Karen Roberts Turner Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Karen Roberts Turner
Karen Roberts Turner, a Washington DC native, has been imagining stories since her childhood. She wrote her first “book” during sixth grade English class. Her teacher told her that she had a gift for storytelling worth developing, which she did until her love for science distracted her from writing.

Karen’s inspiration was always to write. Not necessarily “The Other Twin”, but to write something. She created a story around “her”. And Ebony told Karen who she is.

Her calling as a storyteller was again detoured while she was pursuing a career as a trial lawyer. Inspired and encouraged by her daughter, she revived her passion for creative writing in the year 2016 and started writing her “second” novel during a snowstorm that was crippling her city after working as a trial attorney for more than 25 years. She published her debut novel, called “The Other Twin”, five years later in 2021 during a pandemic.

In her career as an attorney, she has handled complex commercial, civil, and medical malpractice cases. Karen has developed a distinguished reputation as a highly skilled trial attorney and a formidable opponent.

In the year 2013, she left the private practice of law in order to become Senior Associate General Counsel for Health Sciences at Howard University and she expanded her practice portfolio to encompass transactional and regulatory matters, corporate governance, and alternative dispute resolution.

Beyond Karen’s contributions in the legal arena, she takes pride in her decades worth of community service in her hometown of Washington DC. She’s volunteered her service to and/or led many community outreach initiatives, professional bodies, and associations. She is Vice President of her local high school alumni association and mentors young ladies that are navigating their way through law school, college, and legal careers. She is also on the Board of the Delta Housing Corporation of DC and the Minnie Louise Anderson Young Scholarship Fund.

She is a graduate of Vassar College where she earned her BA in Biology and Africana Studies, and George Washington University Law School where she got her JD. Karen also has an MA in Bioethics from Georgetown University. She is a Golden Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

“The Other Twin” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2021. This chronicles the relationship of textbook twins: Essence and Ebony Morgan.

While growing up, Ebony Morgan and Essence, her sister, were the textbook twins. From the way they each looked, to the way they each talked and walked, Ebony and her sister were indistinguishable from one another. However while they grew up, Essence emerged as the leader of the two and Ebony became less of a mirror image and a lot more like some burdensome shadow.

Essence, who is now at college, is not all that interested in ‘twinning’ anymore. In fact, she wants nothing more than to just put some distance between herself and Ebony. This desire leads her down a rather troubling path. Ebony, who is devastated at her sister’s abandonment, is attempting to build a life of her own. However Essence’s ‘mean girl’ attitude might prove to be more than she can handle.

When heartbreak and heartache enter into both of their lives, both of these girls find themselves navigating through adversity that could turn their worlds on end. Could their twin bond withstand such an ultimate test?

This one has all of the ingredients celebrating family, a big warm hug, and sisterhood. Ebony is some readers new BFF in their heads, and can’t wait to experience her next chapter. The details of her first college dorm experience were so incredibly vivid that you feel like you are present, in her space, with these new friends. It is a mesmerizing novel that will make you cry, laugh, and make you fall in love with Ebony.

The first time that we meet Ebony is while she is on her way to college for the beginning of her Freshman year, as she is in the car with Essence and her parents. This car ride became some readers’ own experience.

Fans of the novel felt that Karen has a wonderful writing style, and they had a difficult time putting the book down for very long. It was an appealing plot, exploring the ways that evil can interrupt the lives of two sisters that have been so close since birth. Karen’s smooth style of writing introduces this evil as conflict between these sisters yet provides the hope that it would soon vanish.

Even though the characters are identical in certain ways, the behavior of one sister changed, becoming the mean girl. Kudos to the author for not just dwelling on the mean one and her bad behavior but also emphasizing forgiveness and love.

This is an excellent depiction of what it is truly like for a young woman to attend college. High school students are going to enjoy it, as will women that remember being in college and want a bit of nostalgia or possibly be glad that they’re past all that.

Readers love just how strong Ebony is while she struggles to do all of the things she must do in college as well as manage her own social life, much less deal with all of the painful untwinning by her sister. She never once forgets about who she truly is all while she gets drawn to quite the sexy, compelling motorcycle guy. Essence’s issue of getting preyed upon by an older guy was both different and timely from many stories about this age.

Karen does a great job of discouraging profiling and encouraging the idea that people must get to know who somebody is no matter what the circumstances might be. “Twins” are one of the most profiled subjects in the world. A lot of people will dismiss select things about others, however it’s most devastating when someone does it to themselves. The novel models real life things for many folks but it hits groups like twins daily. It’s great that Karen took the time to use her heart and eyes to see.