This story failed to draw me in. The characters were annoying to me. I just couldn’t get into it. Perhaps someone who enjoys irritating characters would enjoy this!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I love a good whodunnit novel and this one does not disappoint. This is set in London in the modern day .
Even though its modern day, the priviledged and money are still alive.

This whodunit has a clever detective named Caius and has help from Matt and Amy.

I have a feeling this team will be back with more murders to solve.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars for me on this one..Loved the premise on this one. High Society influencer Clemmie is found dead by Caius Beauchamp as he’s jogging. Whodunnit? Her long time boyfriend Rupert Beauchamp (pronounced differently), rich, upperclass jerk who gets away with everything, or any one of her friends at his birthday party at the posh McDonald’s usually reserved for children’s parties?
The characters are interesting. Really liked Caius, Matt and Amy and their banter. Rupert is an ass that of course all the girls like, because who doesn’t like a bad boy, right?! Not me!
Felt like the ending was a bit disjointed and maybe a bit rushed so thus the drop in rating. I would definitely pick up another book by Vassell.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this eARC. I am leaving an honest review

Thank you to Vintage Anchor Publishers and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of THE OTHER HALF by Charlotte Vassell.

Synopsis:

Rupert is hosting his 30th birthday at McDonald's in Kentish Town, England. His girlfriend, Clemmy, is never shows up. Rupert was planning to break up with Clemmy the day after his birthday.

Instead, a young police detective stumbles on a dead body and further investigations finds the name of the victim - Clemmy. Clemmy has a big presence on Social Media. Rupert and Clemmy are part of the wealthy trust fund young adult children who also dabble in party drugs like Cocaine.

The references to Harry Potter and other new pop culture information was More interesting to me than the characters. Loved the descriptions of the locations, the scenery, and the backgrounds.

The title was perfect - THE OTHER HALF. The Other Half refers to the upper class with money. Have you ever wondered about the other halves' lives?

There is no happy ending in this novel. Sorry to say that I was Not Satisfied with the ending. I am not sure if there is supposed to be a sequel.

While I have seen others' rave about boow wonderful this novel is, it was not my cup of tea. IMHO, I do not think this was like Agatha Christie, unless you multiply the number of the rakes from Agatha Christie for the characters in this novel.

Content Warning: Drug Use, Rape, Emotional Abuse

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell is a smart, witty, and fast-paced novel. This thoroughly enjoyable book offers a twisty satire that captivates readers from start to finish.

The Other Half had so many unlikable characters and dialogue that left me cold that I could not appreciate its finer points.. The murder mystery itself did not interest me. I am glad that others found the novel more likable than I did.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

While The Other Half was a slower read for me, it was enjoyable. Mysteries are a fun genre, and one of my top favorites. This one fit the bill on so many levels. I really enjoyed the characters and have a love/hate feel for a few of them LOL

The story flows well and is a good mix of police procedure and character stories. I was actually surprised by the whodunnit as well and that rarely happens. Definitely recommend this one for mystery fans.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This took me a little while to get into but it ended up being kind of fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but I wouldn’t really call it cozy either. It has a playfulness to it without being cheesy.

It kind of leaves off like there might be more to it, on the detective side of thing. Even though it took me a bit to connect to the characters, I would continuing reading more of their cases.

⭐️⭐️💫

A nice, cozy English mystery about the murder of a young woman. With the English detectives on the case, they need to find the answer as it grows increasingly larger and enveloped in some upper class circles.

“The Other Half” is an easy read and is a good choice for mystery fans.

Themes: 🔪🇬🇧🤑⏲️🕵🏻‍♂️

My thoughts: 🙂🥸🤓

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#theotherhalf

It’s not quite “the other half” — it’s a probably teensy percentage of modern millennials of London with too much time and money. Everyone has an obnoxious nickname for each other and everyone is disdainful of each other’s wealth, success and education. This is a mystery/comedy/parody of the British class system and you need to be up on your luxury brand names, trendy diets, Michelin menus, and cosmetology sessions. This specialized group uses references to Classic literature, British public school insults, and much London slang — a lot of Googling for even an educated American, which sometimes makes the book a chore to get through. As a character mentions, “everyone” is enslaved to creating unique lifestyle content to impress each other.

Thank goodness for DI Caius Beauchamp, he of a shared upper class surname with a bratty character and suspect, but really a mild mannered policeman unlucky enough to have literally fallen over the dead body (and girlfriend of the bratty Beauchamp who insists he’s a “Beecham,” ignore the spelling). Recently dumped, Caius is also on a self-improvement mission to win back his girlfriend, and he’s sensitive to the trappings of wealth and class while interviewing the social circle of the deceased, Clemmie. Caius is a terribly sweet guy, a “conflict-avoider,” who congratulates himself for remembering to bring his reusable cup for a mediocre cappuccino. But he is also a sharp detective teamed with equally intelligent partners, DS Matt Yeung, and DC Amy Noakes. The plot has a few twists and the suspect pool keeps changing, but this reads like a police procedural. Clues are analyzed, theories are tested, suspects get interviewed, and the villains might not get the justice they deserve. All in all, although very heavy on the skewering of the British aristocracy, it’s an enjoyable mystery. Caius, Matt and Amy would do well in a sequel. 4 stars!

