She received her master’s degree in clinical social work from San Diego State University. She was instantly hooked.ĭiane was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey and lived for many years in both San Diego and northern Virginia. Although she wrote many small “books” as a child, she didn’t seriously turn to writing fiction until her early thirties when she was waiting for a delayed doctor’s appointment with nothing more than a pad, a pen, and an idea. The daughter of a school principal who supplied her with a new book almost daily, Diane quickly learned the emotional power of story. 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?ĭiane Chamberlain is the New York Times, USA Today and (London) Sunday Times best-selling author of 28 novels.

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. Alone in the world and desperate for work, she accepts. 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. 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. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to leave prison, she accepts. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Her dream of a career in art is put on hold-until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women's Correctional Center. North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher's life has been derailed.

Book big lies in a small town