THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
CHOSEN BY WATERSTONES AS ONE OF THEIR BEST CRIME & THRILLER BOOKS OF 2024
The Hotel Avocado is the follow up book to The Satsuma Complex and continues the story of Gary Thorn, Emily and Grace. Read the review of The Satsuma Complex at https://solvethemurder.wordpress.com/2024/02/08/the-satsuma-complex-by-bob-mortimer/
Plot
Gary Thorn is struggling with a big decision. Should he stay in London, wallowing in the safety of his legal job in Peckham and eating pies with his next door neighbour, Grace and her dog Lassoo, or should he move to Brighton, where his girlfriend Emily is about to open The Hotel Avocado? Either way, he’d be letting someone down.
But sinister forces are gathering in a cloud of launderette scented-vape smoke, and the arrival of the mysterious Mr Sequence puts Gary in an even worse predicament: soon he might be dead.
All Gary wants is a happy life. But he also wants to be alive to enjoy it…
WARNING – this book includes: heavy crimes, car journeys, dreadfulness, large fruits, romance, planning applications, and a lot of pie.
Review
I found the first novel unusual. It wasn’t as rip roaring funny as the testimonies on the book suggested and the lack luster hero was, well, lack luster. So an OK read, that was difficult to describe, that did not make me eager for the next installment.
Would there even be a next installment as the story seemed to tie up OK as it was? I finally succumbed to reading the follow up book, tracing Gary’s life after everything was resolved at the end of the first book. Turns out not all the loose ends were tied up at the end of the first book. The spectre of a court case hangs over Gary, who still can’t decide whether to stay in London at his boring job or move to Brighton to be with Emily.
Yes, Emily has moved to Brighton to run a hotel left to her by her father. Naming it the Hotel Avocado, she needs planning permission to erect a giant Avocado outside to attract customers. Meanwhile, Gary is still in Peckham, where he is being threatened by the unsettling Mr Sequence. Gary (and others) are due to give evidence in a corruption trial. Mr Sequence would rather they didn’t and sets about stopping them.
Meanwhile, Gary has a new colleague arrive at work and Grace comes to the conclusion she should be more trusting and make new friends.
The cast of characters from the first novel; Gary’s neighbour Grace with her dog Lassoo, Wayne in the coffee shop and the talking squirrel make a welcome return. They are joined by new characters: Roma in Gary’s office, Gary’s sport watching friend in the pub, Grace’s daughter and granddaughter, a love interest for Grace plus a mysterious talking stranger who narrates part of the book.
This is a stunning sequel. I enjoyed reading it much more than the first novel.
The Hotel Avocado is available from:-