Frivolous and fun... a different kind of Crime novel.
by messyreader
Spoiler free I picked up The Satsuma Complex, which had been idly waiting on my bookshelf for over a year, after seeing Bob Mortimer on an old episode of Travel Man. I’ve read some heavy books during 2026, so this was the perfect antidote to that. Something light-hearted and fun was what I needed.
First things first, my narrator for this was Bob Mortimer! Every word I read I imagined him saying it, which only added to the humour of an often-humourless genre! This is not your typical Crime novel. Yes, there’s murders and intrigue, but it’s very tongue in cheek, often ridiculous, totally chaotic and purely entertaining!
We’re introduced to our hapless protagonist, Gary Thorn, as a bit of an anti-hero! I was rooting for him from the first page, because I love an underdog. He goes for a pint with a work colleague, and meets a girl at the pub. Brendan, the colleague, goes missing (not a spoiler, it’s on the blurb), which sets Gary on a quest to find the mysterious girl from the pub- who he calls Satsuma, due to her choice of book, The Satsuma Complex.
The characters were, on the whole, likeable, if not a bit unremarkable. Some of the plot was unhinged, in a hilarious way! If you’re after a gritty, Crime Thriller, this maybe isn’t the right vibe. But for a fun and easy read, with lots of laughs and WTF moments, this could be for you!
Bob Mortimer's comic genius really leaps off the page with this one.
