' We know you know. Talk and you're next.'
Bishop Jeremiah Dawodu, pastor of a Nigerian megachurch, has been arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Folasade, the 'First Lady' of the church. The arrest was public, humiliating and sensational - sending shockwaves through Lagos - but throughout it all, Bishop Dawodu maintains his innocence.
Philip Taiwo, an acclaimed investigative psychologist, is asked by his sister, a member of the church's congregation, to clear the pastor's name. With no actual body, it looks to be a simple case and despite Philip's dislike of organised religion, he agrees to take it on as a favour to his sister. Then the First Lady's body is found in a nearby lake just as Philip's beloved family come under attack from someone warning him off the case, and he realises that nothing to do with this investigation will be straightforward.
Was it murder or suicide? Is someone framing the Bishop, or the First Lady?
Gaslight, Femi Kayode
Years (sadly) ago now I read the first book by Femi Kayode, LIGHTSEEKERS, and loved it. Partly because it was very much a whydunnit and partly because the central character, acclaimed investigative psychologist, Philip Taiwo is such an interesting take on an investigator. Having lived most of his life in the US, he's now in Nigeria, with his family, reconnecting with his families origins, and, to be frank, looking for somewhere that everyone else looks like them.
In GASLIGHT, that project is not going so well on a personal level, with a lot of tension in the family around his young daughter who is struggling with the change in life and loss of friends and connection. On the professional side he finds himself drawn into the investigation of the disappearance of the young wife of his sister's megachurch's pastor. Whilst it might look like a simple enough undertaking, it rapidly becomes complicated with the church rife with infighting and resentments, and it turns out, a hefty dose of corruption and worse.
No fan of organised religion himself, Taiwo has to walk a very fine line between the influence of the church, the charismatic nature of their pastor, his sister's devotion and his responsibilities to work and family. When the missing First Lady is discovered dead, and a direct attack is launched on Taiwo's family, he rapidly comes to understand the threat, and the way that churches of this kind wield their considerable power and influence. Mind you, there's also the question marks over the death. Suicide or murder and is someone framing the Bishop?
There are now three books in this series and I've got the third in sight now, as I find these such fascinating stories. Steeped in a sense of place and people that's seen through the eyes of an outsider who, for all the world, should be an insider. Taiwo is ethnically Nigerian but emotionally from elsewhere. The culture shock is as fascinating to him as to the reader, although considerably more confronting for his family, and his teenage daughter in particular. At heart a dedicated and loving father he's struggling with the difficulties of raising this girl, as his wife and daughter clash, and his daughter struggles to sort out her place in the world. Add to that an interesting look inside the world of the megachurches in Nigeria, and the power, influence and control they wield, and the way that they can manipulate, and be manipulated in their own right. The whole thing is nicely messy, complex and feels very real, very human, and all too believable, including the way that Taiwo struggles, even with his absolute understanding of human nature, to see the wood for some very dense scrub.
The third novel, INNOCENT GUILT, is waiting at the library for me to collect it this week. Looking forward to reading it immensely.