~4.5~

Two sets of sisters: Kasey and Nic. Jenna and Jules.

Jules disappears one night on a wooded country road, her car, purse, phone, left behind. Two weeks later, Kasey goes missing in the same way. Abandoned car. No signs of a struggle. No body.

In the months and years following Kasey's disappearance, Nic, whose POV filters the story, continues on a path of self-destruction - drinking too much and working a dead-end job. Then comes the driving under the influence, the cat she couldn't take care of, the missed court appointments. Nic is a mess.

Until one day Jenna shows up and asks Nic to help her look for their sisters. Nic resists; she's numbed herself for seven long years and doesn't want to peel back the scabs, but Jenna is persuasive.

The women uncover things their sisters were hiding, but the discoveries aren't adding up. So many secrets. So many lies. So many broken pieces.

The Missing Half grabbed my attention from the very first chapter. I read it in two settings. The writing (even in my uncorrected proof copy) is sharp and accessible.

Sometimes a great book is ruined by a terrible ending, but that wasn't the case here. I did not see the twists coming! The ending was at once tragic and inevitable, the last sentence a punch to the gut.

This is an excellent, complex, emotional story that begs the question: How far would you go to save someone you love?

I enjoyed this book. I found the characters intriguing and worth reading more about. It slowed down for me by the end but I was still able to enjoy it through the end, I would read another book by this author.

This was the first book I read from this author, and I would definitely look for more of her work.
The story of Nic and Jenna who team up to try and resolve their sister's disappearance if full of twists and turns. Several times I was taken by surprise at things revealed, however I never would have seen the last twist of the story.

I could have stayed up all night reading this. Nic and jenna are two girls, whose sisters both disappear in the way. They decide to work together to see what the cops might have missed.

Wow wow wow!! My head is spinning! There wasn’t a second I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know who to trust. I just wanted Nic to get the answers she deserves about her sister. I couldn’t put this book down. My heart was racing the entire time!

There was so much going on! There were a few characters I didn’t care for but I liked Nic. Her relationship with her Dad made me sad. She definitely deserved more from him as a parent. Omg the ending!! Truly shocking!! I had no idea it would end the way it did.

This has to be one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time! I loved the writing style. I think the author did a great job.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Ashley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for the E-ARC!

Publication Date: May 6th 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This review will be posted on Instagram! @thehomebodybooknook

#NetGalley #TheMissingHalf

4-4.5 What a wild ride! This story of two sisters, one of whom is missing, captivated me from page one. Ultimately, this one fell a little flat for me by the end, but I did enjoy the ride!

I did not love this book. That won't deter any Crime Junkies (I am a fan!), since Ashley Flowers can do no wrong. To me, there were too many twists and turns, as though too many true crime plots were all thrown into one story. The characters were kindof one-note, because it's all told from the one sister's point of view, and she's a very unreliable narrator! It's a quick, fast-moving story and perhaps if I had read it in a few sittings I would have rated it higher. I had to put it down a few times & had trouble convincing myself to pick it up again and get through it. That said, I will read her next one!
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

Really enjoyed this book! I found it to be a bit formulaic at the start and had a bit of a slow beginning establishing the scene, but once that was set I was fully locked in. I thought this book was so entertaining and shocking!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was great and the characters were well developed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

I thought this book was just ok - the last third of the book was great and I really liked the ending, but thought leading up to that it was lacking a little character depth, development and tension/suspense. I wasn't bored, but I didn't think it stood out from others in the genre. I did enjoy that it was set in Indiana (also a fellow Hoosier!) but think it could use a little more flair when it comes to telling the story.

I couldn't stop reading this book. I loved learning about the relationship between Jenna and Jules and Kasey and Nic. Both sisters have such close relationships and Jules tracks Nic down because she thinks maybe if they work together they will be able to figure out what happened to their sisters years prior when they disappeared in very similar ways two weeks apart. So many secrets and lies come out during their investigation but the ending no one could see coming including Nic herself.

