When Iris Walsh was 15, her sister, Piper, was kidnapped. However, because Piper and Iris's mother was an addict and they lived with her grandmother, the police believed that Piper was a runaway and dragged their feet on investigating Piper's disappearance. Now, 9 years later, Iris has never given up on wishing to bring Piper's killer to justice. Iris is mother to Cal, a sweet, smart young boy, and with her grandmother's help, she is raising him. But, after getting her master's degree, she takes a job at Shoal Hospital, where the man she believes is Piper's killer is institutionalized.
I enjoyed this book right up until the explosion and big reveal, and then I felt it was completely far-fetched. ( )

Good Half Gone is Tarryn Fisher's latest release.

Iris was sixteen years old when her twin sister Piper was kidnapped. Iris witnessed the crime, but the police say Piper is a runaway. That was years ago, but Iris has never stopped looking for her. But, there's one name that keeps showing up in her searches ...

I liked the premise of the book and was looking forward to her investigation. The tale is told and a then and now style.

Once Iris got to the location, (I don't want to give that away), my spidey senses perked up. Things at this locale are just not quite right. Iris gets offtrack and I wanted to shout at her! Remember why you're here! The romantic line just didn't work for me. I had started out liking Iris and her determination. But it was like a different character as the book progressed.

The pace picks up and there are some great action and suspense bits in this part of the plot. Fisher introduces more than a few twists and turns on the way to the final pages. Some of these twists ask the reader to suspend belief. And I just couldn't - there was too much that was too far fetched. And just in case, the ending of the book is explained by Iris. And finally - the kidnapping was also detailed. ( )

Iris and her twin, Piper were out at the movies one evening and Piper was kidnapped. No one believes Iris. The cops just think she ran away. But Iris knows the truth and she will not rest until all the secrets are revealed.

Give me a novel with family secrets and a creepy asylum and you have a winner. This one has all of the above.

Iris is a character that my heart went out to. She has been raised by her grandmother because her mother is addicted to drugs. Then her sister is kidnapped. But that is not all, a baby has been dropped off at her house and it is Piper’s, her kidnapped sister!! So, where is Piper???

This story just kept twisting and revolving and I was there for all of it! I wanted more! Great characters, great setting and don’t forget all the secrets!

Need a good thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. ( )

Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher is a thriller with two timelines following a sister seeking her twin who was abducted in front of her. It is highly recommended.

When they were both fifteen, twin sisters Iris and Piper Walsh went to the movies. As they were leaving a couple young men grabbed Piper, threw her into a car and sped off. Iris contacted the police, but the officers didn't believe her, assuming Piper was just another runaway. By the time they took her seriously, it was too late. The girls were being raised by their loving grandmother who rescued them from their neglectful mother. A decade later after college Iris accepts an internship at Shoal Island Hospital for the criminally insane. She believes her sister's killer is locked up there.

The plot unfolds through two timelines. In the first Iris is a teen looking for Piper, seeking clues about her abductors, and struggling to continue on without her twin. In the second Iris is now in her 20's with a son and she accepts the internship position at the Shoal Island Hospital with ulterior motives. Both plot threads are compelling and add important details to the narrative. They also move at an uneven pace with several distractions along the way.

Iris is a fully realized character. Readers will know what motivates her and drives her to proceed as she does in each time period. Piper, her twin, has a very different personality and that also comes through. Readers will appreciate her grandmother and the love she has for the girls. The depiction of the grief Iris and her grandmother share for the loss of Piper is well done, as is the obsession Iris has in her search for her twin.

The ending requires the reader to accept a colossal dose of disbelief, which I just couldn't do. I can often set aside disbelief and go with the flow, but in this case it was too implausible. I can't ruin the ending by listing all the reasons why, but let's just say it would be paragraphs and lists. However, it can't be denied that it is an entertaining, action-packed ending. Thanks to Graydon House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/03/good-half-gone.html ( )

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one wild ride. With so many elements that I absolutely loved. That being said, it is not exactly a realistic thriller, but thriller it is.

What drew me to the book was the setting. I love reading about mental hospitals and asylums. I find the history of old state mental hospitals both fascinating and horrifying. So a thriller in this setting is always eye-catching for me.

Our main character Iris is incredibly well-developed and hard not to become invested in. Always perplexed and haunted by witnessing the kidnapping of her twin sister as teens, she sets out to try to solve the riddle of what has happened to her sister. Iris applies to work at Shoal Hospital (a very isolated mental institution for the criminally insane on an island) which requires staff to take a ferry to and from their homes on the mainland. She intends on spending her internship learning more about the man imprisoned there who could be her sister's killer.

This novel is a great example of using dual timelines (when her sister was kidnapped as a teen and now as an intern at the hospital) to tell the story and why she believes she will find answers at Shoal. Unfortunately many of the answers she is able to find open up more doors with more questions.

I cannot understand the number of twists that this book took. I never could have guessed the directions this book went. Now I can see how some readers may not love the ending as it was absolutely wild and probably (hopefully) impossible, but boy did it make for a good read.

I found this to be an incredibly fast-paced, quick read and have already recommended it to other thriller readers. ( )