Lightseekers by Femi Kayode

433 Pages
Publisher: Mullholland Books
Release Date: March 2, 2021

Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological, Nigeria, Multicultural

Dr. Philip Taiwo is asked by a Nigerian politician to investigate the public torture and murder of three university students. They had tires placed around their arms, covered in fuel and set on fire. Since this act was done in public, you would think it would be easy to find out who was responsible but that is not the case. One by one, other people believed to be associated with the crime begin turning up dead. Coincidence?

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed and believable. It is also written in the third person point of view. Dr. Taiwo is a complex man and I hope there will be more books about him. If you like psychological thrillers, you will enjoy this book.

There aren’t enough mysteries/thrillers set in Africa. This dynamic story attempts to right that wrong!

In a small Nigerian town near Port Harcourt, university students who came to be known as The Okriki Three were brutally beaten and murdered by a group of townspeople after they were accused of theft, and several video appear of the melee on social media. Though what happened is evident, the local constabulary have been lackluster in pursuing suspects, and only a handful of the many people filmed are charged.

This doesn’t sit well with Emeka Nwamadi, the head of one of the largest commercial banks in Nigeria, and father of Kevin, one of the killed boys, who by all accounts had no relationship to the other two students executed. Emeka hires Dr. Philip Taiwo, an investigative psychologist, to determine what led to the tragic events—the elusive why behind the crime.

With Chika Makuochi, a streetwise driver provided by Emeka, Taiwo travels to Okriki from Lagos and is immediately stonewalled both by the police and by the people of the community. Even the hotel manager and local landlords have heard rumors of his investigation within hours and pressure him to leave the city. While Taiwo doubted his ability to uncover any new information, the stone wall he hits indicates that something is being hidden, and he becomes more committed to learning the truth even as his goals diverge from Emeka’s and he wonders if he can trust Chika, his closest ally, and Salome Briggs, a lawyer who has provided him assistance.

Although Taiwo is Nigerian, he was educated and worked in the United States, and has only been back in Nigeria for a relatively short time, living in Lagos, the most populated city in the country. He has to reacclimate himself not only to the conflicts between Christians and Muslims—which are stoked in Okriki by active and acrimonious social media posts—the area also has tension between different tribal groups, between the town and university students, and between the oil companies and the citizens. Corruption abounds, as does the opportunity for extrajudicial justice.

Because of the many layers of conflict that sow distrust, and the interesting question behind the mystery—why was Kevin, a model student, killed—I enjoyed the book, but what I liked most what learning more about the cultural context. Kayode explores the issue of university cults—non-sanctioned and sometimes violent fraternities which I hadn’t been aware of. Chika was an interesting character, and I enjoyed learning more about him. Taiwo serves as an effective narrator, although at times I was frustrated with his tone or when he got angry with other characters for doing things he did in previous chapters. Interstitial chapters by an unknown (until the end) character were very disturbing and fittingly conveyed a sinister atmosphere.

I understand that this is the first book in a series, and I plan on reading the second book when it is available!

I hadn't read a mystery/ thriller in a while and this was a good way to jump back into the genre!

I found the setting and main character really interesting, as he is a Nigerian who lived in the US and then moved back to Nigeria with his wife and kids.
So he was often contemplating major or even subtle differences between the way things work in the States versus in Nigeria.

The story was compelling, albeit a tiny bit out there in terms of the mystery culprit. But - how many thrillers have completely plausible plots? Not that many. And this one was pretty good.

There were quite a few twists which were great. Also I suspected many characters throughout the story which I see as a good sign of mystery writing.

There was a side story about the main character and his wife that had me wondering if it was necessary, though by the end it brings in the same theme of differences between how something is handled in the States compared to how it's potentially handled in Nigeria. I'm very curious to read some reviews by readers from Nigeria and know what they think about some of the portrayals of the government, the police, the tribal chief, and the small town described in the book.

The ending definitely had me speed reading to find out what was going to happen!

The book is also extremely male-centric and I'd be remiss not to point that out. There was one part at the beginning where the main character mentioned that he had perfected the art of apologizing to his wife even though he'd done nothing wrong - which annoyed me. Later he said it again but was more specific and said he knew to apologize when when he didn't understand what he'd done wrong - that was a much better take on it!