Crime Junkie fans will rejoice at Flowers' latest foray into fiction. This is a layered, astute, and psychologically complex crime novel that shares the Crime Junkie podcast's ethos of exploring the lives of survivors--while using the tropes of fiction to layer in darkness that unfolds in shocking and unpredictable ways.

the missing half by ashley flowers follows twenty-four year old nicole monroe aka nic and jenna connor as they try to solve the mystery of their sisters' unsolved disappearance.

both of their sisters disappeared in similar circumstances; kasey, nic's older sister, vanished in the middle of the road with her car's driver's door wide open and her purse untouched, and just two weeks earlier jules another young woman (jenna's younger sister) from the same area disappeared in the same way, and their bodies have never been found.

there was not a lot the police could go on and so their cases went completely cold for almost a decade, until jenna approached nic and told her that she found a clue and wants them to try and solve their sisters' cases together. and as they try to look for something the police might have missed they discover things they weren't prepared for...

i was hooked from the beginning and i honestly thought i was gonna give this book five-stars and was regretting giving a friend ashley's debut "all good people here" before reading it myself, buttt as it turns out just because of the ending im not going to give it five-stars, but i might give "all good people here" a chance, but im not here to talk about her old book, so lets get into it.

i really appreciated the character development of nic and i liked how she grew to like jenna despite the way things started out. i did not see the twists coming and it kept me wanting to never stopped reading it until i saw how it ended (which was disappointing, in my opinion)

i honestly don't like these type of endings, like can any mystery/thriller book not end with any of the characters not breaking the law in some kind of way? (it seems like every mystery/thriller book i read lately end in the same way) im trying not to spoil anything so you'll have to read it and figure it out for yourself, you might even like the ending. and if you have any recommendations for good thrillers please give them to me.

thank you netgalley and random house publishing group - ballantine - bantam for the arc!
(i'll publish this review on goodreads on may 1st 2025)

WOW loved this - was hooked from start to finish and definitely did not anticipate the direction this one went in. I adored her first book, and was very happy with this follow-up! Will definitely recommend to thriller/suspense fans. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

I am furious as I am writing this review. I didn't see where this book was going, and I despised the end, but what a great read.

There were so many twists and turns that I never expected. I was invested from the start and really like how this author writes.

This is a dark thriller about sisters and their bond. It was heart-wrenching at times, very well written and shocking.

WOW. What a wild ride. There were a couple plot holes I think, but overall a great story. Loved the short chapters and it kept me turning the pages.

THAT ENDING!!! This was written so well and I couldn’t put it down. I still feel shocked and numb after the last couple chapters. Ashley Flowers knows how to write crazy good thrillers!

I’m not sure how I feel about this book to be honest. The plot twists were surprising and also expected… I don’t think I ever connected with any of the characters enough. The story was interesting if not cliche but the kind you enjoy.

This one was such a wild ride! It was twisty, and suspenseful with an ending I truly did not see coming.

Within a few weeks of each other, two women go missing in the same area - never to be seen again. With no real leads, the case runs cold. Nearly a decade later, one of the sisters of the missing women (Jenna) reaches out to the sister of the other missing woman (Nic). Convinced that the police missed something - and no one knows the missing women better than they do - they decide to team up to unravel the mystery and get justice for their sisters. However, when they start digging, they uncover more than they could have imagined.

I appreciated all of the twists and turns of this book. As I read, I kept thinking it would be one way, but was delighted when it went in a completely different direction. The last third definitely gave me chills! Once you start this, you won’t want to stop, so get cozy, grab a few snacks, and enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the ARC!

Seven years ago, Nicole “Nic” Monroe’s older sister Kasey disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Two weeks earlier, another girl, Jules Connor, disappeared in the same area. Neither girl was ever found. Present day, Nic still struggles with Kasey’s disappearance when she’s met by Jenna Connor, Jules’ sister, who suggests they look into their sister’s cases together, and their investigation quickly uncovers information not previously known to the police. The Missing Half starts off with a bang, and the explosions never stop coming in this gripping, suspenseful story of two sisters who are determined to discover the truth, regardless of what lies in their wake. This was one wild ride, with surprises at every turn, and I truly couldn’t put this one down with the chapters whiplashing past in a fury. This was crazy good, highly entertaining, I loved the characters and the plot, do not skip this one, definitely a must-read. Five glowing stars!! I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A dark and emotional read about a young woman whose sister has been missing for years. Her sister's case is cold and has haunted Nic for the last 7 years, leaving her stuck at the same job, drinking too much, and basically put her life on pause. Nic teams up with another woman who also has a missing sister and they try to figure out what happened to both women.