Diane Chamberlain

From New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes an irresistible new novel in Big Lies in a Small Town. 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? "Chamberlain’s depictions of creative beauty and perseverance across time and in the face of inevitable obstacles will keep readers turning the pages."—Publishers Weekly "Chamberlain’s writing is reminiscent of a quilt made up of pieces from different people, places, and times, stitched together into a single, emotional story."—Booklist

A Novel

Big Lies in a Small Town

‘Fans of Jodi Picoult’s style will love how Diane Chamberlain writes’ - Candis Big Lies in a Small Town, by the internationally bestselling author Diane Chamberlain, is a sweeping novel about two women connected by a painting that holds many dark secrets. 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 Centre. Her dream of a career in the arts 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 for 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?

Kristen Claiborn

In 2020, racism has reared its ugly head so reading this book was rather timely. It shows how fragile the wall between right and wrong truly is. In 1940, women had a single role: in the home. Wimen who worked were looked down on because they took jobs away from men, and violence against women was largely ignored. Black people were on the periphery of society and were viewed with suspicion because of the color of their skin. Unfortunately, those viewpoints didn't completely change or cease, they just went in hiding. In 2020, misogyny and racism came out of closets, got dusted off, and were put on full, disgusting, display. This book shows how closely we are all intertwined and how actions affect the world. It's a fabulous tale of the progress of humanity and success.

World famous painter Jesse Jameson William’s decision to add a codicil to his last will and testament created new opportunities for a young convict while uncovering a decades old mystery surrounding a murder and a missing painting. The story follows two strong and independent female characters. Readers are first introduced to Morgan Christopher. She’s in prison for a crime she knew about but was not the actual perpetrator. Her story occurs in 2018. An unexpected opportunity to be free from prison landed in her lap with one condition: she needs to restore a mysterious painting to its former glory within a stipulated timeline.

Rewind to 1940, where we meet Anna Dale, a New Jersey resident who recently lost her mother. She has just discovered she is the winner of an art contest which involved the painting of a mural for the Edenton Post office in North Carolina.

The story moves seamlessly between the past and present where Anna paints and Morgan restores. It pulls the reader in from the first page. Chamberlain wove several interconnected events throughout the story (A story which covered issues of racism, rape and mental illness), while treating readers to mystery and a smidgen of romance. I enjoyed both timelines, however; I found Anna’s the most interesting. Both timelines came merged, and ultimately delivering answers to questions raised throughout the story.

Elizabeth Bennett narrated. She brought life to the characters and the story. Her tone and presentation will have listeners invested in the story. She aptly portrayed Morgan and Anna. Their personalities came alive through her narration. Her male voices were natural and distinct. Also, her performance for the secondary female characters was well done. 

Totally Addicted to Reading

World famous painter Jesse Jameson William’s decision to add a codicil to his last will and testament created new opportunities for a young convict while uncovering a decades old mystery surrounding a murder and a missing painting. The story follows two strong and independent female characters. Readers are first introduced to Morgan Christopher. She’s in prison for a crime she knew about but was not the actual perpetrator. Her story occurs in 2018. An unexpected opportunity to be free from prison landed in her lap with one condition: she needs to restore a mysterious painting to its former glory within a stipulated timeline.

Rewind to 1940, where we meet Anna Dale, a New Jersey resident who recently lost her mother. She has just discovered she is the winner of an art contest which involved the painting of a mural for the Edenton Post office in North Carolina.

The story moves seamlessly between the past and present where Anna paints and Morgan restores. It pulls the reader in from the first page. Chamberlain wove several interconnected events throughout the story (A story which covered issues of racism, rape and mental illness), while treating readers to mystery and a smidgen of romance. I enjoyed both timelines, however; I found Anna’s the most interesting. Both timelines came merged, and ultimately delivering answers to questions raised throughout the story.

Elizabeth Bennett narrated. She brought life to the characters and the story. Her tone and presentation will have listeners invested in the story. She aptly portrayed Morgan and Anna. Their personalities came alive through her narration. Her male voices were natural and distinct. Also, her performance for the secondary female characters was well done. 

 

lindy strauss

Diane Chamberlain is a talented story teller. Her writing flows naturally and makes for a gentle read. The way that these two women's stories were woven together was masterfully done- and it keeps the reader from being bogged down. Admittedly, the way that the ending came together left me feeling a little bit unsatisfied. 

This is also such a small thing, but throughout the novel, the main character Morgan talks about music she's listening to and it pulled me away from the story a few times to hear, "And I put in my head phones and listened to Better Now by Post Malone." It just felt unnatural. Not a huge issue but it felt like an attempt at making the character seem relatable and her age (22) that was just a little awkward at times. I just had to laugh at it a few times. 

