Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Select for the eARC.

This book was so hard to read. First because of the nature of the story and second because Kelsey Grammar writes this book in just one constant fluid thought.

I will put that aside because this story is raw and emotional.

I struggled a bit with this one. It sounded so intriguing at first. I had no idea what happened to Kelsey Grammar’s sister. But it just felt so disorganized and about him more so than just his sister. (Which wasn’t a bad thing but it didn’t keep my attention as much.) It also just felt a little too long, and had too much rambling.

I did not know about Kelsey Grammer’s sister before reading this book. It is sad to think he has lived with such pain for almost 50 years. But I am very glad he decided to share Karen with the world – not just her death, but her life and what he continues to discover about her.
This book is not an easy read, and not just because of the crimes committed (although the details are difficult to process). The book is very raw, in both the emotion expressed as well as how the material itself is presented. Grammer pours out his heart in one long tome of grief and memories. There were no chapter breaks in my advanced copy, and he says that he will not add them, so I expect the final copy to have no chapters either. While this style lends itself to feeling like you are listening to someone just talk and reminisce, it also naturally branches off into many, many rabbit trails, details of Grammer’s own life, and much repetition. Reading was slow going and I found myself skimming over large sections until it circled back around to Karen. It seems that he did not have a ghost writer and did his own editing. While I appreciated his style, a lot could have been omitted from his own life and it all could have been much more organized. There were many wanderings, back and forth between past and present, and so many people mentioned I had trouble keeping it all straight.
A few things especially stood out to me. I could not help but think that over the decades Grammer has come to idolize his sister. He describes her over and over as (among many other things) the love of his life, which seemed odd to me. He also has a very eclectic set of beliefs about religion and the afterlife. He spoke of many things including Jesus, mediums, Christian science, and yoga. But no mention of heaven, only that he believes Karen is forever and guides him still. I sincerely pray he finds the peace he is looking for.
Give the book a try if you are so inclined, but be prepared to spend serious time wading through it. I applaud the author for taking on such a huge project, but the publisher should have insisted on editing and simplifying it.
*I received a complimentary copy of this e-book courtesy of Harper Select through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*KAREN: A Brother Remembers* by Kelsey Grammer is a deeply personal and emotional memoir that explores grief, loss, and the lasting impact of tragedy. Grammer recounts the heartbreaking murder of his sister, Karen, and the decades-long struggle to process his grief. His raw honesty and vulnerability make this book a powerful tribute to his sister’s life.

However, the book’s structure is somewhat chaotic, with stream-of-consciousness writing that can feel repetitive and disorganized. While Grammer’s emotions are palpable, the lack of a clear narrative flow may make it difficult for some readers to fully engage with the story.

Despite its flaws, *Karen* offers a poignant look at grief and resilience, making it a meaningful read for those who have experienced loss. If you’re looking for a polished, linear memoir, this may not be the best fit—but if you appreciate deeply personal reflections, it’s worth exploring.

A Heartfelt, Yet Unpolished, Tribute to a Lost Sister

Kelsey Grammer's Karen: A Brother Remembers is a deeply personal and often harrowing account of unimaginable loss. As a reader, my heart went out to Grammer from the very first page, confronted with the profound grief and enduring pain of losing his younger sister, Karen, to murder and rape. His love for her, and the crushing weight of her absence, is palpable and truly moving. He clearly yearned to tell Karen's story, to honor her life beyond the horrific circumstances of her death, and in that, he undeniably succeeds.

