Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

17 reviews

vanessagrausam's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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jacesherman's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

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secre's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Big Lies in a Small Town is one of those rare novels that captivated me. It truly surprised me as it isn't an era of history I have great interest in, nor is mural painting or restoration a topic that grabs at me. Yet, I absolutely fell into this novel and devoured it in remarkable time. Alternating between the present day and 1940's, it uses both present and past to tease out the mysteries whilst displaying some wonderful characterisations.

In 2018, Anna Dale finds herself with a get out of jail card from prison as she is commissioned to restore an old mural that was done as part of the 1940's post office competition. There's one minor snag to this; she has zero experience in restoration, let alone as big a project as this is going to be. And there's a strict time frame. An expert would struggle. Anna is in over her head. Yet as the mural comes to life through her careful work, she finds herself fascinated by the life of the artist and what caused some of the more interesting choices and her later disappearance.

The mystery unfurls as the novel flicks back and forth from the mural's creation in 1940 and it's restoration in 1918. It's a compelling tale, quickly shifting from the excitement of Anna's arrival to having the darker undertones of the period of time with violence lurking in the shadows. It shines a light on systematic racism of the time, refusing to flinch away from it. Yet it isn't a dark book. It's thought provoking and fascinating, and it balances the light and dark well. I found myself truly interested in the restoration work, despite having no knowledge of the art and felt Diane Chamberlain melded fact and fiction well without ever info dumping.

This is the first Chamberlain I've read, it won't be the last. 
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siobhanward's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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juliacath99's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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destinyf1988's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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purplegerberas's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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buntjuli's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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gvandewalle's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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bek67's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I like the way the story unfolds, told between 2 time frames. The characters were likable with the main protagonist working on acceptance of herself, her family her flaws and redemption. The main twist was pretty easy to figure out early on, but that did not diminish this enjoyable quick read.
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