The Lagos Wife is marketed as a thriller but I don't necessarily think that's the best way to describe this book.
What you get here is a character driven, slower paced narrative, which does have many twists and turns along the way that keep you hooked. But to me this read more like a literary fiction with a mystery plot. Which I absolutely loved.

Within this book you get two main narratives, Nicole, who has been living in Nigeria with her husband and has now disappeared.
And Claudine, her Aunt who has arrived in Nigeria from the UK, to try and piece together what happened to her neice.

Both voices are equally strong and fleshed out, keeping me interested throughout the entire novel.

I would definitely recommend it.

*I received this book via Netgalley*

I really enjoyed the setting of this book and reading about the culture of Nigeria which the author did a great job of portraying in vivid & descriptive detail.

I found this book a bit on the slow side & was expecting more focus on the mystery /thriller side.

Overall a good read that just fell a little flat for me.

Lagos, Nigeria is home to British/Jamaican Nicola and her wealthy husband. This is the dream life - or is it? Nicola suddenly disappears but it's her Aunt Claudine who travels from England to Lagos to search for her. Nicola and her Aunt are especially close because when Nicola's mother died her Aunt became her substitute mother and raised her.

Told from the viewpoints of first Nicola, the Aunt Claudine, this is an interesting and reasonably well paced book. The culture of Nigeria is particularly vivid and well portrayed, but the story is a little repetitive.

On the whole I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

From the outside, Nicole Oruwari's life looks perfect: a beautiful family, a palatial home in the most prestigious neighbourhood in Lagos, a veritable army of servants to attend to her every whim, and a glamorous circle of friends. It's a far cry from her troubled upbringing back in London, and she seems to relish her rebirth as a Nigerwife - a foreign woman married to a Nigerian man. However, when Nicole suddenly vanishes after a boat trip, it seems that her life may not have been all it appeared. Frustrated by the apparent complacency of Nicole's Nigerian family, her aunt Claudine decides to take matters into her own hands, flying to Lagos to find out what really happened to her niece.

Previously published as The Nigerwife in 2023, Vanessa Walters' first novel in more than twenty five years is a vividly drawn account of one woman's attempts to find her place in an unfamiliar country and culture. As an exploration of life in upper class Lagos, of Nigerian gender norms and their impact on families and individuals, and of losing one's identity in marriage, motherhood and migration, The Lagos Wife is a fascinating, affecting novel. Walters captures the specific setting through the eyes of two newly arrived women, and her observations are a welcome counter to stories set in Africa which focus on poverty and deprivation; there is certainly something of Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians in the descriptions of Nicole's family compound.

The author has crafted thoughtful parallels between Nicole's experiences moving from England to Nigeria and Claudine's moving from Jamaica to England many years earlier, and I initially enjoyed the structure of the story, whereby the reader follows Claudine's investigation into Nicole's disappearance whilst also looking for clues as to why her relationship with Claudine had deteriorated so far, and so unsalvageably, by the time she left England. Unfortunately, however, the mystery element of the plot was far less engaging than the character arcs. From the blurb, I also expected a twisty, fast-paced thriller, and The Lagos Wife was not it. The pace is slow and meandering, several of the characters feel underdeveloped and, while one of the two aforementioned mysteries is resolved neatly, the other flails around for over three hundred pages before reaching a baffling, disappointing conclusion. As a cultural critique, The Lagos Wife shines, but as a thriller, it never really builds momentum.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed learning about the culture, setting & dienamics of Lagos.

The plot fell a bit flat for me overall but after that ending I wish there was some more chapters to dig my teeth into.

Nicola, a British - Jamaican woman moves to Lagos Nigeria with her wealthy Nigerian husband. What some may consider a dream isn’t all what it seems to be. When Nicole disappears her Aunt who raised her after the death of her mother, comes searching for answers. This goes into a story full of twists and turns.

The story is told from the point of view of her aunt Claudine as well as Nicole leading up to her disappearance. The story delves into some parts of Nigerian culture as well as family dynamics.

The idea behind the book is what captivated me as it seemed to be a potentially good thriller. I found the book to be repetitive but to also as low in pace at some parts.

Initially I would say this book is branded a mystery thriller, and I think that is incorrect, as this book is is more of a family drama with a tiny mystery throughout.

Unfortunately this fell flat for me, I found the story carried on for far too long but with little action. A lot of the information provided I found irrelevant to the overall plot. Additionally, I think the story could have been told in half the time:

I did like that this was set in Nigeria, and I enjoyed learning about some of the culture.

The chapter lengths were really long in some points, and I did not feel a connection with any characters and found them to be unlikeable and underdeveloped.

I was very close to DNF’ing but carried on to see it through, unfortunately I wish I did DNF.

Thanks to Net galley and Penguin Random House for this ARC to review in exchange of my honest opinion.

When Nicole Oruwari goes missing in Nigeria, her aunt Claudine travels from London in a determined effort to find her. Frustrated by her husband's and his family's lack of initiative, Claudine takes matters into her own hands to uncover what happened to her niece.

This book tackles a myriad of themes, including a missing person, familial trauma, the legacy of slavery, and the challenges of adapting to a new culture and society. With so much happening, no single aspect of the story truly stands out. Numerous characters could have benefited from more development, making it difficult to fully empathise with any of them.

The writing is strong, and the characters are intriguingly flawed. The setting provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of the Nigerwives and their affluent husbands. However, the plot lacks the gripping intensity one might expect from a thriller, and the pacing feels uneven, which makes it hard to stay completely hooked.

3.5/5.

"‘Shine your eyes.’ Nothing here is what it seems.”

