Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain – 400 pages
ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an honest review.
Book Blurb:
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?
My Review: 4.5 stars
Big Lies in a Small Town is additional proof that Diane Chamberlain is a master storyteller. Her books prove to be interesting, edifying and captivating from the start.
Written as a dual timeline narrative, one taking place in 1940 and one taking place in 2018, made for an interesting split due to the locale. Everything took place in the same small town of Edenton, North Carolina so the reader can see how the town and its people have matured overtime. What has stayed the same? The theme of art is present in both time periods and the mural in question symbolizes so very much.
The story focuses on The Forty-Eight State Mural Competition and the artist that won in 1940 and the artist who restores her work in current day. Learning about this post-Depression competition in itself, is something I knew nothing about. This book has it all – healthy vs. destructive marriages, bigotry, art restoration, misogyny, alcohol abuse, poverty, family, physical abuse, education, a touch of romance and mental illness.
The story knits itself together so that even the minor characters are there for a reason. The town came alive; I could smell biscuits baking and the paint drying. The mural became a visual picture in my mind due to its rich description. I’d be curious how most readers envision it, the same as me or wildly different than me? Book clubs will love this for discussion.
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