From the prize-winning author of WAHALA, a powerful de-colonial re-imagining of MANSFIELD PARK, exploring identity, culture, race and love

‘A spirited exploration of culture and kinship’ BONNIE GARMUS
‘Deeply emotional and entertaining’ EMMA STONEX, author of The Lamplighters
‘Tugs at the heartstrings’ DAMILARE KUKU, author of Nearly all the Men in Lagos are Mad
‘Told by wonderful, authentic characters. I loved it’ JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things
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When Funke’s mother dies in an accident in Lagos, she’s sent to live with her maternal family in England. Against a backdrop of condescension and mild neglect, sensible Funke strives to fit in, determined to become one of them.

Free-spirited Liv has always wanted to break free of her joyless family, to be nothing like them. Fiercely protective of Funke, she at last has an ally. The two cousins give each other what they need most: love.

But the past casts long shadows and the choices made by their mothers haunt them, shaping the trajectory of their adult lives. Can they escape their legacy?

Witty, warm, hugely entertaining, This Motherless Land bridges three decades and two continents, delving into the thorny territories of race and culture and belonging. At its heart is a story about love and how it can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

Praise for This Motherless Land:

‘A fierce and evocative retelling of Mansfield Park‘ BETH MORREY

‘Utter perfection from start to finish, This Motherless Land broke my heart then put it back together.’ LAURA MARSHALL, author of Friend Request

‘A spirited exploration of culture and kinship–of how we belong, and to whom’ BONNIE GARMUS

‘A fantastic book. Highly original’ LIZ NUGENT, author of Strange Sally Diamond

‘Proves that love has the power to save a life again and again. A novel to treasure’ EMMA STONEX, author of The Lamplighters

‘Brilliantly observant, funny, moving and addictive read. I loved it’ KATE SAWYER

‘A vibrant coming-of-age story that explores love, longing and belonging in a multi-cultural family’ CHARMAINE WILKERSON, bestselling author of Black Cake

‘Gripping and poignant’ NITA PROSE, bestselling author of The Maid

‘Beautiful, bold and addictive’ DAISY BUCHANAN

‘Completely brilliant. A compulsive re-telling of Mansfield Park, exploring home, family, love and community’ JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things

‘A proper, epic, family saga . . . I was obsessed. Nikki has written a classic‘ JO CALLAGHAN, author of In the Blink of an Eye

‘A spirited exploration of culture and kinship’ BONNIE GARMUS
‘Deeply emotional and entertaining’ EMMA STONEX, author of The Lamplighters
‘Tugs at the heartstrings’ DAMILARE KUKU, author of Nearly all the Men in Lagos are Mad
‘______________
When Funke’s mother dies in an accident in Lagos, she’s sent to live with her maternal family in England. Against a backdrop of condescension and mild neglect, sensible Funke strives to fit in, determined to become one of them.

Free-spirited Liv has always wanted to break free of her joyless family, to be nothing like them. Fiercely protective of Funke, she at last has an ally. The two cousins give each other what they need most: love.

But the past casts long shadows and the choices made by their mothers haunt them, shaping the trajectory of their adult lives. Can they escape their legacy?

Witty, warm, hugely entertaining, This Motherless Land bridges three decades and two continents, delving into the thorny territories of race and culture and belonging. At its heart is a story about love and how it can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

Praise for This Motherless Land:

‘A fierce and evocative retelling of Mansfield Park‘ BETH MORREY

‘A spirited exploration of culture and kinship–of how we belong, and to whom’ BONNIE GARMUS

‘A fantastic book. Highly original’ LIZ NUGENT, author of Strange Sally Diamond

‘Proves that love has the power to save a life again and again. Deeply emotional and entertaining, this is a novel to treasure’ EMMA STONEX, author of The Lamplighters

‘Brilliantly observant, funny, moving and addictive read. I loved it’ KATE SAWYER

‘A vibrant coming-of-age story that explores love, longing and belonging in a multi-cultural family’ CHARMAINE WILKERSON, bestselling author of Black Cake

‘Utter perfection from start to finish, This Motherless Land broke my heart then put it back together.’ LAURA MARSHALL, author of Friend Request

