By Chinelo A. Iwenofu

Patrick Ofili has defied the norms of the strict scientific reasoning which is usually accredited to his profession as a medical doctor, by straying into the world of the spiritual and the African supernatural. In his second published work, Lost Truth, he has managed to let his creative writing skills drift into the African phenomenon of ancestral curses. A calm feast of intrigue awaits the readers. Right here in this book is a forceful, and ironically, a distraction from the horrific realities around us in this day and age.

Ofili introduces us to the typical Nigerian bourgeoisie Skinner family, amongst other interesting characters, by adopting a style that is flowing along in a well-written easy narrative. A sense of urgency is introduced to the reader from the very beginning, chapter one to be precise, when a mysterious birthday card and invitation note written by Femi Skinner who is the most senior surviving member of the brood, arrives at the home of his estranged life-long friend, another main character known as Sekibo Suku, who was somewhat surprised to hear from his ailing best friend from their school days many decades ago.

After that opening introduction to the story, the reader is immediately hooked, needing to find out what is going on. That need will arouse the appetite of any spectator and cause an eagerness for him or her to get to the climax of the story, just like a thriller movie of sorts, one cannot take their eyes out of the pages or off the screen, depending on how one chooses to use their imagination to process the book.

An easy read even for the non-habitual reader, Ofili’s saga which spans more than four generations and over three continents surrounding this peculiar Nigerian family of privilege and excellent pedigree; indeed captivates.

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As relationship intrigues intertwine one after the other, plagued by some mysterious ancestral curse, in trying to solve it and meet the challenges, one travels throughout the book enjoying every moment of the ride as the drama continuously unfolds. Different characters surface one after the other as we go along, none of them random, each of them colourful, interesting and relevant to the story. The author puts us through all sorts of mindboggling trauma in a rather simplistic manner.

Ofili’s narrative skill is realistic, deliberate and gripping. The different interests described, demonstrate the deep selfishness of the human agenda, and ushers in complications which led to the need for an investigation of the family past in the first instance. Anyone who predicts the outcome of what lay ahead of the explorations into the depths of the Skinner dynasty, has got to be a genius, because it is certainly not your normal run-of-the-mill tale.

Fans of detective ‘Whodunnit’ type stories are bound to appreciate the buildup to finding out the truth, as the audience are treated to a history lesson on the origins of the featured family, from one key personality to the other. A mesmerizing background check, as mystery upon mystery pile up one after the other. Clearly, the grip around human curiosity keeps on tightening until the very last page of the book, when a painful realization dawns on the surviving family members, including their friends and close associates, as well as the enthusiastic readers. Indeed, the _Lost Truth  is finally found.

Patrick Ofili who is based in Delta State of Southern Nigeria, managed to create a potential best seller in this instance, and with the kind of literary talent and creativity raging in his part of the world, there is always room for more novels. The challenge now is to make its presence felt amongst book lovers and in the bookstores. Do not be surprised if the novel is dramatized and gets adapted into a blockbuster movie fit for the big screen.

This is a 218 paged book which was first published in 2019 by UK-based Austin Macauley Publishers and is currently available as an e-publication. Furthermore, it is soon to be out in paperback throughout Nigeria and the rest of the world.

Vanguard News Nigeria