The Nigerwife by Vanessa Walters is a twisty mystery thriller with an unsettling finish. Set in the heart of Lagos, Nigeria it explores the dynamics of cultural identity, belonging, and the complexities of marrying into a powerful and wealthy family.
Synopsis
After marrying her love Tonye Nicole leaves her past in London behind for the vibrant and luxurious Lagos, Nigeria. As she acclimates to the culture and society she joins the social group known as The Nigerwives known for helping foreign wives of wealthy and powerful Nigerian men transition to the new world they find themselves in.
Seemingly everything is perfect in Nicole’s life until she goes missing following a boat outing with friends. Her aunt Claudine becomes concerned over the lack of concern and failure of Nicole’s in-laws the Oruwari’s to search for Nicole and bring her home safely. She decides to take matters into her own hands and flies to Nigeria staying with the Oruwari family and starting a grassroots search effort for Nicole.
However, Claudine isn’t prepared for the secrets she uncovers about Nicole’s life and that all isn’t as it seemed. The more she uncovers the more she’s confronted with her increasing feelings of regret regarding the deterioration of her relationship with Nicole and her own secrets that she’s buried in the past.
Tropes & Representation
- The Disappearing Woman
- The Reluctant Investigator
- Perfect Life with A Dark Secret
- The Family Secret
- African Representation (Nigerian)
- British-Jamaican Representation
Content
The most compelling aspect of this psychological thriller are the myriad of secrets that the characters seem to be hiding giving a plethora of layers and complexity to this story. Additionally, there were a variety of themes explored in this novel. The ones that stood out to me the most are identity and belonging, the complexities of marriage and family, cultural expectations and gender roles and how wealth, power and influence can alter perceptions and buy loyalty.
Identity and Belonging: You see Nicole struggle to fit into the Oruwari family as a British-Jamacian woman that grew up in a lower class family. She’s used to living life by her own terms and relying on her own recognizance and finds Tonye’s culture within his family as an upper class Nigerian with wealth, power and status stifling. She struggles to meet their expectations and ends up struggling with knowing who she is aside from a mother and wife.
Complexities of Marriage and Family: Tonye and Nicole’s relationship is a main point in this story as we see them struggle with their marriage with Nicole feeling Tonye’s not available emotionally for her or their children. We also see Claudine reflect back on the circumstances that led to her and Nicole having a strained relationship as she deals with the guilt of them growing apart.
Cultural Expectations and Gender Roles: Walters critiques how women within Nigerian patriarchal societal structures have their agency and voice taken from them. We see this with Nicole’s situation as she’s held to a higher standard within their family dynamic and the greater society. And, she’s not allowed to have her own individual identity and is always beholden to her husband and his family. Thus, creating a dangerous and oppressive situation.
The Impact of Wealth, Power, and Influence: The Oruwari family name carries weight in high society in Lagos. And they take great care to protect their name and the impact negative press could impact their social standing. Hence why, they delay information from coming to light regarding Nicole’s disappearance and are slow to investigate into her whereabouts.
Writing Style
Vanessa Walter’s writing style is approachable and straightforward. She does an excellent job being the foundation for the story by sharing both Nicole’s perspective leading up to her disappearance and Claudine’s perspective regarding the events after she’s discovered missing.
The steady transition from past to present maintains suspense perfectly while infusing key revelations and twists to satisfy your curiosity while simultaneously opening the door for more questions.
Plot Development
The pacing for this novel was medium to fast as Walters balanced building the framework for the story and providing backstory, detail and relevant information to not only progress the story but provide scope. I also appreciated the various red herrings sprinkled throughout which made the ultimate twist at the end a total shock.
Characters
The character driven elements of this novel focused on the flaws, secrets and moral ambiguity of the characters. You see how no one is above suspicion with even minor side characters having secrets they were hiding. Furthermore, characters were multi-layered with rich complexity and oftentimes diabolical motivations propelling them to act and behave the way they did.
Recommendations
This is an excellent thriller for those that enjoy thoughtful commentary and critique regarding patriarchal cultures and attitudes that leave women vulnerable and unprotected. While exploring complex themes regarding identity, marital and familial secrets, and the negative impacts of wealth, power and influence.
It’s also ideal for those who love a thriller rife with secrets, shifty characters, and plenty of twists and reveals. Pick up your copy from under the name The Lagos Wife Bookshop.org
Concluding Thoughts & Rating
While I enjoyed this thriller and didn’t guess the twist at the end I did have one minor issue which tends to be a personal dislike for me. I felt that Nicole wasn’t the wisest character in many instances. While I understand her trauma and mental state had a lot to do with this I still felt she could’ve been a bit sharper.
