Review: The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers
Author: Ashley Flowers, Alex Kiester
Edition: eBook
Publisher: Bantam (May 6, 2025)
Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery
Synopsis
Nicole “Nic” Monroe is in a rut. At twenty-four, she lives alone in a dinky apartment in her hometown of Mishawaka, Indiana, she’s just gotten a DWI, and she works the same dead-end job she’s been working since high school, a job she only has because her boss is a family friend and feels sorry for her. Everyone has felt sorry for her for the last seven years—since the day her older sister, Kasey, vanished without a trace.
On the night Kasey went missing, her car was found over a hundred miles from home. The driver’s door was open and her purse was untouched in the seat next to it. The only real clue in her disappearance was Jules Connor, another young woman from the same area who disappeared in the same way, two weeks earlier. But with so little for the police to go on, both their cases eventually went cold.
Nic wants nothing more than to move on—from her sister’s disappearance and the state it’s left her in. But then one day, Jules’s sister, Jenna Connor, walks into her life and offers Nic something she hasn’t felt in a long time – hope. What follows is a gripping tale of two sisters who will do anything to find their missing halves, even if it means destroying everything they’ve ever known.
My Review of The Missing Half
The Missing Half is a quiet small-town thriller about the tendrils of grief and sisterhood that ultimately missed the mark for me with inconsistent pacing.
Another True Crime Podcast Host Novel…Is It Any Good?
I picked up The Missing Half on a whim, when the ebook was on sale. I love a thriller to get me out of a reading slump and I read Ashley Flowers’ first book All Good People Here and found it decent enough to give this one a go. Admittedly, I am somewhat fascinated by true crime podcasters becoming thriller writers but none I’ve read so far have produced a truly great book.
I’ll spare you the suspense, I don’t think The Missing Half is a standout thriller, it is solid and a fun read but if you’re looking for intricately plotted twists and turns, I fear you’ll be missing out here. The big twist was fun and unfolded slightly differently than I assumed, but I did see it coming and ultimately simply wished the book did more with it.
What The Missing Half does do surprisingly well is bring you into the mind of Nic, our main character.
Let Women Be Losers!
Nic is kind of a loser and I love it. She struggles with alcohol addiction and a life that has both stagnated and unraveled since her sister went missing. Her job sucks, she doesn’t do much and overall has true wet cat levels of pathetic self-pity and I am so here for it!
I love female characters that get to be real and raw and unperfect. Is it kind of annoying sometimes? Yes! But I find those kinds of characters interesting to read about and also fundamentally relatable because let’s be real, aren’t we all kind of losers sometimes? So Nic immediately won me over with her deadpan humor and less than ideal coping mechanisms.
Ashley Flowers manages to really bring the reader into Nic’s world and her mind througout The Missing Half. The book feels quiet, almost insular and isolated – like Nic. Personally, I adore these kinds of character-centered voice forward stories, but your mileage here may vary. If you don’t like the feeling of being stuck in someones perspective in a story, this one may not be your ideal read.
My review of All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
Pacing: Your Mileage May Vary
Speaking of varying mileage, let’s talk about the pacing of this book. Most of this story feels slow, despite the plot moving forward. I think for me this does come down to Nic’s perspective and the introspective small-town nature of the story. Unfortunately, after the final twist The Missing Half goes down a rapid descent of increasingly shocking developments at breakneck speed. As a reader, I felt like all the energy and momentum I was missing in the beginning was piled on at the end and the book ended up doing both too much and not enough of substance with the plot. Ultimately, I was left disappointed by the final chapters.
Overall…
…The Missing Half was a fun bedtime read for me and I genuinely enjoyed my time with it! My expectations were low so I am quite happy with the reading experience I got, even though the writer in me is still frustrated about the pacing of the final chapters. I just feel like there was some real potential left on the table! Overall, if you’re looking for a new thriller to read and want something that feels character-driven, The Missing Half may be a good choice.
This book is for you if…
…you like character-driven and introspective leaning thrillers
…you are looking for an easy read
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