In the run-up to Africa Day, on 25 May, Jonathan Ball Publishers will be sharing some of the sparkling new books from their 2021 Pan-African list.

We’re calling these Future African Classics – the books you’ll want on your shelves today, and for future generations.

Today, find out more about Lightseekers by Femi Kayode!

• See the full list of Future African Classics here!

Lightseekers is the winner of the 2019 UEA Crime Writing Prize, and the start of a major new crime series introducing investigative psychologist Dr Philip Taiwo.

When three young students are brutally murdered in a Nigerian university town, their killings – and their killers – are caught on social media. The world knows who murdered them; what no one knows is why.

As the legal trial begins, investigative psychologist Philip Taiwo is contacted by the father of one of the boys, desperate for some answers to his son’s murder. But Philip is an expert in crowd behaviour and violence, not a detective, and after travelling to the sleepy university town that bore witness to the killings, he soon feels dramatically out of his depth.

Will he finally be able to uncover the truth of what happened to the Okiri Three?

A thrilling and atmospheric mystery, and an unforgettable portrait of the contemporary Nigerian sociopolitical landscape, Lightseekers is a wrenching novel tackling the porousness between the first and third worlds, the enduring strength of tribalism and homeland identity, and the human need for connection in the face of isolation.

About the author

Femi Kayode trained as a clinical psychologist in Nigeria, before starting a career in advertising. He has created and written several prime-time TV shows. He recently graduated with a distinction from the UEA Creative Writing programme and is currently a PhD candidate at Bath Spa University. He lives in Windhoek, Namibia with his wife and two sons.

Categories Africa Fiction International

Tags Africa Day Africa Month Femi Kayode Jonathan Ball Publishers Lightseekers