Title: My Sister, The Serial Killer

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Atlantic Books

Cover:

Summary: from Amazon

When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other…

Review:

I’ve been seeing this book everywhere in the book world recently so I just had to give it a go. My Sister, The Serial Killer is a short novel but that definitely doesn’t stop it from packing quite a punch. It is, by turn funny and shocking. There are moments of dark humour but there’s also sadness and complexity mixed in with it.

The book is entirely made up of short chapters, most just a couple of pages long which gives the story a sharpness and an intensity which I loved. The main character, Korede, is an interesting woman whose obvious love for her little sister is marred by her knowledge of and complicity in her sister’s crimes. I found following her thought process so fascinating – I genuinely had no idea how the story would end for her and her sister, Ayoola. I read the whole book in just a few hours. It’s the sort of book that, once you begin, you almost have to keep going until the end.

I was also impressed with the author’s writing style, which is clever and precise. The prose is so sharp and at times biting which gives the plot all the more force and impetus. My expectations for My Sister, The Serial Killer were pretty high in part because the cover and title promise so much with their attention-grabbing nature and it totally delivered. I will definitely be looking out for future work from Oyinkan Braithwaite.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received this book through Readers First. My review is my own honest opinion.