Prologue in the Swamp

The novel opens with a young woman running through a swamp at night, pursued by an unseen threat. She's haunted by memories of her sister and the fleeting happiness they once shared. The terror is palpable, and the prologue ends with a snap of a twig behind her and a single, primal thought: run.

Haunted by the Past

In 2019, Nicole "Nic" Monroe is working a dead-end job at Funland in Mishawaka, Indiana, still reeling from her sister Kasey's disappearance seven years earlier. She's on probation for a DWI, numbing herself with routine and avoiding emotional connections. When a mysterious woman watches her at work, Nic's old suspicions and anxieties resurface, hinting at unresolved trauma and a life derailed by loss.

The Stranger in Blue

The woman in blue, Jenna Connor, confronts Nic after work, revealing that her own sister, Jules, disappeared under similar circumstances as Kasey. Jenna is desperate for answers, believing the two cases are connected. Despite Nic's anger and reluctance, Jenna's persistence and a claim of new evidence force Nic to revisit the pain she's tried to bury.

Sisters' Parallel Disappearances

Through alternating perspectives and flashbacks, we learn about the summer Kasey vanished. Both Kasey and Jules were responsible, steady young women who suddenly began acting withdrawn and fearful before disappearing. Their cars were found abandoned, personal belongings left behind, and no trace of them was ever found. The similarities in their cases suggest a connection, but the police and families have never found the missing link.

Theories and Suspects

The prevailing theory is that the perpetrator was someone on the periphery of the girls' lives—familiar, but not close. Police focus on profiling, but the investigation stalls. Jenna and Nic, frustrated by the lack of progress, decide to dig into their sisters' pasts, jobs, and social circles, searching for any overlap or overlooked detail.

Unraveling Old Wounds

As Nic and Jenna compare notes, they realize both Kasey and Jules had periods of isolation and fear before they vanished. They track down Lauren, Kasey's best friend, and discover she abruptly quit her job at the record store next to the barbecue place where Jules once worked. The girls' lives, once thought separate, begin to overlap in unexpected ways.

The Memory Returns

Nic, haunted by AA meetings and her own guilt, finally remembers that Kasey was acting scared and withdrawn before her disappearance. This matches Jenna's account of Jules. The realization that both sisters were afraid before they vanished reignites the investigation and points to a possible shared threat.

A Fragile Alliance

Despite initial mistrust—especially after Jenna's lie about a diary—the two women form a partnership, driven by the hope of finding answers. They focus on the businesses where their sisters worked: a record store and a barbecue restaurant that once shared a wall. They discover that Lauren, Kasey's friend, worked at both places, and that a man named Steve McLean managed the restaurant during both girls' tenures.

The Search for Lauren

Nic and Jenna struggle to contact Lauren, who ignores their messages. They track her to church, where she reluctantly agrees to talk. Lauren reveals that Steve McLean, known as "Skeevy Steve," was a predatory manager who made the girls uncomfortable. She gave his name to the police, but nothing came of it.

Church Confrontation

During a tense conversation outside church, Lauren reveals she left the record store to escape Kasey, hinting at a falling out. She also confirms that McLean was present during both girls' employment. The police, however, dismissed him as a suspect, relying on profiling and a shaky alibi.

The Name: Steve McLean

Jenna and Nic dig into McLean's background, discovering a history of violence, intimidation, and sexual assault. Despite this, the police never seriously pursued him, convinced by his alibi and their own assumptions. The women decide to confront McLean directly at the restaurant where he still works.

Digging Up the Past

At Mesquite Barbecue, Nic and Jenna meet McLean, who is disturbingly nonchalant and even flirtatious. He remembers Kasey and Lauren, and his comments suggest he knows more than he lets on. The encounter is chilling, and Nic's anger boils over, leading to a public confrontation.

The Confrontation at Mesquite

After the confrontation, Nic and Jenna realize they may have put themselves—and Lauren—in danger. Lauren is threatened at her daughter's playground, receiving a chilling message to stop talking about Kasey. The threat could have come from McLean, but suspicion also falls on Brad, Nic's family friend and former boss.

The Predator Among Us

Under pressure, Lauren confesses that Kasey was having an affair with Brad the summer she disappeared. Sandy, Brad's wife, discovered the affair and paid Kasey to end it. Brad, desperate to keep the secret, threatened Lauren's daughter. The revelation shatters Nic's trust and upends her understanding of the case.