Grammer's candid recounting of his memories, his process of grappling with such disturbing events, and his raw emotional honesty are the book's greatest strengths. It's evident that writing this book was a profoundly difficult, perhaps even therapeutic, endeavor for him, and one can only imagine the anguish involved in recalling such traumatic details. He absolutely deserved the opportunity to share Karen with the world, to paint a picture of who she was—vibrant, loved, and more than just a victim.
However, the book's structure ultimately hinders its impact. What emerges is a long, meandering journal entry, at times difficult to follow. The narrative often shifts without clear transitions, making it challenging for the reader to fully engage with the timeline and emotional arc. While the raw, unedited quality might be a reflection of Grammer's genuine process, it ultimately feels like a disservice to his powerful story. This is where the role of an attentive editor becomes critically apparent; Grammer deserved stronger editorial guidance to help shape his deeply personal reflections into a more cohesive and accessible narrative.
Despite these structural shortcomings, Karen: A Brother Remembers remains a testament to enduring love and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable tragedy. I commend Kelsey Grammer for his bravery in sharing such a vulnerable part of his life. My sincere hope is that in telling Karen's story, he finds a measure of solace and peace.

Karen: A Brother Remembers is a heartfelt and tragic memoir from Kelsey Grammer, written in memory of his sister Karen, who was brutally murdered in 1975. The emotional weight of the book is undeniable, and Grammer’s raw honesty is moving throughout.

That said, the structure is difficult to follow. The timeline shifts frequently, and at times the reflections feel scattered. It’s clear this book was written from a deeply personal place, which makes it hard to critique too harshly—but as a reader, it can be disorienting.

Ultimately, it’s a powerful tribute marked by grief and love. While not the smoothest read, it’s a sincere window into a brother’s pain and remembrance.

I found this to be a very powerful and emotive tribute to his sister, from the actor Kelsey Grammer. It is never easy to lose someone close in such a brutal manner, but in this 'memoir' we see the impact that this loss had on him, his family and loved ones, and how it still causes so much pain so many years later.

It's told in a very rambling manner, which may grate on some people, but I found this really replicated his manner of processing the trauma especially as he looked back over the years and the memories he has of the happy times with his sister Karen, alongside those darker ones, and you really feel his despair and sense the 'therapy' he went through in the writing process as he confronts the different feelings he encounters along the way.

you also get the sense of the love that he had with his family, his sister in particular and how they spent so much time together with happy memories. And then the sadness he felt that he couldn't protect his sister, on that fateful night when she was murdered. The 'what ifs' play out in his words on the pages, and how he has struggled at times in 'letting go'.

It isn't easy reading, and the timeline does chop and change but that just added to the way that life unfolds and how our memories come and go in a random matter. Highly recommended.

I received a copy of the book, "Karen A Brother Remembers" by Kelsey Grammer from NetGalley. Kelsey writes a book to remember his beloved sister, Karen Grammer who was murdered when she was only 18 years old. This book took a few years for the author to write. Although the book is about his sister and how close they were. He also writes about other parts of his life, his mother, his maternal grandparents who helped raise Kelsey and Karen. His starting career as an actor and even his beloved dog, Goose. This book is a nice devotion to his sister Karen and the short life she lived. To me this book is all over the place. It is like he writes whatever he is thinking that day so it goes back and forth from childhood to his adult years even those after Karen died. I would give this book a 3.5.

This was almost a DNF for me, but because NetGalley had provided a copy for me, I felt compelled. I have been a Kelsey Grammer fan for years, and I also have a fascination for true crime. I thought this book was a sure thing, but it was just too much to handle. The stream of consciousness writing, the cavalcade of names, the bizarre jumps through time...it was virtually impossible to follow. Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, it came across as more of a vanity project than a true memoir of his sister and the fallout from her murder.

ARC received from NetGalley 3.5 star
an emotionally raw, reflective memoir tackling grief, family bonds, and healing
stream of consciousness that bounces all over the place ( Kelsey says told in reverse but more like back and forth ) not so much about karen as random stories with a lot of repetition.

Kelsey is a great story teller and gives insight to his childhood

The author (who, of course, is best known for acting in Cheers and Frasier) discusses his close relationship with his sister Karen, who was kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered by a group of men. He does discuss the crime, but mostly he focuses on his warm memories of Karen. He does not allow her to be known only for the awful way she died, but for the kind and loving way she lived. Overall, a touching tribute for both fans of the author and people dealing with grief. Karen would be proud of you, Kelsey.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Karen: A Brother Remembers by Kelsey Grammer is a so-so personal memoir and tribute to his sister Karen who was murdered. In Colorado Springs on July 1, 1975, eighteen-year-old Karen Grammer went in to pick up her paycheck at Red Lobster and was kidnapped, assalted, and murdered by three men who were planning to rob the restaurant. Kelsey Grammer was just twenty-years-old at this time. Understandably this tragic loss impacted his whole life.

