Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
Publication Date: January 14, 2020
Genre: Fiction

Set in alternating perspectives between 1940 and 2018, Big Lies in a Small Town follows two women, Morgan and Anna, as their stories intersect through a mural. Morgan is serving time at a correctional facility in North Carolina when she gets a dream offer: to be released from prison and paid to restore a post office mural in the small coastal town of Edenton, N.C. Although she knows nothing about art restoration, she jumps at her chance for freedom and becomes fascinated with the history of the mural and its painter, Anna Dale.

In 1940, Anna wins a national contest for artists and is commissioned to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton. Determined to paint a mural that is fitting of the town it will display, Anna heads to North Carolina. Before long Anna finds herself absorbed in small-town politics and drama. But what happened to Anna? As Morgan restores the painting she finds out just that, and what she finds is a tale of madness, murder, and small-town secrets.

Chamberlain made me fall in love with her characters and the charming town of Edenton, NC. I became very attached to the mystery of Anna and her mural. I desperately wanted to know what became of her. I found her perspective particularly interesting. I had never heard of post office murals before reading this story, but now I’m genuinely intrigued.

Big Lies in a Small Town is a gorgeous story and I thoroughly recommend it to fans of historical fiction and mysteries.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the review copy!

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