I’m a huge fan of Tarryn Fisher’s creepy thrillers. The Wives is the book the got me out of a five year reading slump and brought me to where I am now in my reading. So when I saw this book I was so excited! She did not disappoint, of course.

Our MC Iris watched her twin sister being kidnapped right in front of her and believes that she was then trafficked and killed. She is met with lackluster support from the police department and makes it her mission to find out what happened, eventually working her way to an internship on Shoal Island which houses a prison for the criminally insane. Iris believes that her sister’s killer is imprisoned there.

The first 25% had me hooked. I loved getting the twins’ backstory and trying to figure out what happened. The final 20% was INSANE. A little unrealistic but still incredible and worthwhile. The middle was a sloooooooow burn. But, when I finished and knowing the twists going back over the slow parts I realized all the Easter eggs that were dropped so it was still worth it.

3.5

Thank you to Graydon House, HTP, and Tarryn Fisher for the review copy. These thoughts are my own.

I can honestly say that the plot twist was something I did not expect. Tarryn Fisher kept me guessing throughout the whole book. This book is definitely up there with her book, The Wives.

Thank you to NetGalley, HTP/Graydon House & Tarryn Fisher for a digital galley of Good Half Gone in exchange for an honest review.

I know so many people are fans of Tarryn Fisher, but this is the third novel of hers that I have read that was just BLAH.

In a nutshell: Iris’s twin sister Piper was abducted as a teen & the case has gone cold. Iris has been obsessively searching for her all the way into adulthood. She now has a criminal psychology degree so she takes a job as an intern at a psychiatric hospital where her search has led her. Of course, as is the stigma of all psychiatric hospitals in books, it is not at all on the up & up & Iris has to figure out what is going on.

I feel like I’ve read stories similar to this before so the concept was not original. I don’t mind recycled plots as long as they are done well. This one was not. It wasn’t bad, per se. It just wasn’t good either. Completely forgettable.

It started out great (roughly the first 20%) & the ending was fairly ok (roughly the last 15%), but it’s the meat of it in the middle that epically failed. It was not suspenseful or eerie, which you would hope to get out of a book primarily set in a sinister psychiatric hospital (Freida McFadden can give excellent tips on how to achieve this eerie atmosphere). And it moved too slowly, to the point of being boring. At only 304 pages, this was a fairly short book, but it dragged on like a 500-page book.

I am rating it down the middle at 3-Stars, but I feel I’m being a bit generous. After this one, I likely won’t give this author another shot, unfortunately.

Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher is a mystery thriller about your worst nightmare, if you are a twin that is.


About the plot
Iris and Piper Welsh are twins that could not be any more different. In high school Piper was the “It girl” and Iris was her shadow.

One day Piper convinces Iris to go to the movies with some boys, but little did Iris know, that would be the last day she would be with her twin.

From that day Iris and her grandmother seem to be the only ones to care that Piper was taken. After multiple visits to Police and investigators, plus the putting up of missing persons posters, the case turns cold.

Iris though, never gave up. Her need to find her sisters and get answers fuels her for years and years. So much so, that she is now interning at a mental institution prison. All her own searching lead her to this moment, she wants answers and will do anything to find out what happened to her sister Piper that dreaded day.


My thoughts
Good Half Gone has a lot of elements I enjoy in mystery thrillers. The main mystery of “one of the twins” gone missing is the thread that carries the plot. It may be that I am used to thrillers that juggle multiple plots and elements. I think there are accompanying elements adding to the mystery, yes. But I also think this is one of Fisher’s weaker thrillers. I am so used to her gritty, dark, and edgy writing, so it may be my bias. I am used to feeling way more in her novels as well. Good Half Gone feels a little lackluster against her previous works. I needed more emotionally from the story. The story felt stagnant and like daily updates to Iris’s daily routines. Iris has lots of hardships that make her admirable as to how she perseveres, but she also feels flat as a character.

I do recommend for cozy thriller fans, as the lower stakes in here were not anxiety inducing. The mystery of Good Half Gone is also easy to invest in, my curiosity to find out the final “truth” was the main force in my reading experience.

I love Tarryn Fisher but unfortunately this story didn't grip me the way that many of her others did. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood for this kind of story but I found it a bit slow and couldn't really connect with the characters. I did appreciate the good twist at the end!

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for this ARC to read and give my honest review.

This one started off so strong for me. I love the storyline and the pace of it, but it sort of fizzled out. I feel like there was a lot of plot lines coming in that wasn't as relevant to the main storyline. For me it took away from what I was looking for. Maybe it was the back and forth with the twin sisters and that kind of made it tricky for me. I was hoping for more of a thriller vibe with how it started and it was definitely more mystery. I will say though however the twist that did happen I was not expecting and was pleasantly surprised. Still an enjoyable read!

