Big Lies in a Small Town @D_Chamberlain @StMartinsPress #mystery #artrestoration @absltmom

Having read a number of Diane’s Chamberlain’s book, I was quite anxious to dive into this story and of course was quite happy when I was notified that I was able to acquire an advanced copy from NetGalley. It was an extremely interesting premise and one that heightened my interest in the fascinating world of art and its restoration.

Seventy years separate the two protagonists in this story and yet even though decades separate them, there is something that connects Anna Dale, the young winner of a competition to create a mural for a small town post office in the South in the 1940s, and Morgan Christopher, a young girl of present day, who while in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, is commissioned to restore the mural that has been hidden for many years.

This is a story not only of lies and deceit, but also a story of the way in which art can and is restored to its former glory. In this mural, that was kept and held by a famous artist Jesse Williams, there are many clues to what had transpired in the life of Anna Dale, a person whose story and life seemed to end in a small town in the South. As the story continues with alternating chapters between Anna and Morgan, we learn more about these two artists, and the things that transpired in their lives that seem to culminate in the creation and restoring of this mural.

The story is cleverly told, giving the reader a few hints at a time to the things that seem to link these ladies together through time and distance. It’s a tale of the way things were in the South decades ago, and how one’s life can change and deviate in the blink of an eye. I recommend this book for the way in which Ms Chamberlain built up the suspense and kept one wondering how these protagonists were ultimately bound together.

Thank you to Diane Chamberlain, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this book due out January 14, 2020.

and here’s the author

Diane Chamberlain is the New York Times, USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of 26 novels published in more than twenty languages. Influenced by her former career as a social worker and psychotherapist, she writes suspenseful stories that touch both heart and mind.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZe6ZCbF9xgbbbdkiodPKQ for some wonderful information on art restoration