Item: Big Lies in a Small Town
Rating: 4.00
Author: kimbacaffeinate

by Diane Chamberlain

A decades-old disappearance, and a quest to find the truth . . . Big Lies in a Small Town, by the bestselling author Diane Chamberlain, is an emotional novel about two women connected by a painting that holds many dark secrets.

‘Fans of Jodi Picoult’s style will love how Diane Chamberlain writes’ - Candis

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. 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?

From the auhor of The Last House on the Street.

I love slipping into one of Chamberlain’s books. I never really know what interesting tidbits I will discover, nor the characters I will meet. I was concerned when I first met Morgan Christopher. I have this habit of not reading the blurb. Had I done so, I would have realized immediately she was in prison for a crime she didn’t commit. However, I came to like this shy artist, and I quickly became caught up in her and the work she was doing.

The second character we meet is Anna Dale, and the year is 1940. Anna hails from New Jersey and has recently lost her mother, when she learns she has won a prestigious art contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton, North Carolina. Wanting to do the job right, she drives to the small town and ends up staying there while she paints.

The tale that unfolds weaves back and forth as Morgan restores a painting and Anna paints one. It was captivating, atmospheric and rich in details. Chamberlain not only paints a vivid picture of the south both past and present, she shines light on social ladders, rape, racism, mental illness, and more while giving readers a mystery to chew on.

The writing had a wonderful flow and the transition from past to present was seamless. Although admittedly I found myself compelled by both storylines, it was Anna’s that was gripping and had me on edge. In the end, the timelines came together, and rewards the reader with answers to lingering questions and a fitting ending. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

Big Lies in a Small Town

by Diane Chamberlain

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on Jan 12, 2020

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