In a stream-of-consciousness style full of many digressions, Grammer recalls Karen and how he struggled throughout his life to deal with his grief over her tragic death and try to focus on the good memories of Karen. The narrative jumps around in time and covers many different events and struggles in his life, some involving Karen, many that don't.

The whole memoir just feels like a tangle of Grammer's memories, is sometimes repetitious, and more about him rather than a tribute to his sister's memory. Many of us have tragically lost a sibling and as one of them any memoir I would write would celebrate her life. Any focus on my struggles with grief and acceptance would be a postscript with places to find help, but then, of course, I'm not famous.

In the final assessment, the no affectation or filter, stream-of-consciousness approach did not result in a cohesive narrative and was a struggle to read. This needed focus, organization, a good editor, and a re-write. Thanks to Harper Select for providing me with a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I found this to be a moving book about Grammer’s sister Karen that he lost at age 18 to a vicious murder. He recounts many of his memories of growing up with her and also interviews friends who knew her. At least the ones who were willing to share their memories and what they might have known of her final weeks. It shows how a great loss like this haunt you for your entire life.

I wanted so bad to enjoy this book of a brother remember his precious sister, especially because I love Kelsey Grammar as an actor. His prose reminds me a lot of his Frasier character. However, reading this is like dealing with an ADHD child hopped up on sugar. I can appreciate that this book is his heart and soul but I kind of wish he had a ghostwriter for it. In any case, it was a sweet sentiment to his sister and a horrifying account of what happened to her.

Karen: A Brother Remembers by Kelsey Grammer is meant as a true crime autobiography of Kelsey Grammer's sister Karen's rape and death. But ultimately reading like a Kelsey memoir as he works through his grief of loosing his siter. And while this could have been great, we unfortunately get a story that is unfocused, meanders in through the course of his life, and provides very little information about his sister. To put the icing on this cake, some of the language he uses to describe women is so dated, that it borders on misogynistic and takes away from the obvious grief he feels for his sister and any sympathy you could feel for him.

Thank you to Harper Select for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3 stars
Publication date: May 06 2025

#HarperSelect
#Karen
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#NetGalley

I was given this audiobook of Karen, written and narrated by Kelsey Grammer, by NetGalley and publishers HarperCollins, in exchange for an honest review, which will be likely be my longest in quite a while. However, I requested beforehand the book form and feel that I should edit my review accordingly.

Starting as honestly as possible with this honest review, this was a somewhat torturous book, not for the faint-hearted. Grammer’s particularly tragic story is the kind of thing that you discover in passing; an article maybe or a post that has someone comment anecdotally that, for example, sharks killed Grammer’s half brothers. There was heaps of undistilled pain. Heartbreaking isn’t just a word here, it’s a visceral feeling of loss that stops you in your tracks and makes you want to call anyone you know and like and say, I appreciate you, or as the Grammers learned to say, I love you.

It's shattering, how senseless crimes leave scars and wounds that won't heal and at times, Kelsey writes impeccably.

However, this book meanders wildly. Now, it may be time to list the problems I had with this.

• Relevant information: How do we evaluate what goes in an autobiography and what is left edited on the Word document? An editor, usually. This book contains a great mound of information, which leads me to part 2.

• Some of the anecdotes are in Grammer’s words, wrangling and in mine superfluous, hence the need for an editor. Grammer invites us, via Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, to consider how he includes the audience in this process. I don’t like breaking the fourth wall in plays or films. I felt this technique should only have been included in the intro of this book. It takes you out of the narrative action.

