In a classic English whodunnit, Clemmie O'Hara ends up dead after missing her posh boyfriend Rupert's 30th birthday party. As the old adage goes, more money, more problems. And with this group of friends, there were plenty of both. So who was the murderer?

While predictable at times, The Other Half was full of twists around every corner. Just when I thought I knew what happened, my theory was proven to be incorrect. The characters were written to be the kind you love to hate, and I generally enjoyed it overall. This is the first book in a series following the lead detective in the case, Caius Beauchamp, and I'd definitely pick up the next to see where his story goes.

If you don't like novels that hop between different time periods and perspectives at once, this one may not be for you.

Thank you to Anchor books for a free copy of The Other Half in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are purely my own and should be taken with a grain of salt!

I really wanted to love this but I just couldn’t get into it and I just wasn’t interested at all no matter how much I tried.

Boy, I am "odd woman out" when it comes to my thoughts on "The Other Half" by Charlotte Vassell. It's ranking around 3.5 stars, but I'm giving it a solid 2.

This starts out with a whodunnit scenario. Who killed Clemmie, the socialite? Detective Caius Beauchamp finds her, and he spends the ENTIRE book interviewing people. We meet a slew of London socialites, and not a one of them is likable. Or interesting. Oddly, a lot of people aren't even that distraught that one of their "circle" is dead.

I could barely hang on until the end.

Special thanks to Vintage Anchor for the advanced reader copy of the book via the NetGalley app.

The only thing I liked about this book was the cover and when it was over. All the characters were unlilkeable! Seriously, not even one character to empathize/root for. The actual story was messy too. Because of the characters, I was not into this.... at all. I honestly skim read this to get to the good parts.

Cannot recommend. Do not waste your time.

Thanks to Netgalley, Charlotte Vassell and Vantage Anchor for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!

I wanted very much to like this book more than I did. It was not a bad book. I just could not get myself to read it for very long. I found the characters hard to like. That isn’t always a bad thing, but there has to be a reason to keep reading. Even loving to hate them would be good. I just didn’t care about them as they were written.

I enjoyed the story as the author cleverly captured the world of the other half through a myriad of interesting but truly unlikeable characters. While it was satirical in nature, there was always an underlying sense of despair and desperation as the players grasped for recognition and place. Cais and his team could have fallen into the trap of feeling intimidated by this world but did their job despite being looked down upon and challenged internally. While I wanted to know who killed Clemmie, that part of the story almost took a back seat to the intrigue of the despicable Rupert, the conflicted Nell and Alex, the man intent on saving her.

If you like mysteries and all things British, this quick read is for you. When Rupert has his birthday catered at a McDonalds and his social media influencing girlfriend fails to show up, then later found dead in a London park, a delicious whodunit ensues. Chock full of quirky characters, scheming, love triangles and more, this twisty mystery is the first in a new series of books with charming detective Caius Beauchamp. I look forward to reading the next installment!

Thank you to Charlotte Vassel, Vintage Anchor and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book for an honest review.

So this book is not for me, I almost DNF it, well I should DNF it.
I hate the characters, usually I'm okay with unloveable characters, I mean that usually makes everything more interesting, but with this one, I just hate them, there's nothing to like about them, super annoying and I just can't stand with all the complaining and bickering and pretending and lying, at some point I just don't care.
As for mystery, it's dragging and confusing, I'm clueless most of the times, there's murder but I don't know who is the victim almost halfway through, it took a very long time for me to finally get it, most just about those crazy characters, so the mystery is kinda lost for me. By the end I just stop caring about everything.

The Other Half is quite the page-turner. It will make you laugh, keep you in suspense and keep you terribly hungry. The characters, richly naive or pretending to be, the officers, although wondering what their next meal will be are instinctively, acutely deviously wonderful at their jobs!

Rupert Beauchamp an extremely wealthy (family money), not very liked, want to be but too lazy to be writer has decided to celebrate his 30th birthday with a black-tie affair at the local McDonalds. With added champagne the guests minus his girlfriend who he was planning on dumping anyway, all get smashed. They can barely remember how they got home.

Unfortunately, Rupert’s girlfriend Clemmie is found very dead the next morning in bushes by no other than police detective Caius Beauchamp (no relations) as he was on his morning run deciding what to eat when he got back. 

Of course, all the party goers are suspects but Caius and the police feel it just had to be the obnoxious, spoiled Rupert. But as hard as they try, and they do try, they can’t get the puzzle pieces to fit him being the killer. But they do discover a few things about him that raise questions in other matters.

They soon find that with wealthy suspects comes secrets and lies and warnings to be careful who you accuse. But the more information they receive, the more the murder looks like a game of Clue! And when someone else is found dead, well, that changes everything! Are the two murders connected?

Suspects include, the woman Rupert really loves, although she hates him, his godmother, or perhaps the gallery owner who Clemmie was having a fling with. With so many suspects, it makes sense that the police are always hungry and talking about food! But the police investigators stumble into an even more sinister plot!

