We Don’t Talk About Carol is a really good book. Kristen L. Berry has penned a story that is both historical fiction along with being a mystery. It takes place in the early 1960’s and the main character, Sydney Singleton, who at one time was a journalist goes to her grandmothers house after she passes to prepare it to be sold. While going through her things, Sydney stumbles upon proof that she had an aunt that she had never heard about. No one in the family mentioned Carol or her existence. In Sydney’s attempt to learn more about Carol and what became of her, she learns that several black girls around that same age disappeared along the time that Carol did. Sydney along with her sister start investigating into the disappearances. All while doing this, she is in the middle of doing IVF treatments. It was a really interesting story that kept me glued to my kindle. It did have a really shocking twist to the end that I was a little surprised by but it all ended in a really good way. This is a book I’ll be recommending to others and believe it would make a great read for a bookclub. I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc to read and review. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading more by this author in the future. I’m giving this book a 5 star rating.

What a great debut book from this author. Thank you to #NetGalley and Random house for the advanced audio book. I really liked this one.

Sydney and her sister are grieving her grandmother's passing. While going through her things they stumble upon a picture of an aunt that they know nothing about, thus the title We Don't Talk About Carol. Sydney is going through IVF to try to have a baby of her own, while she investigates the disappearance of her aunt and five other black young women from the 1960's. They have similar backgrounds and disappeared from the same town during a short period of time.

There are times when this investigation is spooky and sad all at the same time. The statistics they offer about disappearing black children from that time is a stain on the history of our country. At times I found myself angry with the way these situations are handled. Sydney and her sister set out to find out what really happened. Many people tell them to leave it alone but she just cant stop looking into the story. During the same time, her sister has a DNA test that links them to someone in New York Froom that point the book takes off and it is very hard to put down. Great story, great information and a great ending.

A mystery but also a sad story about looking for someone whom others have simply given up on. As Sydney seeks to find out what happened to her aunt Carol, whom she did not know existed, she discovers a strange phenomena. There were other girls about the same age as Carol who also disappeared when she did in the same area. As the story unfolds, it becomes more engaging g. Some twists and surprises, a bit sad to see how youth can become entangled with the wrong people. Fast paced, I couldn’t put it down. Thanks to #netgalley #kristenberry #randomhouseballantine for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is an absolutely captivating, decades-old mystery that addresses an important and difficult topic of the disproportionate number of black missing persons, and the lack of thorough investigations many of them have received.

So well written, I was deeply invested in the characters and in discovering what happened to Carol and the missing girls. The juxtaposition of life through Sydney’s IVF journey and death throughout the story was incredibly well done. And I really enjoyed complicated relationship dynamics and growth of each character throughout the story.

There is one point at the very end about the podcast that confused me. Right after Sydney is telling people at the party that Sasha is interviewing people for their podcast, two pages later Sydney is unable to comprehend how she could be qualified to host a different podcast. It felt like something was missing to clarify why she would feel that way while actively working on a podcast.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Long time journalist Sydney Singleton's world is turned upside down when she finds a picture of a little girl who could be her, but is not! She finds out it is an aunt, her deceased father's sister, whom she never knew existed. Carol, the aunt, disappeared as a teen at the same time five other young black women went missing in their small town, however, Carol's mother always maintained she ran away. Sydney is horrified to learn that no one in the family every made any effort to locate Carol. She begins to worry that Carol may have been a victim of the killer of the other disappeared girls, and vows to solve the mystery of her aunt's disappearance.

I really enjoyed this story. My usual genre is mystery, and although this is a mystery, it was more a tale of family drama and the unraveling of a very sad tale. I became very immersed in the author's story and the various threads going throughout. One separate storyline is that Sydney is trying IVF to get pregnant as she has been unable to conceive. Another storyline is to draw attention to the fact that the disappearances and murders of black young women never draws the press attention that the disappearance of a white girl does.

