I just finished my third book for the RTI Africa Reading Challenge, and this time, I picked up an ARC of A Nation on Fire by Ibraheem Oladipupo, a recently released anthology of Nigerian mystery thrillers.
The book contains seven short stories, and if there is one thing I can say about them, it is this: they were short, but they didn't feel small. In fact, by the end of some of the stories, I found myself thinking, Wait… I still want to know more about these characters!
Each story introduces unique characters with their own lives, secrets and stories to tell. And although the stories are short, the author manages to give each one its own identity.
My two favourites were The Mastermind and Confess Your Sins to Me. These two had me hooked from beginning to end.
Confess Your Sins to Me especially caught me off guard. I genuinely did not see Kunle's sins coming. 😭 The storyline was a WOW for me.
Interestingly, that story also ignited my own creativity because it reminded me of something similar I had written before. But Ibraheem took the idea in a completely different direction and captured it beautifully and creatively.
And I loved that, for me, Confess Your Sins to Me—along with the final story, Scripted Shadow—felt different from some of the others because I wasn't left with that "Wait, there's more!" feeling.
A lot of the other stories ended in ways that made me feel like there was still so much more to uncover about the characters and their situations. And while that can be frustrating, it also speaks to how quickly I became invested in their stories.
The Mastermind wasn't particularly mysterious to me, but I absolutely enjoyed the thrill of it. I loved the way the story was woven together. The descriptions were vivid enough that I could almost see and feel what the characters were experiencing.
That is one thing I really appreciate about a good thriller—the ability to pull you into the scene and make you feel like you're right there.
And then there's the cover! Beautiful cover. Beautifully packaged.
Overall, A Nation on Fire was an enjoyable collection of mystery, crime and thriller stories, and I had a really good time reading it.
Rating: ⭐ 4.7/5
If you love mystery, thrillers and crime fiction, A Nation on Fire is definitely one to check out.