When we meet Iris Walsh we are dropped into the scariest moment of her life alongside her- her twin sister, Piper, has just been abducted from a movie theater and Iris is trying desperately to get help, to make her voice heard and understood, to try navigate a situation with only one stark, concrete truth.
Her sister is gone and nobody knows where to find her.
This struggle to be heard continues throughout the story as we volley between the past and the present along with Iris, her frustration at times so palpable it hurts, as is the masterful way that Fisher, the queen of domestic suspense, shows us how adept she is, as well, at capturing the painful nuance of a person trying to do right by a missing loved one, while also battling with the ambiguous grief and love behind continuing to fight for them when everyone else has stopped.
How can Iris stop?
She is living with the overwhelming guilt of being spared the same fate as her other half.
As all of Fisher's books tend to be, this one is fast moving and gripping, the turns tight and well-executed, and the final twist so shocking that you will never see it coming.

Amidst the mixed reviews surrounding "Good Half Gone" by Taryn Fisher, I found myself firmly in the camp of adoration. This book captivated me from the very beginning with its intriguing storyline, and I was hooked until the final page.

Fisher's narrative prowess shines through as she deftly navigates complex themes and characters, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with each twist and turn. The layers of suspense and mystery had me eagerly turning pages, desperate to uncover the truth behind every enigma.

However, I must offer a word of caution regarding the audiobook version of the book. While the story itself is enthralling, the audio rendition may not do it justice and was just not good. I highly recommend opting for a physical or digital copy instead to fully immerse yourself in Fisher's compelling tale.

In conclusion, "Good Half Gone" is a riveting read that I wholeheartedly recommend to fans of suspense and psychological thrillers. Taryn Fisher has crafted a gripping story that lingers in the mind long after the final page, and it's an experience not to be missed.

Very good story, I loved it! I almost had it all figured out but there was a little more that I wasn't expecting.

Thank you Harlequin for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Iris Walsh has a twin sister who is kidnapped right in front of her at the movies when they went together. No one will believe her! When Iris reports her sister missing to the police, they question the validity of the situation, suggesting that her sister may have simply run off.
The book is structured across two distinct time periods: the time when Piper goes missing and nine years into the future, where Iris is caring for her son while also holding down a job and going to school.

This is the kind of book you can breeze through in an afternoon, constantly questioning where the story is headed. I was particularly intrigued by the backstory and curious to see where the author would take us on this winding, adventurous journey.
Overall, I found this book quite enjoyable. In fact, I liked it even more than 'The Wrong Family.' I didn't expect to be as engaged as I was. While I was able to anticipate some of the twists, I remained unsure of how everything would come together. It was a thrilling ride on a speedy roller coaster.

Colleen Hoover's quote about this book is dead on accurate. I had no idea where Good Half Gone was going to go, especially when I found myself nearly done with the book, and still not sure how Fisher was going to wrap it up. I was worried the end of the story was going to feel rushed, but man was I wrong.

Good Half Gone follows Iris, who is on the hunt to find out what happened to her twin sister 8 years ago. After chasing her own leads for years, she lands an internship at a psychiatric hospital that houses dangerous criminals on Shoal Island.

I really enjoyed the story. I liked Iris' character and her determination. My only complaint about the book is that there were times I felt like it would speed up a bit, before it slowed down a tiny bit (not in a bad way, it was just slower.) But the end of the book 100% made up for that.

I recommend Good Half Gone!

Thank you Graydon House and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is my third novel from Tarryn Fisher. It was not my favorite of her novels. The novel centers on Iris, the surviving twin, her sister Piper was kidnapped when they were teens. Iris is focused on finding information about what happened to her sister after she was taken. This leads Iris to the Shoal Island Center for the Criminally Insane. The book is told through alternating narratives between the past and the future in Iris's voice. While I liked the premise and the alternating timeline, I found the story slow at times and hard to really grab my interest. At times I would read a few pages and have to go back and wonder what I had just read. Not as gripping as some of her other novels. I did find the setting of Shoal Island interesting and engaging, as well as some of the flashback scenes. It was just sort of blah for me most of the time.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher.

This is the story of a twin who loses her sister at a young age and spends her whole life to find her.

This story started and stayed luke warm the whole time. I could never quite dig my nails into the plot, and really struggled to care throughout reading it. I've enjoyed Fisher before, but this wasn't my favorite.

At age fifteen, Iris witnessed the abduction of her twin sister, Piper and was further traumatized when the police seem convinced that Piper is a runaway. Eight years later, Iris has carefully planned her education and required internship in an effort to work on Shoal Island hospital for the criminally insane to obtain information from a secluded patient about Piper’s whereabouts. She is emotionally torn between pursuing her plans on the island and being the caregiver for her eight year old son and elderly grandmother. The story is told in two timelines, one in which 15 year old Iris describes the abduction and her encounters with the detectives and the present, in which she deals with some unusual staff and patients on Shoal Island.
This book definitely has some pros and cons. There were several mysteries such as how Iris became a mother that unfolded slowly, capturing my interest and keeping me engaged. Some of the reveals were unexpected and entertaining and others were too predictable. I found the story to take some wild swings at times and there seemed to be a lot of “filler” content such as interactions with people that weren’t significant to the story and this made it chaotic. In spite of the chaos, I thought that Piper’s killer was too obvious although the mystery of how she ended up with the killer was not predictable. It seems this review is all over the place which is how I would describe the book.

