Such a tragically beautiful tribute to his sister. There are no words for when someone loses a loved one in such a horrific way.

Karen: A Brother Remembers is the deeply personal memoir written (and narrated) by Kelsey Grammer, in remembrance and celebration of his younger sister, Karen, who was brutally raped and murdered at just eighteen years old. Kelsey does not hold back in this memoir: he is graphic, emotional, and his grief is so evident, that it makes for a difficult read at times. It’s very different from other “true crime” novels. Rather than focusing on Karen’s case, Kelsey very much focuses instead on her life, his, and how even in the years since her death, their lives remain deeply interwoven.

While I greatly respect Kelsey’s approach in this book, it felt a bit long to me, causing me to stop reading around halfway through. There is quite a bit more focus on his life than there seems to be on Karen’s and while well-written, it was not what I was expecting when I picked up this read.

Thank you to Kelsey Grammer, HarperCollins, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Are you a memoir reader? Check out Karen by Kelsey Grammer. It was a great read. It's available now.

I typically love memoirs and listen to them often. I was very excited to Kelsey Grammer narrate this story about his sister and their lives growing up. You could hear the emotion in Kelsey's voice and it was completely heartbreaking to hear him tell the story of his sister's murder and how it affected his life and the life of friends and family. As a narrator, he does an amazing job.

My problem with the book is that it is way too long. He goes off on tangents which I would not mind so much if he did not keep mentioning it. The story does not go in chronological order and he mentions it on several occasions. He is repetitive about other parts of the story as well. Overall, it was interesting but way too long.

Karen by Kelsie Gramar is an intriguing story that explores its main character with depth. While I didn’t completely fall in love with the book, I found the story itself compelling enough to keep me turning the pages.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook copy in exchange for my review.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author, Kelsey Grammer. Anyone familiar with Grammer and his long time character, Frasier Crane, knows he has a voice made for audio.

I think it is also important to acknowledge a few things about this book that will make it difficult for some readers/listeners (and these are likely why this book has such varied ratings):

1. Kelsey Grammer, as a person, can be considered very controversial to many people who have been exposed to news about him for the last 30+ years. These things may linger in the back of some reader/listener’s minds.
2. It is stylistically written almost like a diary or therapeutic journaling exercise. There is a lot of “stream of consciousness rambling” type writing.
3. Grammer goes on SO many tangents in this book that have nothing to do with his sister, but instead, things to do with himself that were brought to his mind when recalling times with his sister
4. This book is about a gruesome rape and murder of an 18 year old young woman. It is very sad and may be triggering to people.

All of Kelsey Grammer’s own baggage and writing style aside, this is an absolute tragedy and my heart goes out to everyone who loved Karen and the other victims of these heinous murderers. I hope writing this book brought Grammer some healing from this part of his life. May Karen Grammer rest in peace.

In Karen, Kelsey Grammer delivers a deeply personal and haunting tribute to his beloved sister, whose life was tragically cut short. The book is part memoir, part true-crime meditation, and fully rooted in grief, memory, and enduring love.

Karen lives within Grammer, and with him, every day. The narrative floats between past and present, capturing snapshots of their childhood, the warmth of their bond, and the unbearable weight of living without her. Grammer recounts their lives with a reverence that feels both raw and poetic, working backwards through memory and loss.

Co-written with Winfred Proffitt and Daniel Van Loon, the book offers a structure that mirrors grief itself—fragmented, searching, and emotionally vivid. It’s a story about growing up, about the unbearable aftermath of trauma, and about learning to manage life without the person who made it feel whole.

Karen is a powerful, vulnerable, and beautifully written tribute that invites readers not just to understand what happened, but to feel what was lost.

Unfortunately, this book simply did not work for me. The story is tragic, for sure. I was deeply interested in Kelsey's life experiences and the stories he had to tell. I enjoyed the little snippets of daily life that he shared. The actual writing and editing is what lost me. The stories jump all over the place and are so disjointed that it was extremely difficult to follow. It appeared that Grammer was going for a stream of consciousness style of writing; however, it simply did not work for me. While you could feel the emotion behind some of the things he was saying, the writing needed a lot more editing to truly be able to follow and not get taken completely out of the story. I loved Frasier and was excited for this one but it just was not well-written enough to work for me.

