We Don't Talk about Carol

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret--and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home--in this "nail-biting debut" (Booklist).

"A well-written, emotionally wrenching tale."--Associated Press

In the wake of her grandmother's passing, Sydney Singleton finds a hidden photograph of a little girl who looks more like Sydney than her own sister or mother. She soon discovers the mystery girl in the photograph is her aunt, Carol, who was one of six North Carolina Black girls to go missing in the 1960s. For the last several decades, not a soul has talked about Carol or what really happened to her. But now, with her grandmother gone and Sydney looking to start a family of her own, she is determined to unravel the truth behind her long-lost aunt's disappearance, and the sinister silence that surrounds her.

Unfortunately, this is familiar territory for Sydney: Years earlier, while she worked the crime beat as a journalist, her obsession with the case of another missing girl led to a psychotic break. And now, in the suffocating grip of fertility treatments and a marriage that's beginning to crumble, Sydney's relentless pursuit for answers might just lead her down the same path of self-destruction. As she delves deeper into Carol's fate, her own troubled past reemerges, clawing its way to the surface with a vengeance. The web of secrets and lies entangling her family leaves Sydney questioning everything--her fixation on the missing girls, her future as a mom, and her trust in those she knows and loves.

Delving into family, community, secrets, and motherhood, We Don't Talk About Carol is a gripping and deeply emotional story about overcoming the rot at the roots of our family trees--and what we'll do for those we love.

Author: Kristen L. Berry
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 06/03/2025
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.49h x 6.52w x 1.18d
ISBN: 9780593974438


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/12/2025
Booklist 05/01/2025 pg. 61
Shelf Awareness 06/13/2025

About the Author
Kristen L. Berry is a writer and communications executive. Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Berry graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in English language and literature. She has provided PR and communications expertise to leading consumer brands for nearly twenty years, all while writing in her spare time. When she isn't reading or writing, Berry can be found lifting heavy at the gym, hiking in Malibu, eating her way through Los Angeles with her partner, or shouting at the latest Formula 1 race. We Don't Talk About Carol is her debut novel.