We Don't Talk About Carol by Kristin L. Berry is a layered and compelling generational thriller/mystery debut.

When Sydney goes to Raleigh North Carolina with her mother and younger sister, the goal was to clean out her grandmother's house after she passed away. Among her grandmother's things, Sydney finds an old photo that she has seen before when she was younger. The photo is of Carol, Sydney's father's sister who disappeared when she was a teenager in the 1960s. Around that same time, five other Black girls went missing as well. While the other five girls were reported missing, Carol wasn't because her mother had thought she simply ran away to pursue a singing career. Sydney, who has a background in journalism, sets out to find out what happened to her Aunt and the rest of the girls. As she searches for answers, Sydney discovers some secrets and lies that have crept into their family tree.

I am absolutely amazed that this is a debut novel!! When I saw this on NetGalley, I loved the cover and the blurb caught my interest. What I didn't expect was the amount of emotion this book made me feel. Part mystery and part generational thriller, this book was also a story of loss, redemption, overcoming difficulties, and family. There are some sensitive topics that are discussed including: infertility/IVF, mental illness, missing persons, DV, alcoholism, childhood trauma, and addiction so please just be aware. The way Berry delicately handles the mental health issues and they way she writes about this tough subject with compassion and accuracy is definitely a highlight. Overall, We Don't Talk About Carol is a powerful, emotional and masterfully written debut that I know will live rent free in my head for awhile!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristin L Berry and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine for this ARC!! Publication date is June 3rd 2025.

Wow, what a story. The beginning was a little too slow for my liking, however, once the story picked up it was hard for me to put the book down. I thought the subject and information on missing black women was crucial, especially with our current climate. I feel the book was tastefully written and will recommend to all!

Omg this book was so good like 5 stars good. I love a thriller with some history and family scandal. Plus the cover is gorgeous and for this to be a debut authors novel is amazing. Bravo Kristen you did a really good job at capturing all the heart of family but also the mystery and the little nagging feeling of having to know all the information.

Amazing! Stories like these are why I love this genre so much. This tale was captivating, powerful, engaging, and beautifully written on top of that! I was most certainly on my toes the whole way through. Can't believe this was a debut!! I will definitely be checking out future works from this author. Kudos to you! Slow burn but slow burn DONE RIGHT!

This book is part family drama with complicated relationships and struggles with things like infertility, alcoholism, etc. The book is also part mystery: the main character discovers that 6 Black girls went missing from the same area back in the 1960s and there was essentially no investigation done at all, no attempts to find them or find out what happened to them. She determines to revive the case so that the families can have some closure and the girls won't remain forgotten forever.

Hard to believe this is a debut novel! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

We Don't Talk About Carol was such a good read! I was intrigued from the dedication line. This book is a generational thriller about a woman trying to find her aunt that no one wants to talk about, all while helping investigate and find other missing black girls who disappeared around the same time but were never found. The story was grounded in truth that reflects the aggravating tragedy of police constantly failing black women who go missing and the families who want closure.
It's such a a refreshing read and the female main character was one I was rooting for from the second I met her younger self. I eagerly await Kristin L. Berry's next book. She's an author to watch for sure and an instant pre-order when her next title is revealed.

What a debut!!! This book grabbed me by the heartstrings and didn’t let go. The story is told so well and the characters are completely realistic. I loved how there was no big twist/crazy shock because that isn’t what happens in most crime cases. A much smaller part of the novel was Sydney and Malik’s marriage troubles but it added so much - I loved seeing how much they loved each other and how their relationship grew throughout. This will be a book I recommend often.

When I saw the cover & read the synopsis of this book, I knew I was going to love it!
What a layered, complex & compelling story! This was a bit of a slow burn, which I don’t tend to love but I was so drawn into Carol’s story. Being a Michigander, I personally loved the “she ran away to Detroit” part a bit of a favorite. The dynamic of family is really strong throughout this & I loved Sydney’s perspective & drive to find out what happened to her and the other girls. The final chunk of this book had my heart in my stomach & I was not ready for it! This is one that will stick with me for a while.
Thank you SO much Netgalley & Kristen L. Berry for allowing me to read this beautiful book early!

I didn’t know what I was expecting when I opened We Don’t Talk About Carol, but it wasn’t this. I wasn’t prepared to be gutted. I wasn’t prepared to still be drifting back into that world days later, haunted by what the story revealed and what it refused to let me ignore.

Kristen Berry’s novel is not just a mystery—it’s an indictment. A mirror. A long, hard look at who we choose to remember, and who we’re far too comfortable forgetting. The girls at the center of this book—the ones who vanished, the ones who were written off, the ones who never got the headlines—felt heartbreakingly real. And that’s what hurt the most: how familiar their invisibility felt.

As a society, we do not value our girls. When something happens to them, we ask what they did wrong. We make it their fault. But when that girl is Black, the injustice is doubled. Black girls are sexualized far too early, their pain discounted, their stories silenced. We Don’t Talk About Carol forces us to look directly at that silence and sit with its weight.

