ARC Review: Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

TITLE: Big Lies in a Small Town

AUTHOR: Diane Chamberlain

PUBLICATION DATE: January 14th 2020

GENRE: Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery, Women’s Lit

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Rape, Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, Alcohol Abuse

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?

I can’t believe I didn’t know who Diane Chamblerlain was a little over a year ago. She’s become one of my absolute favorite authors and her books are starting to feel a little like coming home. 

This one really was as good as the other ones, maybe even better. Morgan and Anna both had me drawn into their stories right away. 

I found myself drawn more to Anna’s story, because of the mystery of it all. Like with all Chamberlain works, the mystery drove me nuts throughout the story, but it all comes together really well in the end. 

As always, I really loved the relationships. Anna and Jesse’s platonic love for each other brightened my heart. Especially for the time they lived in when it was extremely taboo for a young white woman and a young black man to be friends. 

I didn’t guess the twist at the end, which is another reason why I love Chamberlain. Mysteries often are really easy for me to figure out, but with her books I can never guess correctly. Close, but never exactly. I love it.

I’m shaving off half a star because I would have liked to see a little bit more of Morgan and Emily. I would have liked for the scene at the end of the book was a little bit longer. I definitely would have rated it 5 stars.

My Rating:

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.