The Blackmailer

An eBook by Val Ezeokeke

Reviewed by Margaret Bassey

The opening line of this arresting story tells it all: the murder of a rascal in the eyes of the law is by no means less evil than the killing of a saint.

In “The Blackmailer”, a new intriguing eBook, Val Ezeokeke tells the story of the murder of a scoundrel. The focus  however is not on the deceased, but on the outstanding work of J.K. Sampson – the restless defense lawyer who must secure the liberty of the woman charged for the crime.

“The Blackmailer” is indeed the first in what promises to be the voluminous case book of the trial lawyer who combines investigative skills and mastery of courtroom advocacy to resolve knotty murder mysteries. Sampson, the hero, appears as a lively blend of the legendary Sherlock Holmes and Erle Stanley Gardener’s Perry Mason. Sharp, quick witted and single, he fits into the standard profile of mystery heroes.

With a practice that is based in the boisterous metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria, Sampson’s work revolves around some of the most gruesome crimes committed in Africa’s most populous nation.

Book 1 – The Blackmailer, opens with the arrival of a desperate and hysterical woman who calls just as Sampson is ready to leave the office on a cold and rainy evening. Matilda Benson is the wife of a wealthy oil merchant and comes with a familiar tale: neglect by her rich husband has led to a little sexual indiscretion which is found out by hubby’s unscrupulous chauffeur. Blackmail inevitably follows. Months later, Matilda is tired of paying and runs to Sampson in desperation. The lawyer offers a difficult counsel: stop paying and confess your transgressions to your husband. A reluctant Matilda complies, but husband is unforgiving. The marriage collapses and Matilda swears revenge on the chauffeur. On the eve of her structured separation from her husband, the blackmailer is brutally murdered. Matilda of course is the prime suspect and is promptly arrested. Sampson is sought once more, now to defend a murder suspect.

The case however takes a different turn when the dogged Sampson unearths other victims of the blackmailer who had similar motives to kill. In the end however, the remarkable skill of the lawyer produces a most astonishing outcome.

Published by MHT Publishing company (www.mhtpublishingco.net), in the amazing page turning dnl format, “The Blackmailer” is perhaps an announcement that the eBook has become a global phenomenon. The Blackmailer is among the first eBooks in the page turning dnl, to be written by an author from sub – Saharan Africa.

It is a simple story, well told in elegant prose for the enjoyment of the everyday reader by a writer with a rich legal background. The author has promised other stories from the J.K.Sampson cases, and using “The Blackmailer” as measure, a major African fictional hero may well be in the making.

(The Blackmailer can be found in www.mhtpublishingco.net/theblackmailer.html)