I do need to say I didn’t finish this book, I wasn’t able to get interested in the characters, and while I do appreciate sarcasm in stories, for me it was overdone, I do enjoy trying different writing styles and genres, and thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy of this book.

"The Other Half" by Charlotte Vassell is is a Contemporary Mystery-Suspense Story!

Rupert has his thirtieth birthday party at a McDonald's. It's black-tie, a catered affair with lots of drugs and very expensive champagne.

Who does that? I do believe this was the first sign this book wasn't for me.

The next morning, Rupert's girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered. Her body discovered under a bush with her stiletto heels peeking out.

That's Clemmie and her shoes on the cover art, BTW. I do love that cover.

And it's Detective Caius Beauchamp who finds Cammie's body during his morning jog. What a coincidence.

Rupert would, of course, be the first suspect because everyone knows it's always the boyfriend...

"The Other Half" felt predictable to me from the very beginning. The party, the murder, how the body was discovered, and who discovered it. This feeling never changed for me.

I didn't like or connect with a single characters and I thought about stopping almost the entire time I was reading it. Never a good sign.

I didn't connect with the humor either and I believe I'm a fairly funny individual with the ability to see the humor in almost everything. Everything...but this story.

I'm obviously an outlier with "The Other Half" as most reviews are positive with high ratings and I'm glad this debut author has positive support. I know not every book is for everyone and I also know this one is definitely not for me.

2⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Anchor, and Charlotte Vassell for an DRC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to Vintage Anchor, Anchor and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell takes place in present day London, where rich young adults have superficial jobs, spend their trust funds and hang out with each other at weird parties. But unfortunately, poor Clemmie turns up dead after missing her boyfriend's birthday party (black tie at a MacDonalds). Detective Caius Beauchamp is recruited to help solve the crime. Prime suspect, the boyfriend, also with a last name Beauchamp (no relation).

I enjoyed it for what it was - a mystery and a peek at how the other half lives. It was well written but somewhat surfacey, so if you require great meaning in your books, this probably isn't for you.

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell is a fun debut mystery about the upper half of society and all the hijinks they can get into when one of their own is murdered. The Detective Caius Beauchamp may be out of his league but he makes a good try at discovering who murdered the girlfriend of the birthday boy. All in all a very fun book to read. I look forward to reading the next on from the author.

I do so appreciate that the publisher granted me access to this ARC through NetGalley; unfortunately, this ended up being a book that wasn’t for me.

I suppose it’s meant to be satirical? But I struggled to connect to the voice from the very start and it didn’t get better from there. I wouldn’t recommend this, though I’m sure there’s an audience out there.

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Thank you so much Faber and Faber for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have had this on my radar for a while!

The book is basically very rich people behaving extremely badly (think Made in Chelsea) in a murder investigation with a Bridget Jones type love triangle thrown into the mix!

I did guess the murderer, and sometimes I found the book a little confusing as to who was being referred to. Apart from that, I really enjoyed it! I was thoroughly entertained by how awful the majority of the characters in the book are!

The book has ended nicely for a book 2, which I believe is out in April next year!

4.5 stars! Who killed Clemmie? This upper-class social media influencer is found dead in a behind a bush in a swank part of town when she is supposed to help host her titled boyfriend's 30th birthday party. There are a crack team of detective inspectors on the case and an even bigger conspiracy behind Clemmie's murder.
I loved this book from page 1. I even adored all the characters and that is something I rarely say about a novel. Hoping this will become something of a series featuring the intrepid detectives.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Anchor for this e-arc.*

This was hard to get through, I’m still confused after forcing myself to finish it.

Clemmie is dead. Of course the police suspect her boyfriend, Rupert, and rightfully so. Rupert is rich, he comes from family money, educated at Oxford, a real snob, and just not a nice person and even worse boyfriend. Now, the other mix of characters, many were also Oxford grads, rich, sons, and just unlikeable people. The storyline itself just dragged on, most of the time not making sense with a lot of different words. I still don’t understand the relationship between Rupert and Nell…what exactly is going on there?

