Key summary
Welcome to my review of My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. This is a best seller of 2019 and shortlisted on the 2019 Women’s Prize. An amazing achievement for a debut novel and one well worth the hype! Published by Atlantic Books it is available now in ebook, audiobook and paperback. This is a satirical thriller with elements of horror and real laugh-out-loud moments. The plot has a perfect pace with varying tension and the characters are brilliant. As far as best books of the year go, this one is very near the top for me. The film rights sold to Working Title, so see you back here for the book v movie critique!
My Thoughts on My Sister, the Serial Killer
Older sister Korede is practical, reliable and hardworking. Younger sister Ayoola is the opposite and uses her good looks to get what she wants. Korede has always taken care of her younger sibling and they’re inseparable. They live with their Mum in Lagos in Nigeria. Korede cleans up after Ayoola’s third victim (the boyfriends are always killed in “self-defence”) realising 3 makes a serial killer. Things take a complicated turn when Ayoola selects the next object for her affections: Korede’s boss. Korede has long loved her boss from afar. Can Korede find a way to save one without betraying the other?
I loved the characters in this book, especially brilliant are the two sisters. The characters are well developed, and I enjoy the family dynamics and finding out the reasons for their closeness. The story has a great, dramatic opening so it draws you in straight away! The tension ramps up, eases slightly then ramps up again. The plot is brilliantly woven and has some amazingly funny parts. A very original and compelling read. This novel also had a fantastic sense of place. It’s set in Nigeria and so I feel I got to know a bit about a country I’ve not yet visited.
I am a big fan of thrillers and also review other fiction and non-fiction books. You can view all my book reviews here.
Cover Blurb
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…