Overall, I did enjoy this story. I wouldn't say I was ever left dying to know what would happen next but it was uncomplicated enough to digest in chapters over the span of a few weeks and still enjoy the process.

Melissa Schwartz

3.25. This was my third Diane Chamberlain book, and I enjoyed it but would not consider it a favorite. Content warnings include sexual assault and racial slurs. I thought switching between Morgan and Anna’s stories throughout was important and necessary; it simply could not have just been Morgan’s story. I’m admittedly not a romance novel person, but I tend to enjoy the romance aspects of non-romance books. This was a great example of that; I thought Morgan and Oliver’s coming together was beautiful and touching. In the acknowledgments, Chamberlain notes how much research she did on Edenton which I appreciate. She also spent time in the town’s Racial Reconciliation group to properly write about Jesse Williams and other Black characters. Now, this being said, it wasn’t done perfectly. On a good note, I think the racism that existed was well noted and there was no holding back about how the white 1939 characters acted and spoke. But it’s still a big deal to be a white writer writing about non-white characters. I think Morgan comparing Lisa’s hair to Michelle Obama’s in today’s age was inappropriate and should not have been included. I certainly don’t want to speak for anyone else though. Beyond this, I was also deeply annoyed that we couldn’t witness Morgan attempting to speak with Emily Maxwell. I felt robbed of that when it was such a looming part of the story. In any case, I enjoyed the read but it just wasn’t my favorite by her!

Karen Shimek

Jan Talkington

I enjoyed this story. The parallel times/stories worked well together. As the story developed I had a few thoughts on where it was headed, but there were enough possibilities to keep me guessing until close to the end.

Jolie

When I was approached to review Big Lies in a Small Town, I was a little hesitant to read it. I knew from reading the blurb that this was going to be a dual plotline book, which I am not a fan of. I also knew, from reading the book, that this was going to be an emotional read. I have to be in a certain mood to read a book that I knew was going to make me cry. I ended up accepting the review because I was curious. I wanted to know how the mural and Morgan were tied together.

Big Lies in a Small Town had two fast moving plotlines. I didn’t have an issue with following either plotline. What I liked, and what made the book enjoyable for me to read, was that the flow of the book wasn’t disturbed when going from 1940 and 2018. The author clearly marked those chapters with the names of Morgan or Anna at the beginning.

I had a hard time connecting with Morgan. Her attitude at the beginning wasn’t the best. But as the author got into her backstory, I understood why she acted that way. By the end of the book, I loved her. She was committed 100% to finding out what happened to Anna and to refinishing the mural. I liked that she was able to keep her head on straight during certain situations (the bar fight was one) and that she was able to admit that she had major issues. Her character grew so much during this book and it was wonderful to read.

I didn’t feel the same way about Anna. I liked Anna right from the beginning. She was determined to paint that mural the way she wanted it, not the way the influential men wanted it. I loved that she didn’t care if her friendship with Jesse was causing issues with the “good folk” in town. I also loved that she didn’t back down when Marvin Drapple’s wife and her friends were douchenozzles.

I do want to throw in a trigger warning. There is a somewhat graphic rape scene that ends with the death of the rapist. To be honest, it took me by surprise. I was not expecting it. I wasn’t expecting the aftermath either. What I was expecting was the blatant racism shown when it was in the 1940’s. It was the South. There were derogatory names used. There was the threat of violence (lynching was discussed). So, a warning.

There are a couple of twists in the plotline that took me by surprise. The first one involved Morgan and her release from jail. The other, well, it happened at the end of the book. I should have seen it coming but I didn’t. So, I was taken by surprise.

There was a romance angle to the book. I’m not sure if I like it or not. The only reason being what was happening in the other plotline. Both started about that time.

I learned more about art restoration than I ever wanted to know. I will admit, it was fascinating to read about how to do it. I never thought that much work went into restoring old paintings. But then again, until this book, I never had to think about that.

The end of Big Lies in a Small Town was bittersweet. The 2nd plot twist happened towards the very end of the book. Like I said above, I was taken by surprise. I shouldn’t have been. The very end of the book was a bit frustrating. Only because it ended and I wanted to see that meeting!!

Jill Clark

Stavroula Kalantzis

Alex Rine

Jessica Ford

Christine W

Brianna Ritter

Shan

Caitlin Reynolds

Kristin Hallak

'Fans of Jodi Picoult's style will love how Diane Chamberlain writes' CandisBig Lies in a Small Town, by the internationally bestselling author Diane Chamberlain, is a sweeping novel about two women connected by a painting that holds many dark secrets.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 Centre. Her dream of a career in the arts 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 for 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?

Big Lies in a Small Town A Novel

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