Review of Once Upon a Time in Lagos

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Once Upon a Time in Lagos" by Joseph Ejike Ojih.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Once Upon a Time in Lagos by Joseph Ejike Ojih is a crime thriller set in Nigeria, Africa. Twenty-six-year-old Jideofor Okorie's love and passion for Africa made him agree to conduct malaria research in Nigeria. It was also an opportunity for him to find his long-lost dad, who was Nigerian and a part of the Ibo tribe. An additional bonus for accepting this offer was the cancellation of his student loans. Life in Lagos was exciting, but the corruption, blackouts, mosquitos, heat, and traffic were unpleasant. There was a lot of ethnic tension between the prominent tribes: Hausas, the Yorubas, and the Ibos in Northern and Southern Nigeria. Jideofor's friend, Michael Reddington, is an American investigative journalist who comes to him for help. Michael has gained information about possible assassinations and the potential of a Civil War breaking out. Before Michael can gather all of the evidence he needs, Jideofor comes home and finds Michael dead. Does Jideofor take over for Michael? Who killed Michael? Does a Civil War break out in Africa?

This book has many positive aspects. Joseph Ejike Ojih has done his research on the history of Africa and the many oppressions the African natives encountered. The demographic descriptions of the animals and landscape made me feel like I was visiting Africa. I could visualize the bush rats, antelopes, shrews, monkeys, and insects. I found it interesting that most Africans live in homes made out of concrete and not wooden huts. This information is different from what I have heard about Africa. This story was told from Jideofor's point of view, making it feel more like a memoir than a fictional crime thriller.

Unfortunately, this book has a couple of negative aspects. A professional editor has not edited it, and it has a plethora of errors. A couple of discrepancies distracted me from my reading and made me reread some parts. One time the author states that Jideofor did not find Michael's diary, and in the next chapter, he is reading it. Another example is at the beginning of the book, Jideofor is 26 years old, and after a few months pass, he is suddenly 38 years old. One part of the story was unbelievable. It was when Jideofor hid behind a giant anthill. There would have been ants on the hill that would have bitten him.

Between the lack of professional editing and the discrepancies, I have decided to give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I would have only deducted one star if the editing had been the only issue, but the discrepancies made me reread sections.

This book is suitable for anyone who enjoys reading about African culture and political corruption. Anyone sensitive to religious content may want to avoid this book because the characters pray, and there is a reference to the King James Version of the Bible. I will also caution readers that this book does contain non-borderline profanity.

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Once Upon a Time in Lagos
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[Aisha Yakub]

I'm not sure what I've made up my mind to do about this book after reading this. Great review.

[Ceeco2002]

Learning about the African culture should be fun and interesting. But I fear that the poor editing of the book and the many discrepancies would hinder me from enjoying this book. Thanks for your honest review.

[Horlarmidey Harkinolah]

The initial story about the African culture spiked my interest but the discrepancies made me lose interest.
Thanks for the honest review.

[Sammy Kamau 2]

Corruption and tribal tensions have made Nigeria a very chaotic country and especially for foreigners. Thank you for your review I will read this book

[nwankwo chibuchi]

I've heard a lot about lagos Nigeria. Perhaps this will be my first encounter with the city. I'll check this out. Great review.

[Matire]

I am an inhabitant of Lagos, Nigeria. Although the time setting of the book isn't stated in this review, majority of us do not live in wooden huts. Infact there are a lot of things I disagree with, so I'll not be picking up the book anytime soon. Well written review tho!

[NetMassimo]

This crime thriller seems to have some potential but needs more editing to solve the plot's inconsistencies and correct all the errors. Thank you for your honest review!

[Penny Ann Criswell Johnson]

This doesn’t sound like a book for me. I have OCD and the poor editing would drive me insane. The idea that the author made mistakes about ages and other things could be distracting. I read and reread sentences or whole paragraphs if they don’t make sense. For this reason I will on this book.