Book Review: The Clementine Complex

The Clementine Complex is a comedy mystery book written by British comedian Bob Mortimer. The plot follows legal assistant Gary Thorn who lives a notably unremarkable life in South London. Between doing menial jobs for his law firm and sharing microwave meals with his elderly neighbour Grace and her dog; Gary knows his life couldn’t have become any more mundane. That all changes however when Gary meets a work-friend called Brendan for a drink as the local pub. After acting a bit shifty, Brendan soon takes his leave and Gary ends up sharing a drink with a woman at the pub named Emily. Despite hitting it off over the course of the night, Gary soon gets stood up and heads home with his wounded pride. The following days however, Gary resolves himself to try and find Emily and see if there’s any chance to define a relationship with her. His journey will be far from easy however, as Gary soon finds out Brendan has gone missing and a collection of shady characters are trying to find him. Being the last person to see him, Gary is unexpectedly dragged into the messy situation which will embroil him in a deeper world of corruption with deadly consequences.

The narrative behind this book is slightly messy for me to fully appreciate upon reflection. I think the plot beats Bob Mortimer tries to set up are fun and captivating when looked at individually, but he tries often to blend these threads together and it doesn’t always work. There’s so much overlap in this story and Bob often introduces new key revelations all the way through the story while shifting back and forth between the romance and mystery plot. The fact that this is a relatively small book in terms of page count, it makes the deployment of these plot lines feel slightly rushed too. I think the romance plotline doesn’t offer much to engage with as compared to the mystery plot and I feel more time was needed to develop the relationship between Gary and Emily to make it feel more believable. The mystery plot is the stronger showcase in comparison; I do like key developments of the mystery and how Gary in his awkward style comes to figure key revelations out. I do feel it tries a bit too hard to tie a lot of minor characters and moments together to give the book a grander sense of unity, and that pushes it slightly pass the realm of believability for me.

Where the book really outlines its core quality is in its tone. You can really see Bob Mortimer’s comedic talent on display with the way he’s able to make the general atmosphere of this book brimming with the quintessential British comedy I know and love. Gary is a very self-aware person who often has a comedic commentary on the daily happenings and activities he gets involved in. His light-hearted perspective definitely helps to make him an endearing character to follow along with and root for. Comedy isn’t the only key point Bob Mortimer is able to inject into the story convincingly either. There’s a surprising few moments of emotional sincerity that grounds the important segments when necessary. It doesn’t come off as jarring either, I do find comedy writers are quite capable of recognizing mature emotions because of how they’re able to reflect on the emotional dynamic of moments in order draw on the humour of them. That’s a key talent that is definitely on display within the confines of the book.

I definitely get the impression Bob Mortimer tried his best to deliver on the premise behind The Clementine Complex. While I don’t feel it’s realized in the best format, I still appreciate the heart and intent behind the packed story that was being woven here. The main issue stems from the attempt to juggle to separate plotlines and try to weave them together in unsatisfying ways. Its comedic writing definitely stands out as its biggest draw though and I think it helps make working through the book’s messy plot all the more enjoyable in retrospect.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