Very disappointing. I was ready to give this 3 stars (it was fine) until I got to the “twist.” That dropped it straight to a 2 for me. Implausible and frustrating.

Nic's life has been on pause since her sister's disappearance - work, volunteering at the animal shelter, AA meetings, and repeat - nothing can get Nic out of her own way since Kasey's car was found abandoned by the side of the road. After work one day, she is approached by Jenna, who's sister went missing two weeks before Kasey, with a potential lead to uncover what may have happened to the missing sisters. Jenna gives Nic's life a well-needed shake up as the two pair up to uncover how deep the connection to the cases goes.

The story took a turn I was not prepared for. Jaw dropping twist. Very suspenseful and I could not put it down!

Thank you to the author and netgalley for this ARC! Spoilers ahead. I really wanted to love this book but it was just okay. It felt super slow going into it and then about the last 25% of the book is where things started to pick up and get kind of good! I did not like the ending, almost felt like a cliff hanger the way it ended not knowing if they were ever caught for murdering Jenna. And the fact Kasey was alive this whole time and was only 7 hours away. I will say it was a good twist that Nik was who killed Jennas sister.

✨Book Review✨
🌗The Missing Half 🌓

Synopsis:
Two girls go missing within a few weeks of each other in a small Indiana town in 2012. Each of the missing women leave behind a sister. Years later, the missing girls’ sisters find each other and team up to solve their sisters’ disappearance.

My thoughts:
🤔 Well that was a wild ride! If you enjoy twists and turns, you are surely going to enjoy this one!
🤔 There were so many loose ends. I was wondering if it would be possible to tie them all up, but by the end, everything came together.
🤔 I thought the ending was super unexpected! I had it all wrong, and I love it when that happens!
🤔 I liked the fast pace and the short, quick chapters - most of which ended on a cliffhanger.

Read this one if you like….
🔎Mysteries/Thrillers
🌪️Twists and Turns
🏡Small Town Settings
👩Sister Stories
🧙‍♀️Mature sleuths
😢Themes of navigating grief, identity, and self-rediscovery

🥰Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Bantam and @NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this book. This book had lots of twists and kept me on my toes. Happy to say I did not see the ending coming. I would say of her two novels, this is Ashley Flowers' best.

The ending was unexpected and perfectly crafted! The characters are all unique and memorable. The mystery was masterfully put together and I would highly recommend this! Special Thank You to Ashley Flowers,Random House Publishing Group Ballantine and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

So. I’m disappointed. I loved Flower’s first book and the mystery she wove. Here, we have an instantly unlikable main character who only
Got worse as the story progressed. And that ending. What was that!
Not a good follow to All Good People Here

Two women went missing two weeks apart in 2012. It's almost like they vanished in to thin air. The leads have dried up and the cases have gone cold.

Each of the missing women left behind a sister -- who are now beginning to work together to review all of the evidence from the case to see if they can discover the truth to what happened to their sisters.

The police think it was someone on the periphery of their lives - so they focus on any potential overlaps in the past. They spend time reanalyzing clues, talking with old friends and family members to see if new conversations bring forward anything that might have been missed back then.

As expected, emotions run high and not everyone is happy to be relooking at the past. As Nic and Jenna continue their search for their missing sisters, I became more and more engrossed into solving the mystery.

I thought I had figured it out a few times, but, I was wrong! I was so impressed how the story kept me guessing even when I thought I would outsmart the author.

I had read some reviews that weren't in love with the ending but I really enjoyed it so this might be a great book to read with a book club and discuss whether the group had split opinions!

Thanks again to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @netgalley @ballantine for my ARC.

“I’m calm because I have to be. Being calm is the only way we’re gonna find anything out.”

The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers is a mystery thriller that will have you gripping your book with anticipation trying to figure it all out.

I have said this before and I’ll say it again: I either watch too much Forensic Files or I am destined to become a detective because I guessed that ending within a third of the way.

The chapters are short with cliff hangers and right when you think you solved it, another clue is thrown at you. So many twists and turns with an ending you may or may not see coming.

Overall, it was a fast paced read and I think any crime junkie should read it.📚

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: crime thriller 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
An addictive psychological suspense but I was not a fan of the ending

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Psychological thriller
Dark family mysteries
Two women haunted by their sisters’ disappearances
Themes of loyalty an grief
Small town gothic atmosphere
All the twists
Mature sleuths
Strong female leads

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Short chapters
Fast paced

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Unbelievable ending

Twisty and fast paced. I found the storyline to be a bit predictable/I wasn’t super invested in the characters.

