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Saturday, December 8, 2018

#allthebookreviews: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite @doubledaybooks @OyinBraithwaite

My Sister, the Serial Killer

by



Publisher: Doubleday Books
Publish Date: November 20, 2018
Hardcover
226 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Psychological Thriller

Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

"Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer."

Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.

A kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where Korede works, is the bright spot in her life. She dreams of the day when he will realize they're perfect for each other. But one day Ayoola shows up to the hospital uninvited and he takes notice. When he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and what she will do about it.


Sharp as nails and full of deadpan wit, Oyinkan Braithwaite has written a deliciously deadly debut that's as fun as it is frightening.

My Review:


The book community is fantastic.  One of the many reasons is that your book friends will send you a book (thank you, Stacey) and then another will buddy read it with you (thank you, Robin)!  This was the fastest buddy read ever!

This book is packed full of goodness at just over 200 pages.  I don't have any siblings but those that I consider family have my fullest loyalty - I could only imagine what I would do for an actual blood related sibling knowing how far I'd go for the others I consider family. 

Here's the thing - this book reads fast - it's easily a one sit read even for those who normally don't read that voraciously.  Two sisters.  One killer.  One clean up.  Lots of craziness.  And that ending.  Look, I had to go back and reread it because I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Thank goodness for discussions!  I'll just give you the same advice I received... don't overthink it. 

I highly recommend this book.  Pick it up and don't plan to put it down until you're finished. 

★★★★★

Jessica's Review:


“Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer.”

Talk about a quote to get you in the head space of this novel. This starts out at the scene of the crime – Korede is bleaching the bathroom floor of her sister, Ayoola’s, boyfriend’s home. Why? Ayoola has stabbed him to death. No spoilers here, that’s the first page!

The short chapters made this a quick read and I finished in one sitting. I’m amazed that this was Brathwaite’s first novel. The characters were well-developed, the setting was well laid out for us, and you really felt for Korede. Imagine having to keep this secret for your sibling? It really makes you sit and wonder, how far would you go to protect your brother or sister?

This isnt the thriller the synopsis and title makes it sound like, but this more so focuses on family dynamics and the moral dilemmas you can face when protecting those you love. I would highly recommend this!


5/5 stars

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