The story follows a journalist, Sydney, who is helping clean out her grandmother's house following her passing. While doing so she finds a picture of a girl she's never seen before but who looks remarkably like herself. She finds out that the girl in the photo is her missing Aunt Carol, who disappeared when she was 17 along with five other black girls in the 1960s. Sadly, the disappearance of the girls was pretty much ignored—their cases discounted by the police, garnering very little public interest or sympathy.

This story moves very slowly and is more character-driven than plot-driven (which I prefer). Nonetheless, the book does a good job of shedding light on the racial disparities that existed (and sadly still exist) when it comes to missing person cases in our country.

While I found the story to be predictable and at times, boring, it delivers a powerful and effective message. It may not have been a riveting read, but it made me reflect on an important topic and that itself made reading the book worthwhile. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I really liked the storyline with this book.
It took a while to get into the actual plot of the story, but once it did, I found it very interesting and suspenseful.
Only thing I was not a fan of was how it ended. We discover who “did it”, but there was no chapter on them being apprehended or taken to custody.
They mentioned that it might be dangerous with him out, but they just behind the scenes talk about the character being arrested and putting into custody

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT CAROL by Kristen L. Berry was an enjoyable, albeit emotionally involving read. Uncovering a long-lost, never-discussed relative named Carol, Sydney Singleton continues digging into the past, risking her health, sanity, and relationships by refusing to let the mystery remain unsolved. I was captivated by this well-paced, wonderfully written story, breathless to the end even as I was taken aback by revelations. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Thoughts

Y'all this book was so good. I started it and finished it the same day.

The main character saw a picture of this woman at her grandmother's house and asked about her and was told We Don't Talk About Carol. But years later when her grandmother passes away it comes up again. That’s when she learns Carol is her aunt and has been missing since she was 17.

Sydney, the main character, is a journalist so as she starts digging into it she notices that there were other young Black girls who went missing at the same time that has never been found.

I could not stop listening. It was so good and I think it is a good book for anyone to pick up even if you don't usually read thrillers.

If the plot includes a decades-old family secret only discovered upon someone's death, it's usually a no-brainer for me. Needless to say, I immediately jumped at an ARC of We Don't Walk About Carol after reading the description. And while I'm normally drawn towards thrillers that include an in your face murder-mystery plot, I was pleasantly surprised by We Don't Talk About Carol -- there was so much to unpack throughout the book, it held my attention until the very end. A must read this year!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC! This book was 10/10 all the way around! How this book navigates generational trauma and uncovers the family secrets is INSANE! I loved it!

Darkly funny and full of twists — Carol’s the kind of character you’ll never forget, even if no one talks about her. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Sydney's grandmother passes away she travels to raleigh to help her mom and sister clean out her grandmother's house. while cleaning sydney discovers a photo of a mysterious women- when she asks her mother she says it's her aunt Carol who went missing in the 60's along with five other girls. With this information Sydney feels she has to get to the bottom of what really happened and what she finds could either destroy her family or bring them closer.

a great debut novel- loved the storyline and the characters. a fast-paced read that i couldn't read fast enough!

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT CAROL
BY: KRISTEN L. BERRY

