My Sister, the Serial Killer

by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Sunday Times bestseller and The Times #1 bestseller

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2019
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
Winner of the 2019 LA Times Award for Best Crime Thriller
Capital Crime Debut Author of the Year 2019
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'A literary sensation'
Guardian

'A bombshell of a book... Sharp, explosive, hilarious'
New York Times

'Glittering and funny... A stiletto slipped between the ribs and through the left ventricle of the heart' Financial Times
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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...

• ISBN13: 9781786498243
• Publish Date: 20 November 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 11 August 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Atlantic Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[moraa]

The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.

I finally read it!

I finished this in one sitting and I had an absolute blast. The characters were well-fleshed out and the plot (though only there to support the character development) pulled its weight. The prose was enjoyable and easy to read/listen to and I really did feel grounded in the world as I sat in the September sun, grateful for what warmth it brought this time of year.

This may not have been some thriller-type book but it was entertaining. Here's to me wishing there was more.

We are nothing if not thorough in our deception of others.

[Aidan Brack (Mysteries Ahoy)]

[T]his is a dark and intriguing exploration of a strange situation and a relationship that feels interesting and distinctive. Recommended.

Read my review at Mysteries Ahoy!

I found the concept of this book utterly fascinating, but I prefer books that spend more time on the issues and are less 'surface-level' books. And honestly, that is probably more a flaw of me than a flaw of the book. I never seem to be content after reading short books, no matter how good they are (and this one was phenomenal!)

[readingwithwrin]

The main character Korede is a nurse who is on the way to becoming the head nurse in her hospital because she already handles everything and makes sure it all gets done. Along with her other job duties, she goes and talks to a coma patient because his family has stopped visiting him.
While she talks to him though she tells him about her life, and what her sister has been getting up to and how she doesn't know what to do about it. Talking to this patient is her way of venting because she has no one else to talk to about it because everyone thinks her sister Ayoola is the best and that she is just jealous of her. While in reality she is the one trying to keep Ayoola out of trouble and has from the time they were little kids.
Due to the choices Ayoola keeps making and dragging Korede into they now have to both live with certain things that have happened and that have the potential to end their family. Korede is not okay with these things, but also doesn't want her sister to get into trouble, or for anyone else to get hurt. She doesn't know what to do and as time goes on that becomes a problem.

Overall I did enjoy this book. Korede is a character that we see truly caught between family and what is right. It's a position that none of us truly know what we do in that situation until we're in it ourselves. Throughout the entire book, I felt bad for Korede because of how she was constantly being treated, and because of the hard choice, she was having to make. I liked her as a character and I wish the book was longer so we could have gotten to see more of her and what she did after certain things happened. I wish the best for her and I hope she gets to have her own life.
Like others who have read this book, I would like to see this turned into a movie of short mini-series because of how short the book was, and how it made you want more from it.

[layawaydragon]

Borrowed audiobook from library. Was bored AF with Gone Girl, had this hold come through and jumped right into it.

Finished it in two sittings. Hooked from the get go. Love the narrator. Audiobooks are great for understanding how things are pronounced and the right accents. Helped get into the flow of this setting and set up.

Totally connected with Korede and hated but was intrigued by Ayoola and their past. I was willing to be on board with Ayoola killing men that deserved it or in self-defence. But, well....this isn't a YAS QUEEN situation.

Chapters are short and jump around with memories to ramp up the itchy anticipation.

Did not go how I thought it would so it was kinda anticlimactic and yet like DAMN GIRL.

Truly unique and thrilling with outstanding writing & narration.

[clq]

My Sister, the Serial Killer is a wonderful, wonderful, book. After all the hype around The Silent Patient, and the let-down I felt after reading it, I was sceptical toward what could have been another overhyped literary blockbuster (Bookbuster? Is that coined yet?), but My Sister, the Serial Killer really delivers on what everyone seems to be saying about it.

From the outset it’s clear that this is the kind of story where a lot of drips of narrative will eventually create something much larger, and the style of the book leans into this. It doesn’t have a continuous narrative, just very short chapters that tell of individual events in the life of the main character, Korede. Some events are small, almost banal, while others are hugely significant. Some are present day, others are flashbacks. Together they make up a story which is quite simple, but ambiguous and just about absurd enough that you never can tell what might happen next. The characters of both Korede and her sister are really interesting, and while their personalities are laid out pretty clearly, and what you see is mostly what you get, there are undertones and nuances in both of their characters which make them very hard to pin down. As the book ends you are left with the feeling that you do know them, and that you aren’t technically wrong about who they are, but that you nevertheless don’t fully understand them or their actions. Once the book has ended you’re left with a satisfying understanding of why you can’t possibly fully understand the characters, or the choices they’ve made.

The book is wonderfully written, and everything from the characters to the surroundings jump off the page. It’s funny in a sometimes dark, sometimes absurd, and sometimes just outright comical way. It’s not a light book, but it’s an easy read – a combination which seemed effortless when I was reading it, but must be so hard to get right. The style feels contemporary and modern in a way which is different from pretty much everything else I’ve read, but I never got the feeling that the book was trying to be different for the sake of it. The book just feels… right.

This is a book I’d unreservedly recommend to everyone. It has a bit of everything. It’s interesting, challenging, entertaining, and is written like a big, colourful, vibrant, tapestry that can be enjoyed from a distance, but which has so many interesting and curious details once you study it up close. My Sister, the Serial Killer is just a really great book.

