Tony R Cox is an ex-provincial UK journalist. The Simon Jardine series is based on his memories of the early 70s - the time of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll - when reporters relied on word of mouth and there was no internet, no mobile phones, not even a fax machine.
I’ve never been to Nigeria; now there’s no need. Gaslight, the second in a series by Femi Kayode, takes us right into the heart of Lagos, and deep into the soul of an investigation into the disappearance of the wife of a bishop.
This exceptional crime novel follows the author’s acclaimed debut, Lightseekers. The main character, investigative psychologist Philip Taiwo, and he is inveigled into finding the missing ‘First Lady’ of a ‘mega church’. She is attractive and twenty years younger than her husband, Bishop Dawodu, who is currently in custody accused of her murder. He claims innocence supported by the fact there’s no body, and is exonerated.
Dr Taiwo’s abandoned investigation is rekindled when a body is found and questions remain. Is the bishop guilty, innocent or being framed by those who want him harmed? Nothing, it appears, is straightforward, not helped by the disembodied ‘voices’ of the dead. Gaslight handles a plethora of issues – murder or innocence, corruption in several sectors of Nigeria’s administration, the finances of a global church organisation, racism and teenage bullying – with an ease that makes every action logical.
The reader is not alone facing the convoluted details. Kayode ensures his main character takes the reader by the hand and leads us, as if we, too are characters. We become embroiled in the plot just as Dr Taiwo does; we join him as his family difficulties add more twists and turns. This is a book that never lets go and feeds the hope that justice will prevail and characters will survive the horrors they face.
The author does not shy away from detail, from the way that blood spatter at a crime scene tells a vivid story through to tastefully described, sordid, criminal sex lives, and constantly, there’s a growing menace hanging over the small team trying to uncover the truth.
The pace of Gaslight is electric. It is a constant powerful current with jolting bursts of excitement and horror. Femi Kayode is a remarkable writer; his style is addictive, even after one ‘shot’ of Gaslight.