Nicole Oruwari is the wife of Tonye Oruwari, she appears to have a perfect life & family. But what happens when the life you accepted begins to spit you out? Well, you may very well end up missing. With investigations petering out, Nicole's estranged aunt Claudine leaves London to search for answers, even though those closest to Nicole are less than cooperative.

I enjoyed a limited number of aspects of the Lagos wife.

1 - In most Black fic books, I think it's very rare to find a FMC who is; a mother; a wife; and is as flawed as Nicole is, especially one who seems to give absolutely no f*cks.
2. The exploration of class, culture & feminism.
3. I loved the characterisation of Tonye's family - they enraged me!

This book was really not for me at all.

I had many issues with this story.

The pacing was very tiresome in the first 40%. I actually opted for sleep on many occassions instead of reading this 😶 Once it did begin to heat up, it spiralled out of control & lost all sense of direction.

I normally enjoy a dual/multi POV book, but the dual POV didn't work well for me at all on this ocassion. I hoped that Claudines POV would add some context to Nicole's story but it just further added to my irritation levels & provided a lack of clarity until the last 4/5 chapters.

Despite hearing rumblings as to why the original title of 'The Niger Wife' was changed to 'The Lagos Wife', I am still very disgruntled by the title of 'The Lagos Wife', IMO it did not fit the story at all, it may have been better to call it one of the following;

1. Our Wife
2. Pear Shaped
3. The Lagoon Wife
4. Where The Pear Tree Grows
Or better yet, to stick with the original title.

Overall, it's juat a no (for me).

If you have this on your shelves, please do still read it to make your own mind up about this book! If you've read it, what were your thoughts?

I'll be waiting for the TV adaptation to land, but in the meantime...

⭐️⭐️.85

I did enjoy this book, I didn't realise I had previously gotten it when it was under the title of 'The Niger Wife'.
It is well paced and I enjoyed the imagery and storytelling, the reason I gave 3 stars over 4 was due to me not being the biggest fan of the ending, but I would recommend this to others to read. Thank you for my ARC

This is 3 stars for me. The writing is strong and the characters are flawed and intriguing. I loved the setting and insight into the world of the Nigerwives and their wealthy husbands. However, the plot was not hugely gripping and the pacing felt off so I wasn't totally hooked.This didn't feel like a thriller to me – more general fiction – but that didn't take away from me enjoying it

I want to start this by saying thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to be an ARC reader for this. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t connect with the characters so I was struggling to pick this up at all but I can see why others enjoy this. But for me, it’s not something I could pick up

Beautiful writing style, so clear & provides an insight of the culture.

Wanted to keep reading, to see why the family were keeping information from the Aunt, who came across the world to lookfl for her & felts the husband's family didn't care. A perfect book for summer holiday to get yourself lost in.

I received an ARC of this book via netgalley and am grateful for the opportunity to read it. The book's narrative follows the Disappearance of Nicole a Nigerwife" in Lagos. Nigerwife appears to describe a married woman in Lagos who is not necessarily Nigerian, it may also be a status symbol. The narrative is told from two points of view - Nicole 's story of events prior to her disappearance and Claudine's story of the events around trying to find out what happened. I found the latter much easier to read than the former which i felt lacked something in narrative style or characterisation. Perhaps I just connected better with the character of Claudine.

Overall I didn't find it an immensely satisfying read, it lacked substance and did not draw me into the place or the events.

When Nicole Oruwari goes missing in Nigeria, her aunt Claudine travels from London to try to find her. Frustrated by her husband and his family’s lack of effort to find her from, Claudine tries to find out what happened to her niece.

There’s a lot going on in this book - a missing person, commentary on familial trauma, the legacy of slavery, the difficulties fitting in to a new culture and society… there’s so much going on that no one part of the book really has a chance to stand out. There are a lot of characters who could have done with some more space to be fleshed out, and I found it hard to really empathise with any of them.

Agatha Christie was a firm believer that the reader must have a reasonable chance of working out who committed the crime - not something that can be said of this particular book. I don’t mean that I can always guess, but rather that I like that feeling of ‘oh, how did I not see that coming?’.

Not a terrible book, but not a favourite of my recent reads.

I'm sort of torn by this one. The Lagos Wife is flashy and gritty and full of complex relationships and dynamics. It explored cultural differences, racism, misogyny, domestic abuse, classism, and so much more. Whilst I was interested in Nicole's story, and finding out what happened to her, nearly every character was quite unlikeable, so I found it difficult to invest in the novel. I think it was also a little confused about what story it actually wanted to tell.

This book is based on the disappearance of Nicole, who is an English woman who moved to Nigeria with her husband and kids. A member of her family, Claudine goes to Nigeria to aid in finding Nicole. The traditions and customs of Nigeria are explored through the book. There are chapters from before (Nicole) and after (Claudine). I enjoyed the style of writing and the story, but the life of expats in Nigeria annoyed me, as well as the wealth described. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an advanced copy.

Thank You, NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The Lagos Wife by Vanessa Walters had a lot of promise. In fact, it was brilliant in portions.

I actually enjoyed reading this book and would love for everyone to experience it at least once.

I love books set in Africa, showing us a glimpse of the society and the people there.

This is also another reason why I enjoyed this one.

Thanks.

This was such a great read. I loved the dual timeline of it and getting all the pieces to the puzzle that way. I thought Walters did a great job of showing the helplessness of Nicole and showing Claudine's frustration with it all. The twists and turns were interesting and I liked how the reader had some knowledge on some things that Nicole didn't until later on in the story, which made things more intriguing. I did feel like the ending was maybe a tad rushed and I don't know how necessary the Len storyline throughout was in the end. But that Epilogue was incredible.

Sorry not for me this one. Too slow. Subject matter didn’t interest me and feel like it was mismarketed. This isn’t a thriller