[Leigha]

Korede starts rethinking her decision to be her sister’s clean up crew in this fascinating adult thriller.

My book club pick for February! I had not been to book club in months. Every book chosen ended up in my discard pile, but this story sucked me right into it with short chapters and an interesting premise. We’ve all heard the phrase “and I’ll help you bury the body” when talking about how far you would go for someone. This story goes into the ins and outs of, exactly, what that means.

Korede is very much at a cross roads in her life. Her sister, it seems, has a little problem with serial killing. Hate when that happens, right? By the time the story starts, she has assisted in cleaning up three of her sister’s victims. As her sister starts eyeing her unrequited crush, Korede has to make some decisions – does she let her sister continue on this path or does she turn her sister (and by virtue herself) into the authorities? It’s wacky, twisted, and endlessly entertaining.

If I had one regret, it was not listening to the story. The setting is Nigeria with tons of terms local to the region. I would’ve enjoyed listening to the language instead of butchering it myself. I could see myself listening to it in an afternoon when I have some time on my hands.

tl;dr With short chapters and an interesting premise, this book made for an endlessly entertaining read.

[nannah]

Mystery isn’t a genre I’d normally read, but I’ve been wanting to get out of my “reading comfort zone” and -- of course -- read more from diverse authors. That, and this cover is really engaging!

Content warnings:
domestic/child abuse (mostly hinted at)
bit of fatphobia, ableism, classism (mentioned below)

Representation:
characters are Nigerian (as is the author)

When Korede gets an SOS call from her sister one night, she knows it means one thing: this is the third time. The third time her sister has defended herself from yet another boyfriend who has attacked her. The third time her sister has stabbed someone, and Korede has been called in to clean up and dispose of the body. But this time, Korede can’t get the man out of her mind. He’d been stabbed in the back, and she can’t shake the feeling that just maybe … there’s something wrong with her sister.

Things get worse when the man Korede’s in love with at work falls for her sister. They start dating, and Korede’s afraid it’s only a matter of time before she’s cleaning up his body, too. But what should she do … stand by her her sister as she’s always done or betray her for the man she loves?

This book goes by incredibly fast. The pages are very thick, so it doesn’t actually have that many words. Basically, that makes the pace very quick, and there’s not a lot of time for rest or secondary character development (if at all, actually; secondary characters don’t really have roles to be honest). Not necessarily a bad thing, because the book is really all about the few mains.

The plot and the main characters are gripping, and held my attention all the way through. Though small, the book really doesn’t lose momentum at any spot, it just keeps on driving and gaining speed and drama till the end. So while I have some problems with it, there’s no doubt it’s a good story.

What bothered me though was some problems with tone. There was a very obvious disregard/dislike for sanitation workers and janitors. Korede hated literally Every janitor in the novel, and these workers were all, without exception, lazy and pretty much good-for-nothing people. In fact, Korede was unnecessarily judgemental of everyone, and once equated disability = ugliness, which was … not pleasant. There was also some fatphobia as well, because why not? I know some of this was because she also had some internal issues to figure out but … because that never happened, I was left just having to conclude 1). She was just that judgemental, or 2). This is the way the author herself thinks.

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad book, and I enjoyed most of it -- though that ending … it wasn’t very satisfying! It felt like the feeling when you watch one of those “acclaimed Hollywood films” that just leaves you feeling unsettled at the end -- but some “jokes” left me wanting to close the book for a bit just to get that foul taste out of my mouth.

[kiracanread]

My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite had such an incredibly smart, dark and mysterious concept, but for me I just felt like it didn't pay off. I didn't strongly dislike this book - hence my three star rating. I did enjoy the story-line and the idea of this book, but I just felt like perhaps this plot wasn't for me in particular. I know there's been a lot of people raving about this book, and I'm glad people are enjoying it because I don't think it's a bad book at all it just wasn't mind-blowing for me or feel like anything particularly special.

My Sister The Serial Killer is an incredibly unique story as far as I know, it's definitely nothing like the books I've read before and I did like that it was something new, It's just a shame that I didn't love it and rated it three out of five stars overall.

[clementine]

Interesting concept, somewhat lacklustre execution. I think it's fun and exciting to see a novel in this genre set in Nigeria, because thriller-ish (and I do use that term loosely) novels are so US-centric and genre novels in general are rarely set outside of the Western world. The characters were a little flat for my liking: Ayoola, the titular serial killer, is extremely beautiful and severely unpleasant, whereas her plain sister Korede is a wet blanket whose main personality trait appears to be that she cleans a lot. Korede was an interesting character because she's so self-righteous but ultimately enables Ayoola's behaviour. However, Ayoola is underdeveloped, and the auxiliary characters were very one-dimensional. The sisters' backstory was interesting and though I wish we'd seen more of it, the implication about their father's fate was exciting. I was expecting a classic thriller twist ending with a lot of action, but I was surprised in a positive way.

There's more going on here than the title implies: there's actually not very much violence shown. This novel is more about interpersonal relationships, particularly the tricky bond between two sisters raised in an abusive household. I thought there could have been a little more emotional depth here, particularly given the backstory and the tone of the ending.

The fast pace makes this a breezy read and ultimately supports the plot, but it does feel a bit disjointed at times - it could be more fully fleshed out, with better flow between short chapters.

If the subject matter of this novel interests you I think it's worth a read, but it's by no means particularly deep.