The Other Half: You know how they live. This is how they die.

Product Information

It’s something else, isn’t it? Thanks, mate. Oh, could you please get someone from your team to bag everything in the bins?’ An accomplished crime debutthat is part mystery and satire, froma writer to watch.” —Steve Cavanagh, bestselling author of Thirteen 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.

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. Brilliantly compulsive storytelling and in a completely repellent milieu. I could not stop reading this book.' – Denise Mina Vassell’s sharply witty debut novel is an enticing blend of frothy social satire and deadly serious detective work.’ Daily Mail 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. 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?Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest review. 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). 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! 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.

If I could describe this book I would say it gave me vibes of The Secret History meets Made in Chelsea meets Agatha Christie. 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. 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.A perfectly modern whodunnit.”—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of I Will Find You The Other Half by CharlotteVassellisan incredibly accomplished debut – the writing is pin-sharp and skewers class and pretension with hilarious precision.The plot is complex but well handled, and the characters – especially the protagonist Caius – are brilliant and so well realised. I really hope this is a series, because I can’t wait to read more!Vassellisa unique and much-needed voice in crime fiction, and sure to be a new favourite for many!” —Cailean Steed, author of Home

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 The bit that made me quaver between 4 and 5 was the depressingly low self-esteem displayed by pretty much all the young female characters involved with Rupert. I am sure that's why he preyed on them but it still made me grind my teeth and shout at the book. 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 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, 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.Detective, you were the one to find the body. I thought you were in France?’ asked Barry, the masked pathologist looming over the open body bag. This was a fun read. I honestly hope that this is going to be developed into a series. I want more of Caius - his team and his personal life. He's a refreshing gem. And I am sure Charlotte Vassell can dream up plenty more aristocratic prats to write about and entertain us with. 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.’ 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. Thanks also to The Pigeonhole for hosting a group read of this novel allowing for comments to be shared with my fellow Pigeons.