I can't help but feel very grateful, and extremely fortunate to have read in the last couple of months, three BEAUTIFULLY WELL WRITTEN DEBUT NOVELS, that I loved. The reason I'm mentioning this is because this one is the third, and I was so impressed that just like the prior two were so DAZZLING and SPECTACULARLY WRITTEN in every aspect that they definitely read like the work of more experienced Authors. The latest is called, "WE DON'T TALK ABOUT CAROL," by the gifted, and ultra talented KRISTEN L. BERRY, who has shown me with this AMAZING multi genre work that brought this one alive so VIVID on the pages from the very beginning of this novel is also destined for a successful career. What made this such an OUTSTANDING achievement is her ability to have accomplished crafting this to be about several distinctive themes without falling into the common trap of most debuts whose novels suffer from what I've encountered often in the past. I say this with jokingly good intention and warmth of which when I've noticed enough debuts not as masterfully written where the writing suffers from trying to do too much. I'll explain. First, I emphasize that too many multi themed first novels suffer from what a good friend, and I call it with pure goodwill that cliche that I grew up hearing called "the kitchen sink syndrome." With as much admiration as I can attest to, that Kristen L. Berry's debut far exceeded my expectations since she was able to avoid that common mistake with this one being such a standout narrative for several reasons. I applaud her for her ability to pen multi threads, where it was executed to not only avoid that common trap that not only worked to her advantage, but elevated her debut to be intriguing, intimate, and emotionally compelling as a result. An Author whose debut is much harder to include in her first novel such depth, and full of prose which is STUNNING, ATMOSPHERIC, and attempting to be an exploration of many different issues. Each of them resulted in a style of writing that felt as if she wrote straight from her heart, and connected with mine from start to finish. The outcome of her efforts made this novel a mystery, complexities of family dynamics that were achingly realistic, a suspenseful page turning, engaging story about six missing Black young women who disappeared around 1963 through 1965, without any resolution decades later in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Sydney Singleton was the Main Female Character, who was developed with layers to give her credibility, while she grappled with several unsettling, but interesting enough to connect me to her since she had many positive attributes about her personality. She grew up as the daughter of a stoic mother who was difficult for her to interact with. Sydney's traumatic childhood wounds suffered at the hands of trying to protect her younger sister, Sasha from living in a toxic household where they often witnessed her parents emotionally, and verbal abuse while the two siblings, were affected in different ways. Her father who died while they all lived together in a home where their father had displayed some mixed parts to his personality. Sydney remembered him being the more easier parent to bond with since he was more warm, and loving at times, but changed into a man who had an angry temperament that at first he only turned it towards the siblings mother while these parents had some disturbing fights. His name was Larry, and his older sister Carol, disappeared as he was a young teenager. Sydney remembered from a young age finding a framed photograph with some young outfits while visiting her father's mother named Effie when she was a child. When a young Sydney approached her grandmother asking who was the young girl in the photo that she never met before but resembled herself more than her sister or mother did. Sydney received a confusing, and unexpected response from her strict grandmother, who told Sydney that, "We Don't Talk About Carol."

Fast forward into the present day, where it's been decades later, and Sydney, her sister and Mother are packing away her grandmother's belongings after she recently died to get the home ready to sell. Sydney finds that same photograph, and this time she remembers it, but her mother tells her that it's her Aunt Carol, who disappeared when she was only seventeen. Both Sydney's sister Sasha, and her mother tells her that Sydney, and this never before heard about Aunt Carol, look more alike than them. Sydney's mother tells her daughters that both their father, and the siblings grandmother never spoke about their Aunt Carol, because they thought she ran away to Detroit to become a Motown singer, and they both felt abandoned since she never contacted her family once. Sydney happens to show the picture to a neighbor, who was Sydney's grandmother's friend named Eloise, who had stopped by with a casserole. Eloise confirms that Carol, is her Aunt and that grandmother Effie, never filed a missing person's police report, or bothered to track Carol down, since she was obviously ran away to Detroit following through on her dream, and that Carol had a difficult relationship with her mother, who expected Carol to go to College, which wasn't what Carol wanted, and they had a blow up fight before Aunt Carol disappeared. Eloise informs Sydney that she doubts that is what happened, since Carol was close to Sydney's father, Larry and Eloise thinks that Carol wouldn't abandon her little brother by never getting in touch with him. Eloise thinks that it's more likely that Aunt Carol was one of six Black women who between the years of 1963, through 1965, disappeared from families who did believe their disappearances were linked together, and by the same person was responsible. The other five missing Black girls were from the same area, whose families never stopped looking. She believes that the police investigations weren't prioritizing these women's disappearance as they would if it had been a missing White woman. Just like the police's poor effort at not putting the equal amount of resources due to racism, the missing six Black young women also lacked the Media's efforts to help find these six girls, which at that time period, in the JIM CROW SOUTH, the Civil Rights Movement was taking place with a violent church bombing killed Black girls, and police reacted with violence during a peaceful protest of Black people who were marching towards the goal for desegregation, and equal rights.

Sydney after returning Eloise's pan finds out from Eloise that she has a yearbook with the other five missing young Black women, who Sydney gets their five names, dates when each young Black women disappeared, what their studies were focused on towards their vocations. She used to be an investigative Journalist for the San Francisco News, but hasn't been working there for a decade, since she had a psychotic break while covering a story that eerily most likely was the disappearance of a father and his children that hits very close to home with her father's threats of doing to himself, and two daughters which has her question how he died as memories of her childhood repressed surfaced during that case. She has been in therapy for her childhood trauma after that breakdown, and she decides to use her expertise as her old journalism job was one she was good at. She meets with Eloise's daughter Yvonne who Eloise tells her that she knows more about the missing girls since she was closer in age. There's some subterfuge that develops within their first talk, and gets progressively worse over time. She meets with two family members initially named Barbara, and Stanley who tells her about Aunt Carol's boyfriend named Michael, by Facebook messaging who both had never stopped looking for their sisters. Barbara provides Sydney with a digital police file, which gives her more leads.

