The Other Half

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I spoke to the grand pooh-bahh, and as I had the displeasure of finding the young lady so dishevelled, I will postpone my break. It’s probably not a bad thing.’ Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest review. 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?

Reading this felt like alternating between two separate books, the posh tw*ts part and the police procedural part but, again, maybe that was the intention. Two halves. 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. Matt and Caius, the detectives, were a breath of fresh air. The book improved dramatically as soon as they appeared and I loved the banter and humour between them. I would happily read that all day long. I also adored Sir Edgar and wished he had been in the book more. 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.’ The misogynistic whiff--the men predators, the women victims--overwhelmed what charm that Rupert (the possible villain) might have been intended to have. I sighed every time he turned up, as he was more predictable than intriguing, and the ending left me absolutely cold.If you love to hate a novel's characters, enjoy a good investigation, and like getting a glimpse at the rich and titled, The Other Half is definitely for you! MY THOUGHTS: Clever, complex, and witty, there's nothing not to love about The Other Half, including the characters. Some I loved, some I vacillated about, and others I intensely disliked. 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. His girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered on Hampstead Heath. All the party-goers have alibis. Naturally.

This debut novel proved to be a fascinating police procedural that highlighted class differences in British society. The next morning, Rupert's girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered. Her body discovered under a bush with her stiletto heels peeking out.Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

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? THE OTHER HALF is exactly what I wanted Pineapple Street to be! A world of luxury and class, mixed with satire and chaos. This book gives off a rich b**ch Agatha Christie vibe and I’m here for it. The story takes place at one of the characters, Rupert Beauchamp’s 30th birthday when his girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered. The investigation dives into a world of luxury influencers, all with British humor and attitude (hard to explain what I mean until you read it). I really liked the author’s use of “transcripts” to give us the gist of some of the more brutal parts without going into excessive detail. Very clever.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 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. An accomplished crime debutthat is part mystery and satire, froma writer to watch.” —Steve Cavanagh, bestselling author of Thirteen It does get better--what saved the novel for me was the banter between the three detectives, as they investigate the death of an influencer. I'm not sure I believed in Caius as a person--he seemed to be too consciously a collection of oxymoronic traits--but that might settle out, since this seems to be projected as a series. An accomplished crime debut that is part mystery and satire, from a writer to watch.' – Steve Cavanagh

The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. 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! The book gave me Skins vibes. Maybe because of the murdered girl’s name, Clemmie, and Nell reminded me a lot of Effie. This is an amazing debut and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for further releases from Charlotte Vassell! Donna Tartt for the North London glitterati - sharp, funny writing meets tight plotting in a unique, new voice.' – Ajay ChowdhuryI will admit that it took a short while until I realised that this novel was going to be somewhat different to the usual style of whodunnit. I find that crime fiction and especially police procedurals tend to be quite serious even if there is some banter between police detectives. The Other Half is a deliciously entertaining mystery that channels the best of classic whodunnit ingenuity through a thoroughly modern cast of characters that readers are guaranteed to love and loathe. Detective Caius Beauchamp – a charming hero with an Empire-sized chip on his shoulder – is tasked with solving the murder of London socialite/social media influencer Clemency O’Hara. The investigation takes him deep into the underbelly of London’s millennial elite, with plenty of surprising twists and turns along the way. If I could describe this book I would say it gave me vibes of The Secret History meets Made in Chelsea meets Agatha Christie. 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, Rupert is at the centre of this story; titled and entitled, he is obscenely wealthy, misogynistic, and manipulative. His girlfriend (I use this word loosely, perhaps limpet might be a more apt description) Clemmie, has a token job at an art gallery, and is an 'influencer'. She desperately wants to marry Rupert for the title and the country pile he will inherit when his grandfather dies. Rupert is enamoured with Nell, who is considered 'unsuitable'. Alex also loves Nell, who has just parted ways with Caspar. There are various other double and triple-barreled surnamed characters, and women named Minty and . . . well, you get the picture. Everyone is connected to everyone through schools, blood and godparents. There's no six degrees of separation here.