Wahala cover art

Wahala

The hilarious, award-winning book about friendship, revenge, and jealousy, soon to be a major BBC TV series

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Wahala

By: Nikki May
Narrated by: Natalie Simpson
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Sex and the City' with a killer edge for fans of QUEENIE, EXPECTATION and MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER

See me, see trouble

Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English, though they don't all choose to see it that way.

Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full of fashion career dreams, rolls her eyes as her boss refers to her 'urban vibe' yet again.

When Isobel, a lethally glamorous friend from their past arrives in town, she is determined to fix their futures for them.

Cracks in their friendship begin to appear, and it is soon obvious Isobel is not sorting but wrecking. When she is driven to a terrible act, the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past that may just have repeated itself.

A darkly comic and bitingly subversive take on love, race and family, Wahala will have you laughing, crying and gasping in horror. Boldly political about class, colorism and cooking, here is a truly inclusive tale that will speak to anyone who has ever cherished friendship, in all its forms.

© Nikki May 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

City Life Contemporary Family Life Friendship Genre Fiction Urban Women's Fiction Crime Fiction Scary

Critic reviews

Refreshing and original. Portrays a London steeped in the colours and sounds of Lagos
Full of food, humour and pitch-perfect observation
All the ride or die realness of female friendship is captured perfectly in this funny, multi-layered, just-another-chapter-before-you-turn-out-the-light novel.
This is the book on everyone's lips...a razor-sharp book about friendship that will have you on the edge of your seat. With a cast of engaging characters, this bold tale of friendship, race and love will leave you marvelling at this fresh new voice in fiction. One of 2022's most exciting debuts
It's surprising, it's fun, it's incredibly funny and will give you characters you'll take to your heart in all their flawed glory, keeping you hooked to the very last page
Beautifully written and fabulously fresh debut. It's sad, funny, clever and contains important messages. Utterly addictive and my hands-down favourite this week
I have a feeling this book is going to be huge! It examines friendships that are held together by the thinnest of threads, all the doubts and questions that come from the choices women face, self-destruction, good intentions, bad intentions and a creeping sense of... well, trouble
A gloriously biting story of secrets and friendships
''Wahala' means 'trouble' and there's plenty of it in this entertaining debut. A fascinating, funny and nuanced look at identity and female friendship
Has all the makings of a modern blockbuster
All stars
Most relevant
Excellent debut novel! loveable characters who are really brought to life. Got through this book in one day. Brilliant twist at the end.

You will not be disappointed!

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I absolutely enjoyed listening to this book. It brought to life some beautiful memories of Nigeria for me. I love how the author cleverly merges the 2 cultures of being Nigerian and British but from the perspective of being mixed race. The story is so relatable and you literally feel like you know the characters personally. I wasn’t too sure about the ending but overall, I thought it was a brilliant book. I highly recommend it.

A brilliant story

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A fabulous story with humour, drama and and so much relatable content: have recommended to several friends. Binged it in two days as I had to hear the ending!

Binged this and loved it!

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Best I've read since Girl, Woman, Other. Will listen again next time I run out of credits or am on a train. Fabulous.

Loved every word. Best I've read since for months

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It was just like having a juicy gossip with a friend. The characters were deliciously frustrating and the descriptions of food had my stomach gurgling.

Great characters, great narrator

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