Meanwhile, Sydney is undergoing Fertility treatments with her lovable, but worrisome husband Malik, who they are going to try another IVF treatment with one viable embryo who is a Female. Sydney meets her mother at her home once a month for Sunday dinners, with her sister Sasha. It's evident that Sydney, and her mother aren't as close as her sister Sasha still lives at home with their mother who you can see that her sister, and mother are closer. Sydney remembers how her mother wasn't physically, or emotionally present while her father did most of the care taking in the early years by making them meals, before his personality bled into his daughter's as he started to turn the same anger directed at their mother towards them even talking about doing something, that as he changed into an unpredictable dichotomy of loving, towards anger, and you can feel the tension, and the disturbance that by fighting with his wife, who was reserved and remote was the total opposite of her father's warmth and outgoing personality lessens as he deteriorates in the time frame leading up to his death while the girls were still developing, and Sydney could always depend on her father in the past for her nurturing, that except her mother allowing her to go out running with her they mostly spoke about things like her grades in school, etc. Her mother didn't seem affectionate, but she was always working as a Dermatologist.

The fact that Sydney's not happy about going through Fertility treatments, and IVF, she's doing it for a time for Malik. There's so much going on with her in her pursuit of finding out all she can about Aunt Carol, and the missing six Black women. She travels to Detroit to meet Carol's first love, and boyfriend whom she was planning on running away with named, Michael. Plus at the time Sydney was cleaning out her grandmothers belongings she finds Aunt Carol's old diary, which adds to the mystery of what was going on at the time with her fighting with her mother, her love and protective concern for her younger brother Larry, and her sneaking out to meet Michael and both Sydney, and the reader gain clues, and get to know Aunt Carol. She writes the title of the song for the day which I recognized all of them. Sydney works for a PR Firm, while she doesn't enjoy it, and she spends much of her time investigating the disappearances instead of doing her job. She's there only because of the generous benefits that the job provides which is how they can afford the Fertility treatments, and the IVF treatments.

Between the fact that she's outraged at this County's systemic racism, and how the six missing Black young women didn't get the same rigorous attention by both the police and the Media. I thought that it was shameful in our country to pour all the more resources towards trying to find a White person by not giving those missing Black girls, the equality was upsetting. I just want to point out that when I read the statistics that either nine or fourteen percent of the population was Black, and that forty percent of the Black population who disappeared, and never found was heartbreaking, but informative. How generational abuse is explored as one of the themes was handled with care, but I know it to be passed down through our DNA, which I read about in a Non Fiction title, that I read cited by research in the prior Non-Fiction Self Development book. It was written by a practicing, experienced Female Psychologist, who earned her Masters Degree at Columbia University, that focused on Social Work, and Clinician studies. In this EXCELLENT NOVEL, that wove together so highly well written themes, in a GORGEOUS TAPESTRY OF MANY THREADS. Fantastic storytelling that will be a LIFETIME FAVORITE. It addresses multiple themes that were so tastefully handled even though emotionally difficult at times, it was well balanced with many lovable attributes like how strong, resilient, and determined Sydney's character was absolutely FLAWLESSLY developed, that I'll be recommending this ELECTRIFYING novel to everyone I know. How harmful it must feel, by not being allowed to speak about trauma, and Aunt Carol's existence being erased by her mother, and brother. Never acknowledged until Sydney is assisting her mother after her Paternal grandmother's recent death, I loved Sydney, and Sasha's sisterly relationship. How it had represented the realism of Sydney's mother, daughter relationship through more than half the narrative factored into why Sydney was not sure at times she wanted to be a mother. I think partly due to being scared of the unknown of whether she would react like her own mother towards a child as Sydney's desired hopes of not repeating her experiences she felt not appropriately mothered by her own. The Fertility treatments, and the IVF experiences were a strong theme, and emotionally felt with credibility how much one goes through. I never went that route so I can't speak with confidence, other than I hope that it makes anyone who reads this feel seen, and heard. I could say so much more, but this review is already very long. Thank you for taking the patience to read this. I can't praise this Author, Kristen L. Berry's erudite talent, has me in awe of how this was one I never wanted to end. I will be anxiously awaiting to read whatever she writes about in the future.

