complete mystery to her and also to 22 year old Morgan Christopher, the parolee.
Why would a renown African American artist want to get a young white art student out of prison? And why would he insist that this inexperienced novice do a detailed mural restoration? Plus, why was this mural, that had gone missing in 1940 be in the famous artist’s possession? And what had become of the seemingly mentally unbalanced young artist, Anna Dale, the day the mural had disappeared?
This is one of the very best generational dual timeline novels I have read. The two heroines, current day Morgan and 1940s Anna, have their stories intertwined in a seamless manner until the very surprising conclusion. I did enjoy this book very much and I do wholeheartedly recommend it!
Big Lies in a Small Town ended up being an absolutely incredible surprise for me. Of course, I am familiar with Chamberlain, but this is my first time reading anything by this author. This novel is beautifully written, full of tension and emotion, and has numerous twists and turns – both good and bad. The secondary characters are just as well-developed as the main characters and truly complete this story. This was an absolute page-turner that I refused to set down until I read the last line and is a story I will not soon forget. I highly, highly recommend this one.
WOW!! There are not enough stars to rate this fantastic book! I had heard good things about Big Lies in a Small Town so when I saw that Susan Bennett was the narrator, I knew it would be a good listen. But oh my goodness, this book took me on a journey that will stay with me! I fell in love with Anna Dale and Morgan Christopher from the first page and thoroughly enjoyed their journey’s told in alternating chapters that made it easy to keep up with and had me wanting more after each chapter. The way these women’s live’s became intertwined throughout and the unexpected last few chapters took my breath away. Brilliant storytelling by Diane Chamberlain! This was my first book by this author but it won’t be my last.
Diane Chamberlain does it again in this magnificent novel set in two timeframes, the past and the present and weaved together brilliantly. The book is definitely well researched and I really enjoyed reading this dual timeline story that gave me so much emotions in reading this book that I knew I should not have started too late in the evening as there was no way this book was going to be able to put down. The story and the characters have immersed me into the story line and I could not wait what is to come next. I was so much a part of their lives that Chamberlain knew just what I needed in an amazing book. Thank you so much for this wonderful story that everyone needs to read about. And I have been telling everyone I know to pick this one up asap! Highly recommend this book.
I have basically read everything that this amazing author has ever written. Imagine my surprise when I got approved by Netgalley. I read the blurb after getting it and pushed it off reading it. I started it last night and I wasn’t convinced that’s this story was for me. It talked about art, painting to be precise. It went back and forth in time. Honestly, I almost quit.
Then I said to myself this is a Diane Chamberlain story, I need to go on. OMG!!!!!!! I read it in one sitting, I didn’t go to bed until I was done reading the last page.
It does go back and forth in time, 1940 to be precise but it all comes together at the end. It does talk about a mural that needs to be restored. But the mural as a message and a powerful one too.
I was so mesmerized by this story that I was unable to put it down. It’s addicting and highly intriguing. I was blown away by the storyline and plot twists. I had quite a bit jaw dropping moment that left me baffled. The creativity of this story was astonishing. The characters were perfectly created to make me feel for them. After I was done reading it, I wanted more. Bottomline this is a MUST read.
Once again Ms. Chamberlain delivers a wonderful story full of real life characters and a twisted plot!
Following two protagonists, generations apart, in the small town of Edenton, NC, the theme in this story is art, with a mystery surrounding both protagonists. Beautifully written, wonderfully atmospheric, and delightfully creative, I was mesmerized until the very last page.
4.5 stars
I don’t think that there is a book out there by Diane Chamberlain that I haven’t liked. This woman knows how to tell a story and hooks you in, even if you think that the premise doesn’t sound like it’s up your alley. In typical Chamberlain fashion, Big Lies in a Small Town is told in dual time lines, alternating between past and present.
The story of Morgan and Anna is so perfectly woven together, that I am not sure which story I enjoyed more. Both story lines have such strong character development that I came to love both of these strong women, but Anna was my favorite. A leader before her time, it was women like her who paved the way for me and future generations.
I don’t want to delve into any plot details, there are plenty of reviews out there that do, and there is always the blurb. I would highly recommend this book. It is a solid plot told through fantastic story telling with both main and secondary characters that you wish were real people.
Another winner for Diane Chamberlain.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book via NetGalley
Solid Tale Solidly Told. This is a solid story of two women and two timelines. In 2018, a young lady is released from prison on parole on the condition that she restore a mural from the 1940s. In the 1940s, another young woman is painting this mural. The present day timeline is told in first person and the past timeline is told in third, which makes it easy to pick up and know which period you’re in. I personally suffered some family tragedy and what felt like a pretty significant reading slump while reading this book, but I managed to get through it and finish the book within the month. And let me be clear, I do not feel that this book itself had anything to do with the slump, it really is a solid tale with an interesting curve at the end. Very much recommended.
ENJOYED
I really enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend it to readers of various genres. I liked the mix of historical fiction and suspense. The characters were intriguing and the setting of Edenton, North Carolina was the perfect backdrop for the story. In addition I learned some interesting details about art restoration.
Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain is a wonderful story which drew me right in, making me forget everything else and did not let me go until I turned the last page. The book is very well written and the characters are well defined and believable. This is told in dual timelines that perfectly matched each other. Once I started reading this book I did not want to put it down.
I didn’t expect to love this book (restoration of an old grimy painting seemed a bit “meh” even with the promise of madness, violence, and conspiracy), but I was pleasantly surprised and REALLY loved it! I thought the layout of the book where the author alternated between the original artist, Anna Dale, around 1940 and the former inmate-turned-art restorer, Morgan Christopher, in 2018 was great. I kept getting just enough of each woman’s story to keep me eagerly wanting more. As a byproduct, I was delighted to learn that art restoration is actually really fascinating!
This book highlighted the meaning of true friendship while showing the reader some of the atrocities that occurred during that time period.
Great read cover to cover.
Interesting author, she keeps the pages turning.
Thoroughly enjoyed this story. Highly recommend!!
Over the years I have bought several of Diane Chamberlain’s books, but just never got around to reading them. Then “Big Lies in a Small Town” was released and I immediately read it. Now I know I have really been missing out! I loved this book! Although it is written with a dual timeline, Ms. Chamberlain’s writing flows so smoothly I had no difficulty following the transitions. I felt an emotional connection to the characters, and even learned a bit about art restoration. The rich descriptions created a sensory experience for me – the vivid colors of the mural, the smell and taste of home-cooking, a tactile sense and smell of the paints. I felt I was in Edenton alongside Anna and Morgan.
A bit of history, art restoration, second chances, mental illness, racism, romance, friendship – if you are a fan of any of these topics, you need to read this book.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions expressed here are all mine.