This is fun, if a bit ridiculous, but that's really what makes it fun I guess. Wealthy people being idiots. A bit Glass Onion, a bit Christie, a bit pretentious. But I thought it came together nicely and enjoyed how the lives of the wealthy idiots unraveled. ( )

As we age it becomes increasingly unbelievable that the bizarre young people we read about are actually normal young people being culturally normal. For example, I recently met a federal employee with tunnel plug earrings in his ears and lavender nail polish on his fingers. Not my style but I found it amusing that I was startled.

Here we realize that the London Police force must also have young people in it. These young people are interested in the same things other young people are interested in - designer furniture, vegan food, and running regimens - and that their being young and from a different world does not interfere with their ability to solve crimes.

This book is about young coppers solving crimes involving their chronological contemporaries who happen to be filthy rich.

I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley.com. ( )

I’ve already been deep in the holiday reading and needed a little strange, so I picked up The Other Half to get lost in a twisted mystery.

A large part of the novel focuses on the investigation, which I quite enjoyed. A lot of the mysteries I’ve read recently focus on the victims accounts and the myriad of suspicious suspects, which is great, but getting this different perspective felt fresh. It does tend to hop from narrator to narrator with no sense, so you have to pay attention to whose perspective you’re seeing the scene from. I did love feeling like I was apart of a murder investigation.

The difference in social classes is so glaring and is a decent commentary on what money and power can and cannot wield. There was one privileged character in particular that I was hoping would’ve gotten what was coming to him, but how his story line played out just goes to show what happens when someone has connections in high places.

Once I reached the end, I was expecting a much bigger twist than what I got, which was very disappointing. I had guessed early on who as behind the murder mystery but held out hope that there would be a twist that came out of nowhere. Despite the predictability, I still devoured this novel, having to see how everything played out. It is a fairly character heavy novel, as most good mysteries are, and it did keep me second guessing and held my interest until the end.

*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own. ( )

The Other Half is Charlotte Vassell's debut novel.

The publisher uses 'cozy' in their description of the book. And the cover image seems to bear that out. Well, yes, but not quite the way I had expected. There are no older sleuths and their cats on the way to the village fete when they discover a body under a hedge. But that's where all of my expectations went out the window. Instead it is Detective Caius Beauchamp who finds the corpse on his morning jog.

Caius and his sidekicks DS Matt Cheung and DC Amy Noakes are on the job. Where their inquiries takes them is to the the homes and lives of the upper echelons of society. And as much Caius hates to admit it, he is drawn to how the half lives.

And that's where Vassell takes out her sharpest pen and starts skewering the upper classes. I do have to say the dark humor was quite amusing.

But I found the case itself is darker and well, more than a little sad. Money, power and more define the upper level. It was quite easy to dislike them.

I chose to listen to The Other Half. The narrators were Imogen Wilde, whom I've listen to in the past. She has a very versatile voice and easily captures the characters. Her posh tones were perfect for this plot. She speaks clearly and is easy to understand. I thought she did a great job of presenting Vassell's work. The other narrator was Michael Muyunda, who is a new to me performer. He has a wonderfully rich tone to his voice. The tone is lower and calls on the listener to pay attention so as not to miss anything. I think he has the perfect voice for Detective Caius Beauchamp. The speed of his reading varies and I ended up turning the speed down to .09, which worked well for me. I think I enjoyed the audio performance more than I would have enjoyed a printed copy. ( )

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell is a recommended murder mystery, especially for anyone who enjoys disapproval of the wealthy gilded youth of the British class system.

Influencer Clemmie is found murdered on Hampstead Heath after the 30th birthday party of her boyfriend, Rupert Beauchamp. The party was a black-tie dinner at McDonald's and attended by a host of socialite friends with nicknames. DI Caius Beauchamp, no relation to Rupert, finds the body during a morning jog. Rupert is the obvious main suspect but there are plenty of other suspects available too. Rupert uses Clemmie's death as an opportunity to pursue Nell Waddingham.

After almost set this one aside several times at the beginning of the novel, I stuck with it once the investigation started. The police procedural made me stay, even though at times it almost gets buried under extraneous information. I liked the investigative team of DI Caius, assisted by DS Matty Cheung and DC Amy Noakes and would like to see them on another case. Most of the other characters I actively disliked. There are some plot twists that held my interest and the novel greatly improved toward the end.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Anchor via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/11/the-other-half.html ( )