I thought the story was told in a realistic way, and I liked the way that shining light in all the dark corners of this family's life made things better. I feel like this was a great first novel for the author. It was a 4.5 read for me, but I always round up for debut novels that impress me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristen L. Berry, and Ballentine for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

More slow burn than twisty mystery, this novel combines family dysfunction with a series of missing girls from 60 years ago. This is well written and an interesting premise. Really enjoyed it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ (4.25 stars)

We Don't Talk About Carol pulled me in right away and kept me hooked with its layered storytelling and unexpected turns. What I loved most was how the book didn’t just focus on one central mystery. It wove in multiple complex relationships and side stories that made the whole narrative feel rich and lived-in. The family dynamics were especially well done: messy, emotional, and nuanced, but never confusing or overwhelming. Everything felt intentional and well-placed.

There’s a plot twist that genuinely surprised me, something I always appreciate in a story like this. It gave the book an extra edge and made me think back on earlier moments with a new perspective.

The reason I didn’t give it a full 5 stars is that I wanted just a bit more depth when it came to the MFC’s father. He was such a significant part of the story's emotional weight, and I found myself wishing we had more insight into how he became the person his family knew him to be. A bit more background there would’ve made the story feel fully rounded for me.

Still, this was a standout read. Definitely recommend if you enjoy family-driven mysteries with emotional complexity and a solid twist.

Very submersive novel by Kristen Berry. Sydney singleton has flown across the country to help her mother and sister pack up her Grammy’s house after her death. Sydney’s father passed away years before, leaving Sydney, her sister Sasha, and their mother on their own. While packing the house, Sydney finds a photograph of a young black girl, but can’t figure out who she is. Her father was an only child, raised by a young, black, single mother in the Jim Crow south of the 1960’s. Sydney soon find out that she has an Aunt Carol. She and 5 other young black girls disappeared in the late 60’s and were never found, moreover never looked for. Sydney drives down a twisty rabbit hole trying to find out what happened to Carol and the other missing girls.
This novel will put you in Sydney’s shoes, searching for the truth where no one bothered to look. It’s about missing black girls from the 60’s but could just as easily be set today, where missing black and brown girls don’t get the attention they deserve and most are never found.
Stellar read.

This book surprised me—in a good way. We Don’t Talk About Carol isn’t your typical twisty thriller. It’s more of a slow-burn mystery that digs deep into family trauma, generational silence, and the stories that get erased—especially when they involve missing Black girls.

Sydney, the main character, is a former journalist dealing with fertility struggles and a crumbling marriage when she stumbles on a photo of a girl who looks just like her. That girl turns out to be her aunt Carol, who vanished in the 1960s along with several other Black teens. What follows is part cold-case investigation, part emotional reckoning, and part family drama—and it’s all handled with a lot of heart.

The writing is thoughtful and layered, and the themes—mental health, motherhood, racial injustice—are handled with care. It’s not a fast-paced read, but it’s compelling. Some readers found the pacing a little slow in the middle, and it’s definitely more character-driven than action-packed. But if you’re into mysteries that make you feel something and think a little deeper, this one’s worth picking up.

Bonus points for the sister dynamic and the way Berry explores how silence can echo through generations. It’s a strong debut, and I’ll definitely be watching for what she writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for this ARC!

The mystery at the heart of WE DON’T TALK ABOUT CAROL is as compelling as it is deeply sad. In the wake of her grandmother’s death, Sydney Singleton discovers a family secret. Long before Sydney was born, her father’s older sister, Carol, ran away from home. She was never heard from again. As Sydney digs deeper into Aunt Carol’s life, she unearths something far more sinister: Carol was one of six Black girls who disappeared from the same Raleigh neighborhood in the 1960s. Decades later, these girls are remembered only by their families, who have lost any hope of ever finding out what happened to them.

Despite the killer hook, this book has some pacing issues. It doesn’t read like a thriller to me. Huge chunks of the book are devoted to Sydney’s struggles with infertility and its impacts on her marriage. While this is an important topic, it pulls focus from the main plot and slows the pace to a crawl. The writing itself lacked urgency until the last 25%, which made this a bit of a slog to get through.

