Nigerwife - the foreign wife of a Nigerian husband who takes up residence in Nigeria.

Nicole Oruwari is of Jamaican descent and lived in London until she made the decision to move to Nigeria with her handsome husband, Tonye and her two sons. Tonye’s family, which includes his parents, live in an opulent mansion in Lagos. She is leaving her troubled family home where she has always felt like an outsider although she was among family. The anticipation of a more luxurious and grand life excited her but what she found was more loneliness, isolation and depression. Even being a part of the exclusive “Nigerwives” did not provide the fulfillment she thought she would have being married to Tonye in such a beautiful and lavish city.

Nicole’s life looks so perfect, but a very different picture soon begins to emerge. Nicole disappears after a boat outing in Ikoyi harbor with little details of what happened, or if she’s alive or not. Her aunt Claudine who took on the role of a mother image to her when Nicole’s mother died, travels to Lagos to get answers about Nicole’s disappearance. She is shocked to find that life seems to be moving along fine for Tonye and his family and there was very little investigation into what could have happened to Nicole. Claudine starts her own investigation and learns so much about Nicole’s life, secrets and the stability of her marriage.

THE NIGERWIFE was a slow burn that was quite worldly so I found myself putting down more than I should have. When I did become invested in the story, I found it bottomless and a bit disjointed. I wanted to know more about her life with Tonye before the move to Nigeria, what their life was like in the early stages in her marriage and before kids to see why it was desirable for her to leave her family and move to a foreign country with him. As I learned more about her character, I was not able to empathize with her. I found her a bit messy and I questioned her relationship as a mother as there was very little interaction with her kids. The mystery of her disappearance kept me engaged in this domestic thriller.

I highly recommend! A perfect summer read that takes place in Nigeria, with a group of women where nothing is as it seems. Social norms, family pressure, and the unfamiliarity of living in a foreign country shape the choices each family member must make on the path to their own happiness. The Nigerwives were formed to help women acclimate to their new country and find companionship, but are they doing more than simply organizing fundraisers and parties? This is a slow-burn mystery that is so well-written and refreshing!

What sets this novel apart from the numerous missing person novels is the unusual setting - the neighborhoods of the super wealthy families living in Lagos, Nigeria. In the spotlight is a group of women who exist in real life called the Nigerwives - foreign women who are married to Nigerian wife. I enjoyed it and hope there will be a sequel.

I wanted to love this book. I liked the Nigeria setting and learning about the Nigerian culture. However, this moved very slowly for me. It's marketed as a thriller, but it is too slow for a thriller. With faster pacing, it could have worked. The story itself is very intriguing.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

The handling of Nigeria, the customs concerning wives, how missing women are handled and family dynamics make this book a thriller and winner. It is slow paced and picks up towards the middle. Fans of 90 Day Fiancee will recognize some of the events. It's not for everyone but I enjoyed it.

gonna land right in the middle on this one, as i feel it’s a bit misleading to call it a thriller - more of a domestic drama with a missing-person mystery element. it was a bit predictable for my taste but what makes this book special is the atmospheric setting of Nigeria, and learning about the group of women who call themselves the Nigerwives (which is a real thing and based on Walters’s own experience!) I also enjoyed following Claudine more than Nicole’s storyline.
however the biggest distraction for me was that I felt like it got unnecessarily wordy at times (SO many descriptions of what people are wearing, for example) to the point I was skimming long paragraphs that didn’t really add to the story. I see that it’s already in development for TV, and i feel like I would enjoy this story more in a visual platform.

3.5 stars. It was slow for me until the 20% mark and then I found it hard to put down. Definitely had me guessing until the last minute and I enjoyed how the past unfolded.

The Nigerwife is a story about a missing British-Jamaican wife (Nicole) of a wealthy Nigerian man (Tonye.) Nicole's estranged aunt (Claudine) comes to Nigeria to get answers about her niece's disappearance. The book explores various themes such as generational trauma, isolation, haves vs have nots etc.
While I initially misread the title (I can't be the only one), it was interesting to learn that there is an actual Nigerwife community.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought I had the mystery solved, realized I didn't....thought I had it solved again....still wrong, and the ending left me wanting a part two. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Loved. Thank you for the digital copy, I ended up receiving a physical copy and will be reviewing on my socials that way. Thank you again for the digital ARC.

I enjoyed this, though I have to say I needed to majorly adjust my expectations early on, and believe describing this book as a "thriller" does it a disservice. Walters excels at creating the brooding atmosphere, and portraying a culture in which everybody knows things but no one is telling. I found the ending to be a bit clunky, but very much enjoyed the actual story. I'm excited to hear this is currently under development for the screen—this could be a rare case where the show is better than the source material.

Book Title: The Nigerwife
Author: Vanessa Walters
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Domestic/Thriller
Pub Date: May 2, 2023
My Rating: 3 Stars!

Nicole Oruwari is from Britain but lives in Lagos, Nigeria with her Nigerian born husband.
She becomes part of a group pf foreign born wealthy as a Nigerwife.
When she disappears it doesn’t seem to be concern local investigators. So her aunt Claudine travels to Nigeria to find her niece. Aunt Claudine tells us more Nicole's life and we also learn more about Nicole’s life in Lagos.
Story tells us more about the Nigerian culture and the wealthy and yes there are twists.

In her ‘Author’s Note ’ author, Vanessa Walters]tells us that although the story is fiction the inspiration came from her own experience as a ‘Nigerwife’ She explains that this term is well known in Nigeria and means as was stated in the story ~ is a foreign wife of a Nigerian man.
Also tells us that when she moved to Legos in 2011 it was and still is an exciting vibrant, diverse as well as wealthy city. She give us an example of the cost of oil and how it has risen in 2011 One dollar US currency was worth 155 Nigerian naira ~ now that same US dollar is worth 438 naira.

Story was an education to me about the Nigerian culture.

Want to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for granted me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 2, 2023

Recommended! This book is pitched as a thriller, but I greatly enjoyed learning about this small subset of Nigerian life. Nicole Oruwari hails from Britain but lives in Nigeria in the megacity of Lagos with her Nigerian born husband. As a foreign born woman, she become part of the Nigerwifes, and eclectic group similar to all groups of ultra wealthy women. When she disappears however, no one seems to be leading a concentrated investigation. It takes her estranged aunt Claudine to travel to Nigeria to begin to overturn stones. Claudine provides the background to Nicole's life and through flashbacks we learn more about her life in Lagos. It was truly mesmerizing and the ending was as twisty as any great domestic thriller.

This book was optioned for a show on HBO so I highly recommend you read it now! If you like to learn about other countries and cultures, love to read about the lives of the rich and ultra wealthy or just want enjoy a new domestic thriller, The Nigerwife is for you!l #Atria #TheNigerWife #HBO #VanessaWalters
#atriabooks

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.