And the hippos probably do need some assistance.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Nell uas green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But we do have Araminta, aka Minty, propagator of gladioli, who looks like a gladiolus. And, if you are a gardener, you’ll know in advance that the poison used to kill poor Clemmie could have lurked in an English garden.

Thank you to Vintage Anchor and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was an unexpected delight. I went into it fully thinking I would read a satirical take on the obscenely rich, old-money type of crowd, and I wasn't wrong. There were definitely moments of that. But this book ended up being so much more, too. I cared about a lot of the characters, obviously Nell and Alex, and I absolutely despised Rupert, as I'm sure most people would. I didn't expect this to be a police procedural type of read, but there was a lot of POV from the detective, Caius, as well as his partners Matt and Amy. I really loved their dynamic, and their relationship overall - Amy wasn't afraid to call out Caius for being misogynistic, for example, and he and Matt were both whip-smart and respected the work of the others on their team.

The plot turned out to be much bigger than a simple murder mystery (if a murder mystery can ever be called simple). Because of that, there are some loose ends, but nothing that leaves the book feeling unsatisfying or unfinished. In fact, I feel like it set things up nicely for a sequel, should Vassell decide to give us more of Caius, Matt, and Amy's work. I'd also really love to see more on Nell and Alex, and of course for Rupert to truly get his at some point.

All-in-all, this was a great debut novel and I'm eager to see what else the author writes in the future.

I had a hard time with this book. I really didn't like any of the characters. I found the discourse between the characters so annoying. It was a struggle to finish the book. By the end, I really didn't care who did it.

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell

You know how they live. This is how they die.

I couldn’t get into this story. A complex murder mystery that moved slowly along.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

A very slow burn murder mystery. The best part of this novel was the character Caius Beauchamp! I would love a series with him as the main lead.
Many characters at play and they are very un likable and a few I hoped to be guilty! I love menacing characters!
I wanted more at the ending as I feel there are a few loose ends.
3.5 overall.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Ugh, I hate all these characters. I mean, that's the point -- to create a cast of the most loathsome, pompous, hyperventilatingly egotistical society types as possible -- so in that way, it was very successful. But as an enjoyable story, it was not.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about this reminded me of A Clockwork Orange.

.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not going to lie, at the start of this novel I wasn't sure how far I was going to get into the story. The characters came off as pretentious and the dialogue too acerbic.

Thank goodness I kept reading!

There's so much going on in this debut novel. Its pages burst with commentary on the chaotic state of the world and observations of the twisted relationships we forge with each other. The characters are realistic, sometimes too much so. The mystery is tight, engaging, and perfectly plotted. The scenes are flush with imagery. The ending is a gut punch.

Still, I can see this being a polarizing novel. Some readers will be put off by the rampant pompousness of a few of the characters (Rupert, in particular) and cocky (and witty) academic barbs tossed around. The main characters aren't overly lovable or even likable. But they are, at their cores, understandable and, by the end of the book, I found myself endeared to many of them. Especially poor Nell.

The Other Half is a biting tale of the bitterness in life, regardless of your status in society. It's also a fabulous and entertaining mystery. Just be sure you have a bit of quiet space when you read it. This one is a thinker.

Many thanks for the ARC! Overall, this book was interesting to me, but this one took me a while to get into. It was so fun to see all of the character's backgrounds and to hear how it all twists together, but I didn't particularly love any of the MCs. The banter, conversations and the scenes are exciting and new to me, so I enjoyed this read.

I think that this book was interesting, I didn’t always love the tone the author wrote in, and I found it sometimes hard to get into the plotline. Overall, though the mystery was pretty good. I enjoyed learning about all the different suspects’ backgrounds. They live some very twisted lives. The author does do a good job tying everything together in the end. This book is another perfect example of you never really know what is going on in someone’s life unless you dig deeper. I am still trying to decide how I really feel about this book. I am not sure if I would recommend it quite yet. I think this is a book I need to sit on and decide how I truly feel about it.
Thank you to Vintage Anchor and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Spoilers! Overall rating:3.5.
I liked The Other Half. It was full of charming characters and ones you can relate to in real life. Not in a sense of morbidly rich… that would be nice 🤣 but the guy you’re not supposed to love but you do and the good guy who loves you but you don’t love back but you know he’d be better for you. The vain parties and shallow friendships.
Nell was the most charming character. I loved imagining her outfits that were described in the book. I wish she’d ended up with Alex but who knows maybe there will be a sequel!
It was a murder mystery and romance story but didn’t feel like it was trying to do too much like other multi-faceted novels I’ve read. There were a few details that didn’t seem necessary but nothing that didn’t hold my interest! I would recommend this book to others. It would be a great book club read to guess who the murderer is!

I could not get into this book. For me it was a DNF but I will probably circle back at some point and complete the book then re do my review.