My first time reading Ashley Flowers and this was phenomenal! Full of twists and turns that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the last page. I enjoyed the shorter chapters and pacing of this for a thriller. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this book!

As a fan of true crime stories, I was excited to dive into Ashley Flowers' latest book. Having read her first book, All Good People Here, with my book club, we enjoyed the story but were left disappointed by the ending.

I would rate this book 3.50 stars. While it was entertaining, I felt it lacked substance and character development.

What I liked about this book:

The pacing was excellent. It was a short story with many loose ends that kept me engaged. I finished it in just two days because it moved at the right pace.
As the story unfolded, I enjoyed trying to piece together the loose ends. The twist was unexpected, and most of the loose ends were tied up by the end.
I felt sympathy for the character, although I had little sympathy for the main character, who consistently made poor decisions.
What I didn't like about the book:

The story was quite simple with very few characters. Some elements of the main drama didn't make sense to me, leaving me with unanswered questions.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and will likely read Ashley Flowers' next release.

This was a great read/listen. I did a mix of audio and physical. The narrators were enjoyable to listen to and the story had some predictable moments but some twists as well. Would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Missing Half is a heartfelt, beautifully written novel that explores grief, identity, and rediscovery. The emotional depth of the characters made this an engaging and relatable read. I was especially drawn to the way the author unraveled the story—layer by layer—with a subtle sense of suspense that kept me turning the pages.

While the middle slowed a bit in pacing, the powerful ending made up for it. This is a story that lingers long after the final page. I would definitely read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC on NetGalley!

3.5 stars! As someone who reads a lot of thrillers, I didn't actually see this ending coming. There were several twists in this book, some of which I liked more than others. The actual ending of this book was a little lackluster for me, but the overall reading experience and pacing of the book were pretty good. Most of the characters were likeable, and the plot itself seemed well fleshed out. I would be open to reading more from this author in the future! Overall, a quick and easy read, less than 300 pages!

I am a big fan of anything Ashley Flowers does, she is an extremely talented person. I went into this book blind and really enjoyed the plot, characters, and the flashback nostalgia moments. Nice little twist at the end.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC read.

Summary: FMC older sister vanished from her car 7 year ago, changing her life forever. Her mother’s a drunk, father won’t talk about it, and she works a crap job, has a DWI, AA meetings, legal fees, suspended license…not a great life. But when the younger sister of another girl who vanished similarily turns up to talk, they take it upon themselves to solve the cold cases.

Opinion: I liked it. It’s a short, easy read. Read it in two days. It jumped right into the plot without a bunch of unneeded intro / background stories. It felt very Nancy Drew without FMC being a knowledgable detective, more like a closet alcoholic just trying not to go over the edge constantly. The challenges portraying how low and off course FMC life had gotten provided a dose of realism to the book that I loved.

The mystery component was enjoyable. I thought some clues were a little two easy to detect / find though. Did the police even do their job 🤷‍♀️

The plot was well written with many suspects. My guess continually changing on what happened to the sisters. Unfortunately, the lack of 5⭐️ comes from the ending. It was a bit underwhelming, though I didn’t see it coming, and left me unsatisfied. Perhaps it was a bit rushed. Would have like the prologue to have been tied in a bit better at the end as well.

Takeaway: quick, easy, enjoyable mystery. Perfect for adults who liked Nancy Drew.

Review and rating posted on Goodreads and social media.

What a roller coaster of friendship and acquaintances being betrayed left and right. I saw the narrator’s sister being alive in the first place, as there is no way the sister could have disappeared out of thin air when she was acting so weird with the narrator in the first place. I felt and am still feeling the betrayal of Nic’s and Jenna’s friendship as they were a rocky friendship that could’ve ended pretty well, but will the many lies that Jenna told, and the conclusion of what happened to Jenna, I felt sorry for Jenna as I felt she should not have gone through this tragically.

This makes me excited about whether there could be a sequel to this boo,k as I wanted to see where Nic’s and Kasey’s sisterhood can go to! I hope it will end well, but we will never know, as the ending left lingering questions. Nonetheless, this was a great novel to read!

From all of that, I would love to read more from this author, Ashley Flowers! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC copy!