This was a solid read for me—but I think those who enjoy the crime genre, especially those who enjoy a more slow-burn kind of mystery, might enjoy this one more. I found the ending unsatisfying, but enjoyed the setting and characters quite a bit. Also have to shout out Mulholland Books. Every single book I've read from them has been at least solid and intriguing.

Thank you @mulhollandbooks and @netgalley for a copy of Lightseekers by Femi Kayode. All opinions are my own.

Lightseekers is out in the world next Tuesday and thriller lovers will want to add this to the preorder list.
Very unique, very interesting and moderately paced. There were a few things that I wish had been left out to make the pace a little bit faster but overall, this was a winner for me.

Dr Philip Taiwo is an investigative psychologist who academically dissects past crimes to try and figure out why it may have happened. But when a friend of his father asks him to investigate the public torture and murder of his son and two others, Dr Taiwo finds himself smack dab in the middle of something a whole community would rather forget. Lots of great reveals and also taking a look at Nigeria and some social and political aspects that I didn’t know, Lightseekers should be on your March TBR!

Dr. Phillip Taiwo has returned to Nigeria with his family after spending a good deal of time in the United States. As a lecturer at a university in Lagos, he is able to continue his studies as an investigative psychologist, but most of his case reports have been written from the comfort of his desk. He isn’t given this separation when Phillip is asked by a friend of his father’s to write a report on the murder of the man’s son and two other students in a southern border town. He’s reluctant, but knows he’ll be able to escape his wife’s possible infidelity in Lagos. Yet, when he arrives at Port Harcourt only to find the bulk of the townspeople is conspiring against him.

The town of Port Harcourt has known tension for many, many years. It started as a land dispute between the British and the local tribes, but now it mostly derives from the friction between the students at the nearby university and the townspeople who feel they are left with the dregs after the school is given so much federal funding. The crime is this: three young men, students from the university are accused of extorting another young man at his apartment off campus. The townspeople here the cries for help and, tired of dealing with thieves, resort to mob rule and burn the offenders to death. Phillip is unable to find a motive at first, but as he meets with the local police and the tribal chief (yep, they’re related), and hunts down witnesses, the case becomes more complex. It ultimately consumes Phillip and tests all the skills he has as an investigator, a husband, and a friend.

Lightseekers is the best kind of international mystery. An interesting central investigator, a consuming setting, and a history lesson that starts to answer questions about current conflicts. I do want to take a minute to let you know about the sidekick Phillip picks up. Loaned out as a ‘driver’ by Phillip’s employer, Chika has many other skills besides driving the 4×4 over the rough roads. Slight facial expressions tip Phillip off as to how to act in situations. Chika’s a well-written character whose secrets only create a deeper and more complex friend.

My only criticism of Lightseekers is that the pacing is a bit too even for me. The investigation ticks along, and while there are complications, it never made the hair stand up, or turn the pages any faster…

A very good debut with a character in Phillip who I could follow in a series of mysteries.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

Trigger warnings: brutal killings, rape of a child (off the page), violence

This was an interesting book with complex characters and plot points. I liked the fact that the main character was a psychologist vs a detective, which created an interesting angle to the story. I don't think I've ever read anything set in Nigeria, so I enjoyed that, as well.

The ending was a bit unexpected, and I'm not sure that's a good thing, in this case. Some plot points throughout required the reader to suspend disbelief.

I’m judging a 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

“As John Paul walks away, I follow him in the shadows, unable to unsee the nightmare he created behind us. And because he doesn’t look back, neither can I.”

Woosh.

The event that sets off Lightseekers is a triple murder of uni students at the hands of a mob, but it’s before the novel opens, and it’s mostly offstage. Instead, we see the protagonist’s reaction to the video of the murder of the Okriki Three. Just as Philip Taiwo is revolted and motivated to find the truth, so was I.

Taiwo is a psychologist, not a police officer or detective, and he comes at these crimes as an academic, with different access than the law or a family representative would have. He’s already drawn in through complicated personal loyalties, and that’s sort of the heart of this book, all about complicated loyalties and personal connections.

Some of the college boys are in special groups, positively called fraternities, negatively called cults. There’s not really a religious aspect to these groups, but it’s somewhere between wild frat boy partying, a mutual aid society, and mob shakedowns of other students. At times, it’s a bit like the town vs gown stories of Oxbridge lore. This idea, that a group is either working for mutual protection and advancement or it’s a hostile, violent gang, comes up again and again, not only for the college boys.