• He edits throughout the book. This is an investigation into the heart, mind, body and soul of Karen. As he discovers new things or inaccuracies, he lets the audience know. Couldn’t this be done more engagingly? Maybe a corrections section at the end. It feels like it was written and not revised, even though he tells us in his asides that there have been at least five or six drafts. It feels close to amateurish, even if these discoveries are being made in real time.

• Confused narrative techniques. Karen is a focus, but so are many uncoordinated elements of Grammer’s life. He believes in truth, whether it’s commenting on women’s attractiveness or his love for Goose, the dog who is anecdotally referenced across many chapters. Btw, there are no headers, just chapters. The editor in this book evidently had no say, which weakens and dillutes the story, as we rehash various elements. Grammer should trust that the reader is listening and will retain the information. This non-linear story would have been better served by having chapter focuses on certain characters and other chapters that act as asides. He freely admits throughout asides, btw, that you may be confused. Well, disarm us of the confusion, Grammer.

• Grammer is from a different generation, this I get, but the book expounds this. It functions at times as a Kelsey Knows Best or...

• A Help Guide: The World According to Kelsey. Where the book most suffers, however, is that Grammer...

• is obsessed with including his opinion in moments that don’t require it. For example, his righteous anger towards his sister’s assassins invites us to say that he feels that they need to stay in prison. He then says to us that if you disagree, then you have no heart. You see, I think if we’d picked up this book, we’re already connecting to the emotional substance of it all. It’s not helpful to have him leading, as he does several other times with other current issues. Trust that the readers can make their own takeaways without negotiating with us about how to think and feel.


In so many ways, this affected the book. I’m rounding up the whole thing to 3 stars (generously, I argue) partly because the end – about how Grammer’s faith had helped him reach a higher ground in dealing with this terrible tragedy – was profound, inspiring and a true step towards his healing.

Btw, if you were wondering if he referred to the negative connotations towards the name Karen, he covers that too. I agree that the term is an assault towards the Karens of this world (it turns out a Reddit post from an ex-husband ragging about his wife, Karen, was a significant factor but Grammer’s attempt to subvert this current more is unneeded, after all we had Karen Carpenter, who was known to be an Angel and a Saint of the Karen variety.

In conclusion, Grammer is a singular talent (he sang People beautifully, he tells us sometime in the 70s) with an incredible voice, a definition of bonhomie. For that reason, his lust for life and nostalgia for everything in his life also gave this some charm amongst so much tragedy.

This is a tragic story and demonstrates how violent crime impacts the families of victims as well as the victims themselves. The author did a great job of sharing this sense of ongoing harm and how important it is that the justice system and the perpetrators are not allowed to forget the damage they have done. I enjoyed the stream of consciousness style taken by the author, with the end result demonstrating how much his sister’s murder permeated so many aspects of his life throughout the years. The end result seemed almost journalistic.. I found some of the opinions put forward by the author quite troubling, while recognising he is entitled to them, and also was surprised at the amount of space taken up by cars, motorbikes and his own sexual exploits.

Raw, heartbreaking, and deeply personal, Karen is Kelsey Grammer’s tribute to his sister, who was tragically murdered at 18. With unflinching honesty, he shares the pain, grief, and healing journey that shaped the rest of his life. This memoir is both a powerful story of loss and a moving reminder of the resilience of the human spirit. It’s a gut-wrenching yet hopeful tribute to sibling love and survival through unspeakable tragedy. A must-read.

A powerful, heartbreaking tribute to the sister Kelsey Grammer lost far too soon. Karen is raw, real, and full of hard-earned hope. One of the most emotional reads I’ve picked up this year.

Kelsey Grammer's memoir about his sister Karen is devastating and tender. A story of pain, resilience, and the kind of love that doesn't fade with time. This one will stay with me.
#Karen #NetGalley

I’m a fan of Kelsey Grammar as an actor, but less of a fan of his writing. I found the writing disjointed, and so, hard to follow. Nevertheless, his sister’s death has affected Mr. Grammar deeply, and the result is a very emotional read.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I have read some background to this and feel this is a very brave reflection

Absolutely loved this book. It is heart-breaking and beautifully written

A gorgeous tribute