In ‘The Other Half’ Charlotte Vassell has skilfully integrated social satire into the usual round of interviews and gathering of clues. In addition, the narrative contains many references to art and literature including the classics and mythology. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot.

Can he see through the tangled set of relationships in which the other half live, and die, before the case is taken out of his hands? I loved this book and I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy. I can't wait to read what Charlotte Vassell writes next. I was out for a morning run before I caught my train. Better me than a dog walker. Makes a change from Carol and her diabetic Labrador,’ Caius replied to the shrouded face. London is a filthy city. A dirty, putrid metropolis. What was he even going to do in Paris? What a ridiculous idea. Héloise didn’t want him. She’d said as much, but in French and therefore much more expressively.Okay, here we go! Don’t you just love it when you read a delicious debut which leaves you wanting more of Caius and Matty who are just too good for one-offsville. It’s as pacey as a brisk stroll through Kensington and Chelsea, it’s witty in places, laugh out loud funny in others and it has a clever complex plot. What more could you want, oh, maybe some truly horrible characters you hope get their just desserts??? The Other Half is a book that centres on a group of rich, entitled people doing mostly rich, entitled things. Did I, therefore, feel some satisfaction that one of them was murdered? I may be horrible but yes, yes I did... The book gave me Skins vibes. Maybe because of the murdered girl’s name, Clemmie, and Nell reminded me a lot of Effie. I see what you did there,’ Caius said, feigning amusement. His impromptu Paris trip was as dead as the girl whose shoe he had seen. ‘What’s your initial assessment?’ The victim is a Caucasian young woman, mid-to-late twenties. Dead around fifteen hours or so. I’ll be more precise after the post-mortem. She had her wrists bound before she died. A fox, by the looks of it, has had a bit of a go on her.’

Overall, I found it an engaging blend of literary and crime fiction with just the right amount of dry humour and satire. Will DI Caius Beauchamp return for another case? I really hope so as he and Matthew were such a fantastic team. Still, following this impressive debut I am looking forward to her future projects whatever their premise. As many other reviewers have noted, the opening chapter of The Other Half is a slog! I almost gave up and it is unusual for me to be so disinterested in a book right away. The characters were so pompous and annoying but, more than that, it felt like the author had swallowed a thesaurus! It was a first for me to have to look up so many words in a single chapter and it was tedious! It felt gratuitous as well (triumvirate instead of trio, really???) and some of the words didn’t even seem to be used correctly (haemophilic flowers, I’m sorry, pardon?). But, as I read on, I realised that was maybe the whole point… how the “other half” live, speak, behave. I listened to this novel and typically love when each voice is narrated by a different individual, however, I really struggled with the male narrator in this instance. He was hard to understand and his voice was much lower in volume than the female. I felt like I was constantly adjusting the speed and volume and still never quite got it perfect. Throughout this read I was rooting for Nell, whom I quite liked except for her abysmal taste in men. Alex. And of course for Caius, who is extremely likeable. This was a 3.5 read for me. I loved the murder mystery aspect. Deciphering who killed Clemmy O'Hara was not difficult as her closest friends and acquaintances were revealed but figuring out the why was where the interest was for me. Clemmie was an influencer and parsing the banal from what may be her deeper characteristics was a good tension. This story is peopled with unlikable characters and I admit to not caring a whit about many of them but they started out interesting enough. My problem materialized when so many of them were no more complex than the awful they presented as. It got to be too much of a bad thing as they ceased to be interesting or worse, amusing. Some seemed to be over the top just for the sake of it. I know this is a satirical look but it wore.The Other Half is the story of two men, both with what looks like the same surname. Rupert Beauchamp is the heir to a baronetcy and his thirtieth birthday party is a catered-with-butler event at McDonalds in Camden Town. Think Bollinger and cocaine. His surname is pronounced 'Beecham'. Caius Beauchamp is a detective inspector with the Metropolitan police and is bi-racial. His surname is pronounced as you see it. The two encounter each other when Caius, out for a run, stumbles across the body of Clemmie O'Hara, Rupert's girlfriend. Rupert thought that she was being deliberately late for his party. She was dead under a bush. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.

