Call Me Carmela

Police therapist Dot Meyerhoff helps a young woman find her birth parents and unburies dark family secrets in this psychological thriller.

Police psychologist Dot Meyerhoff's caseload is usually filled with cops—which is why she's hesitant to help an adopted teenager locate her birth parents. But the teen's godmother is Dot's friend Fran and a police widow to boot. How could Dot possibly say no?

Once Dot starts digging into the case, though, she's drawn into a murky world of illegal adoptions and the choices a young pregnant woman might make as a last resort. Soon there's only one thing Dot knows for sure: the painful truth of what happened all those years ago might heal one family—but it's certain to destroy another.

"Call Me Carmela is a firecracker of a read, a tour de force." —Deborah Crombie, New York Times bestselling author of the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novels

"Ellen Kirschman sees into people's hearts: not just those of the victims, or of the good guys, but the hearts of all her characters. With a rare delicacy of language she lets us know that no one's innocent, but no one's past redemption, either—except those who refuse to try." —SJ Rozan, author of The Mayors of New York

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Release date

Audiobook: April 8, 2025