Will they be able to catch the murderer before another one occurs? Also, what will they be having for dinner? Inquisitive minds need to know in this hysterical story with terrific twists and suprising turns and suspects you love to hate!

Thank you #NetGalley #Anchor #TheOtherHalf #CharlotteVassell for the advanced copy.

I marked 4 stars, but really it was 3.5 for me. I think the mystery was pretty well crafted although I figured who it was, but I just didn't grasp all the reasons and I really like Amy, Matt and Caius (except for Caius' constant moaning about his ex, it was distracting and had no feeling.) I rooted for a couple of characters (you'll know who) until I realized how messed up one was. Then, don't get me started on the rest of the characters. I felt like I needed a shower after reading this book. Would I read a next in series? Probably, as long as the same cop team are together and as long as it goes down a different path and we aren't stuck with a bunch of skeevy characters.

Thank you to Vintage Anchor, Anchor and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

This is an interesting murder mystery filled with unlikable suspects behaving badly. I felt a little adrift while listening to the audiobook as I found the male narrator a little difficult to understand. Perhaps reading a physical copy would have worked better for me. The story itself felt chaotic and while I enjoyed it I'm not sure I followed it or understood the motivations. I will definitely check out this author's next book as there is a lot of potential in her writing.

I personally did not like this book! I thought it was quite messy and was something that I felt like I got off track with. I wanted more from it but I couldnt do it.

Characters you love to hate, a murder whodunit where everyone has a motive, and a devilishly funny satirical take on the British class system, which will leave you saying “Just one more chapter” well past midnight.

I still cannot comprehend how I had so much fun with a bunch of pretentious jerks, maybe I was just hopeful some of them would get what was coming to them 😈 - especially Rupert. He is a git, the fact that more than one woman had romantic feelings for him, let alone tolerated him, makes me fear the future of humanity.

Nonetheless, if you also take pleasure in disliking people and murder – then The Other Half is probably going to be your jam.

Thank you @vintageanchorbooks for the gifted copy.

*3.5 stars

This was a really fun mystery about the upper class, I love a good rich people storyline. You can tell this is the authors first novel, the writing felt very telling and not showing.

"You know how they live. This is how they die." The cover lets us know immediately what we're in for in Charlotte Vassell's The Other Half. This is a deliciously juicy and scathing novel, chock full of ridiculous, stuffy names like Adonis, Minty, Waddingham and Beauchamp (shared by both the main villain and the detective investigating the case). My favorite was Hereward Trollope-Bagshott.

Rupert Beauchamp (villain) is throwing himself a swanky birthday bash. At a McDonalds. Because that's how the posh swing in London? His "friends" all show up in their finest, ready to indulge in shakes and fries, and a bouncy house. It's debauched. It's outrageous. It's over the top. By the end of the evening, somebody's dead!

Enter Caius Beauchamp, our Detective Inspector, and the murder investigation. What a character! Moving at a quick pace, the story delivers red herrings, new suspects, hidden relationships, and dances around things that happened at Rupert's 25th birthday bash and more recently on holiday in Greece.

This was a wicked page turner. Rumor has it Vassell is working on DI Beauchamp's next case, and I'll be in line for it. My thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for the ARC.

This was very different from other murder mysteries I've read before. It was extremely thought-provoking and filled with satirical wit. I loved how it delved into themes of classism and racism against a backdrop of London society.

While the murder investigation was intriguing, the book focused more on exploring the personal lives of characters that, for the most part, weren't likable in the least. For that reason, I can see how it might not be the book for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a delightfully entertaining read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Other Half
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Charlotte Vassell

Thank you NetGalley and Vintage Anchor Books for the advanced copy of The Other Half. It was truly an experience.

Rupert is a rich jackass, and then his girlfriend Climmie is found dead under a bush the morning after his 30th birthday. Told in two perspectives from Nell, a friend of Rupert and Climmie stuck in a love triangle with them, and Caius a police detective with his own traumas and past.

The book follows a group of people in their late 20s, who attended college together and must react to Climmie’s murder. It jumps back and forth between current day and sometime before the murder.

This was a fun and quirky mystery with satire and dark human. I really enjoyed it. I didn’t give it 5 stars, because it was slow at times. I think it would make a better tv series than a front-to-back book. It wasn’t super climactic. I enjoyed it nonetheless, and I’m here for the sequel (assuming there will be one.)

Favorite quote: “It’s my fault for thinking you could treat a wolf like a Labrador… that it would sit in front of the fire like a good boy. I always knew what he was. I was just naive to think it wouldn’t be me that got bitten.” 🐕

Favorite character: Alex maybe 🤔
Steamy rating: Mild ❄️
Profanity: Moderate 🤬
How I discovered: NetGalley ✅
Method: ARC E-Book on NetGalley 💚

Triggers: murder, rape, drugs & cheating

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. The characters were pretty interesting and the plot was consistently interesting throughout.

3.5. This is a fun but fairly predictable mystery; while it was fun to read about the terrible ethics and antics of the rich, I wish the horrible people were horrible in more interesting ways, but I enjoyed having a glimpse into the inner workings of Caius Beauchamp's mind; I would read the next installment.