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.

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.