Ayoola has always been the beautiful sister, her mother’s favorite. She seems perfect from the outside but she does have one flaw. Her boyfriends keep dying in her company. Each time, she claims self-defense. Luckily, her protective older sister Korede is willing to literally clean up her mess time and time again. Korede, a nurse, is secretly in love with one of the doctors she works with but he has no idea. When Ayoola visits the hospital one day, he is immediately taken with her and her beauty like every other man she’s ever met. Now Korede has to decide where her loyalties lie because chances are that Ayoola’s relationship with the doctor will end like all her others.

This book was very suspenseful! I honestly couldn’t figure out what Korede was going to do about the situation with her sister and the doctor. And oh my gosh – the sister was so vapid and selfish! I wanted to yell at Korede to quit protecting her. I guess that’s what big sisters are for.

This book is a short read that’s fast paced and fun. There’s some dark humor in it that makes it not as morbid as it sounds. Take a close look at the cover – creepy! Recommended.

A delicious, darkly comic, pulp-tinged treat of a first novel. It's several steps above a typical page-turner, a sui generis sibling rivalry/star-crossed lover/serial killer/social commentary. During a period in which I'm staying away from non-fiction, this was perfect.

Not a word is wasted in this short novel about a secret between sisters. I’ll happily recommend to fans of mysteries and thrillers.

A'ight. Not gonna lie, I wanted to punch the protagonist in the face...with a chair. Sorry, that escalated quickly, didn't it? :hesitant laughter:

In a nutshell (a really small nutshel), this short book follows Korede, the rather plain sister, as she cleans up the crime scenes of her murdering sister, Ayoola - the super hot, popular sister. Korede feels responsible for her sister. It isn't until Ayoola becomes interested in the same man Korede is interested in that she (Korede) begins to question her own motivations, and wonders if she should stop protecting Ayoola. 

I didn't not enjoy this book, neither did I really enjoy it. The concept is unique and interesting, and asks the reader how far they would go to protect someone they love. Korede's relationship with the doctor she works for, and with the coma patient showed us a woman desperate for love, and even more desperate for an ally. Someone she can share all her secrets with, without fear of that person going to the police. But when her sister, Ayoola, attracts the romantic interest of Korede's doctor, and the coma patient wakes up with a full memory of what Korede shared with him, she starts to question things. 

The ending is what did it for me. I would've been okay with this book if it had ended differently. There are several ways it could've ended that would've made me like it more. But, well. 

So it gets a "Meh" out of 5.

Stefanie Rae

I really liked it! The writing was great, the plot was just fast moving enough while not getting ahead of itself, and it was engaging enough that I read it in one sitting. It’s a short book but it does a lot in around 200 pages and I found its brevity refreshing!

“No. My sister is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. Have you met her?”

You will do in this tale, there are two sisters, kin in a crime of killing men, this Lagos noir brings a new voice, writing flows through fluidly with an entertaining read with satire in the narrative.

I'd heard so much about this book, I was ready to dismiss the hype. To my surprise, I totally loved it.
I love how deeply angry this story is. It's fueled by female frustration and disappointment; it's urgent and potent, pushing through the story at a break-neck pace.

I absolutely loved this book. With the short chapters and frank prose, the story straddled humor and darkness perfectly.. The way that the Nigerian context was painted was rich and textured through setting and dialogue. The relationships in the book are almost always frustrated and constantly reaching toward an end to no avail. Hilariously ludicrous at times, it is a careful blend of tension and story that is not overly emotional, nor too cold.

This is a quick read, Nigerian noir. It's about family loyalty, in the end.

Korede, the older sister, is practical, drab, efficient and bitter. She works as a nurse, and her skills in getting blood out of clothing comes in handy when her younger sister Ayoola calls to say she's killed a boyfriend for the third time. Ayoola is a social media influencer, an absolute gorgeous knockout, and as irresponsible as Korede is efficient. Korede has always helped Ayoola in the past when things have gotten complicated. According to Ayoola, her boyfriends were abusive. But Korede still wonders- Ayoola always seems to have a knife handy.

