Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson

 Domestic drama and thriller focusing on sisterhood and revenge. 

Penny Albright is a rookie police officer in Georgia, a career path she chose after her twin sister, Nix, died of a drug overdose when she fell apart as the result of a traumatic sexual assault. While responding to her very first homicide scene, Penny is stunned to find that the victim is Danny Bowery, one of the three men responsible for her sister's downward spiral. 

While searching the area, Penny finds a woman named Thalia Gray covered in blood and holding the box cutter that had just killed Danny. Instead of arresting her, Penny hesitates when Thalia utters the word, "sisters." Penny gets it into her head that this woman knew or was connected to Nix.  Penny lets Thalia escape. 

From then on, Penny is on a mission to uncover who Thalia is and why she is seeking vengeance for her sister's death. 

This was a character driven mystery thriller that tries to balance a personal vendetta with a crime investigation. Since Penny steps away from the police and her job, this is all focused on her own investigative skills and judgement. There is a lot of emphasis on internal conflict, right and wrong, and doing what needs to be done. Penny has a lot of grief and guilt and she makes some bad decisions putting herself and her family at risk. It's kind of a slow burn with all the extraneous family dynamics and some repetition with how much she misses Nix and how she can't get over her death. But then the second half takes off and it all comes together with some surprising twists. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book, both provided by the publishers. The narrator was the author herself, which was a first for me. I really think, that although Joshilyn did a decent job, that the production would have benefited from a full cast. And, full disclosure, the way she voiced the character of Thalia got on my last nerve -- too breathy for my taste. She deftly handled the southern accents typical of Georgia natives.  I do feel, however, that the immersive experience of listening and reading really enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre and tags: murder mystery, twins, sexual assault, sex trafficking, drugs, family, police procedural, suspense, crime thriller, revenge, moral quandary