The murder itself is only a little interesting because of the three police officers, they made this vaguely tolerable. But then there is another murder, is it connected to Clemmie…I honestly have no clue!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Anchor publishing and the author for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I honestly didn’t like it.

The murder mystery aspect was the highlight of this novel, but as a whole it fell flat for me. This is set in the world of the uber-rich in England, and the characters in general were wildly unlikable. I think the author intended them to be this way as a part of the satire of the novel, but it was so true that I found myself taken away from the story happening.

Thank you the NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for my review copy of this novel.

Didn’t engaged me from the start. Very slow beginning, did get somewhat better once the police got involved. Just not my cup of tea. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #TheOtherHalf

I tried two different times to get into this one both reading and listening and just couldn't. The characters were just too unlikable for me and I didn't feel connected to any of them nor care about the murder. I will check out other books from Vassell as I like giving more than one chance!

I read 3/4 of this and just did not care to finish. While it got off to a great start I felt like it started to drag and I just was not invested enough in the crime to care who did it.

I never really got into this. The characters were hard for me to keep straight and I didnt care about any of them. The writing style was not my cup of tea.

The Other Half
by Charlotte Vassell
Pub DAte: Nov. 21, 2023
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGAlley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is a debut mystery but you would never know it! WEll done!
I enjoyed the taste of luxury and class all with British humor and satire.
4 stars

A hoot of a murder mystery that spends more time to be honest on satirizing a group of privileged 30-something Londoners. There's a birthday party with champagne and ahem, other intoxicants at a McDonalds, a dead influencer and a detective with the same last name as the prime suspect. Caius Beauchamp finds himself fascinated by Rupert Beauchamp, Nell, and the dead Clemmie and stymied a bit by the shimmer but he persists. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Will be most enjoyed by those at least a bit familiar with the milieu.

This novel feels like a jaunty stroll through the countryside. It’s a cheeky whodunnit with a darker undertone that gradually develops as the story progresses. The characters are well defined if not particularly complex and the plot moves along with several unexpected twists. It’s definitely a fun read!

After finishing a dud, I was looking forward to this book being a quick and exciting read, based on the fact that it is listed as a mystery/crime-based thriller. While the genre is correct, the novel was the opposite of fast-paced and engrossing. I had difficulty getting into the book, but persisted in the hope that it would turn around. Unfortunately, it never did, and I ended up wanting to DNF it several times. This is another example of me struggling with a novel in which I neither like nor relate to any of the characters, with the exception of the primary detective being adequate. All of the characters were written superficially, and I just could not muster a care about whether any of them lived or died in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Vintage Anchor, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I unfortunately had to dnf this one at about 20%. The plot was kind of all over the place and I had a hard time following along with the story. It sucks because I thought I would really enjoy this. Oh well if you like mystery give this one a try.

If you love to hate a novel's characters, enjoy a good investigation, and like getting a glimpse at the rich and titled, The Other Half is definitely for you!

I really enjoyed this book and it had so many elements I love. Personally, I could have done with a bit more of the rich people and a little less of the investigation, but that could have been related to my dislike of the male narrator.

I listened to this novel and typically love when each voice is narrated by a different individual, however, I really struggled with the male narrator in this instance. He was hard to understand and his voice was much lower in volume than the female. I felt like I was constantly adjusting the speed and volume and still never quite got it perfect.

Nell was a complex and interesting character. I didn't understand her love for Rupert, but did commend her for her loyalty and self-awareness. I also liked that she was part of the rich crowd but more relatable. I loved the setting, descriptions of the clothing and glamour, and the overall pretentiousness. The character names alone were pure gold!

All in all, this was a fun one but I'd be inclined to recommend reading rather than listening.

Thank you to PRH Audio, Libro.fm, Vintage Anchor, and NetGalley for the copy.

Bitingly funny satire on British elites. This book was both laugh out loud funny and thought provoking.