This book is not comfortable. It shouldn’t be. But it’s necessary. Berry writes with compassion and fire, peeling back layers of complacency to show what happens when we stop looking, stop asking, and stop caring. It’s a painful read—but a powerful one. One I won’t forget. One we shouldn’t forget.

This isn’t just a story. It’s a call to remember.

This debut novel absolutely blew me away! From start to finish, the pacing was spot-on, and every single character felt incredibly real. I was completely hooked on Sydney's story and her family's journey, staying up way too late to unravel the mystery of Carol and see how all the threads tied together. Unlike many books where subplots feel like distractions, here they were consistently compelling and perfectly woven into the main narrative.

If you love true crime, expertly crafted mysteries, and complex family dynamics, this book is a must-read!

When Sydney's grandmother dies, she discovers that she had an Aunt Carol that disappeared 40 years ago right about the time 5 other young girls did as well. Her Dad never said a word before he died. As she is on an emotional fertility journey and grappling with the questions of what kind of parent she’ll be, she searches for answers about her family which also brings repressed memories and secrets to life. Why did her grandmother never file a missing persons report? What happened between them? Could her aunt have been one of the missing girls and are they all related? Loved this mystery with multiple twists and lots of family reflection set here in North Carolina.
Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC! #wedonttalkaboutcarol

Pre-Read Notes:

I tend to be interested in stories about silences in families, so the title of this book grabbed me. It turns out it's a book the author tributes to the thousands of Black people who go missing every single year and their families, forever changed, forever searching. It's a compelling topic and the writing is smooth and doesn't get in the way of what's going on on-page. I'm anticipating good things here!

"“A rumor about what happened last night . . . well, that could be very bad for your father’s reputation. My career, and your father’s role at the restaurants . . . they’re all built on the strength of our public image. That’s why it’s very important that we don’t talk about private family matters with anyone outside of this family.” I felt certain that my mother had been taught this same speech as a child herself, likely to protect her pastor father. I wondered what about his reputation needed protecting." p141

Final Review

This is a good book and I liked it. My favorite thing about it is the writer's dignified touch when writing about mental illness. You wouldn't think so, but good mental illness representation in fiction is difficult to come by. I appreciated also this writer's treatment of early life stress cause by parenting. She managed to level her gaze at domestic violence of this sort without judging the parents involved. I think refraining from judgment can help to heal from childhood trauma.

I like auto-fiction, where a writer fictionalizes a true story about themselves. This memoir-novel mashup reads natural and authentic to me. It's becoming one of my favored genres.

This book has a nice swift pace and clear, smooth writing. There's something great to be said for books that don't confound or confuse the reader. It has nice turns vot no shock ending-- you too may solve this mystery with the author.

I recommend this book to fans of true crime fiction, autofiction, memoir, or citizen detecting. You'll enjoy this one if you liked FOX by Joyce Carol Oates (my review!).

My 3 Favorite Things:

✔️ "I thought about the child Malik and I had been trying to conceive for the past two years. Statistically, if they were to go missing one day, they would be less likely to be found than a white child. The idea made my blood boil." p19-20 Makes mine boil too. The theme work here is spot on for relevance and style.

✔️ I was sort of stunned when the book introduces a mental illness element. I just didn't see it coming, but mental illness is like that sometimes. Berry's effort to juggle accuracy, conpassion, and accessibility for the audience impresses me. It's not often I'm unable to gripe about how an author represents mental illness. Thank you Ms Berry for treating this population with dignity.

✔️ I love the relationship between the two sisters. Siblings who grow up in trauma don't always make it, as far as the friendship goes into adulthood. Sometimes, these relationships cease because they remind the siblings too much of where they started. It gives me both peace and hope too see sisters who had gone through trauma make it as friends through adulthood.

I found an audiobook copy of THE REPORT CARD by Andrew Clements in Libby.

Notes: abduction, missing persons, early childhood trauma, domestic violence, alcohol consumption, alcoholism, blacking out, addiction, runaways, car accidents, children in adult roles,

Thank you to the author Kristin L. Berry, publishers Balantine Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of WE DON'T TALK ABOUT CAROL. All views are mine.

I'm always somewhat hesitant when I pick a book by a debut author. I guess I usually go for the tried and true. I decided to read We Don't Talk About Carol because I liked the name, the cover was pretty and the blurb was interesting. I never expected a story that was as emotional, powerful and beautifully written as this.

While visiting her paternal grandmother's house in North Carolina as a child, Sydney Singleton discovers an old photograph of a teenage girl who looks very much like her. She questions her grandmother about the picture and her grandmother's responds "We don't talk about Carol". Many years later, after her grandmother's death, Sydney is cleaning out her house with her younger sister and her mother and once again finds the picture. Her mother tells her that Carol was her now deceased father's sister who disappeared as a teenager in the 1960s around the same time that 5 other local Black girls went missing. The other girls were reported missing by their families, but Carol was not because she didn't have a great relationship with her mother and had often talked about running away to pursue a singing career. None of the girls had ever been found and the cases had long since been closed. With a background in journalism, Sydney goes on a quest to find out what happened to her aunt and the rest of the missing girls while also dealing with her own struggles with fertility treatment, doubts about motherhood and her own buried family secrets.

