Name of Book: The Other Half
Author: Charlotte Vassell
Publisher: Vintage Anchor/Anchor
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Pub Date: November 21, 2023
My Rating: 2.3
Pages: 368


Rupert is celebrating his 30th with a black tie dinner.
The morning his girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered.
Who killed her?
Was it the sociopathic boyfriend ~
However, it appears there are many suspects.

As the title hints the investigation is going to be centered around ‘the other half”; mainly Rupert and his snob aristocrat friends who are unpleasant rich characters with Oxford degrees.

I struggled with this story – not that it is bad ~it just wasn’t a typical read for me. I do like to branch out of comfort zone every once in a while. However, I just didn’t connect with it -Perhaps you will think it is great as plenty of others gave it high praise.

Want to thank NetGalley and Vintage Anchor/Anchor for this eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 21, 2023. First published January 17, 2023

Reminded me of the ever-increasing income gap, which then made me feel depressed. Not exactly a light read.

This book is a who-done-it storyline. People with big egos and too much money and little value for other people’s lives. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

First of all, Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC! This was one of those books that was difficult to put down.
Detective Caius Beauchamp has just sort of been dumped by his French girlfriend Héloïse. His response is to completely alter his lifestyle - healthy eating, exercise, Yoga, classical literature... and a trip to Paris to try to reconcile. But first - a jog in the park and yet another attempt to run up Parliament Hill. Once again, he does not succeed but on his way back, he finds a well-shod leg sticking out from under some shrubbery. Fortunately, it is attached to a body. Unfortunately, the young lady is quite dead. Clemency 'Clemmie' O'Hara, live in girlfriend of one Rupert Beauchamp (definitely no relation to Caius) has been murdered. Caius' Paris vacation is canceled and he and his team - DS Matt Cheung and DC Amy Noakes - begin the rather grim investigation. Who murdered Clem - and why? So many suspects!
The story is told partially from the perspective of Helena Waddingham, whom everyone calls Nell. She has been a part of Rupert's circle since college days but has decided to break ties with him permanently for so many reasons. And Clemmie is definitely a frenemy (she calls her Phlegm). I liked Nell. A lot. The other POV is from Caius. I was also quite enchanted with Caius. Fortunately, I hear that there is a second Detective Caius Beauchamp book so that is great news!
The book is definitely a murder mystery but also a satire of the British peerage with all of its privileges and the racial prejudices that still permeate the aristocracy. Also - drugs and social media influencers. Complicated love triangles... or quadrangles? And people that are above the law. And classic literature! As I said - different POVs. And also a few flashbacks to college days and other events from the past that impacted the major characters.
I truly enjoyed this book - it's a quick, engrossing read. And I'm looking forward to the second book.

I liked Caius, Matt and Amy who are the three detectives on this case and it was a good mystery. We learned more about Caius, Matt and Amy as the plot developed. We also learned much about Nell, one of the main characters that I liked and could empathize with, though sometimes I wanted to shake her. The story also had a rogues group of characters that were fun to hate, and who live a hedonistic life of wealth that is alien to most of us. The book also exposes the subtle race and class systems that still exist in England. All in all, a good read and a promise of more from detective Caius. (Personally--thanks to this book, I am going to reread Persuasion ) Thanks to NetGalley for the arc, and for not influencing my review.

Such a clearly talented author!! I found this read throughly enjoyable from start to finish. The humor was fantastic. The mystery was intriguing. I will be reading more in the future.

First off, you NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is just not my cup of tea! Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this story and found myself struggling to get through it. It was extremely slow and boring. The synopsis sounded like an amazing mystery to solve and the cover is so cute! I had such high hopes and it just did not deliver. You know it’s not good when you find yourself skimming the pages. I was left with more questions after a disappointing ending.

I was looking for a darkly comic send up of classism and entitlement but mostly what I found was just a series of Rich People Behaving Badly, which seems to be a new genre of its own, and frankly it irritated rather than amused me. I didn't get humor so much as eye rolling and just never connected to this one... It was not a good fit for me.

Definitely worth reading! Well written, a good story, keeps you in the edge of your seat. This is a newer author and I look forward to what they will come up with in the future.

This book answers a question.

If a generation is so deluded that, even in fiction, when accurately portrayed, it instills feelings of loathing, does it reflect on the book?

Yup... it does indeed.

The writing, the crime, the solving... all good.

The characters? Not one did I enjoy (other than to hate with a brutal joy).

Look, I am not of the millennial generation, so blame it on my X-ness... but the portrayals of the monied elite... while on-point... we're perhaps TOO on-point.

We're the point of the book not a police procedural, but a stunning take on societal norms amidst a self-tortured generation, I would have mean able to explain away the characters actions...

But it wasn't. And it made me hate everyone. Even the "hero".

In all honesty, though? Cut thru the millennial chaff... this was a decent crime drama!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A woman winds up murdered and left in a bush. Caius and his crew investigate the rich world she lived in. I think the story was fine, but a lot of times, the writing felt forced. Like it felt like the author was trying to force it to sound fancy. There were a few interesting twists, but I just wish the writing hadn’t been so belabored.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I struggled to get into this one and that feeling never passed. It was definitely a bit high brow in places and the dialogue seemed forced among some of the characters. I liked the concept - basically how the other half lives - code for titled and beyond wealthy- and how they kill.

It was full of some interesting and shady characters plus was told from the point of view of the detective as well as one of the people associated with that other half.

The ending was not satisfying for me at all and left me with additional questions. I want to know more, it felt unresolved IMO.

