The Other Half

Detective Caius Beauchamp has been a self-improvement kick since his girlfriend left him. He's taken up healthy eating and jogging. However, a morning jog before he takes off to Paris to try to convince his girlfriend to come back is interrupted by the discovery of a corpse.

As he and his Detective Sergeant try to discover who the dead young woman is, we are introduced to more characters from her social set. They are the wealthy and connected, well educated at Oxford where they studied Classics, and who are now trying to find themselves as they are nearing thirty.

Nell Waddingham has a Classics degree from Oxford and is working for a niche publisher in London. She also dealing with relationships. She's recently broken up with Caspar and show more has a long-term crush on Rupert Beauchamp. Meanwhile, Alex has had a long-term crush on Nell and is jealous of Rupert's hold on Nell. And Rupert is the modern equivalent of a Regency Rake with a new girl every minute including the murder victim Clemmie who was determined to convince Rupert to marry her.

Nell and Alex are reluctant to attend Rupert's 30th birthday celebration. Not only is it being held as a black-tie affair at a local McDonalds, but Nell is trying to stay away from Rupert who is suddenly pursuing her relentlessly. They arrive late and leave early going off to spend the night together.

As Caius learns who Clemmie is and digs into the twisted relationships among the uber rich he finds himself discovering a drug ring and an antiquities smuggling operation. And he finds himself sidelined when other law enforcement agencies take over his case. But he can't let it go since he's afraid that the participants are going to use their wealth and privilege to slither out from under their crimes.

I had a hard time getting into this story at the beginning because it was so filled with British slang and pop cultural references that I didn't know. Once I got into the rhythm of the writing the story worked for me. While I'm still sad about all those young people with no purpose other than self-indulgence, I came to like some of them. show less

I’ve already been deep in the holiday reading and needed a little strange, so I picked up The Other Half to get lost in a twisted mystery.

A large part of the novel focuses on the investigation, which I quite enjoyed. A lot of the mysteries I’ve read recently focus on the victims accounts and the myriad of suspicious suspects, which is great, but getting this different perspective felt fresh. It does tend to hop from narrator to narrator with no sense, so you have to pay attention to whose perspective you’re seeing the scene from. I did love feeling like I was apart of a murder investigation.

The difference in social classes is so glaring and is a decent commentary on what money and power can and cannot wield. There was one show more privileged character in particular that I was hoping would’ve gotten what was coming to him, but how his story line played out just goes to show what happens when someone has connections in high places.

Once I reached the end, I was expecting a much bigger twist than what I got, which was very disappointing. I had guessed early on who as behind the murder mystery but held out hope that there would be a twist that came out of nowhere. Despite the predictability, I still devoured this novel, having to see how everything played out. It is a fairly character heavy novel, as most good mysteries are, and it did keep me second guessing and held my interest until the end.

*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own. show less

Review of Uncorrected Proof

Rupert Beauchamp is celebrating his birthday with a party upstairs in the Kentish Town McDonald’s. Nell Waddingham and Alex Adonis are headed for a pub and a drink before heading to Rupert’s party.

Meanwhile, someone has murdered influencer Clemency O’Hara.

Can Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp and his partner, Detective Sergeant Matthew Cheung, find Clemmie’s murderer?

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Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp stands out amid a cast of thoroughly unlikable characters in this dreary tale of the do-nothing uber-rich behaving like spoiled children caught in their unrequited, ridiculous who-loves-whom obsessions.

The unfolding story, told from several points of view, cannot seem to escape its show more pretentiousness; however, when the narrative focused on the investigation and Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp, it shines.

This tale of entitlement might have fared better but for the overuse of a particularly offensive expletive that appears far too often throughout the telling of the tale; this lowers the rating for the book.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Vintage Anchor, Anchor and NetGalley
#TheOtherHalf #NetGalley show less

This is fun, if a bit ridiculous, but that's really what makes it fun I guess. Wealthy people being idiots. A bit Glass Onion, a bit Christie, a bit pretentious. But I thought it came together nicely and enjoyed how the lives of the wealthy idiots unraveled.

A young woman is found dead on Hampstead Heath, believed murdered. She is part of a certain crowd of privileged people, one of whom is her boyfriend who has just celebrated his 30th birthday at a party in McDonald’s with the aid of champagne and cocaine. He is one of the prime suspects but did he do it?

I read this book via the Pigeonhole app, a stave at a time. I wasn’t convinced by the first stave as most of the characters are very unlikeable, but gradually I began to enjoy it and ultimately found it gripping. It’s written with a sense of humour and the banter between the police officers is quite entertaining. It delves into the seedy side of life and touches on a variety of subjects like class and race. A well written and show more compelling crime drama with a little bit of Greek mythology thrown in! show less

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell is a recommended murder mystery, especially for anyone who enjoys disapproval of the wealthy gilded youth of the British class system.

Influencer Clemmie is found murdered on Hampstead Heath after the 30th birthday party of her boyfriend, Rupert Beauchamp. The party was a black-tie dinner at McDonald's and attended by a host of socialite friends with nicknames. DI Caius Beauchamp, no relation to Rupert, finds the body during a morning jog. Rupert is the obvious main suspect but there are plenty of other suspects available too. Rupert uses Clemmie's death as an opportunity to pursue Nell Waddingham.

After almost set this one aside several times at the beginning of the novel, I stuck with it once the show more investigation started. The police procedural made me stay, even though at times it almost gets buried under extraneous information. I liked the investigative team of DI Caius, assisted by DS Matty Cheung and DC Amy Noakes and would like to see them on another case. Most of the other characters I actively disliked. There are some plot twists that held my interest and the novel greatly improved toward the end.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Anchor via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/11/the-other-half.html show less

* I would like to than Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

A wealthy internet influencer is found dead on Hampstead Heath the morning after her aristocratic boyfriend Rupert's 30th birthday party. Caius Beauchamp is assigned to the case, and finds it hard to deal with Rupert's wealthy friends, who all have alibis.

As the detective wades through the fustiness and protectiveness of the upper classes, he starts to uncover a bigger, more obscure, crime.

This is a whip-smart satire on the British class system, where even the pronunciation of a surname is of significance. The story rollicks along - I read it in a day - and is a good deal of fun.