As a Nigerian born Black man, Dr. Femi Fatoyinbo is ever so carefully navigating the world of American higher education as a scientist and professor. While enduring familiar slights like co-workers unable to pronounce his name, he also knows that his ethnicity is helpful for getting grants and enhancing the diversity quotient for the University of Memphis. But Femi discovers that there is only so much space for Black male success in his world, and when he takes the action of filing a discrimination complaint against the university, those who work for societal institutions decide to derail his career. Brilliant, and confident in his cause, Femi advances with an actual lawsuit. He is a man of great faith in God’s mercy and in God’s justice, but he is worn down by the relentless complexities and unfairness of the legal system, designed to dishearten “troublemakers.”  He also becomes a lightning rod for certain far-right pundits. Femi drops the suit, feeling bitterly denied justice. An elderly street philosopher known as “the Black Jesus” tells him to let go of his pain, telling him, “That is when you will be of use to mankind.”

As a divorced father of a small daughter, Femi has to earn a paycheck; though he’s now “radioactive” in academic circles he snags a job working at the Department of Defense laboratory. It is here that he and some current and former colleagues begin to notice some microorganism anomalies emerging in various populations. Could it be a new mysterious disease? Is it caused by unsafe exposure to toxins? Is it sexually transmitted? And, most puzzling and vital, why is it running rampant in White populations? As Femi pursues this absorbing investigation he also pursues sex (and love) in the D.C. area. Soon Femi and his fellow researchers are tangled up in the worlds of government medical research and national politics, and knee-deep in controversial racial genetics. Femi experiences death threats and the “powers that be” attempt to destroy his career once again. But he and his colleagues know the frightening truth about the mysterious degenerative disease at the center of THE RACHEL PROJECT.  It’s as if the disease itself is “sending a message to humanity: diversify or perish.” 

Familoni’s novel centers very much around Femi’s personal and professional paths; readers experience his ruminations on God, Greek philosophers, Fox News, conservatives, Shakespeare, women, athletes, and societal injustices. There are a few unfortunate set-ups within the plot; improbable circumstances that allow Femi to pursue revenge on the famous conservative pundit that earlier brought down his university career.

Jide Familoni’s THE RACHEL PROJECT is an intricate, medical-political intrigue and a worthy and interesting read.

~Kathleen Kenney Peterson for IndieReader