This book had really good atmosphere and the mystery was interesting
The plot was a bit confusing and it didn’t come together very well

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

An unusual and intriguing variation on the crime novel. Both victims and murderers are known but the motive seems unclear. Philip Taiwo, recently returned to Nigeria, is an investigative psychologist sent to find out.

His arrival is met with resistance and resentment, both from the local community and the local police whose inability to stop the murders forms part of Taiwo’s enquiries.

The story reveals unknown aspects of Nigerian society, particularly the criminal activities of student societies (cults) within the university system.

The setting and background are interesting but the plotting and characterisation fall short for this particular reader.

There are a lot of thrillers out there and they can get quite samey, but this one wasn’t like that at all, this had a unique quality which kept me engaged throughout and I thoroughly enjoyed this

If you are looking for a thriller with a bit of a difference then give LIghtseekers a read. Set in Nigeria, a criminal psychologist whose speciality is crowd behaviour is asked to look into a a violent crime which took place a year earlier, a crowd turned on 3 university students and murdered them however justice hasn't been seen to be served and the wealthy father of one of the young men brings in Dr Philip Taiwo to find out why this happened. This is easy to read, entertaining, showing readers a country which doesn't feature ofter in crime fiction, it has the feel of a series in the making.

Whi the story started out interesting, I couldn’t see myself finish it unfortunately. I enjoyed some elements that I’ve read for the first half of the story but I had to stop reading there as I just couldn’t relate or like any of the characters. I can totally understand why I can’t get into it as I never visited or knew much about the setting and that’s what made me request it in the first place.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Set in Nigeria this is an interesting and compulsive read. I don’t want to spoil the plot but you really REALLY need to read this. It’s based on a murder that really happened. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a book as much for a while. This is on a different level. 5/5 and cannot wait to read more as this is a debut.

This book should have been good. Sadly it wasn't. I'm always intrigued by crime books told from a perspective of someone other than the police so I thought this Nigerian thriller with a criminal psychologist in the drivers seat would be interesting. The crime that was being investigated was awful but I didn't think the terrible nature of the crime was conveyed enough and so from the beginning I wasn't totally on board, it just didn't connect with me emotionally. As the story went on it became more and more uninteresting until a rushed ending resulted in a lacklustre conclusion leaving lots of loose ends and not much resolution. Such a shame I had high hopes for this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Raven Books for this review copy. This is a fantastic, well-paced debut. Set in Nigeria, it focusses on the psychology of violence within a small-town community when three men are burned to death by a mob incited to murder, and the video posted online. Femi Kayode skilfully weaves the plot around issues of mob psychology and online incitement of hatred via his protagonist, Philip Taiwo, an investigative psychologist recently returned with his family from living in America. The combination of a family man finding his feet again in Nigeria, alongside the simmering tensions in the town makes this a gripping read. If you enjoy pacy, well-drawn location crime set in isolated communities like Jane Harper’s The Dry or Will Dean’s Dark Pines then this could well be for you.

Femi Kayode has written a cracking début set in Nigeria. The first in a series, Dr Philip Taiwo is an academic, a psychological investigator who specialises in mob behaviour and crowd killings. He was working in the US but has returned to his Nigerian hometown of Lagos, a move prompted by his wife, Folake. He is persuaded to investigate the brutal murders of three young students, known as the Okriki Three, and one of the fathers, Chiemeka Nwamadi is desperate for answers surrounding his son, Kevin's killing.

This is a really clever and fascinating story that drew me in right from the first pages. Femi Kayode engages the reader with layered characters, a mystery that has many underlying themes and a vividly drawn setting. The fabulous plotting and great pacing also contributed to my huge appreciation of the story. There was quite a lot of violence and brutality in the tale but it never overwhelmed the story and I loved how the protagonist sought to understand the psychology behind the violence.

If you love a good crime fiction series with plenty of action and intensity then Lightseekers is for you. Very highly recommended. Rating: five stars.

I read Lightseekers in staves with other Pigeonholers as part of a group. A special thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Raven Books, Femi Kayode, NetGalley and The Pigeonhole for a complimentary copy of this novel at my request. This review is my unbiased opinion.

