Big Lies In Small Town.

☆☆☆☆☆

big lies in small town.
diane chamberlain.

Publisher  St Martin's Press.

Publication Date: January 14,2020

Genre: Historical Fiction| Suspense.

Format|Pages: Hardcover|400.

 Source:  Goodreads|Library.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

 

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? 

 ✎

Suspenseful. Captivating. A story that is difficult to put down.



Once again, I have no words. I have been reading DIANE CHAMBERLAIN books for years, and every time I read her novels, I fall in love even more with her writing. Not a single of her books where I did not fall in love with the story or the characters. BIG LIES IN SMALL TOWN was not any different. From the moment that I started reading BIG LIES IN SMALL TOWN , I was hooked and had myself wondering what was going to happen next, how it would all end. That is one of my favorites about DIANE CHAMBERLAIN novels is the way she captivates the reader from the first page, having them craving for more. I hope it is a way that my book captivates readers in the future. I loved that the story was told from both Morgan and Anna’s point of view, and like Morgan, I was wondering about Anna Dale from the moment that Morgan saw the mural that she drew those years ago. Reading about Anna’s mural as Morgan restored it, I wondered what made Anna draw it the way she did, what happened to her. It was the type of book that I love, the one that on the edge of the seat from the start until the end. You could not help but fall in love with the story.



I loved both Morgan and Anna’s story, and I felt as I was reading two separate stories. What happened to Anna? I cannot even imagine having go through something that tragic. However, after reading it, which made sense why her mural turned out the way that it did. Reading it, I felt all the emotions that Anna must be feeling at that moment: anger, fear, guilt. I felt as I could feel all the feelings of both characters. Having the story being told from both Anna and Morgan’s point of view, it had me get to know each of the characters better. I did wonder if maybe Anna and Morgan would have a chance to meet at some point in the book. I was hoping that they would. Anna became very important to Morgan, the way she wanted to find out what had happened to Anna after she painted the mural, why she left. What Morgan discovered was as much shock to me as it was to her.
Another thing I love about DIANE CHAMBERLAIN books is the unexpected twists that you do not see coming. I finished the book a few days ago, and I still cannot seem to get it out of my mind. It was heartbreaking and thrilling at the same time.



Do you like historical fiction with some suspense in the mix? Be sure to check out BIG LIES IN SMALL TOWN. A book that you will find yourself recommending to your friends. I knew that there is a reason that DIANE CHAMBERLAIN is one of my favorite authors. This is a book that deserves more than five stars, more like ten, if not more. I am already excited to see what DIANE CHAMBERLAIN has in store for us next.