Official Review: In the dead of night: The mystique of th...

[Amber Nichole]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "In the dead of night: The mystique of the demonic Igbo mask" by Gerard Mehnobi.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In the Dead of Night: The Mystique of the Demonic Igbo Mask by Gerard Mehnobi follows Joan, an ambitious woman who grapples with her faith. When her husband dies, she leaves her lucrative job but begins to pursue her interest in art. She procures a mask from Igbo, a country in West Africa, but shortly after begins to experience strange and terrifying events. When these occurrences also begin to affect her daughter, Joan becomes desperate to understand the cause and meaning behind them. Is the Igbo mask the culprit? And what are its origins?

In the Dead of Night: The Mystique of the Demonic Igbo Mask is a fascinating read. Gerard Mehnobi clearly has a talent for language. The ways in which he sets up his scenes are captivating in their descriptions. While reading, I felt as if I could truly envision the environments and events as he had written them. He is an author that heavily uses adjectives and adverbs, which may be a deterrent for some readers but is a quality with which I have no qualms (although I implore him to reduce his use of the word diabolic, the appearance of which outnumbers the number of pages). I also appreciate his creativity in his title chapters, which set up each scene in a way that induces suspense. Finally, In the Dead of Night explores the cultural history of the Igbo people. I am not someone who is well-versed in African cultures, so I appreciate the glimpse that Gerard Mehnobi offers through the lens of his tale. He describes in-depth the beliefs and behaviors of the Igbo people both pre- and post-colonization, and his knowledge is indisputably vast.

There are many aspects of the book, however, that I feel leave much to be desired. For the first half of the book, Gerard Mehnobi does not write with much focus. The majority is exposition, and the transitions between the backstories and plot are murky. He interrupts the flow of the story to describe Joan’s bathroom and the origin of its remodel, for example. Another issue I take is with the slew of errors that are present in the book, ranging from spelling errors to the constant flip-flopping of present-to-past tense usage. Finally, while I acknowledge that fiction often conveys real-world messages, I do not agree with the moral that Gerard Mehnobi uses in In the Dead of Night. He paints the traditional Igbo spirituality as demonic and the introduction of Christianity into the culture as a deliverance. A simple Google search paints a slightly different historical telling of the colonization than what is present in the story. I feel his rendition perpetuates fear and ethnocentricism and grossly undermines the negative cultural impacts and acts of violence that colonization historically brings.

In spite of the qualms that I have with In the Dead of Night, I give it a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. Its narrative does not align with my moral compass and the number of errors makes it clear that the book is not professionally edited. However, despite these issues, I do thoroughly enjoy his writing style and the exposure to the Igbo culture, which I will take upon myself to further research.

There is minimal swearing in In the Dead of Night, and aside from one scene of sexual harassment, Gerard Mehnobi does not include any sexual content. For these reasons, I feel that this book is appropriate for most ages. I would recommend this book to readers who have an interest in anthropology or who generally enjoy horror and suspense novels.

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In the dead of night: The mystique of the demonic Igbo mask
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[NetMassimo]

This novel seems to have some intriguing parts but some flaws can be discouraging. Some more editing might improve it. Thank you for your great review!

[Suzer6440 xyz]

Sounds interesting .thanks for the review

[NarmeenHyder]

Thanks for the sexual content rating at the end. I always appreciate those because I don’t like books that are dominant in sexual nature. Great review!