This was both a mystery and a family drama. The story was just so eloquently written, and I was completely captivated as the story unfolded. I'm ashamed to admit that I really only learned of the term Missing White Woman Syndrome a few years ago. It is a phenomenon where the media disproportionately covers the disappearances of white women as opposed to persons of color, especially Black women. The author touches upon this in the story, but this book is by no means preachy. It is just a sad fact that without the persistence of someone like Sydney, the families of these women would never have gotten the closure they deserved and unfortunately this hasn't changed much in the last 60 years.

I'm thrilled to have discovered such a talented new writer and can't wait to read more of her books!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced reader copy of this book which will be published on June 4, 2025.

Sydney travels across the country to Raleigh, NC to help her mother and sister go through and sell her grandmother’s house after her passing. While cleaning, Sydney finds a framed photograph of a girl that looks strikingly similar to her. This is the same photo she asked her grandmother about as a child. Her grandmother had responded with, “We don’t talk about Carol.” Sydney starts digging to find out what she can about Carol why no one ever talked about her. What she finds along the way is that Carol was one of six black girls that went missing from the same area around the same time period. Sydney persistently looks into the disappearances to uncover what happened and who was involved. No one will expect what she finds. This is a thrilling story that starts out a little slow but quickly picks up pace. By the last third of the book, you don’t want to put it down so you can see what happens next. The back story and how it is weaved into the present is truly masterful. The attention to detail is instrumental in making the story believable and captivating. It’s almost as if the author is writing based on a true story even though it is fiction. The important message in the lack of attention that the disappearance of black people receive is not lost on the reader.

Sydney Singleton finds a shockingly familiar photograph of a young girl in her grandmother’s belongings. The girl in the picture looks like Sydney herself. When she discovers the girl in the photograph is her aunt Carol, who went missing years before along with six other North Carolina Black girls, she is determined to find the truth behind the aunt that nobody ever told her about.
Sydney falls back on her experience as a journalist, in which her experience with a case involving a missing girl led her to suffer a psychotic episode. Desperate to have a child of her own, despite the painful fertility treatments she is undergoing, Sydney moves full speed ahead to find out what happened to Carol. As she progresses in her investigation, she faces the secrets and lies embedded in her past family life.
This profoundly emotional story of family life will leave you on the edge of your seat.

I actually teared up while reading this. I don’t even know when the last time that happened was. Absolutely deserving of every single one of the 5 ⭐️ I’m giving it.

I can’t believe this is a debut novel, to be completely honest. Kristen Berry has a gift that needs to be shared with the world, and I have no doubt this will be a bestselling book or possibly even a movie or tv series one day.

Not only was I completely enthralled the entire time, I truly felt I was in the story. (Hence, the tears that welled up.) This was a mystery, one which was excellently done, but also a story of family, loss, overcoming, and ultimately redemption. The IVF journey that was also apart of the story really hooked me as well and I have 3 kids, none through IVF or anything like it so I was surprised at the amount of emotion I felt; the sadness for Sydney and Malik, the hope and excitement, I felt all of it right along with them.

Which leads me to the characters. Well, first… I’m in love with Malik. So there’s that. But just the amount of character development in this story.. SO. WELL. DONE.

Truly impressed by Kristen Berry and I’ll be reading everything she writes from now until forever so I truly hope she writes more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC. I truly feel so honored to get to be one of the first to read this before it undoubtedly becomes a #1 bestseller.

Very good so many twists and turns we don’t talk about carol please read and find out why it was so good I would recommend this book so many times

Thank you to Ballantine books for the E-ARC. This book follows our main character Sydney as she is on the quest to find out what happened to her aunt. I loved her character as she was such a boss. She was determined and dedicated to finding the missing pieces. This is more than a family drama and mystery. It covers the complexities of family dynamics and the lack of media coverage surrounding so many black and brown women. If you love generational stories and small-town mysteries, definitely check this out.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House Publishing for an early copy of We Don't Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry

We Don't Talk About Carol is a police procedural pretty much without the police; it is the story of a marriage; it is a story of family; and it is a journey to see justice served.

Sydney Singleton's life is forever changed when she leaves Los Angeles for Raleigh, North Carolina for her grandmother's funeral. While in her grandmother's home she finds a photo and learns her father has a sister she never knew of. When she confronts a friend of her grandmother's ,she is told "We Don't Talk About Carol" and so the mystery begins. it takes Sydney, a journalist, a very short time to learn that in the 1960s several black girls went missing in Raleigh, and all of the cases remain unsolved. Sydney's background in digging for the facts results in her following her own leads to discover what became of her Aunt Carol along with the other missing girls. All of this is on her plate as she also deals with infertility issues and her negative relationship with her own younger sister.

Kristen L. Berry takes readers step by step through Sydney's triumphs and dead ends as every new fact leads to more she must uncover. Will she see justice served for the missing girls along with learning her Aunt Carol's fate?

We Don't Talk About Carol will wrap the reader in its plot, develop the characters to a high degree and reach a dynamic conclusion.

This book is a gripping mystery with deep emotional layers that reveal a family secret. Forcing Sydney to not only confront this but also her own personal struggles and the truth.