Imprisoned for a crime she did not commit, an artist is offered a chance to complete her remaining time by restoring a post office mural in a sleepy Southern town where another artist confronted violent prejudice decades earlier.

This was a slow but intriguing story of Morgan working to get her life back on track and taking responsibility for the problems that got her in prison. It’s also a story of another artist in 1940 and her conflicts with people who are prejudiced against a working woman and racist as she works on a mural that she was selected to do after winning a contest. The characters are well-developed. I particularly liked Morgan and Oliver, who manages the art gallery and helps her. The mystery was mostly about the mural and what it means, which I found very enjoyable. ( )

A mystery, F romance, and one huge plot hole that I'm willing to ignore because the rest was so good.

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Recommended: yes!!
For fans of dual narrative, for fans of social-intrigue kind of mysteries, for a well-done blend of then-and-now storylines that weave together. Must be able to suspend disbelief for one serious plot hole, and be aware the romance is weakly developed.

Thoughts:
Having dual narratives can be a tricky angle to work, but Diane fit them like a charm. Cliffhangers on one led you into the answer on the other, and little clues between the two of them helped put the full story together. I was impressed with how they built upon each other instead of taking away from each other. Admittedly I liked Anna's story FAR more, but there were entertaining bits of Morgan's side, too.

Ok, I gotta say it though, the "romance" was not very good and also uncomfortable. The consistent references to him as a male family member were weird for someone with male family members. Even besides that, it was weakly developed at best, and didn't feel like it added much to the story besides giving Morgan that someone-who-loves-me point in her life. Which also annoyed me, because did she have literally zero friends? She says her parents never loved her and neither did her boyfriend. Girl - there are other relationships besides parents and boyfriends.

That was one aspect holding it back from 5 stars, but more significantly was the way Morgan's main barrier of time and inexperience was addressed--or, perhaps, completely ignored rather than being at all addressed. I was very frustrated with the way this issue was brought up multiple times, and then suddenly not an issue.

The whole way through, Morgan as well as Andrea, Oliver, and Lisa, complain and worry and obsess about how restoring a mural is not something a completely inexperienced person can do, how this mural in particular is huge and very detailed, and typically restorations take 5x as many people and 5x as long as they have. THE WHOLE TIME. And yet, miraculously, she's able to finish with the only assistance being Oliver inpainting a few blades of grass in the last day or two. We're told from the beginning that the premise is unbelievable, and yet that is still exactly what comes to pass.

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! ( )

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this wonderful book! I will say that initially, I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this book when I began reading, BUT, I've loved every single Diane C. book that I've read and was sure this story would be no different.
I was right! This story, told in dual timelines, is more than just about restoring art (although I loved that part of it too, amazing research on the subject) it is about relationships, trust, gossip, judgment, second chances, and persevering. Morgan is given a chance for a do-over, a way out of prison, a chance to restore a treasured art piece. She's not sure why she was picked, she isn't qualified. But Morgan's smart enough to take the opportunity and figure out a way to succeed.
Anna, a young artist temporarily living in this small North Carolina town eighty years ago, faces not only the challenge of painting a mural for the post office but also faces discrimination, and sexual abuse. It's a wonderful story of two different women overcoming challenges, and what ties them together. Stick with it - it's well worth the journey! ( )

A young woman has taken the blame for a crime she did not commit. She is paroled from prison by the daughter of a famous artist, who has specified in his will that she must restore an old, damaged post office mural. The mural is a mystery because the images in it don't make sense. Chapters in the book alternate between the current day story of the woman restoring the mural and the story of the original artist set in 1939-1940.

The mystery of what happened to turn a fairly standard mural into something containing bizarre imagery was compelling. It was also interesting to see the differences in culture between the Northeast and the South in 1940 that were explored in the book. Very engaging and enjoyable. ( )

Story is good, filled with mystery, tension, romance, friendships, all the things that keep you going to the end. Audio is also well performed - the narrator can make or break an audiobook, no matter how good the book may be.

FROM AMAZON: "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? ( )