The in Crowd - (Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp) by Charlotte Vassell

About the Book

"Early one morning, a men's rowing team discovers a body floating face down in the Thames. Many years before, the chief executive of a clothing manufacturer walked off with a multi-million dollar corporate retirement fund and disappeared without a trace. Now, the discovery of this body has reopened that cold case. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp has his own evening at the theater upended by the discovery of a dead body just a few seats away. Two decades ago, Eliza Chapel, a fourteen-year-old student at a girls boarding school in Cornwall, disappeared in the middle of the night under dubious circumstances. A second body and a second cold case reopened. As DI Caius Beauchamp ... investigates these parallel missing persons cases, he finds himself ensnared in the unexpected political machinations of a duke-in-waiting"--

Book Synopsis

An electrifying, whip-smart whodunit about the dastardly misbehavior of London's high society--where being "in" or "out" can be a life-and-death matter

NOMINATED FOR THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL

In the garden of a large Georgian villa in Southwest London, socialites and politicos swap gossip and sip Pimm's while making snide remarks at each other. Not far from this frivolity, though, a body has been discovered in the River Thames. At first, it appears to be an unfortunate accident, but the death is connected to this gathering of who's who in a way that may spell scandal.

Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp, attempting to enjoy an evening at the theatre, is shocked to discover another dead body, just a few seats away. The death is linked to the decades-old disappearance of a fourteen-year-old girl at a boarding school in Cornwall. Now Caius has two cases on his plate, but if he wants the resources to solve the tragic mystery of the girl's disappearance, he will have to take new orders from a shadowy government minister who contends that the accidental drowning in the Thames was anything but.

As Caius, along with his associates Matt Cheung and Amy Noakes, investigates these parallel cases, he plunges into the exclusive world of money, title, and power as only England can dish it up, where justice is available only to the privileged.

Review Quotes

"[A] smart, provocative novel. . . . Vassell perfectly constructs a classic crime procedural against a backdrop of racism, sexism, and classism. Beauchamp is a winning character readers will adore. . . . Readers don't need to have read The Other Half to enjoy this intriguing novel, but reading both is as satisfying as pairing a cup of Earl Grey and a lavender biscuit. In the final pages, Vassell lays the groundwork for a third installment that promises to be as enjoyable as the ones that preceded it. A stellar sophomore outing for an intriguing detective."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Detective Caius Beauchamp returns in Vassell's inventive second mystery chronicling the bad behavior of England's upper crust. . . . Caius's quirky investigative partners, Matt Chung and Amy Noakes, also return, and the interplay among the three is even richer than in the previous entry. Vassell has wicked fun shifting narrators and timelines, and her satire remains sharp."
--Publishers Weekly

"Vassell delivers an amusing and substantive rom-com-flavored mystery as Beauchamp, stood up by his Tinder date, meets an alluring woman at a fringe theatrical production where a man sitting in their row unceremoniously dies. . . . Readers of The In Crowd should find both cold cases resolved to their satisfaction. . . . [A] droll and meaty series."
--Shelf Awareness

About the Author

CHARLOTTE VASSELL is a British writer living near London. She studied history at the University of Liverpool and Art History at SOAS, University of London, before training as an actor. She has also worked in advertising, executive search, and as a purveyor of silk top hats.