An interesting sneak peek. I'm not sure if this will be one for me.
Thanks to the publisher for my early first look.

Sadly I just couldn’t get into this book. I really wanted to enjoy the humour but didn’t find it as funny as I’d hoped - maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for reading it this time around. I’m sure lots of people will love it however.

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer is a quirky and offbeat novel that blends mystery with Mortimer's signature humor. The story follows Gary, an unassuming legal clerk who finds himself drawn into a bizarre and puzzling adventure after a chance encounter at a pub. The novel is filled with eccentric characters, sharp dialogue, and a mix of dry wit and surreal situations. Mortimer's comedic background shines through in the absurdity and charm that permeate the narrative. While the plot may seem meandering at times, it's the witty observations and peculiar scenarios that keep the reader engaged. Overall, it's a fun and entertaining read for those who enjoy a blend of comedy and mystery, with a distinctly British flavor.

Mortimer's voice comes through in reading this, his warmth and humour. The book was a very good and engaging read, I imagine some if it is drawn from himself and own life experiences. Crime is generally a genre I avoid, but I made an exception for this. The storytelling and characters are strong. The characters, particularly Gary are multi-faceted and believable. Gary is likeable if not a little hopeless at times, this certainly adds to the charm of reading. The basic premise is Gary, a thirty-something legal secretary is on a quest to find his missing friend- the journey takes his all over London and with a little love twisted in too.


Overall it is a very easy going read. I see that it has had some negative reviews but if you are seeking something light, easy to read you need look no further.

I had a few friends recommend this book, they said it was a great read and had them laughing so much, so I was intrigued myself. I was given an ARC of the first few chapters and after starting the book I realised it wasn’t really for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and those involved in allowing me an ARC.

I got this by mistake as I thought I was getting a full length book rather than the first 2 chapters. It's mean to give only 2 stars but I have to rate each book to keep my score up. I'm sure this would have been a good book.

This was a brief except of the full novel - the first two chapters. Well, it's hard to gauge a book by two chapters but I can say this book is weird. It's written by Bob Mortimer so that is not that unusual, his mind works in a very mysterious way but its a book that has piqued my interest and I have since bought the it. Really looking forward to reading it.

I loved this book although I am biased as I love everything Bob Mortimer does. Really entertaining and well written. I look forward to the follow up.

I liked the comic relief this book provided. The characters were all funny and loveable. It is also really easy to read, making it a fast-paced book which was a nice break from some of the heavier stories you get now. I had never heard of Bob Mortimer before this, but will definitely be keeping an eye out for his name from now on.

Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers.

I really enjoyed this page turner from Bob Mortimer - it was so funny! Thanks for the ARC.

If you love Mortimer's strange, slightly bizarre sense of humour, you'll love his first fiction book. With eccentric characters and Bob's signature way of looking at the world, this is a funny, heart-warming and quirky tale of mystery, love, and pies.

I was intrigued to read this crime novel the author having enjoyed his autobiography and his comedy writing. Just the kind of humour that appeals to me. Only a taster edition of this book by the publishers but a tempting read at that. Possibly drawn from his experiences as a solicitor in his younger years. The novel revolves around Gary who’s not a detective as such but a quirky legal assistant. He becomes embroiled in the disappearance and subsequent murder of a work colleague mainly due to his fascination with an enigmatic woman involved in the case. A few laugh out loud moments and you’d expect nothing less from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely adore Bob Mortimer’s type of humour so was really looking forward to this book. It didn’t disappoint in terms of sounding just like him but the story was a bit silly and I really couldn’t warm to any of the characters; I found the main character really quite boring (which I think was meant to be the point). An ok read.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

I love a good mystery (even though I don't read that many anymore), and even more so if any humour is promised so The Satsuma Complex sounded like just the book for me. I received a sampler from NetGalley (although I hadn't immediately realised it wasn't the full copy) and finished listening to it on audiobook on Storytel.

I'm not too familiar with Bob Mortimer and his brand of humour, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from this, but I was in the mood for a light read and to switch it up a little after lots of fantasy books. Unfortunately, this didn't really meet my expectations.

The premise was quite good and I liked the mystery aspect of it, though I won't go into any details to avoid spoilers. I tend to like stories where we don't really know which characters we can trust, and there was plenty of that going on here. However, for the most part, the characters just felt flat. I definitely appreciated the attempt at introducing a wide and varied cast, and there certainly were some colourful characters in there, but to me, they all felt very one-dimensional and I never actually started caring about any of them, which meant the stakes were very low whenever any amount of danger was involved.

I found the main character to be very annoying and... well, just not funny. I did like his relationship with his neighbour Grace and her dog, which I found wholesome and sweet, but he didn't really have much else going for him. I found it very hard to get through the book and was bored for the most part. I really only finished it because it wasn't overly long and I wanted to see if it would improve when everything wrapped up. The ending itself was good, but it didn't really make up for the rest.

This is by no means a bad book; if anything, I found it fairly average, just like Gary: not anonymous, but not memorable either. It probably just wasn't my kind of humour and others may like it a lot more, but this one just wasn't for me.

Based on just this sampler, I found the writing and tale so far to be promising and look forward to reading the rest of the book. It very much feels like Bob's humour so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the story plays out. Good so far!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

To start, it took a while to grab me. Gary is a grey man who wears a grey suit to his boring job. His life consists of work, meeting his 2 friends and visits to his regular pub. However, then he is told that 1 of his friends has been murdered and Gary finds himself embroiled in serious crime, corruption and intrigue!

I didn’t realise that this was only a 2 chapter taster from Netgalley, so I downloaded it on audiobook and I’m glad I di. As well as Gary’s story, you have Emily, who is in an abusive relationship with a horrible man. Of course, Gary falls for her.

Bob Mortimer’s trade mark humour is throughout the book and works perfectly with the storyline.

An enjoyably funny book.

I need to buy this book !!

I so want to read this now having read the sample, I wish it had been the whole book. But weekend coming and bookshop visit.

Fantastic read. So funny, as expected from Bob Mortimer. Absolutely loved the writing style, easy to follow and easy to pick up. Well worth a look!

Not sure this was quite for me, unfortunately. The story was really hard for me to get stuck into it but I managed to finish it anyway. Hopefully it finds it's audience!