When three students are brutally murdered in the town Okiki by a lynch mob, it is captured and shown on social media. The father of Kevin, one of the Okiki three, cannot understand how or why this happened to his son. He hires Philip a criminal psychologist to investigate. He provides a driver Chika to help. We realise very early, that Chika is much more than a driver. As the investigation progresses we gain insights into modern Nigeria with its corruption, bureaucracy and dissonance between wealthy and poor.The tension between Philip, Chika and the townfolk who carried out this atrocity, builds.The mystery surrounding Chika develops..
The story is pacy, involving ,and peppered with great characters. Philip is a very empathetic character who I am sure will appear in future developments

Set in Nigeria, Femi Kayode's "Lightseekers" is a blistering debut. The writing is beautifully crafted, the characters well-drawn. Philip Taiwo is an investigative psychologist navigating an unfamiliar justice system in a community where normal rules of engagement don't apply, in an effort to solve a brutal crime. The town doesn't welcome strangers so Dr Taiwo struggles to gather evidence and make sense of the information available to him. The book follows a four act structure, each prefaced with a quotation about the behaviour of beams of light. It's a tale of manipulation, revenge and standing up for what you believe despite the consequences. An addictive and engaging read.

The "Lightseekers" by Femi Kayode is a unique, tense thriller with a multilayered plot that really hits the mark!

The story takes place in Nigeria, mostly in the town of Okriki where three students were terribly murdered a year previously. Dr Philip Taiwo, an investigative psychologist who studied in California and recently returned to live in Lagos is engaged by the father of one of the boys to understand how this happened following an unsatisfactory police investigation.
The original conclusion that the students were caught stealing seems more unlikely as Philip and his appointed driver look further into the circumstances.

Kayode's writing is majestic as he describes the chaotic scenes and wonderfully duplicit characters and the persistent difficulties impeding the investigation.

Look forward to reading lots more from this author.

Lightseekers is an exceptional crime novel, that just happens to be a debut. Kayode crafts a wonderfully evocative sense of people and place, immersing readers in the physical and societal landscapes. The Namibia-based author finely balances exciting action and rising tension with thoughtful explorations of a variety of issues such as social media misinformation and the conflation of justice and violence. As Taiwo undertakes a harrowing, dangerous investigation he traverses luxury hotels to scummy apartments of drug addicts, and broaches conflicts between Muslims and Christians, locals and students. There’s quite a lot of texture to this tale but it never overwhelms the story. A bruising, intense read from a powerful new voice in crime fiction. Hopefully just the beginning for Femi Kayode and Dr Philip Taiwo.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars rounded down

I liked this. There's a lot of good in this book. Complex but with well woven together threads to build up an epic story. Very intriguing, I never knew where it was going to go next, so had to keep reading. Not stereotypical but culturally correct (in my opinion). Not a detective but a psychologist - very nice to have a different angle to an investigative novel. However, it lacked atmosphere for me. something was missing. That said, I would happily read more from this author and hope to see the return of Philip Taiwo and see what he get mixed up in next.

Lightseekers is the debut novel from Femi Kayode and whilst the underlying plot and main arc is interesting I found that I struggled to “get into” the book as it started slowly and failed to grab my attention.

Lights Seekers by Femi Kayode is a beautifully written crime thriller set in Nigeria. Having never read anything set in that country this is a wonderful and immersive experience that takes hold and firmly takes you on to the hot dusty streets.

Unusually this is not a detective story but introduces Dr Phillip Taiwo - a psychologist who specialises In mob mentality.

When 3 boys are murdered by a baying mob having been accused of theft - 18 months after the event, and still hurting from the loss of his son, a prominent banker asks Taiwo to look into the case and get to the bottom of his sons death.

Taiwo is faced with corrupt police, angry tribal chiefs and more in this stunning tale, quite something else from anything I’ve read, Femi Kayode has written a quite brilliant debut rich in culture and deeply ingrained in Nigerian society and I hope this is the start of a new series

Femi Kayode brings a fresh voice to crime fiction with this murder mystery set in Nigeria and featuring a unique sleuth. It will be popular with crime fans who like to try something a little different.. I wish the book every success.

