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

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and Vanessa Walters for letting me read “The Nigerwife” in exchange for an honest review.

Right from the start, while I did enjoy this book, I do think it’s not the kind of thriller one expects. At most a domestic thriller? But that’s just me. 
While it’s a good read, I think it might be better suited as a tv show, so good luck with that project! 

Nicole Oruwari lived most of her life in Britain. She married a rich Nigerian and settles there as his wife, soon having two sons. She becomes part of a society called Nigerwives. It’s actually a real thing (foreign women married to Nigerians). 
But things turn bleak. Nicole disappears. A mother of two young sons is just gone… and nobody seems to care. 

No one but her estranged aunt Claudine who flies to Nigeria, trying to find out what happens to Nicole. 
Through a dual timeline we get glimpses at Nicole’s life a d what happened to her. 

I personally don’t know much about Nigeria, so I definitely learned some things. Walters creates real and dimensional characters, not all of them likeable. But she did a good job with setting this up.

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.