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  • Big Lies in a Small Town

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Diane Chamberlain
  • Narrated by: Susan Bennett
  • Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (87 ratings)

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Big Lies in a Small Town

Written by: Diane Chamberlain
Narrated by: Susan Bennett
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Publisher's Summary

"Narrator Susan Bennett offers a moving performance of this multilayered story of two women whose lives are affected by a WPA mural.... Overall, Bennett adds an exciting dimension to a gripping story of racism, madness, murder, and even romance." (AudioFile magazine, Earphones Award winner)

From New York Times best-selling author Diane Chamberlain comes a novel of chilling intrigue, a decades-old disappearance, and one woman’s quest to find the truth....

North Carolina, 2018:

Morgan Christopher's life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, her dream of a career in art is put on hold - until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will get her released from prison immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy Southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to be free, 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 in great need of 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?

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

Praise for Big Lies in a Small Town:

"Chamberlain’s depictions of creative beauty and perseverance across time and in the face of inevitable obstacles will keep readers turning the pages." (Publishers Weekly)

"Chamberlain’s writing is reminiscent of a quilt made up of pieces from different people, places, and times, stitched together into a single, emotional story." (Booklist)

©2020 Diane Chamberlain (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

What listeners say about Big Lies in a Small Town

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Great book

She is such a dynamic writer ... all of her books are in the now whether period pieces, time travel and her characters are always deeply engaged in telling the story! I loved this book.

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Loved , loved it !

The story so intriguing to the very end will captivate you, the narrator top notch. A must read !

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Loved it!

I loved this book so much I listened to it twice, back to back then bought another Diane Chamberlain book. Everything is perfect, story, all the characters, and the performance of it, just excellent.

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Wow!

The perfect escape. What a wonderful story that was full of twists and turns and the power of friendship.

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Amazing story

This was a good read. It kept me listening to find out what happened. Many twists and turns.

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great story

love the book. would highly recommend it.
very well written a story about 2 young women in two different eras.

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Mesmerizing

This was a wonderful story that pulls you in from the beginning and I could easily see it as a great movie. The characters were moving and the narrator brought them to life painting the authors story beautifully.

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Oh, The Tangled Web We Weave . . .

Oh, indeed! A dual, twisty timeline. You will be invested in these characters but it might take the first quarter of the book. Be patient, you’ll be sad when it’s over.

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Interesting, eloquent, and captivating!

Do not be discouraged in the first quarter of the book as it does take some time to really get into the story and understanding the characters from such diverse eras, which Diane Chamberlain does beautifully! An extremely well written story of two women, of the same age, and the challenges and perilous problems both personally and environmentally each faced in separate moments of history. The emotions of the characters from excitement, sadness, horror, happiness and lust... You cant help but keep listening. And at the end you feel nothing but happiness and contentment. A great read/listen.

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A Brilliant Work

Two women are brought together in 2018 by a work of art, a mural painted in 1940 awaiting restoration, and the abiding love of a now-famous African-American artist who takes on impossible people as projects just as he was taken on, giving them another chance at life. Now, after his death, his most impossible project must breathe new life into an old work and in so doing, heal the past. The character development, pacing, dialogue, transitions between past and present are all impeccable, and Susan Bennett's narration, exquisite. A most satisfying listen.

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