* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *
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 64Yep, Matt is asked to 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.
For more on Bob Mortimer, check out my review of his autobiography And Away...
