Bob Mortimer

Matt is a bathroom salesman who has recently lost his job and spends his time mooching about instead of finding a new apartment to live in. His girlfriend Harriet leaves him when the deadline on their lease expiry approaches and Matt still hasn't taken any action. Deciding to turn things around, Matt accepts an offer of a flat at Satsuma Heights, but there's just one small catch.

"I don't like to call it spying. Think of it as residential intelligence gathering." Page 64

Yep, Matt is asked to show more spy on his neighbours for the eccentric owner of the building and he's quickly pulled into their lives as a result. Soon there's a missing person case to solve and it's unclear if Matt will succeed in getting his life together.

In The Long Shoe, Bob Mortimer creates terrific characters and Hot Dog was a clear standout for me and I just loved his nickname for Matt; Jigsaw! Carol the flirty cougar was an unlikeable character so perfectly depicted that I could hear her grating voice and almost smell her perfume darling!

Mortimer's signature humour is back in full effect and I enjoyed his observations of the mundane, like when Matt asks if a character's vape is vanilla and potato when it's actually raspberry and coconut.

The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer is part of a series that began with The Satsuma Complex and continued with The Hotel Avocado. I loved The Satsuma Complex - giving it 5 stars in my review - in 2023 but somehow missed reading The Hotel Avocado. While each of the three books are set in the same world or Mortimer universe, The Long Shoe can easily be read as a standalone.

The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer is a chuckle-worthy and entertaining mystery with compelling characters and yes, even a very long shoe. I hope the author continues this cozy crime series in the future.

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster * show less

This was a real surprise. The Satsuma Complex arrived in my mailbox unsolicited, and despite attending the Melbourne Comedy Festival each year, and having a reasonable appreciation of the who's who of comedians, I hadn't come across Bob Mortimer's work before. I started by watching a few clips from Would I Lie to You? and he had me. This guy makes me laugh. Often. And full bellied. So I decided to see what he could do.

Gary Thorn is our thirty year old narrator in The Satsuma Complex by Bob show more Mortimer. Gary is an average, unremarkable legal assistant in London, low on friends but instantly likeable. When drinks at the pub with acquaintance from work Brendan come to a premature close, Gary starts chatting with a young woman at the bar. Despite getting along like a house on fire, she leaves without exchanging contact details.

From there, a mystery ensues when Brendan goes missing and Gary is the last person to see him alive. The Satsuma Complex has an easy and enjoyable reading rhythm that's all about the writing and particularly the dialogue.

Here's an observation from our main character that had me nodding along in recognition:

"Mainly because of the fringe. I associate geometric haircuts with the arts. You know - David Hockney, Phil Oakey, Jane Brurier - and the Doc Martens screamed the more crafty end of the arty spectrum." Page 21

Because I do too! I always assume a person with a geometric severe cut fringe is involved in the arts, literature or fashion industries. Why is that?

Mortimer has a talent for writing interesting characters, and Gary's neighbour Grace is an absolute hoot. In fact, I can't recall enjoying a neighbour in a novel as much as this since Maud's friend and neighbour Renata in The Hoarder by Jess Kidd in 2018.

Later learning Mortimer was once a solicitor helped me understand his clever intelligent writing and deepened my interest in his work, so much so that I'm considering listening to his memoir And Away, published in 2021.

Mortimer's imagination and creativity were a welcome surprise. Here's a paragraph narrated by Gary, who is talking about taking a bath before going out on a date:

"I made it into a forty-minute experience, shaving my face, ears and shoulders, cleaning between my toes, topping up with hot water every time the temperature faded, cleaning under my nails, reading the ingredients of my shampoo and toothpaste, squeezing the blackheads on my nose, cleaning the sealant between the bath and the wall, floating the cap from the shower gel on the surface and then sinking it by spitting a stream of bath water from my mouth, lying slowly down to gradually fill my eye sockets with water, polishing my kneecaps with shaving foam, shining the taps with my big toe, throwing the soap up in the air then dipping my head underwater to hear its re-entry into the swill and making spirals from my chest hair so that it resembled a Mediterranean garden. It was a good bath and a welcome break." Page 200-201

The duck jokes were a quack-up and the no-comment interview (page 100) made me read the entire scene to my husband so he could join in on the chuckles.

This five star rating is based purely on enjoyability. This book made me laugh out loud and I often found myself thinking about it during the day and looking forward to picking it up again each night.

I can highly recommend The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer, and I'll even go so far as to say it has inspired an interest to continue my reading later in the year with And Away by Bob Mortimer and a memoir by David Mitchell, co-star of the show Would I Lie To You? entitled Back Story. I've never really been a fan of memoirs, but I'm already planning to listen to these two, based purely on their ability to make me laugh. Perhaps I need an injection of humour to get through the winter?

A new favourite, that's for sure!

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster * show less

I bought The Satsuma Complex because it was written by Bob Mortimer.
A bit bonkers, slightly surreal and laugh-out-loud funny, it is interwoven with threads of darkness, poignancy and extreme violence.
Disenchanted with his day job and disinclined to give his Peckham flat any sense of permanency, Gary’s high points are Saturday pie with Grace next door and Battenberg with banter at Wayne’s coffee shop until the fateful evening he agrees to meet Brendan at his local for a pint where he is show more drawn to a pretty, dark-haired girl he names Satsuma (after the book she’s reading – it could happen to you!) and listens to his guffawing, garrulous work colleague for the last time.
What follows is a well-constructed murder mystery with twists a-plenty, great character development, sad back stories and many hysterical moments. Alternative herbal tea, DIY health food bars and lower back pain remedies. Attic invaders, ducks and mouth-watering jelly snakes!
And then there’s the squirrel.
Of course there’s a squirrel.
What better sounding board than a bushy-tailed buddy?
I loved the humour, the harsh realities and the pacy plot as well as the portrayal of Gary, Emily, Grace and all the other characters, bad and badder. show less

A life less ordinary

One of the best things about Bob’s life story is the way he tells it. Having laughed along with him over the years, reading And Away… was a no-brainer.

1959 – 1987; blocked arteries, open heart surgery and recovery; the journey from pubs to arenas with Vic – there’s never a dull moment. Middlesborough for family and footie, Brighton for tigers and shyness, Manchester for curries and studies and London for clerking and articles.

I really enjoyed Bob’s memories show more of growing up in the 60s and 70s and found myself smiling nostalgically at the fads and fashions of the times.

The chance meeting with Vic that kick-started Bob’s career in comedy and gave birth to Shooting Stars et al is also a lovely reminder of how hysterically funny and out-of-the box everything they dreamt up together was.

Pocket meat and pie. Red Kickers and cable-knit jumpers. Old Man Christmas and The Witch’s House, Bob’s letter to his mum and battle with social anxiety.

“If you yourself are a shy one, then please try not to settle for living in your isolation cage.

Humble and heartfelt, moving and motivating, witty and wise.
Have a giggle and shed a tear with Mr Robert Mortimer. show less