Taiwo’s investigations turn up wider social issues, too. Some of the history referenced is confusing if the only information you know about the Nigerian civil war comes from Half a Yellow Sun. It didn’t make the novel hard to follow, though, it just feels like what Phillip learns from the chief is a tiny fragment of what’s going on. Also, I like to read international fiction because I like discovering different settings and viewpoints, so I don’t mind a little confusion as I learn more.

There’s a lot about social expectations and access to resources in this novel, but it’s also a solid detective story with a sympathetic protag in Philip Taiwo, and plenty of twists and surprising connections in his investigations.

What a wonderful debut from Femi Kayode! I really enjoyed this unique crime novel. I loved that the main character was not part of law enforcement, it gave an interesting perspective on the story making it standout form the standard crime novel. This book passed my personal test. (It made me want to read something else by the author and research the non-fiction aspects of the fictional works.) I want to always keep learning and I did a little research on fraternities (cults) in Nigerian Universities. Thank you Mulholland Press for this great title.

A very interesting story, set in the far south-eastern part of Nigeria, in a small town where the students at a university have created a serious town-gown controversy. Some of the fraternities have become "cults" that operate like gangs, and the local townsfolk are unhappy with the ways students behave. As the book opens, a mob has surrounded three boys accused of theft, ending in a horrific murder. The father of one of the boys hires a US-educated psychologist who specializes in crime-scene analysis to investigate, since he's sure his son was innocent of the crimes that led to mob violence, kicking off the investigation that follows.

The setting is well drawn, and the psychologist, who has recently moved back to Nigeria after some years in the states, is an interesting guide to it because he is nearly as unfamiliar with the locale as readers are. He's smart and dogged but he couldn't get where he does without his sidekick, who is suspiciously well-informed. A further complication for the protagonist is that he thinks his wife, back in Lagos, has cheated on him, but he's reluctant to talk to her about it. For me, this aspect of the book (and the attraction he feels to a beautiful lawyer he meets) was the least satisfying part of the story, but it works well for both the plot and his character development.

It's great to have another African writer added to the genre. I look forward to more from Femi Kayode.

The old adage about judging a book by its cover is a good one, but in this case, the cover is exactly what caught my eye, and after reading the summary, I was intrigued and quickly dove in.

Dr. Philip Taiwo is a respected Nigerian investigative psychologist called upon to look into the public torture and murder of three young students, dubbed the Okriki Three. Wary of the task but unable to turn away, he heads to Port Harcourt. With the help of his driver, Chika, Philip embarks on a harrowing and complex trip to find the truth, realizing that the tumultuous sociopolitical landscape might reveal more about the deaths than he originally anticipated--a fact that might put his own life in danger.

I loved this book.

Philip is an interesting character for several reasons. First, his layered voice is authentic and highly engrossing. His personal problems remain a sticking point throughout the narrative, and this adds to his internal conflict about a burgeoning friendship with Salome. Additionally, we experience PH through his lens which is at times at odds with his objective. On the one hand, Philip is an outsider, an Americano, not from the town or familiar with the day-to-day routines, despite having familial ties to the area. On the other hand, he feels a strong sense of obligation to his father and his heritage. He combats this duality at crucial points, wanting to be accepted but also realizing that he cannot be accepted. His frame of reference causes him to react to things Chika finds normal, and this juxtaposition is also reflected in his descriptions of the setting. We get the extremes: a glamorous hotel with concierge service and buffets--and the dirt roads, no electricity, violence, and religious upheaval in the city.

The Otherness Philip's character explores is such a relevant topic, especially given the current climate. Much like his investigation into the Okriki Three, we, the reader, are forced to confront our own biases and shortcomings, our own inherent worldly assumptions and how our views are shaped by the experiences in our community. Yes, this is an excellent suspense about one man's quest to find the truth, but it is also a literary reflection on Nigerian culture, political and religious intricacies, the far-reaching consequences of social media and weaponization of technology, and the role of family/community in the larger picture of duty and morality.

The Lightseekers is a smart, taut read with purpose and poise. If you put any book on your 2021 TBR, let it be this one. I will definitely be re-reading again and look forward to more Philip Taiwo stories in the future.

Big thanks to Mulholland and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.