Does this book have an interesting premise? Yes. Did I find myself staying up late to read this? Yes. Do I think there are massive problems with this book? Also yes. I find it odd when authors spend so much time telling the readers how singularly focused the protagonist is only to have the entire plot activity rely on the main character getting distracted from her goal. It’s just too unbelievable and, frankly, unnecessary. Most people waver and are messy and complex so just go with it. Don’t paint a picture of a calculating character who plotted out every decision in life only to get to this point and then throw everything out the window for the sake of some twists. In regards to the twists, while I expected a part of one of them the actual logic behind it didn’t add up so it again seemed too unbelievable to be a success. Although I had issues with parts of Good Half Gone, I enjoyed the journey of reading this book and count it as a definite success in that regard. While the book in its entirety didn’t quite work for me, it’s a quick read that will keep you engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grayson House for the electronic ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was really difficult for me to rate. The book started off pretty good. I was plowing through the chapters, very intrigued to learn more about the characters, and then it took a sharp turn.

To have a book just stop altering timelines was just odd. There's a rhythm that develops for the reader when you are in a timeline and then the chapter ends, and you assume you're going to the other timeline. But, when that rhythm stops, it just throws off that fluidity and mindset that the book had established.

Also, the book established the grandmother as this strong woman who took on the role of character after her drug addicted daughter fell off of the parenting wagon, but then all of a sudden she has a medical incident and her character becomes stagnant. It felt like Tarryn Fisher just wasn't interested in writing about that character anymore. Also, I'm to believe that Iris just leaves her "son" for days at a time while her grandmother is bedridden and knocking on death's door just to avenge her sister? It was a stretch.

What really bothered me is that Iris takes this internship on the island, but at that point, it felt like I was reading a completely different book. It felt very disjointed from the first half. Again, the flow stopped. I was so distracted by this new job/island/characters; this is when the book lost me.

The ending was predictable, and by that I mean that it was obvious who the real villain was going to be as soon as her romantic relationship started. What made me roll my eyes was the mutiny, the fire, the deaths of these characters that I didn't care about. The plot of the island just felt campy.

I really wanted to like this book. It took me weeks to read this when normally a thriller will take me 2-3 days to finish. I really struggled. I don't think I'd be able to recommend this book just because it felt like it was written by two different authors that didn't talk to one another while writing.

Will I read another Tarryn Fisher book? I will. I think she's a great writer, but this story just disappointed me.

I do appreciate having the opportunity to read and review this book. I do wish I could give this book 4-5 stars, but for me, it will be 3 stars, and that is only because the first 1/4-1/3 of the book was compelling and had me wanting more.

Thank you so much @GraydonHouseBooks for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 19 March 2024)

SYNOPSIS | Iris watches her teenage twin sister (Piper) get kidnapped from a movie theatre and is powerless to stop it. She pleads with the police to help her, but based on the girls tumultuous upbringing, they claim Piper is a runaway instead. Since her sisters case has gone cold, Iris takes it upon herself to try and uncover what happened.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the hospital setting (kinda Shutter Island vibes)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the ending was implausible to the point of being outright ridiculous (& not in a good way)
- the pacing was bizarre throughout, but the ending especially was like whiplash
- the timeline jump felt disjointed
- a bunch of extraneous details that didn't drive the plot forward or enhance the story in anyway
- the romance plotline?!

Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher

Thank you Graydon House & The Hive #hiveinfluencer #thehive #influencerprogram #htpbooks

Blurb:
Iris Walsh saw her twin sister, Piper, get kidnapped— so why does no one believe her?

✨ My thoughts:
Good Half Gone is a quick read and an interesting story. It wasn’t at all what I expected but I really needed to know how it ended and what the heck happened to Piper. My favorite part of this story was the location… a mental institution on an island. As much as I hate to admit it, this wasn’t my favorite book from this author but I’ll continue to read her books. Just because it was a miss for me, doesn’t mean it won’t be a hit for you! Good Half Gone is out now.

Happy reading 📖

Irish and Piper, twins with contrasting personalities, were raised by their grandmother after their mother's absence. When Piper is kidnapped, Iris seeks revenge in a gripping dual timeline story set in a mysterious state hospital. The tale's intricate layers and vivid characters make for a thought-provoking read with a satisfying yet reflective ending..

Thank you to the publisher and the author for allowing me to arc read this book in exchange for my honest review

This thriller tells the story of Iris, whose twin sister was abducted years before and never seen again. Thru a past/present timeline Iris tries to find her sister's killer in the present, while the past one tells more about what happened. I was more into the past timeline than the present...the present one just seemed confusing and kind of strange. A decent thriller but felt a little disconnected at times.