Brilliantly compulsive storytelling and in a completely repellent milieu. I could not stop reading this book.” —Denise Mina, bestselling author of Conviction An accomplished crime debutthat is part mystery and satire, froma writer to watch.” —Steve Cavanagh, bestselling author of Thirteen Murder mystery set in the world of horrible rich upper class Oxford scum. This obviously appeals on principle but rather falls down for a few reasons, primarily that hardly any of them die. Also,I’m so in awe of the energy, wit and pure intelligence behind this brilliant series. Charlotte Vassell is a vital, vivacious new voice in crime, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be publishing her debut at Faber.’ Murderers can be so inconsiderate towards the police. I’m really looking forward to all the foaming tweets about closing the park for forty-eight hours.’ The Other Half is a police procedural following Detective Caius Beauchamp. He discovers the body of Clemmie, an influencer who portrays a luxurious life on social media. Caius must work to solve her murder and find her killer, but when he starts to question Clemmie’s friend group, he discovers there is much more than meets the eye. An incredible crime debut. TheOther Half is the love child of Evelyn Waugh and Susie Steiner, I devoured it.Gripping, funny, enraging and incisive.” —Erin Kelly, author of He Said, She Said and The Skeleton Key Or is it "whom"? Detective Caius Beauchamp isn't sure. He's sharply dressed, smart and thoroughly modern --- he discovers Clemmie's body on his early morning jog. As he searches for the dark truth beneath the luxurious life of these London socialites, a wall of staggering wealth and privilege threatens to shut down his investigation before it's even begun. Can Caius peer through the tangled mess of connections in which the other half live --- and die --- before the case is wrenched from his hands?

If I could describe this book I would say it gave me vibes of The Secret History meets Made in Chelsea meets Agatha Christie. A sinister, erudite, and clever whodunit; a modern story propelled by literary allusions and a sophisticated wit that seem to have sprung from the era of the bright, young things.' – Peter Swanson I have to say Charlotte Vassell has absolutely stunned me with her debut. So often a book gets hyped and I expect so much that it's always a let down but not this time. I read it in 2 sittings, struggling all the time to put it down when tiredness overtook me last night. This is Made in Chelsea meets Agatha, it has definite shades of the Queen of Crime with tangled webs, plot twists, red herrings and all that jazz. Maybe Caius will become the 21st-century Poirot! The ending is a good blend of the dramatic with the OTT ridiculous, which is great fun and highly entertaining. Methinks this is a winner and a new talent has emerged on the scene, well played Charlotte Vassell. Applause from the sidelines. Nell was a complex and interesting character. I didn't understand her love for Rupert, but did commend her for her loyalty and self-awareness. I also liked that she was part of the rich crowd but more relatable. I loved the setting, descriptions of the clothing and glamour, and the overall pretentiousness. The character names alone were pure gold!The story follows the lives of some real upper class twits with excellent names like Rupert and Minty and Hereward. Excellent eye rolling fodder at how the other half lives. However all is not that rosy in paradise as the body of a girl is found mutilated by, of all good fortune, the DI who then takes on the case. An accomplished crime debut that is part mystery and satire, from a writer to watch.' – Steve Cavanagh Although a police procedural, there was definitely lots of humour in this and I found the portrayal of the characters really interesting. ‘Upper class’, entitled characters such as Minty and Rupert were so irritating and I didn’t feel like they were a likeable bunch, but I feel like that added to the story and the humour within it for me. There were quite a few clues along the way which I always enjoy as I like to try and work the mystery out as I’m reading. It definitely kept me guessing though! Who killed Clemmie? Was it the blithe, sociopathic boyfriend? His impossibly wealthy godmother? The gallery owner with whom Clemmie was having an affair? Or was it the result of something else entirely? This is an amazing debut and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for further releases from Charlotte Vassell!