Kelsey Grammer pours his heart out into this memoir and true crime drama. The things he describes that happened to his sister are un fathomable and gut wrenching. For a purely emotional telling of the lives lived and the life that was gruesomely taken away, get ready for Karen.

This is a tough review to write since I really enjoy Kelsey’s acting and listening to his voice. But I cannot say that I enjoyed this book - not just because it is (somewhat) about the brutal murder of his younger sister Karen, but because of the way it is told. The book jumps back and forth in time as he is writing the story, and it is sometimes difficult to know if he is talking about people from his past or present life. He tells many stories about his family life growing up and also tells stories about many people who have passed through his life in many different ways, like teachers, friends, roommates, lovers and colleagues. It’s similar to being in a one way conversation where the speaker is just talking about whatever comes into his head. He claims that all the information he is sharing is related to the story of his sister’s short life, but I have a hard time connecting many stories to her.
I want to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins Focus for access to the audiobook.

I really enjoyed this. Such a heartbreaking and heart warming memoir: a brothers love for his sister who suffered a horrible death. I can’t even imagine how life would be after this tragedy. It was heartwarming to hear him speak of Karen and to see how his family, friends, and faith helped him through it. I have not been a big fan of Kelsey Grammer’s acting, but I am glad I had this opportunity to understand him as a person. Sometimes we forget that celebrities are people too. Their lives aren’t all sunshine and roses

Before I begin, my review is harsh I’m aware of this. I want to stress that there is no rating that could match the empathy and respect I feel for Kelsey Grammer finding the strength to not only write but share with the world the detail of his beloved sisters brutal murder. His honesty in how it’s haunted his life and his determination to try to find solace and catharsis in the exercise is inspirational. I have to really lay all of that to one side though and remember this is a book review.

Clocking around 14 hours this was never going to be a quick listen, but I figured that a great actor with a story to tell would at least be entertaining. I feel awful writing this. Unfortunately it was chaotic, repetitive and extremely confusing almost all of the way through. Almost like a continuous stream of consciousness. Retelling of the same stories, an endless stream of names that come and go and the whole thing felt like a bout of vertigo which was at times almost intolerable. I can’t even fathom how this reads in text format I assume it’s even more difficult.

I do greatly appreciate the opportunity to review this audiobook and extend my thanks to HarperCollins Focus, Kelsey Grammer and NetGalley for the ALC 🎧

I love Kelsey Grammer, especially his voice. When I saw he wrote this book about his sister, I was excited to read it since I've heard a little bit about her and thought it would be a really interesting read to hear about her from his perspective. And it was, it is very obvious how much her death has tortured him and it was very thought-provoking to see how far he's come from this. However at times, it could get very self-indulgent and would lose me. I didn't mind the non-linear timeline or Kelsey's random thoughts on his life but it felt like he was writing a memoir but remembering to include blurbs about his sister to bring it back to her and maybe that was just how he was writing it, and left it. But I think it could have been more cohesive. I loved hearing about his family and up-bringing but again this would be more suited as a memoir rather than titling it after his sister and giving the false pretense that it is fully about her. He also knowingly would add his personal thoughts on some heated political topics but brush it off as opinion and then add "the media will grab this as a headline against me." Those moments felt unnecessary and added nothing to the story. Overall (again) I think this should have been a memoir with a chapter titled Karen because that is more how it felt.

I’m honestly shocked that I got all the way through this (audio)book. There were parts of it that I found interesting, but it could have easily been half as long and still told more than enough. Basically a brother working out his feelings of losing his sister by writing them out and remembering experiences and stories from the past. Very important to him, his family, and anyone else involved, but as someone who was not involved it wasn’t very interesting. I hope this process has brought him some peace, as he’s held onto this grief for almost 50 years.

