British upper class behaving badly. Story line was a bit complicated and bogged down. Guess I'm just not that into British doings. Thanks for the chance to read this book but in the end, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Very witty writing with lots of good one liners but at times hard to follow how everyone connected and the story. Overall it was a fine book with a twist I didn’t see coming.

All people involved with the story is told. Det. Caius finds the body Clemmie in the bushed of the park he was jogging thru. This starts the murder mystery that he and his partner are trying to solve. A lot of information from interviewing suspects. Then another murder happens that changes the outcome of the first. Could the two murders be connected?

From the promotional blurb I was thinking this was going to be a great thriller, however, I found it hard to connect with the characters and the "inside" British humor and references made the first few chapters rough going. Once the detective part of the novel begins the story then moves along. I was disappointed in the final reveal of the murderer as there simply weren't enough mentions of this seemingly minor character to warrant a reader's suspicion of that character as a possible suspect. Perhaps this needs a British audience or those Americans who are well versed in current British culture.

A birthday party where the adults are eating McDonald's while diving into champagne, cocaine. Where the birthday boy Rupert Beauchamp is being Rupert Beauchamp the upper class beast that he is. He thinks that every women he wants he can have and string them along until he is done with them. Until one of these so called lovers is found dead. Trying to unfold this murder is DI Caius Beauchamp who shares his last name with Rupert yet they are no relation, which you know Rupert makes sure everyone knows.

DI Caius and his team consisting of DS Matt Cheung and DC Amy Noakes are hard at work trying to find out who killed Clemmie O'Hara. They run into many twists and turns. Interviewing everyone at the party they find that Rupert has left his mark on many of them. Especially Nell a young girl who was in love with Rupert at one time until he hurt her so badly that she pushed it out of her mind. Could Rupert have killed Clemmie who he wanted to break up with for ever. because he really wanted Nell. Was it the gallery owner that Clemmie was having and affair with or possibly Rupert's godmother who seems to make all bad things go away? How can Caius and his team solve a murder that has so many people attached to it? People that have connections, people that aren't the nicest and are up to no good.What are they all hiding? Are they all tangled up in this scheme, but who killed Clemmie?

Ms. Vassell writes such a mixture of colorful characters. With names such as Clemmie, Minty, Rupert you know you will be getting a classy group. Ones who think that no one can get to them and they can do anything they want. Then their is DI Caius whom I really liked. He has just been dumped by his girlfriend. He tries to eat right, keeps fit and tries to think up ways to possibly get his girlfriend back. He is serious yet he has a fun streak in him. I think he isn't fond of the rich and really would love to find out that Rupert is the killer and be able to put his smug self in jail. Yet all these roadblocks are preventing him from doing so.

I love reading anything British. Loved the description of the homes, people and their surroundings. I enjoyed the story behind it but sometimes I did get confused with so many characters. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a story about the upper class and how they clash with everyone else.

Thank you Ms. Vassell for a wonderful story and NetGalley for the ARC.

It is so much fun to discover a book by a new writer and know you want to read everything they'll write in the future. The Other Half is that book and Charlotte Vassell is that writer.

The book is smart and funny but it also deals with class structures and race with empathy. There's a lot going on in this story besides clever plot twists you don't see coming.

The characters are original as is the whole set up. I hope this is the first in a series of police procedurals because the police are not like any I've seen before—they're quirky and charming and full of surprises. The dialogue between them is hilarious. I really couldn't put it down.

The first few pages must about made me stop reading; however, I persisted and am glad that I did. The setting is London and the surrounding areas. The plot revolves around the murder of a young woman and her many friends, lovers and “frenemies”. The main female character, Nell, I found difficult to warm up to. Her involvement with a long time friend, Rupert, was hard to swallow She is an intelligent individual who makes perpetually poor choices. Alex, another friend trying for Nell’s affection, is not well developed nor is his motivation for a years long “crush” on Nell. Caius, the Inspector on the case, is well drawn. The ending seemed a bit rushed with plot lines resolved in the last several pages. Not a book that made me want to sit with it for an afternoon. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could.

Who killed Clemmie? That is the question that this book is focused around. There is a 30th birthday party for Clemmie's boyfriend, Rupert, that she never shows up to. It's okay, he was planning on breaking up with her the following day anyway. That is until she turns up dead. Everyone at the party has an alibi- or do they? No one at the party has a reason to murder Clemmie- or do they?

This is the typical book that I pick up- a thriller. That said, this one was a little bit difficult for me to get through for a few reasons. If you enjoy British satirical humor, then you will definitely enjoy this book. There were parts that were difficult for me to follow due to this. Also the author really delved into the British class system, which was another area that I am not totally familiar with. The book was well written, just not the book for me. That said I would recommend it to others because I think that they might enjoy it in a way that I did not.

I do not think I am the right audience for this one. I just had trouble following the cadence of the writing and the storyline.