Publication Date: June 3, 2025! AVAILABLE NOW TO PURCHASE! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO MISS OUT ON THIS FLAWLESSLY WRITTEN MULTIFACETED DEBUT NOVEL, THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A DEBUT! IT IS A NOVEL THAT FELT WRITTEN BY AN AUTHOR WITH MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE! NOT TO SAY ANYTHING PEJORATIVE AGAINST DEBUTS!

Thank you to Net Galley, Kristen L. Berry, and Random House Publishing Group--Ballantine/Bantam for generously providing me with my Spectacular ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own, as always.

#WeDon'tTalkAboutCarol #KristenLBerry #RandomHousePublishingGroup #Ballantine #Bantam #NetGalley

I was very impressed with this debut novel. The story was engaging and I really enjoyed the characters. I like the st there was a twist in the end and I had a feeling what is was but I wasn’t 100% sure. Even with having a sense of the twist, I loved the story and the writing. I’m looking n forward to reading more from this author.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It has great pacing and I feel a lot of the characters and plot was fleshed out satisfactorily. It kept me on the edge of my seat and tuned in. I would definitely recommend this book to others who are looking for a comfy suspense thriller.

Talk about generational trauma. I didn’t know which way the book was going to go next. So many twists and turns and I liked that the main character was older. We don’t usually see books where the main character is on the older side.

This book was incredible. I was intrigued right away when Sydney found the photo in the dresser when she was a little girl. Mid-way through the book really got moving and I couldn’t put it down. The story itself was amazing and the message it sends about the inequality in the search efforts for missing black persons was heard. I’m so happy I got a chance to read this book.

This book!! wow!!! i thought i saw the twists and turns coming but I did not. it was a slow start but once it got going it really got going. the writing was great!

Sydney’s grandmother has just passed away, and she’s found a photo hidden in a drawer of a young woman who looks very much like her, an aunt that no one’s ever told her or her sister about before. Carol, along with several other young black women, disappeared in the 70’s in a small North Carolina town, and the police didn’t investigate much at all. So former journalist Sydney decides to research what could have happened to the missing girls. Meanwhile, she is also battling with infertility and insecurities about being a mother someday soon, especially with a family history of secrets and a repressed tragedy.

This book reads like a quick-paced true crime investigation novel unraveling in real time, though it is actually fiction.
Note from the author: “While this novel is a work of fiction, the sobering statistics at its heart are based in fact. A disproportionate number of Black people are reported missing in America every year.”

This book sheds light on some of that in an emotional way that very much humanizes the victims, as well as drawing you deeply into the mystery of who killed them and why. This is a perfect book for any true crime or social justice fans, or those who enjoy mysteries of family secrets unveiled.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are solely mine and do not reflect the author, publisher, or affiliates.

We don't talk about Carol, delves into family and community secrets. When Sydney's grandmother passes away, she finds a photo of someone who looks more like her than anyone else in her family, She finds out that this was her Aunt Carol. She had gone missing in the 1960's along with many other girls. The case was never solved. Sydney used to work the crime beat so has experience in investigating. She is trying to start a family herself and wants to know more about her past. She dives deep into trying to solve the case but discovers much more!

We Don’t Talk About Carol started a bit slow, but there was just something that caught my attention. Such an interesting story that was very well written. This book is a perfect slow burn.

This story grabbed my attention right away and held it throughout the entire book! I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Carol and the other missing girls. Excellent book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very well-written debut novel. I was captivated from the very start and could not wait to find out the story’s conclusion. I thought I had the ending figured out, but there is a twist that I was completely surprised by.

What I liked the most is that there were three different stories going on at the same time- the ongoing saga of Sydney’s family, the mystery of the girl’s disappearance, and Sydney’s struggles with IVF. I was equally invested in all three parts, and there was a satisfying conclusion with each part.

I rated this 4 stars because some parts fell a little flat. I didn’t find Sydney’s relationship with Malik to be interesting- he seemed a bit boring, and I didn’t feel emotional when he got upset (which happened a lot, like he cries way more than Sydney). I wish I could have found out why Yvonne treated Sydney so badly- did she know what her brother did? Was she trying to protect Sydney from him? We never found out.

This book would be a fantastic book club pick because there’s so many themes that could be discussed in detail. I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to see what the author writes in the future. Now that I know how the book ends, the front cover makes a lot more sense.