‘Gripping and poignant’ NITA PROSE, bestselling author of The Maid

‘Beautiful, bold and addictive’ DAISY BUCHANAN

‘Completely brilliant. A compulsive re-telling of Mansfield Park, exploring home, family, love and community’ JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things

‘A proper, epic, family saga . . . I was obsessed. Nikki has written a classic‘ JO CALLAGHAN, author of In the Blink of an Eye

Nikki May, winner of The Comedy Women in Print Newcomer Award, 2022-23

‘”WAHALA” means trouble and there’s plenty of it’ GUARDIAN
‘Full of food, humour and pitch-perfect observation’ STYLIST
‘All the ride-or-die realness of female friendship’ RED MAGAZINE

Three friends.
Three ‘perfect’ lives (or so they pretend).
Here comes Trouble

Ronke wants Happily Ever After and 2.2. kids. She’s dating Kayode and wants him to be ‘the one’. Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.

Boo has just what Ronke wants – a kind husband, a gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, and desperate to remember who she used to be.

Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle and a career. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her ‘urban vibe.’ Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not.

When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, she seems to bring out the best in each woman. But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, until Ronke, Simi, and Boo’s lifelong friendship begins to crack. How close to the edge will she push them?

READERS ARE OBSESSED WITH WAHALA

‘This book is absolute fire. I could not put it down. Fantastically written, the story is so engaging and tense. Sexy, dark, addictive. What an incredible novel’ ***** Reader review

‘Dark and addictive with a surprising twist (that i won’t give away!) and Nikki’s writing is completely flawless’ *****

‘I couldn’t believe it was a debut. I couldn’t put it down. Nikki May has written a fantastic story of friendship, revenge and jealousy‘ *****

‘Wonderful characters with plenty of rich and vibrant detail of their shared culture from hair to food’ *****

**Pre-order Nikki May’s brand new novel This Motherless Land**

SOON TO BE A MAJOR BBC TV SERIAL

‘Funny, shocking, unputdownable. I loved it‘ PAULA HAWKINS

‘Witty, tense and entirely addictive’ ABIGAIL DEAN, Author of GIRL A

‘Terrific. Nikki May writes so well about friendship, food, fashion and the many ways modern women can stumble in their careers and personal lives‘ CLARE CHAMBERS
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Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London.
They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English.
Not all of them 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.

Explosive, hilarious and wildly entertaining, this razor-sharp tale of love, race and family will have you laughing, crying and gasping in horror. Fearlessly political about class, colourism and clothes, the spellbinding Wahala is for anyone who has ever cherished friendship, in all its forms.

PICKED AS ONE OF STYLIST MAGAZINE’S ‘FICTION BOOKS YOU CAN’T MISS OF 2022’

READERS ARE OBSESSED WITH WAHALA

‘This book is absolute fire. I could not put it down. Fantastically written, the story is so engaging and tense. Sexy, dark, addictive. What an incredible novel’ ***** Reader review

‘Dark and addictive with a surprising twist (that i won’t give away!) and Nikki’s writing is completely flawless’ *****

‘I couldn’t believe it was a debut. I couldn’t put it down. Nikki May has written a fantastic story of friendship, revenge and jealousy‘ *****

‘Wonderful characters with plenty of rich and vibrant detail of their shared culture from hair to food’ *****

‘A fabulous depiction of female friendship, with a surprisingly dark twist’ *****

Authors love WAHALA too:

‘Funny, tragic, piercing portrait of modern women and friendship written in glittering and discerning prose’ EMMA STONEX

‘Sharp, precise, unapologetic, modern. In one word, Exquisite!’ Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström, author of IN EVERY MIRROR SHE’S BLACK

‘I have a feeling this book is going to be huge’ MARIANNE CRONIN, author of THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT

‘Fantastic! Brilliant writing about food and friendship. I was left wanting more’ SARAH PEARSE, author of THE SANATORIUM

‘Love that ‘Sex and the City’ has finally met moi-moi and plantain with a whole lot of Wahala thrown in’ ROSANNA AMAKA