Karen Uhlmann is a writer living in Los Angeles. Her debut novel, Intersections, will be released May 6, 2025. The novel explores an unlikely friendship, motherhood, and moral ambiguity.

Food-writer-turned-style-guru, Charlotte Oakes, sells beautiful lifestyles, but her mentally ill daughter is an addict, her long marriage is dead, and she is pregnant with her ex-lover’s baby. Stunned after witnessing a fatal hit-and-run in downtown Chicago, Charlotte thinks she sees her Prius fleeing the scene. Her troubled daughter, Libby, home for Thanksgiving is the only one who could have been driving.

 Police officer Ed Kelly’s partner and best friend has been killed in a drug bust, and forensics found that the bullet which hit him came from Ed’s gun. Under internal investigation, Ed copes by filming cars at the intersection, hoping to catch the child’s killer. There, he notices Charlotte’s increasing pilgrimages to the makeshift memorial. Charlotte initially avoids Ed, but curiosity gets the better of her. She brings him coffee, and the two become unlikely friends. They are confidants and share intimate stories, but Charlotte protects her daughter by never mentioning her suspicions about the accident. As they become closer, Charlotte feels as if her secret is a betrayal of Ed. She tries and fails to elicit the truth from her daughter. In the meantime, Ed discovers that Charlotte’s car is identical to the one from the hit-and-run.

 Ed struggles with his beliefs and duties as an officer when he learns of Libby’s crime. His decision may alter three lives. If he does the right thing as an officer, he may lose Charlotte and send Libby to jail. If he keeps quiet, he has breached his commitment to the law.