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?

=========

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 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

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell introduces us to Caius Beauchamp detective who on his morning run finds a body under a bush. The investigation takes us into the posh world of Rupert Beauchamp(no relation) whose girlfriend was the victim. A very good investigation done by Caius and his team of Matt and Amy. It’s a tangled web of love, murder, drugs and art crime but an interesting read. There are some characters that I really didn’t like such as Rupert. I’m hoping there will be more about these characters. There were some unanswered questions. Thanks to NetGallery and Anchor for letting me review this book in exchange for an honest review.

The plot was good but I felt like the characters could have been developed more. I also felt like the story dragged a little bit.

This book has definite potential but I lost interest halfway through. The pacing of the book could have been better.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123025972

so i started the book and thought that i would not be able to finish...... just as i thought i'd quit i got a bit hooked and had to see the who did it! i did not love the book.....maybe im too old and the characters where too young...i would say that its ok. im always grateful to read a book before its published, and some i love and some i don't.....im sure that this book will have an audience that will love it tho!!

THE OTHER HALF (2023)
By Charlotte Vassell
Anchor Books, 368 pages.
★★★★

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote that the rich “are different from you and me.” British novelist Charlotte Vassell focuses on a group that’s not literal other half–more like the top 1-5 percent. She opens big with a small sentence: “A girl is dying.”

The suspects in The Other Half are those turning 30 who met at Oxford and have cultivated the belief that they are superior to those beneath them. They wear bespoke shirts and discourse on the best place to buy suits and designer dresses. Rupert Achilles de Courcy Beauchamp decides to mark his birthday at a McDonald’s by throwing money at the staff, commandeering the second floor, making fun of the food, and trashing the place. Don’t imagine for a second the party invitees feel guilty about leaving a mess for wage earners to clean.

They are also arch–Clemence “Clemmie” O’Hara is called “Phlegm” behind her back–spend more on a lunch than many working-class families spend on groceries in a month, use designer drugs (MDMA), hold down “jobs” such as artist, influencer, and private equity manager, and have solicitors and contacts in high places to get them out of scrapes. But what if one of them is guilty of murder?

Vassell throws a lot of names at us early on, but the narrative eventually settles on a handful of the rich: Rupert, Clemmie, Alex(andros) Adonis, and Araminta “Minty” Gaunt. They are beautiful in style and looks, though perhaps the most-lovely of all is the one who did not come from money, went to Oxford with loads of scholarship money, and needs to work for her keep. Helena “Nell” Waddington, is bookish, red-haired, and the object of desire of both Alex and Rupert. The latter is a problem as Rupert and Clemmie have dated and/or cohabited for ten years. Alex and Nell have come to see Rupert as a pompous, amoral jerk, but he’s also irresistible in many ways, not the least is that he's filthy rich and in line to inherit a title as soon as an elderly uncle has the decency to expire. Nell prefers Alex, but Rupert dangles a lot in front of a young woman of limited means and promises he’s about to dump Clemence who, to be fair, shows outward signs of being an airhead.

The real “other half” of the novel is represented by the law enforcement team seeking to crack a murder case that keeps leading them back into social circles well above their pay grades. Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp has the same last name as Rupert, and is light-skinned enough to pass for white (or maybe Mediterranean), but was raised in a Jamaican fundamentalist Baptist family before becoming a cop and losing his religion (and probably his French girlfriend). He pronounces his surname “Bo’ champ;” Rupert snippily informs his last name is pronounced “Beecham.”

Caius’ partners are Detective Sgt. Matt Cheung, who is half British and half Asian, and Detective Constable Amy Noakes, who finds her partners’ assumptions partly sexist and partly hilarious. Caius and Matt are the book’s comic relief. Caius is on a self-improvement kick in which he reads weighty tomes, tortures himself with exercise, and tries to convince himself that a vegan diet is good for him. Matt is the devil on his shoulder tempting him with junk food, pastries, and other such things. He also makes sure Caius doesn’t become a Gloomy Gus. The Caius/Matt pairing also serves to show how ethnicity matters if you’re not rich, but is pushed under the rug if you are.

You’ve heard the expression “to die for love.” The Other Half hinges on whether someone would kill for it. The book is filled with deplorable people–and I’ve not even gotten into imperious art historian Dr. Fay Bruce Osbald–but does snobbery and doing terrible things make someone a killer? Vassell keeps us guessing by moving back and forth between plebeian spaces–the police station, roadside eateries, small flats–and upper crust galleries, estates, clubs, and oh-so-fashionable Bloomsbury.

The Other Half suffers a bit from having too many unlikable characters; not even Nell passes muster as someone for whom we should root. Vassell’s London doesn’t come off well either; it’s either “dirty” or posh and indefensible. But I will say that Vassell kept me off guard and that I did not predict what was coming.

Rob Weir

I enjoyed the mystery set up in the beginning of this book, and the London setting. It built tension with sophistication and style, but in the end it fell a bit flat for me in that it felt slightly predictable. Still worth the read - a good poolside read!

This satire of the British upper class introduces us to a large crowd of unlikeable characters including rich, aristocratic Rupert Beauchamp and his longtime girlfriend, social influencer and art gallery assistant Clemmie. Rupert throws an ironic 30th birthday party for himself at a McDonald's where the burgers, drinks, and cocaine flow, but Clemmie is a no show and her body is found the next day.

The detectives assigned to the case are a strong contrast to the upper class twits they must investigate. Red herrings abound until the surprising conclusion.