The Lagos Wife
  • Published: 6 June 2023
  • ISBN: 9781529153279
  • Imprint: Hutchinson Heinemann
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $32.99

The Lagos Wife

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
6 Jun 2023
EBook
29 Feb 2024
EBook
8 Sep 2022
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This twisty and electrifying debut novel about a young woman who goes missing in Lagos, Nigeria, and her estranged auntie who will stop at nothing to find the truth is perfect for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Last Thing He Told Me

'Thrillingly suspenseful . . . Reveals its riches, layers and secrets through effortlessly elegant prose' BERNARDINE EVARISTO
'A brilliantly original novel about family, motherhood, identity and diaspora, with a crime thriller twist' AFUA HIRSCH

Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a handsome husband, a palatial house in the heart of glittering Lagos, Nigeria, and a glamorous group of friends. She left gloomy London and a dark family past behind for sunny, moneyed Lagos, becoming part of the Nigerwives-a community of foreign women married to wealthy Nigerian men.

But when Nicole disappears without a trace after a boat trip, the cracks in her so-called perfect life start to show. As the investigation turns up nothing but dead ends, her Auntie Claudine decides to take matters into her own hands. Armed with only a cell phone and a plane ticket to Nigeria, she digs into her niece's life and uncovers a hidden side filled with dark secrets, isolation, and even violence. But the more she discovers about her niece, the more Claudine's own buried history threatens to come to light.

An inventively told and keenly observant thriller where nothing is as it seems, The Nigerwife is a razor-sharp look at the bonds of family, the echoing consequences of secrets, and whether we can ever truly outrun our past.


'The Nigerwife is an exceptional debut . . . pacy and unique. An absolute treat - it took all my expectations and threw them to the wind.' JANICE HALLETT
'A murderously good read' SARAH LANGAN
  • Published: 6 June 2023
  • ISBN: 9781529153279
  • Imprint: Hutchinson Heinemann
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $32.99
Categories:

About the author

Vanessa Walters

Vanessa Walters was born and raised in London. She has a background in international journalism and playwriting and is a Tin House and Millay Arts resident. She is the author of two previous YA books. She currently lives in Brooklyn.

Praise for The Lagos Wife

A thrillingly suspenseful novel that reveals its riches, layers and secrets through effortlessly elegant prose, while exposing the imprisoning dynamics inside transactional relationships of patriarchal power. I was hooked right through to the shocking end

Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other

A brilliantly original novel about family, motherhood, identity and diaspora, with a crime thriller twist

Afua Hirsh

In this superb thriller with a devastating conclusion, Vanessa Walters finally fulfils her precocious talent. One of my books of the year

Alex Wheatle

Explores the ways a set of ex-pat women in Nigeria exchange autonomy for comfort. But it's a raw, and potentially fatal deal. A murderously good read!

Sarah Langan

The search for a missing woman, set against the backdrop of glamour and wealth, is utterly captivating. Lush, poignant and gripping with a killer ending to boot . . . Vanessa Walters is one to watch

Mary Kubica

Dark secrets seethe beneath the glamorous lives of Nigeria's uber rich. A propulsive and complex tale of passion and betrayal. Electrifying

Liv Constantine

The search for a missing woman, set against the backdrop of glamour and wealth, is utterly captivating. Lush, poignant and gripping with a killer ending to boot, The Lagos Wife shows that sometimes the perfect life and the perfect marriage aren't exactly what they seem. Vanessa Walters is one to watch!

Mary Kubica

Evokes skillfully the atmosphere of a wealthy life by the Lagos Lagoon . . . A shimmering success

Diana Evans

An excellent novel . . . Beautifully written, immersive, thought-provoking. I recommend it very highly

Marian Keyes

An excellent read

Guardian

Big Little Lies meets The White Lotus

Good Morning America

Richly layered and deeply thoughtful, this is another excellent read that holds you in suspense until its shocking conclusion

Observer

The Lagos Wife transports the reader to a world of privilege, excitement and warmth . . . A gripping mystery, a portrait of an exhilarating but perilous city and a nuanced examination of clashing cultures

Financial Times
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