The sisters come from a broken family with an abusive father. Although they resent each other, they also have been each other's support when things have been truly bad. But now Korede is second-guessing how much she should be helping her little sister. For the first time, Korede is interested in a man herself, a doctor at her hospital. But when Ayoola visits her at work and casts her spell like the femme fatale she is, Korede is worried for the guy, jealous of her sister, and bitter about her own lonely and thankless life.

Something's got to give. Will it be family loyalty or love?

This book is a very quick read. It is set in a country that's not familiar to me, and I liked getting the glimpse into Nigerian life. It wraps up a bit quickly, but it's a great beach read.

This fiercely clever debut novel will have you hooked (no pun intended) by the first sentence. It is a story about a young woman who cavalierly murders her boyfriends when the mood strikes her and the narrator, her older sister, who dutifully literally and figuratively cleans up her messes and constantly covers for her. A dark, witty satire about femme fatales, sibling dynamics, and relationships was a quick read and deserving of the pre-release buzz.

I was so excited to jump into this book. What's there to hate about the idea of trying to prevent your serial killer little sister from killing more guys? Fantastic premise.

To be completely honest, I could not get through this book. I just couldn't find any sympathy for the protagonist. If your sister is a serial killer it seems to me like you should be less talk and more action, but there was just not a lot of action to be found in this book. Perhaps there was a great climax in the end, but by halfway through I just didn't want to spend anymore time with these characters.

*I received this book from NetGalley in return for a honest review.*

Although this is a shorter book, it sure packs a big punch. Original, captivating, and an absolutely necessary read. Very well-done and one I won't be forgetting.

I had to think about this one for a while after finishing it. My Sister, The Serial Killer is a short book involving Korede, a woman who lives in Lagos, Nigeria. She is a nurse and the older sister of Ayoola. Ayoola has a bad habit of killing her boyfriends in "self-defense". Korede has a bad habit of helping her cover it up. The book has received rave reviews, so I know I am in the minority when I say I didn't really care for this book. From the synopsis, I was expecting a dark slasher/comedy. But I found nothing funny, satirical or remotely frightening about the book.

The story is told in very short chapters through Korede's eyes. Through some flashbacks, we get an idea of how Ayoola ended up the way she did. However, that still didn't excuse any of it. I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I know it's supposed to be a story about sisters and how far you would go to protect your younger siblings. But, I really didn't agree with anything Korede did. What Ayoola needed was intense therapy. I wanted to root for Korede, but I just couldn't get behind any of her choices. I'm not spoiling anything by saying any of this because there are no surprises in this book, The ending was less than satisfying because there was no closer. I guess in the end, it just wasn't the book for me.

My thoughts on My Sister, the Serial Killer are all over the place. On the one hand, I want to love it because I know it is getting a TON of press right now, popping up on best of lists already even though it was just published. On the other hand, I am not certain why it is being added to such lists. I read it. I enjoyed it. I get the satire, just as I get the enabling. I understand the idea of nature versus nurture. I don’t understand what others see in it though. It is entertaining, but it didn’t make me feel that giddiness I associate with a stellar novel. It won’t make me think beyond writing a review. As of right now, I feel it will be one of those books that I will remember reading but won’t be able to extract much more than that.

My one complaint is that it isn't long enough. Loved the writing and characters and marvelous Nigerian setting. But I wanted just a little more of everything. Especially the end! I want to say more but also don't want to give any spoilers... Let's say that the main 2 sister characters could have been developed just a little more, ie had visible changes to their behavior to show growth as individuals and as members of society. Like, seriously, what happens to them NEXT? I have many questions. Maybe there will be a sequel titled something like, "I'm With Her, but Also Vaguely Disapproving of How She Keeps Murdering Her Boyfriends and Also Kind of Jealous of Her Looks, You Know What, Maybe I'm a Bit of a Sociopath Too".

