Just Delicious..
The second novel featuring Detective Caius Beauchamp and another hugely entertaining murder mystery heavily laced with a searing and biting social satire. As a high society garden party takes place amdist much Pimms and bunting in Richmond, the police are pulling a dead body out of the Thames - worlds are soon to collide. Immersive and compelling with a propulsive plot populated with a deftly drawn and keenly observed cast of characters and a nifty narrative. Beautifully done, perfectly executed. Just delicious.

I was so excited to read this book as I loved The Other Half by Charlotte Vassel and this book definitely did not disappoint, I was hooked as always!

This is the very best book I have read this year.

Firstly the author writes people you know. Not necessarily the rich but everyone knows Caius or Matt or even Amy. The way their friendship is written means that this book is beautiful, Vassell could have written those characters and then written her grocery list and I would have been thrilled. Character study at it's very best.

The mystery element of this book is as exquisite as the first book, salacious, clever, punchy and believable.

You do not need to have read the Other Half to read this book, but if you haven't, why on earth not?

I would love to read more and I hope that is in the works already.

Give this as a gift that the recipient won't forget.

I was sent this ARC by netgalley in return for an honest review, which this is.

As the summer draws to a close, a gathering of the wealthy and powerful is taking place at a party in Richmond, where any number of people are wearing hats - some made by Callie, milliner to the rich and famous, who is in attendance - while planning their forthcoming lavish wedding (in the case of Callie's friend Harriet and her uninspiring fiance Inigo) or their next power move (in the case of Harriet's father)...

Meanwhile, as the body of a near-destitute woman is recovered from the river nearby, her death is initially considered either accidental, or a possible suicide. Until Detective Caius Beauchamp receives a bizarre summons to a gentleman's club where he is given information that indicates that this death was no accident.

Despite being allowed to pursue another somewhat peculiar cold case in exchange for digging deeper into this one, Caius finds himself decidedly outmanoeuvred by the person providing him with this information and is not entirely comfortable with what he has unwittingly become entangled in.

This is a really unusual murder mystery featuring an unexpected cast of characters, from a truly unique detective in Caius Beauchamp, to his two delightful colleagues Amy and Matt, and of course Callie, a hat-maker whose personality and outlook are as unique as her career choice.

It took me a little time to get into the plot but I was so utterly bemused by the characters, I didn't really care about the plot for quite some time anyway! Readers familiar with the oddities of Britain's class system will particularly enjoy this book, which is written with a deftly humorous touch. Quirky and memorable, Vassell is definitely a writer to keep an eye on.