The Missing Half: A Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Two women haunted by their sisters’ unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.
“A propulsive mystery with excellent writing . . . Simply a great read!”—Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl
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 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 Nic’s life and offers her 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.
“A propulsive mystery with excellent writing . . . Simply a great read!”—Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl
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 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 Nic’s life and offers her 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.
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Missing Half* is a fast-paced, twisty mystery filled with suspense and complex sisterly bonds. Reviewers agree it offers great twists...
It wasn’t thrilling enough for me.
I love thrillers, it’s the one genre that doesn’t ever fail me, and I wouldn’t say this one failed necessarily but it wasn’t as exciting as I’d hope it be.
Ashely Flowers is the host of Crime Junkies which I credit to getting me started on listening to audiobooks cause I was obsessed. So I read anything from her, I really did enjoy All Good People Here but The Missing Half falls flat.
The last 15% of the book wrecks it entirely, I did not see the ending coming but also did not enjoy that kind of ending. It felt sort of like a cheap cop out type ending. Meant to be the total shock factor of the book but it just doesn’t do it for me.
I love thrillers, it’s the one genre that doesn’t ever fail me, and I wouldn’t say this one failed necessarily but it wasn’t as exciting as I’d hope it be.
Ashely Flowers is the host of Crime Junkies which I credit to getting me started on listening to audiobooks cause I was obsessed. So I read anything from her, I really did enjoy All Good People Here but The Missing Half falls flat.
The last 15% of the book wrecks it entirely, I did not see the ending coming but also did not enjoy that kind of ending. It felt sort of like a cheap cop out type ending. Meant to be the total shock factor of the book but it just doesn’t do it for me.
How far is too far when you’re desperate for answers?
Nic Monroe has never stopped searching for her sister, Kasey, who vanished seven years ago. When another girl goes missing under similar circumstances, Nic teams up with the victim’s sister to dig into the past and figure out what happened to their sisters and if their disappearances are connected. As they unravel dark secrets in their small town, Nic is forced to question everything she thought she knew. The truth might bring closure or destroy what's left of her world.
I was extremely invested in this book—it was the BOTM for my book club, and I also decided to buddy read it with my Fable book club. I was so into finding out what happened to Nic, and of course, my assumption was wrong (surprise). I never would’ve guessed that ending. While we’re at it, I genuinely enjoyed this book literally up until the verrrrry end… and IYKYK.
Literally every character in this book is delulu, but honestly, that made the story even more chaotic and entertaining (and had me audibly yelling in frustration). It’s like everyone was operating in their own alternate reality—and yet, somehow, it worked. The pacing kept me hooked, and the writing made it so easy to binge in just a few sittings.
The themes of sisterhood, loyalty, and justice are so alive in this one, and it really had me thinking—what lengths would you go to for your sibling? Even if the ending didn’t hit the way I wanted, I’m glad I read it and had people to scream about it with.
Literally every character in this book is delulu, but honestly, that made the story even more chaotic and entertaining (and had me audibly yelling in frustration). It’s like everyone was operating in their own alternate reality—and yet, somehow, it worked. The pacing kept me hooked, and the writing made it so easy to binge in just a few sittings.
The themes of sisterhood, loyalty, and justice are so alive in this one, and it really had me thinking—what lengths would you go to for your sibling? Even if the ending didn’t hit the way I wanted, I’m glad I read it and had people to scream about it with.
Ashley Flowers does a marvelous job of keeping the reader on the edge of their seat as they follow a sister who fights with the past and embraces the idea that the unsolved case of her sister's disappearance might be something she can crack! Great twists and turns throughout the book that make it a very great read.
It was a fun story to follow along, in comparison with the authors first book it did not shine as bright. The main character was annoying (which is like the whole point). It was an easy enjoyable read.
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