For those crime and mystery readers who enjoy becoming more familiar with another country and its culture through the forum of crime fiction like myself, then Femi Kayode is a superb author to introduce you to Nigeria. The central protagonist is not a police officer or private investigator, Dr Philip Taiwo is a academic, a psychological investigator, who specialises in the harrowing field of crowd killings, a man who has been living and working in the United States, who has recently returned home to Lagos, Nigeria with his family, a move instigated by his wife, Folake. Having felt like an outsider in the US, he is surprised to find he is now seen as an outsider, an Americano, at home. He is asked by the Managing Director of the third largest bank, Chiemeka Nwamadi, to find the truth of the killing of his son, Kevin, one of the Okriti 3, 3 young students viewed as thieves and murdered by a crowd 2 years ago.

The public executions were captured by numerous digital witnesses, uploading their videos onto social media platforms. Persuaded by his influential father and feeling the need for space from his wife, Philip flies to Port Harcourt, meeting Salome Briggs on the plane, and picked up by his driver, Chika Makuochi, at the airport. It doesn't take long for Philip to see that Chika has skills beyond driving, giving him valuable assistance in his task, whilst simultaneously providing him with local knowledge and understanding of a culture that he is severely lacking. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the local community in Okriti are less than welcoming of another outsider coming to cast their judgement on an event where they were merely dispensing justifiable justice, everyone wants to forget it and move on, and this includes the local police, who claim the case is now closed with the arrests and upcoming trial of 7 people. In a narrative where Okriti palpably exudes increasing tensions, violence and volatility, it takes Philip a little time to understand just how much danger he and Chika are in.

Kayode paints an authentic depiction of Nigerian culture, moving seamlessly from the worlds of extreme wealth and luxury and the poverty, so often accompanied by the lack of opportunities, electricity and infrastructure, and the everyday norms where the military regularly create roadblocks for the purpose of collecting bribes from drivers. Additionally, it provides an insightful picture of its troubling history, such as the terrors of the Biafran civil war, and the curse of the discovery of oil, in the wake of which came murders, devastating destruction of the land, horrifying brutality and violence. This is high quality, smart, complex and engaging crime fiction which focuses on critical issues, such as the problems of social media, reflecting the contemporary global social realities an machinations of people sowing discord and divisions for their own agendas, by manipulating facts or spreading lies. There is a fascinating central protagonist in Dr Philip Taiwo, and I think this novel is likely to appeal to many crime fiction readers, and one which I hope will turn out to be a series. Many thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC.

Lightseekers is an immersive book with a great setting: Nigeria. The murder case Philip Taiwo needs to solve is believable and contemporary. For the reader, it is quite a challenge to guess the motives of the people that Philip meets while investigating his case because of the – for many – unfamiliar setting. It is very exciting how you’ll keep guessing and trying to come up with different explanations while trying to figure out how life in a small town in Nigeria works. How well-versed are you in Nigerian family culture, hierarchy, and the power of friendships? Or the role of politics and religion in everyday life?

The narrative is very much focused on the thought process of the narrator, which makes for a slow start of the story. Philip is an academic, even though he has experience working together with a police department in the US. His naivety and slowness annoyed me at first. For example, his willingness to work closely with Chika without asking the right questions for most of the book is somewhat hard to believe. To me it seemed like he forgot that he can read people after the opening chapters of the book, only to be reminded of his skills in the last third of the book.

On the other hand, as Philip only recently returned to Nigeria after living in the USA for many years, he is having a hard time adjusting. He felt like a foreigner in the USA and also feels like a foreigner in his own country because he is used to a different way of living. This aspect makes him an interesting narrator: like the reader, he is not very familiar with the inner workings of life in Nigeria.

While the start of the book is a bit slow, the second half is much better! The italic parts add mystery and suspense to the story and make you want to know more. Lightseekers is a good thriller and definitely worth reading because of the setting and unfamiliar culture that makes this book a refreshing read. Femi Kayode made a great choice by telling the story from the perspective of an academic instead of a police officer.