A review by karteabooks
The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell

5.0

 

Rupert’s thirtieth birthday is a black-tie dinner at the Kentish town McDonalds, catered with cocaine and Veuve Clicquot. The next day, his girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered on Hampstead Heath. All the party goers have alibis, naturally. 

Detective Caius Beachamp oversees this investigation, working his way through Classic degrees and Instagram influencers and a hierarchy of who know who. As he delves deeper and tries to uncover the truth behind the influence and luxury, a staggering wall of wealth threatens to shut down the investigation before it’s even begun. 

What an amazing debut! One of my favourite genres, police procedural, but with so much more too! This was fast paced and with such a broad cast of interesting characters that really bring the narrative to life. I might just add that all these characters are not necessarily nice, and a few of them are not at all who you think they are, but that’s what makes this such a brilliant book. I read this over a few days, but I know that if I had picked it up at the weekend, I would have gorged on it for two days. 

I highly recommend this. 

 Thank you to Faber & Faber for the copy of the book in exchange for a review!