After hearing so much about Charlotte Vassell's first novel I jumped at the chance to read the second book in the series; even though I hadn't read the first novel I felt like could enjoy The In Crowd. The characters and relationships really drew me into the story and I wanted to finish the book as quickly as possible to unravel the story. I loved the twists and turns of the novel and the ending left me with questions which I wanted answers to which is always a good sign!

Much like the first, this novel could be titled Lifestyle of the Rich and Scandalous. Also like the first it can come off as a tad bit pretentious, but in a playful way that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Both of these elements are a big part of the reason I enjoy this series.

Despite enjoying the writing style, this book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Mostly I was disappointed in his both cases wrapped up. There was a lot of build up, just to have everything wrapped up super quickly in a way that leaves you wanting.

I really feel like the whole point of this book was to set up the next in the series, and everything else was kind of neglected because it was just filler. That being said, I do plan to read the next in the series, and my fingers are crossed that it makes up for this one. Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (Rounded up for NetGalley)

I soon became immersed in this latest addition to the Caius Beauchamp series. The characters are thoroughly three-dimensional, the storyline intricate, and the mystery absorbing. I enjoyed how some characters whom we met in the previous book (and their relationships) develop in this novel. I adore character-driven mysteries, and this is a great one. The two separate cases which Caius and his team, Matt, and Amy, are investigating naturally turn out to be linked, and the unraveling of the mystery happens in a twisty, satisfying fashion. This story also sees the beginning of a new romantic relationship for Caius with the charming Callie, whose past is revealed to be linked with Caius's own. The plotting is tight and the tension doesn't let up. I really didn't want the story to end even as I raced towards its conclusion, and now a revelation in the final chapter will make it hard to wait for the next installment in the series!

I knew as soon as I heard about this book that I needed to be one of the firsts to read and woah, it did not disappoint. It was the perfect balance of a great plot, absolutely delight able characters (Caius!) and gripping moments that had me read this in one sitting. There is nothing more that I love as when I see little pieces slowly fitting a larger puzzle and this book is exactly that. There were times where I was smiling and others where I had to stop, and assess if I thought I had solved the puzzle.

I read this book in a day and can honestly say it one of my top books read of 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of The In Crowd in exchange for my review.

The In Crowd again follows Detective Caius Beauchamp as he works to solve two cold cases. As he works with his colleagues on the force, connections are uncovered, secrets are revealed, and occasionally justice is served.

I like the way main characters in this book are written. In particular, Caius and Callie (a girl he starts seeing early in this story) are relatable and like-able.

The mysteries Caius is trying to solve are both interesting and I was invested in seeing how they would end.

If you haven’t read the first book in the series, I think you would still enjoy this one. As for me, I did read it but didn’t entirely remember the resolution. My only slight criticism is that, while the author clearly knows each character’s back story and connection to other characters, some of that was glossed over in ways that left me a little uncertain what I was supposed to know. More brief reminders throughout the text would be helpful, particularly if this series will continue.

Fun British mystery for the contemporary reader!

The In Crowd, written by Charlotte Vassell, is a captivating whodunit that delves into two intriguing cold cases involving a missing fourteen-year-old girl and a multi-million-dollar pension fund. This novel immerses readers in the world of the wealthy and influential, as well as those who yearn to be a part of that exclusive circle. Filled with themes of elitism, corruption, and suspense, The In Crowd follows the investigation led by DI Caius Beauchamp as he uncovers new evidence in a cold case and tackles a fresh mystery involving a body found in the Thames River, near a lavish Richmond Garden party. Vassell's skillful storytelling keep me on the edge of my seat as I unraveled the complex web of secrets and deceit within the high society.

One of my favorite books of the last couple of years. Charlotte Vassell does it again! I loved The Other Half so much that I was preparing myself to be at least a bit let down by The In Crowd but somehow it even one upped it. Can’t recommend enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for the early access copy.

Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp and his team are back in their second mystery. This one has the team assigned to two cold cases at the urging of a Member of Parliament.

The first cold case has to do with the disappearance of a young girl named Eliza Chapel from St. Ursula's School for Young Ladies in Cornwall. The second cold case has to do with a missing chief executive, his secretary/lover, and a missing multi-millionaire pension fund.

The first case comes to the team when Caius attends the theater and winds up sitting next to the corpse of an amateur detective who was fascinated with the case of the missing girl. The second case finds him when a rowing crew discover the body of a woman while they are practicing. The woman turns out to be the missing secretary who has returned from Brazil.

Caius also meets a woman at the theater and begins a relationship. However, as the investigation continues, the team discovers that Callie has connections to both of the cold cases, and she believes that her new relationship with Caius is a set up.

This was a very twisty mystery with new secrets revealed as the story progresses. I enjoyed this one very much and am eager for more adventures.

This is a classic whodunit. Love the characters in this story and really love the locale. I felt like I had flown to England and was right there. Excellent mystery and a somewhat surprising ending. Very well done!

Desperate for a trip to the UK, but don’t have the money for an expensive plane ticket thanks to inflation making cereal $9 a box? Same. Luckily we can all pretend by reading Charlotte Vassell's The In Crowd, instead, which transports us to the heart of London as DI Caius Beauchamp and co. return to investigate two new (old) cases involving: a puke-covered theater, a particularly bleak boarding school, a missing teenager, and a stolen pension fund worth millions, among other things. (In other words: a tourism ad for London, basically.)

In the delightfully twisty follow-up to the first in the satirical mystery series, The Other Half — also known as one of last year's most underrated novels — the story kicks off when a men’s rowing team discovers a body floating face down in the Thames, and things only get more complicated from there as Caius and his fellow detectives, Amy and Matt, uncover the connections between the water-logged corpse and a pair of cold cases that have deep roots in British government and, unexpectedly, in Caius’ personal life.

While you don’t necessarily need to have read The Other Half to get into this one, some threads of the story are fairly intertwined, with multiple recurring characters popping up throughout. You’ll miss out on everything from subtle nods to what happened in the first book, to straight up misunderstanding a key dynamic between Beauchamp and a dickish young member of the über-wealthy upper class that has much bigger implications for Caius’ future. Also, it’s great? Very funny and sharp. Heavy on the Saltburn vibes.

Anyway, back to The In Crowd.

Although I didn’t find that the whodunit came together as seamlessly as in the previous novel, Vassell still weaves a captivating and compulsively readable mystery here. Sharp and witty, with such a skill at descriptions — somehow she always chooses just the right details to set a scene, communicating class, private anxieties, jealousy, and so much more in just a few words. I couldn’t put it down.

I also have to give a shout out to the strength (and humor) of her characters.Whether they’re front and center like Caius and his new girlfriend, fabulously cool milliner Callie, or more of a mysterious supporting cast member like Parliament puppeteer Arthur Hampton, every character seems to have been given the same level of care. For the most part they come off as fully realized and interesting, complete with quirks and flaws.

For example, Caius’ amusingly bougie tendencies towards fancy coffee, lavender biscuits, and experimental theater outings continue to entertain, as do his meddling coworkers, Matt and Amy. My only complaint in this regard is about Callie, who, while chic as hell, comes off a bit too much like Nell, one of the main characters from The Other Half, for me. Her character ticks all the same gorgeous-but-doesn’t-know-it, low-key, cool girl boxes. Not a deal breaker by any means, but just a missed opportunity to introduce another unique, vibrant new person into the series. (You know a book is good when it makes you greedy about its characters, OK?!)

TL;DR, this was a big win for me. Can’t wait to ride along on Caius, Matt, and Amy’s next investigation into the secret crimes of the ultra posh — I’ll wear my most outlandish fascinator, promise.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The In Crowd is available on Aug. 6.