On the topic of that last 25%, though… there is a plot twist that legitimately shocked me. I did NOT expect the author to “go there.” More of this, please! Kristin L. Berry also does a phenomenal job highlighting the shameful lack of resources, action, and media attention given when Black Americans go missing, and she should be commended for that.

WE DON’T TALK ABOUT CAROL tells an important story and I’m glad it exists. I just wish it had spent more time, well, talking about Carol 😜

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Bantam for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Loved this book - such a powerful story about the number of Black people that are reported missing every day. I was immediately drawn in and could not stop reading until the very end - thoughtful and well written, highly recommend this book to everyone!

Am I alone? This truly did not work for me AT ALL. The plot is intriguing, and I liked the narrator plenty, but it just never gathered steam and I couldn't find myself falling into the mystery. Maybe a pacing issue? I'm not sure. I feel like I may be the only person but this really was a miss for me.

WOW what an incredible debut suspense & psychological thriller! I could not put this book down - it’s a rollercoater page turning novel that will leave you breathless until the very end!! Thank you for the ARC!

Rounded up from 4.5 - I was glued to this despite having picked it to read mostly on the title - good writing, really good story. I’m glad this highlighted the disparity between missing white girls and missing Black girls

Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was an engaging, emotional mystery. It’s not just about a missing aunt. It’s the family ties, secrets, lies, shame, and the “keep this in the family” mentality that plagues so many families. This is definitely a very well told debut novel and I look forward to more from this author.

I enjoyed this mystery and also the family drama that went with it. There were several layers to this story that made it really interesting. I enjoyed reading about the sister relationship and how they overcame hurts and became close.

A few things bothered me in this book though, particularly the heavy emphasis on infertility and IVF, references to systemic racism, and some language sprinkled in. Overall it was a strong debut for this author and a mystery that kept me invested, with a twist that I didn’t see coming!

Adult mystery. Moderate language (not frequent, but some f- words). Closed door romance. Allusion to possible sexual assault. Missing persons, murder, domestic violence, references to mental illness, racism, infertility, miscarriage, IVF.

This was quite the ride for a debut - I'm impressed!

The fact that missing women (and people in general) of color get a fraction of the recognition and effort than those of missing white women is one of the most shameful things (among many, many shameful things) about the timeline we're living in. The story of Carol Singleton and her fellow missing women of North Carolina was a heartbreaking tale start to finish and was handled very, very well. It was a slow burn, which usually drives me crazy in a thriller/mystery, but not this time!

I did struggle with the balance between the case of the missing girls and Sydney herself. I get that she was on a self-discovery mission etc, but it occasionally felt a little indulgent in the time we spent in her fertility journey. It almost felt like the case of the missing women was a side note for large chunks of the book - which, perhaps that was to demonstrate how slowly these cases move, but perhaps not.

Family drama, finding a family cold case, and solving it. Wonderfully written. I think this will be a series. Her main character could solve other cases with her never give up attitude. Could not put it down.

I hit a major book slump after reading this stunning debut by Kristen L. Berry, which also happens to be my first 5-star rating for 2025. An emotional story of the disproportionate number of Black people (specifically girls) who go missing and the family members who never stop searching. Powerful, haunting, and completely unforgettable. This is a great slow-burn mystery that delves into racial injustice, generational trauma, and family secrets. The characters are very realistic and the story itself is complex and so well-written that I couldn’t believe it was the author’s first novel. I haven’t seen this book enough on Bookstagram but if you follow me there then you know I have been telling everyone to read it. Kristen L. Berry has now been added to my auto-read author list and I’m impatiently waiting for what she is going to write next.

*Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House | Ballantine | Bantam for sending me a copy of this gripping family drama in exchange for an honest review.

This debut novel has its strengths, and the author displays potential for future work.
Rather than focusing on the mystery, I felt there was too much emphasis placed on Sydney. The important topics of missing girls seemed to be secondary plot line.
While the story was interesting, there were moments where it felt a little drawn out, lacked suspense and could be a bit more precise.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to listen to this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.