Big Lies in a Small Town: A Novel

Diane Chamberlain’s Big Lies in a Small Town (2019) falls into two genre categories: historical fiction and mystery. Set in the Jim Crow South in 1940 as well as in the present day, the novel explores racism and tensions in a town struggling to adopt modern, progressive values while still mired in its own racist past. In the characters of Jesse and Anna, Chamberlain investigates the passion of artists and the sacrifices those artists make for their work. Chamberlain is the author of 27 previous novels.

This guide uses the 2019 St. Martin’s Griffin edition of the text.

Content Warning: This work contains a racist slur, a depiction of sexual assault, and discusses suicide.

Plot Summary

In the present day, a 22-year-old woman named Morgan Christopher is in prison for driving under the influence (DUI) during which she was involved in an accident that left a young woman wheelchair-bound. Morgan receives a visit from Lisa Williams and her attorney; Lisa is the daughter of a recently deceased and highly acclaimed Black artist named Jesse Williams. Lisa and her attorney offer to secure Morgan’s release from prison if she agrees to restore an old, Depression-era mural that has been in Jesse’s possession for decades. Morgan agrees to restore the mural and is placed under strict probation requirements, including an ankle monitor, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, and regular check-ins with her probation officer. With these measures in place, she sets to work on the mural although she has no experience in art restoration; she is also under extreme time constraints as Jesse’s will stipulates that the mural must be fully restored by the time his new gallery opens in two months’ time.

The narrative shifts to a storyline set in 1940, in which Anna Dale travels from New Jersey to Edenton, North Carolina. She is the recipient of a commission from the federal government to paint a mural for the Edenton post office. While viewed as an outsider with no connection to the town, unlike a local portrait artist named Martin Drapple, Anna quickly acclimates to her surroundings and begins work on the mural. She recruits some local high school art students to help, and one of them, Jesse Williams, is a gifted prodigy. Jesse’s career options as a Black man in the Jim Crow South are severely limited, but despite the obligations of family and the limitations of society, Anna is convinced that art school is Jesse’s calling, and she resolves to help him in any way she can.

Back in the present day, Morgan is at a loss for how to restore the mural and receives invaluable help from Oliver, the gallery’s curator. He offers her tips and assistance on her restoration work, and together, they discover strange, out-of-place elements in the painting. As Morgan works to restore the mural—a seemingly impossible task given the deadline—and begins to understand Anna’s artistic motives, she develops romantic feelings for Oliver, who is a divorced father with a 12-year-old son. One night, she goes to a bar with Oliver and his crew and is injured after a fight breaks out. Lisa, whose ownership of her father’s house depends on the gallery opening on time, is livid over the mishap, although Morgan assures her that she was never in danger of relapsing. In the meantime, Morgan struggles with guilt over the victim of her car accident, even though her boyfriend at the time, Trey, was driving and she took the fall for him. One evening, Lisa invites Morgan to her family home for dinner, and Morgan meets Mama Nelle, Jessie’s younger sister. She learns that Nelle knew Anna Dale 78 years ago, and Morgan is eager to quiz Nelle for as much information as she can get.

In 1940, as Anna works long hours on the mural, she encounters hostility from Martin’s wife over his loss of the commission. One evening, as she sleeps in the warehouse/art studio, Martin enters and sexually assaults her. Fearing for her life, she bludgeons him to death with a hammer. Jesse discovers her the following morning, in shock, and he offers to dispose of the body and the murder weapon. Over the next several days, Anna struggles to hold onto her sanity and incorporates elements of her experience into the mural: Martin’s motorcycle, his reflection in a mirror, a bloody hammer. As news of Martin’s disappearance spreads throughout the town, the police turn their suspicions on Anna and Jesse, who are rumored to be lovers. When the police get too close to the truth, Jesse flees in Anna’s car, and Anna, now pregnant with Martin’s child, hides out with Jesse’s family until the baby is born.

In the present day, as the gallery opening approaches and Morgan nears completion of the mural, Jesse’s family discovers Anna’s journal lying at the bottom of Nelle’s old trunk and give it to Morgan. Reading it, she learns about the sexual assault, the baby (which Anna gave to a neighboring family), and Jesse’s escape. Then, as she restores Anna’s signature on the mural, she discovers an iris hidden in the painting: the very same iris incorporated into the work of another prominent artist named Judith Shipley. She realizes that Judith and Anna are the same person, and when Judith later attends the gallery opening, she tells Morgan and Oliver about Jesse, about his life and career as an artist, and helps to finally reveal Morgan’s connection to the mural—she is Anna’s great-granddaughter. As the narrative ends, Morgan stands at the door of Emily Maxwell, the girl injured in the crash. She prepares to confront her final demon.