This is the second in the DI Caius Beauchamp series based in London and Caius gets involved with a high profile person in government who tasks him with going through a cold case involving a pension being stolen from a company and which relates to another cold case involving a girl going missing for a boarding school presumed dead. There was so many intricate details and everything unraveled so well and oh man the end was just wild. You definitely have to have read the first book since that one didn’t resolve everything and that is still an issue in this book which is referenced a little bit as well as one of the main suspects from the first book is in this book as well. I really enjoyed the banter between Caius with his associates Matt and Amy. This was such a great read and while not fast it was worth it and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Thanks to Doubleday and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Ms. Vassell's books involve mutliple plot twists surrounding mysterious deaths, and The In Crowd is no different. A dead body in the Thames and the mysterious disappearance of a girl from a boarding school in Cornwall are weaved together so well that the reader can just sit back and enjoy as the different plots unfold. Both main plots use Detective Caius Beauchamp as the central thread as he and his team try to unravel death, missing money, parenthood - all admist the vagaries of upper crust society in London. It's hard to describe the book any more without giving away spoilers. Just know that you will enjoy, and that you will be waiting for the next work of Ms. Vassell.

Interesting who dun it read. Strong storyline and characters. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review

This is the second book in the series, and I adored the first book, so I read this book with anticipation, and had to stop myself from reading it all in one sitting! Beauchamp is back with his team, and they are settled into a groove and while reading this book I kept picturing it as a Britbbox series starring Regé-Jean Page (though of course, in the books, he is a bit older, but nuances right? LOL). In this second book, people from the previous book come back into the sidelines of a case that they are working. Only 6 degrees of separation is about to come down to 2 degrees, when Beauchamp discovers the new love of his life is involved with all the parties involved. Beauchamp and his team do a rush to try to solve the case before he is compromised and pulled off the case. But his morals and ethics will be sorely tried when his family's past also becomes involved. A spider's web of deceit with domino effects to the future, this is a rapid read, for the reader. It can be read as a stand alone as well.

4.5 star rating!

snarky, contemporary, entitled-attitude, wedding-madness, satire, situational-humor, local-law-enforcement, relationship-issues, relationships, murders, investigations, milliner, British****

A real thumb-your-nose look at the uber-rich and a laugh riot of investigations among the snobs. Laughed my sox off!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Doubleday Books | Doubleday via NetGalley. Thanks!
Available Aug 06, 2024 #DICaiusBeauchampBk2

Caius and his team are up to their necks in it again in this second installment of Charlotte Vassell's series. Caius has a "meet-puke" with a charming woman at an experimental theater production and eventually realizes she is intimately, though unwittingly, involved in both of the cases he is working at the behest of a mysterious member of the British establishment--think Mycroft Holmes without the warmth. The ripples from the last case the team worked on continue to spread, bogging down the work they are trying to do to determine what happened to a woman who was fished out of the Thames and how it relates to both a pension-stealing scheme and a missing teenage girl cold case. Through it all, Caius feeds his team their favorite biscuits, worries about them getting their five-a-day, and begins to unravel his own complicated family history. More rich people behave in more reprehensible ways in this entry into the series, and Caius tries to remain unsullied by it all.

I kind of love this series. I think I liked this book better than the original, although I struggled a bit to remember the events of the first book. These books definitely can't be read standalone, and even this one feels unfinished, but I do love the characters.

I can confirm that I still love Caius Beauchamp and this second book in the series is just as good as the first. Caius and his partners Amy and Matt, make a great team. I am glad they are getting a series. There are some repeat characters from the first book, I guess to help with continuity? I would prefer not to have Rupert show up again. He adds nothing to the story for me. I'm also not really into the political machinations of the super rich. I'm just here for the detective story and the banter. I will definitely read the next in the series.

From here on I will not request books about rich people problems. Just UGH. I read her first book first and regretted that too. Just not my style.
Now I know Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

This is a quirky and fun mystery/thriller. I liked that it was a little different. The paving, twists and characters were well written. Looking forward to more from the author.