Karen Abbott, also known as Abbott Kahler, is a New York Times best-selling author for narrative nonfiction. Abbott was originally from Philadelphia and now lives in New York City. She changed her name to Abbott Kahler in 2014 after an author sharing her original name passed away and confusion emerged over which Karen Abbott had died and which works should be attributed to her. However, all works published prior to her legal name change are still published under Karen Abbott. Abbott has written a highly praised selection of narrative nonfiction, including Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy; Sin in the Second City; American Rose; and The Ghosts of Eden Park. Her nonfiction novels all focus on overlooked historical figures and moments in American history. Her first three novels specifically focused on women who had been left off the historical record.

Abbott worked as a journalist for six years in Philadelphia, covering crime and advocating for domestic violence survivors. She has written for many major periodicals, including The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Smithsonian. She has also appeared on the History Channel, CBS Sunday Morning, and AMC’s Making of the Mob. She began by researching the disappearance of an ancestor of hers, which grew into a career focus on writing historical nonfiction.