As long-term readers will know, I'm deeply suspicious of a massive bestseller. So, while I enjoy Bob Mortimer's work, I couldn't help rolling my eyes a bit when I saw that he'd followed up his autobiography, 'And Away...' with the smash hit novel 'The Satsuma Complex'. Would this be just another mediocre money spinner made massive by the celebrity name on the front? With some trepidation, I began to read...
Man Goes into a Pub
Lonely legal type Gary Thorn is living unremarkably until an after-work drink with work acquaintance Brendan brings love, intrigue and danger crashing into his life. After a chat, private investigator Brendan leaves early, and Gary somehow falls into conversation with an attractive but quirky girl. By the time he leaves the pub, though he doesn't know her name, Gary's a man in love. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary is also a man in trouble. With the Police knocking at his door, he discovers that he was the last person to see Brendan and realises he has no way of contacting his enigmatic lady alibi... What's really happened to Brendan? Can Gary's tech savvy neighbour Grace help solve the case? Will Gary find his mysterious girl before it's too late?
A Fruitful Combination
I really need to stop being so cynical. 'The Satsuma Complex' is funny, romantic, sweet and scary. I loved the cast of characters, right down to the incidental interlopers. If you enjoy Mortimer's absurd humour, you will enjoy his writing. The dialogue is littered with randomness and imagery that only he could have thought up, much of which made me chuckle out loud and kept me smiling throughout the first few chapters. I can't imagine anyone else being able to produce this novel, and I applaud his commitment and persistence to producing something this good (as suggested by the acknowledgements).
Light and Dark
It isn't all fun and games, however. The book starts on a humour high, but as the plot thickens and more sinister characters begin to appear, the story starts to go to some very dark places indeed, literally by the end. The relationships depicted and Grace's horrific secret contrast sharply with the whimsy, and I did wonder at times if some of it was a bit much for a generally chirpy narrative style. Mortimer does temper the villains with just the right level of absurdity, however, while keeping them threatening, enabling him to build enough tension to make 'The Satsuma Complex' a real page-turner.
Overall
A good measure of whether you'll like this book is this; is a novel where main character has regular, surreal conversations with a squirrel entertaining or irritating? If the latter, this probably won't work for you. If the former, you're in the right hands.
'The Satsuma Complex' by Bob Mortimer was published in 2022 by Simon & Schuster. This post is based on the 2023 paperback edition.