Following the Suspect

Nic investigates Brad's alibis for the nights Kasey and Jules disappeared, only to find they don't hold up. Brad's proximity and behavior make him a prime suspect, but when confronted, he and Sandy admit to the affair and the payoff, but deny involvement in the disappearances. The focus shifts back to McLean.

The Truth About Lauren

As Nic and Jenna dig deeper, they realize everyone has been lying to protect themselves or others. Lauren lied to protect Kasey, Brad lied to protect himself, and even Nic's memories are unreliable. The investigation becomes a tangle of secrets, guilt, and shifting blame.

Threats and Paranoia

Jenna and Nic feel increasingly threatened—by McLean, Brad, and the weight of their own discoveries. Jenna, especially, becomes obsessed with finding proof against McLean, even as she begins to pull away from Nic, citing her mother's illness as a reason to step back.

The Affair Revealed

Nic, left alone, continues the investigation and discovers that Jenna has been lying about her mother's cancer being terminal. Jenna is secretly pursuing McLean, planning to take justice into her own hands. Nic breaks into Jenna's house and uncovers the truth: Jenna's sister Jules was raped by McLean, and Jenna is planning to kill him.

The Playground Warning

Realizing Jenna is about to commit murder, Nic hides in the back of Jenna's truck as she drives to confront McLean. But when they arrive, it's not McLean who answers the door—it's Kasey, alive and living under a new identity.

The Car and the Clues

Jenna accuses Kasey of killing Jules in a hit-and-run and faking her own disappearance to cover it up. Kasey confesses: Nic, drunk, was the one who hit Jules, and Kasey staged both disappearances to protect her sister. Jenna, consumed by grief and rage, pulls a gun on Kasey.

The Final Alibi

In a moment of crisis, Nic intervenes, killing Jenna to save Kasey. The sisters, now both complicit in death, must cover up the crime together. They dispose of Jenna's body in the same swamp where Jules's remains lie, bound forever by guilt and secrecy.

The Realization

In the aftermath, Nic and Kasey confront the reality of what they've done. Their love for each other is both their salvation and their curse. They plan to disappear together, starting new lives, haunted by the knowledge that the wrong sisters survived.

Jenna's Secret

The narrative closes with Nic reflecting on the nature of sisterhood, guilt, and the lies we tell to protect those we love. The cycle of trauma and secrecy continues, leaving the reader to question whether justice or truth was ever truly possible.

The Deadly Reunion

The final image is of Nic and Kasey, bound together by blood and shared crimes, driving away from the swamp where they have buried the evidence of their sins. The story ends with the chilling realization that sometimes, the greatest danger comes from those we love most.

The Last Confession

In the end, the missing half is not just the lost sisters, but the missing pieces of ourselves—the parts we hide, the secrets we keep, and the lengths we'll go to protect the ones we love, even if it means becoming the very thing we fear.

Characters

Nicole "Nic" Monroe

Nic is the protagonist, a young woman whose life was shattered by her sister Kasey's disappearance. She is deeply traumatized, struggling with addiction, legal trouble, and a sense of purposelessness. Nic's relationship with Kasey is the emotional core of the novel—she idolizes her sister, but is also stunted by Kasey's overprotectiveness. Nic's journey is one of painful self-discovery, as she is forced to confront her own role in the tragedy and the consequences of being shielded from the truth. Her psychological arc is a descent into guilt and complicity, culminating in the ultimate act of violence to protect her sister.

Kasey Monroe

Kasey is the missing half—both literally and metaphorically. She is responsible, nurturing, and always the caretaker, but her need to protect Nic leads her to make devastating choices. Kasey's affair with Brad, her decision to cover up Jules's death, and her faked disappearance are all motivated by a twisted sense of love and sacrifice. Her psychological complexity lies in her ability to rationalize morally ambiguous actions for the sake of her sister, ultimately becoming both victim and perpetrator.

Jenna Connor

Jenna is Jules's older sister, driven by grief and a desperate need for answers. She is methodical, resourceful, and emotionally raw, her life consumed by the search for her sister's killer. Jenna's alliance with Nic is fraught with tension, as she oscillates between empathy and manipulation. Her psychological unraveling is triggered by the revelation of Jules's rape and the realization that justice may never come. Jenna's final act—attempting to kill Kasey—reveals the corrosive power of grief and the dangers of obsession.