Sharp, Witty and full of fun ! This was the perfect Beach read, it was full of great characters ( well , mostly). It was an easy read and I would definately read this author again.

his book was with very British terms and I would have to translate them into American English. The main characters in the book were both Jamaican and English and were Nell and the Detective Caius Beauchamp. But this was not known until the book was almost complete. We have Rupert Beauchamp (no relation to Caius), Alex, Clemmie, Heloise, Matt, Amy, and Minty. This book stems from Rupert Beauchamp having major feelings towards the females in his life where they would have many one nighters where Rupert wold keep their underwear. Clemmie and Nell and Minty were part of this female lust on Ruperts part. He had numerous female partners which were named. Clemmie was killed and this was part of the book that Caius and Matt and Amy were involved with in finding her killer. They were taken off this case, then they found the killers.

This had a Philip Marlowe vibe for me. I thought it was well conceived and well written but just meandered a bit too much for me. A lot of characters to keep up with. Fun read,

What a delightful murder mystery! Maybe delightful isn't the polite word to use when discussing murder, but The Other Half was definitely delightful. The characters were great, not all good people, but they do live on the page in more than two dimensions. The book begins with a death and Satan's birthday party. Both do not occur in the same place or exactly the same time.

The main characters, Nell and Alex, are both from wealth but not the nobility. They occupy a specific social circle that intersects with upper classes but tries not to socialize with the lower classes. They have been friends for years. Rupert is also a main character. He is minor nobility. His character slowly fills in from Chapter Two. The relationship between these three is complex and complicated and should have as asterisk indicating that it reaches new levels of both.

The story, starting with the murdered individual in Chapter One, dips in and out of several storylines but always meandering back to the murder. It is well written. It is also full of surprises. At certain points, it is difficult to read. I am sure there will be trigger warnings when it is published. It is really a good book. I am planning on buying a copy as a Christmas gift.

I received a advance review copy from Netgalley. After reading it, I have written a honest review.

#Netgalley #TheOtherHalf #CharolotteVassell

Gossip girl with a side of murder. I liked this book a lot it was very descriptive as well as fulfilling in the end. I will say I wish the characters were a bit more detailed but I do love the novel as a whole. I would also recommend this to all of my friends.

A fun, fast paced whodunnit with a dark look at the class system. Overall an enjoyable book! Thanks to Net galley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. 🙂

mystery, crime-fiction, british, situational-humor, verbal-humor, satire***

Cute satire of living and dying with the rich and entitled in England.
I requested and received an EARC from Vintage Anchor/Anchor via NetGalley.

I am really not sure how I feel about this one. I found it rather difficult to follow and keep up with. I also thought there were a lot of characters and I found myself getting confused. There was also a lot of story lines. I did like how everything came together but it seemed like a lot. Some parts seemed really hectic when other parts tended to linger on.

I liked the premise of the story just think that it could have been a little bit better done.

A slow start to this dark satire aimed at the posh parasites of London; to me the opening scene lets were a tad too self-aware of their own preciousness, reminding me of Evelyn Waugh's early work, whose satire didn't quite hide his longing to suck up to those at the top of the social hierarchy.

It does get better--what saved the novel for me was the banter between the three detectives, as they investigate the death of an influencer. I'm not sure I believed in Caius as a person--he seemed to be too consciously a collection of oxymoronic traits--but that might settle out, since this seems to be projected as a series.

The misogynistic whiff--the men predators, the women victims--overwhelmed what charm that Rupert (the possible villain) might have been intended to have. I sighed every time he turned up, as he was more predictable than intriguing, and the ending left me absolutely cold.

Maybe this series is not intended to depict a case per book, but an ongoing storyline? Did not work for me, though I'll keep an eye on this author, whose prose--the banter between the detectives especially--shows such promise.

The premise of this novel is fantastic. A self centered, pompous, upper crust twit, Rupert Beauchamp ironically rents out a McDonald's for his 30th birthday. His beautiful influencer girlfriend is late. But isn't that just like her? But Clemmie doesn't show at all and the next morning is found dead, coincidentally by Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp (no relation). What could have been a tightly plotted droll social commentary of a murder mystery quickly starts to unravel as too many threads are added. Racial and class tensions? check. Drug ring? check. International espionage? check. Obsessive stalker love parallelograms? check and check.
The character development and writing were well executed, but the plot was just too all over the place to make for an enjoyable read. Since this was a debut novel both potential and room for improvement, I'll try again if the series continues.

Firstly, change the title. After reading it, I tried to surmise how it applied. It did not. Secondly, although it is cleverly written and filled with quotable quips this did not qualify as true mystery. The addendum tells us the writer is an Agatha Christie aficionado … she always tied all the clues together and gave us the culprit at the end. This novel failed to accomplish that. True, some of the bad guys are apprehended but many were not.. left a reader wondering and unfulfilled. My advice, leave all the secondary drug plot, nail the culprits, let the guy get the girl and have Caio’s tell Helena adios.

.