Big Lies in a Small Town

Author: ​Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: Pan MacMillan
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
It starts with a body…But if you think this is a thriller - think again. This is a story of connections, of discrimination and tragedy but with a satisfying ending. It is a story that shows how the power of an artist can tell a story without words. Across 80 years an act that caused heartbreak in a 1940s USA is revealed in the present day.  
I was intrigued when I started reading this novel as it centred round the painting of a Post Office mural back in the 1940s. A project 

initiated during the Great Depression in the USA to bring artist workers back into the market, a national competition was launched where artists submitted their ideas anonymously and were selected on merit.  They were then sent to their designated town to paint their design.
Diane Chamberlain deftly brings this story to life in her compelling novel Big Lies in a Small Town.  Anna Dale, a winner of this national competition in 1939, heads off from her native New York, to the sleepy, Southern States town of Edenton to paint the mural. It is 1940, Anna is 23 years old and has recently lost her beloved mother. Alone, except for her extraordinary talent and nothing to lose, she moves to this small, tight community, with its Southern bigotry. Controversy dogs her as the resident town artist did not win a commission plus women are expected to be mothers and housewives, not single, independent artists. She enlists the help of young people from the local school, one of whom shows extraordinary talent, but he is black and that has its own challenges in this small community which has much to hide.
Fast forward to 2018 and Morgan Christopher is serving a three year sentence for a crime she did not commit. An art student, her life has come completely apart; dysfunctional family, misplaced love, a criminal record and a bleak future. But when a stranger makes her an offer that will see her released immediately she jumps at the chance of freedom. Her assignment:  to restore a Post Office mural in the sleepy Southern town of Edenton. What she finds when the art piece is finally uncovered is a painting that reveals evidence of madness, violence and cruelty - a painting that will inhabit Morgan’s emotions and drive her to find answers.  
Her favourite artist, Jesse James Williams, who had recently passed, had specifically requested that Morgan handle the work. The mural is to hold pride of place in the gallery that is his legacy. While Morgan had never met the artist she loved his work and knew that during his successful lifetime he nurtured young talent - but why choose her? Under the guidance of curator Oliver, one of William’s protégés, Morgan tackles this mammoth task trying to decipher the weird messages that Anna Dale has left. Time is running out as there are conditions: The gallery must open on August 5 and there can be no postponement. Lisa, William’s feisty and impatient daughter pushes Morgan to the limit – there is so much at stake. As she works on this massive piece the tragedy is revealed but it is still up to Morgan to piece the story together and make the connections.
Chamberlain is an adept writer and this is a fascinating part of US history. I was left wondering if this was based on a true story as it is all too real. She evokes reaction in her reader and her characters are tantalising, frustrating and engaging. ‘You have to make peace with the past or you can never move into the future’ is a quote from the final pages – a sentence we could do well to remember.  ​