The Other Half opens with a rich British playboy celebrating his birthday with an expensive catered dinner at the local McDonald's. He's annoyed when his girlfriend (who he's planning to dump the next day) doesn't show up, but it turns out that she has a pretty good excuse--she's been murdered. Coincidentally, her body is discovered by a police detective who ends up leading the murder investigation.

Unfortunately, this book didn't really work for me, which I think is more my fault than that of the author. I found the upper class characters to be absolutely insufferable, and didn't enjoy reading their constant snark. I realize that this book is more satire than whodunnit, but I just didn't enjoy reading so much about these awful people.

However, if you like reading about thoroughly self-centered people who may or may not get their just desserts, this may be the book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book FLEW by! I was immediately enchanted by Vassell’s humor, wit, and fantastic dialogue. The banter was reminiscent of Emily Henry - but British and involving a murder investigation 🤣 This one was fast paced, cheeky, and had me laughing out loud. However, the end of this novel felt rushed and also bizarre to me, thus lowering my rating slightly. However, if you need a fun murder mystery, definitely check this out!

4.5 stars rounded up; This was definitely my favorite book of 2023 thus far. Charlotte Vassell can set a scene and character build like no other. The heavy themes of this book juxtaposed with our modern-day, social media obsessed society made for incredible allegories. Caius, Matt, and Amy were breaths of fresh air. My only qualm with this book is that I thought it ended rather abruptly, but that could just be me left wanting more.

One the one hand, this is smarter than I expected by half, but that's made troubling by the fact that it's also horribly sad...or...mauldin? The over under is that this cheesey/chintzy cover does not do any part of this book justice.

This was a well written mystery, with unique characters. I got a bit tired of the snobby rich people and the trying too hard to be cool not-rich, but overall it was a good book.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. I really liked the character development for many of the main characters. The mystery itself was interesting too.

Lots of dry humor as the plot and characters develop.

I have mixed emotions about this book. On one hand, the writing is great, the storytelling and character development was as well. However, I was a bit bored in the first quarter of the book and really had to push myself into continuing on until the mystery all really started. I also was a bit disappointed in the way it ended.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. Really enjoyed this mystery/thriller…different than the usual thrillers I read and different than the mystery/detective books I’ve read recently as well. Loved the different characters personalities and the setting. Highly recommend!

What a fun read! The Other Half is a satirical, witty novel with strong commentary on the upper echelon of society. Charlotte Vassell‘s voice has a crisp energy that pulls you in and does not let go - she is a new author to watch for me.

Caius, our protagonist, really shined, and I never wanted the chapters with him to end. He felt real, and his interactions with his colleague Matt were some of my absolute favorite moments and one-liners in the novel. Vassell teases bits of Caius’ background, and I hope we learn more in a future installment.

The novel takes a couple chapters to get into a rhythm, but once it does, I did not want to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Vassell, and Anchor Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book was pretty good, it really does show that extreme side of both the people behaving badly, and in the end they did get what they deserved.. the book itself was written very well, and even though it was a bit slow going to start it kept me reading on because I wanted to know what happened next, the end itself didn't really do it for me but I would definitely give this book four stars! Really good book for a debut from this author! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest revie

This book has divided readers. It was a bit like reading an Onion piece for me. I enjoy British humour but this book was just stiff snobby conversations by the party guests and then commentary by the police. It would've worked better if there was some middle class people to balance it out bc the book was at 2 different extremes.

This is a debut mystery novel but you would never guess! Vassell pulls out all of the stops - complex characters, multiple suspects, mysterious circumstances, glamor and of course likable detectives with flaws. Everything you want in your mystery but unique and exciting.

When the very wealthy hold a birthday party in McDonalds of all places, something unusual is likely to happen. In this case it's an unfortunate death - a murder. Detective Caius Beauchamp is called to investigate and must hustle ahead with his team as the Other Half, the incredibly wealthy and connected work to shut down any investigation. It's filled with sardonic wit, hilarity and mystery just what any Brit Mystery Lover could ask for ! If you like British Mysteries, love to hear about the exploits of the rich, or just want a engaging police procedural, The Other Half is for you!
#TheOtherHalf #vintage #Vintagebooks #CharlotteVassell

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell started of striking all the right cords to grab my interest.
I found it funny that Rupert (one of the main characters) had a big 25th birthday celebration party at a McDonalds in a private room. After this party is when it gets intriguing.
There are many characters in this novel, but it was pretty easy for me to keep them straight.
The ending was not satisfying to me, but I’m “hoping” that is because there will be series of books off of this one.
#TheOtherHalf
#CharlotteVassell
#NetGalley

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A girl is dying.

While her well-heeled friends are partying in the upstairs room of a McDonald's of all places, Clemency O'Hara, influencer and aspiring photographer, is being dumped in Hampstead Heath. With a cast of increasingly unlikable characters, Charlotte Vassell barrels through the investigation into Clemmie's murder, told through her frenemy, Nell Waddingham and DI Caius Beachamp (no relation to Clemmie's unsavory beau, Rupert-- it's pronounced differently of course).

While I enjoyed this book and managed to read through it in a day and a half, I had a hard time not picturing the most recent season of "You" with Joe and his wealthy, aristocratic, hedonistic new circle in swinging London. Clemmie is very reminiscent of Lady Phoebe Borehall-Blaxworth while Nell has a bit of Kate in her, including her addiction to the classics. The plot in general was predictable, as was the twist revealing the unexpected murderer who wasn't as unexpected as one might think. Vassell takes her time leaning on Rupert Beauchamp's atrocious abuse of every woman in his circle and it isn't a shock to learn that that included women on the fringe of their friend group, leading one to kill.

This book is an enjoyable read and Vassell achieves a lovely, witty satire of the landed gentry.

Interesting characters and several twists along the way. A good read

Thank you to Charlotte Vassell, NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book.

The author is extremely talented, compelling me to keep reading even if I hated every single spineless character, but the privileged chicanery of underperforming millennials finally got old. I skipped to the end and was glad I’d quit the suffering because there’s apparently no ending. Read for literary pretension and allusions.

Just because I personally did not like a single character does not mean this isn't a good book. It just isn't for me.

Reading about posh people behaving badly and receiving their comeuppance is very fun. There is something about the sleaze hidden beneath a centimeter thick veneer of lucre that is always compelling. The posh people in this story are in and out of each others' pockets, and in and out of each others' beds. One of them has wound up dead underneath a hedge and a trio of outsider detectives have to find out who is responsible. The central mystery is tidied up nicely by the end, but there are hanging threads about drug dealing, antiquities smuggling, and interpersonal dynamics that make me excited for a sequel.

It took a bit to get into the story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The main characters were interesting, and I was wanting more for Nell from Alex.
It certainly left enough up in the air for a second book. Also, it made me look up recipes for lavender shortbread.
Thank you for letting me read this advanced copy, I enjoyed it.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

The Other Half is a superb detective novel denoting the complications the police departments and detectives face trying to solve cases involving the aristocracy with their endless supply of legal and illegal means. Cover-ups are covered up in spite of deaths and other crimes. I enjoyed this novel