I DNF'd this book at 12% because I felt it was disrespectful to the victim this book is supposed to be about. In just the little bit I read the narration swung wildly from objectifying women, to describing a violent crime committed against the author's sister, to going into graphic detail about a war crime witnessed by a family friend.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book and a lot I was not such a big fan of. (Also disclaimer I did not know who Kelsey Grammer was before I started listening to this.) I enjoyed getting to hear about the relationship he had with his family. I liked that he still feels close with his sister and feels her presence, despite her being murdered in the 70s. I enjoyed getting to hear about how he learned and grew as he grew up and dealt with the hardships he was exposed to.

What I did not like at all was the random personal thoughts disguised as political beliefs sprinkled in, and I really don't have a problem with people sharing their political beliefs but I do think there is a time and a place for it. A memoir about how your sister was murdered and how that is impacting your life is not the time or place to share that you do not believe white privilege is a real thing or that people who speak out about assault are making things up.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.


This must be listened to. This is something that can not be read. You can hear the emotion in Kelsey Grammer voice. I had not known of his sister and I enjoyed getting to know her, even though it was a sad reason.



Karen by Kelsey Grammer delves into the deeply personal and tragic story of the author's sister, Karen, who was brutally murdered at the age of 18. Kelsey was just 20 years old and studying theater at Juilliard in New York when his younger sister, a recent high school graduate, moved to Colorado Springs, where she was kidnapped by several men who had intended to rob the Red Lobster where she worked. They instead kidnapped Karen, raped her repeatedly, and ultimately stabbed her to death.

Through this memoir, Grammer poignantly recounts the memories of his sister and the impact her loss had on his life and family. With raw honesty, Grammer explores the profound grief and devastation that followed Karen's death, as well as the long and arduous journey toward healing. He bravely confronts the pain of losing a loved one to senseless violence, offering readers a glimpse into the complexities of coping with such a profound loss.

Karen also serves as a testament to Grammer's resilience and determination to transform tragedy into a source of inspiration and empowerment. In sharing his story, Grammer aims to help others who have experienced similar loss, offering them solace and encouragement on their own paths toward healing.

Karen is not merely a memoir of loss, but a powerful testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit and the capacity for hope in the face of such overwhelming and devastating loss. This book is a moving tribute to a life cut tragically short, a testament to the enduring bond between siblings, and a message of hope at a time when we need it the most.

I’ve heard Kelsey Grammer talk about his sister’s tragic murder before and the toll it took on his life, but Karen: A Brother Remembers digs much deeper. While it covers the terrible events of her death, it also gives a raw, honest look at how that trauma shaped the rest of his life — especially his relationships.

Grammer opens up about how his sister’s murder left him with deep guilt and grief, which had a huge impact on his love life. You can really feel how that loss made it difficult for him to trust, connect, and feel deserving of happiness. The book also sheds light on how a violent crime doesn’t just affect the victim’s family in the immediate aftermath — it leaves scars that linger for decades.

What made this even more powerful for me was Kelsey narrating it himself. Hearing his voice tell the story makes it feel so personal and intimate, like he’s letting you in on parts of his life he’s kept tucked away for years. It adds another layer of emotion you wouldn’t get from the page alone.

The storytelling jumps around a bit, which was sometimes a little confusing, but overall, it’s an emotional and important read. It’s a sad, heartfelt reflection on grief, resilience, and how some losses never fully leave you.

3.5*

Kelsey Grammer is not a trained writer and it shows in this novel. His writing style is very much a conversation with the reader and as he remembers his sister's life, he bounces all over his own. In fact I think there was more in this book about his life than his sister, Karen's. This was marked as true crime, which I typically love, but the true crime element of this book was few and far between.

Karen : A Brother Remembers is about Kelsey's Grammer's sister's murder according to the book description. Much of the book however is Kelsey discussing events through his life in no particular order or sense. He speaks of a past girlfriend's abortion as a murder. The past girlfriend has since passed and this is how he honors her and their love? He also speaks negatively of transgendered people. He repeats stories throughout the book and acknowledges that he does. It's very confusing and he speaks of his sister as being in love with her in a way that gives me an ick, skin crawling feeling.

I do not rate memoirs.

Thank you to #netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this ARC for an honest review. I cannot recommend this book.