Jules Connor

Jules is the other "Missing Mishawaka Girl," whose disappearance sets the plot in motion. Through memories and revelations, we learn she was raped by Steve McLean, which led to her withdrawal and eventual death. Jules is a symbol of innocence lost and the devastating impact of violence. Her fate haunts both Jenna and Nic, driving them to the brink of destruction.

Steve McLean

McLean is the predatory manager who worked at both the barbecue restaurant and the record store. He is manipulative, charming, and deeply dangerous, with a history of violence and sexual assault. McLean represents the threat lurking on the periphery of women's lives—the man everyone suspects but no one can prove guilty. His presence is a constant source of fear and suspicion, but in the end, he is not the direct cause of the sisters' disappearances.

Brad Andrews

Brad is Nic's boss and a close family friend, whose affair with Kasey adds layers of betrayal and complexity to the narrative. He is weak, self-serving, and ultimately cowardly, willing to threaten others to protect his secret. Brad's actions set off a chain of events that contribute to Kasey's decision to disappear, making him both a red herring and a catalyst.

Sandy Andrews

Sandy is Brad's wife, who discovers the affair and pays Kasey to end it. She is pragmatic, calculating, and fiercely protective of her family's reputation. Sandy's willingness to cover up the truth and provide Brad with an alibi highlights the ways in which women are often complicit in maintaining the status quo, even at great personal cost.

Lauren Perkins (Tate)

Lauren is Kasey's former best friend, whose shifting memories and reluctance to talk complicate the investigation. She is a symbol of the ways people move on from tragedy, reinventing themselves and leaving the past behind. Lauren's fear and silence are both understandable and infuriating, reflecting the broader community's failure to confront uncomfortable truths.

Mrs. Connor

Mrs. Connor is a minor but psychologically significant character, representing the corrosive effects of grief and mental illness. Her relationship with Jenna is toxic, marked by neglect and emotional abuse. Her presence underscores the generational trauma that haunts the novel.

Banksy (the cat)

Banksy, the one-eyed shelter cat, is a recurring motif representing Nic's longing for connection and her inability to care for herself or others. His adoption by someone else is a turning point, forcing Nic to confront her failures and begin the process of healing.

Plot Devices

Dual Timelines and Unreliable Narration

The novel employs a dual timeline structure, alternating between the present-day investigation and flashbacks to the summer of the disappearances. This allows the reader to piece together the mystery alongside the characters, while also highlighting the unreliability of memory and the ways trauma distorts perception. Nic's recollections are especially suspect, and key revelations hinge on her recovering or reinterpreting past events.

Red Herrings and Shifting Suspects

The narrative is driven by a series of red herrings—Steve McLean, Brad, even Lauren—each of whom is plausible as the villain at different points. The police's reliance on profiling and alibis is critiqued, as is the community's tendency to focus on the "periphery" rather than the uncomfortable truths at the center.

Sisterhood as Motif and Mirror

The relationship between Nic and Kasey is mirrored by that of Jenna and Jules, with both pairs defined by love, rivalry, and sacrifice. The motif of "the missing half" recurs throughout, symbolizing not just the lost sisters but the parts of ourselves we hide or lose to trauma. The poem about two branches of the same tree encapsulates this theme.

Violence, Guilt, and the Cycle of Secrecy

The plot is propelled by acts of violence—accidental and intentional—and the subsequent cover-ups. Each character's attempt to protect themselves or others only deepens the cycle of guilt and secrecy, leading to further tragedy. The final act of violence—Nic killing Jenna—completes the cycle and leaves the survivors forever changed.

Social Critique and Media Sensationalism

The novel critiques the media's role in shaping public perception, highlighting the ways in which certain victims are valorized or vilified based on appearance, class, and narrative convenience. The community's failure to confront the reality of violence against women is a recurring undercurrent.

Analysis

Ashley Flowers crafts a narrative that is as much about the lies we tell to protect those we love as it is about the search for truth. The novel interrogates the limits of memory, the dangers of obsession, and the ways in which trauma ripples through families and communities. By centering the story on two pairs of sisters—one lost, one left behind—Flowers explores the duality of love and destruction, showing how the desire to shield others can lead to devastating consequences. The ultimate revelation—that the real monster was not a stranger but the result of a tragic accident and a web of well-intentioned lies—forces the reader to confront uncomfortable questions about guilt, responsibility, and the impossibility of closure. In the end, The Missing Half is a meditation on the cost of survival and the ways in which, sometimes, the wrong people are left to carry the burden of the past.

Last updated: May 19, 2025