I can't decide if this is going to sound too Western-white privilege so please know in advance I am aware of that and don't mean it like that but one of the BEST things was what felt like, to me, the very realistic setting of Lagos in the story. Off hand remarks about the police being incompetent and how she has to bribe a traffic cop (unclear on actual terminology, not a real cop but can give tickets), to get out of a ticket for not wearing her seat belt. The culture of house servants and rampant sexism and modes of address and the relative ease of disposing of a body. It was a lot of little things but it was convincing. Mind you, I've never been to Nigeria or Africa at all, so what do I know, but I like that it made me feel present.

This was a fantastic book that asks the question - how far will we go for our family? In this case, it's a tale of two sisters, one of whom just keeps happening to accidentally kill her boyfriends. Braithwaite tells the story with real emotional feeling, even if the plot is slightly exaggerated.

Just how far are we prepared to go to protect the ones we love?

If someone dear to us is in trouble, we help them. Obviously. But where’s the line? At what point do the larger ethical and moral ramifications of our help become unconscionable to us? Where our assistance actually aids in the continuation of something we ourselves find abhorrent?

That’s the underlying concern in Oyinkan Braithwaite’s dryly funny, no-nonsense debut novel “My Sister, the Serial Killer” (Doubleday, $22.95). An older sister with a wavering and resentful devotion to the younger – a devotion that extends to cleaning up some unpleasant messes – questions the motives behind that devotion. It’s a spare and biting look at just how deep our familial bonds can flow – and what blood relations do when another’s blood is spilled.

Korede is a nurse at a hospital in Nigeria. She lives at home with her mother and her sister Ayoola. The sisters have been close since childhood despite having very little in common. Korede considers herself to be plain, while Ayoola is stunningly beautiful. Korede works hard at her job; Ayoola breezes through hers. Korede is cynical, Ayoola naïve. Korede is forever, while Ayoola cycles through beaus.

And speaking of those beaus – they have an unfortunate tendency to wind up dead by Ayoola’s hand.

Three times, this has happened. Three times, Korede has gotten the call from her younger sister, the call explaining that this new boyfriend had said something or done something, threatened her or struck her, made her so afraid that she had no choice but to stab him with the nine-inch knife she happens to keep handy at all times. Three times, Korede has taken care of it, whether through a meticulous scrubdown and body disposal or evidence-destroying arson.

Three times. According to Google, that makes Ayoola a serial killer.

Korede struggles with the morality of what she has done. She loves her sister, wants to protect her and keep her out of jail for acts that weren’t her fault. Except, maybe they WERE Ayoola’s fault. And if so, is Korede enabling her sister’s seeming ease with killing? What if it keeps happening? What happens if they get caught?

All the while, Korede pines for the affectionate attention of Tade, the charming, handsome doctor – right up until he asks for Ayoola’s phone number, leaving Korede trapped between wanting to save the man she silently and unrequitedly loves and protecting her sister’s secret. Korede’s sole confidant is one of her patients, a man in a coma who is the only person to whom she can truly unburden herself.

Still, family ties or no, secrets – especially dark secrets – can be awfully difficult to keep.

There’s a weirdly engaging style to “My Sister, the Serial Killer” – the story is narrated by Korede, whose pragmatic nature flavors the tale. That pragmatism stands in sharp contrast the visceral nature of the action. Having such deeds described in a voice of dry exasperation makes for a compelling and quick reading experience; it also allows the occasional moment of more obvious vividity in the writing to shine that much brighter.

Family is the magnetic north of this story, the unwavering force toward which Korede must steer. She may do so willingly, or even consciously, but she cannot help herself. The cultural expectations and personal connections are tangled and snarled, leaving her with no choice in the matter. Family is the most important thing, even if it isn’t always the right thing.

That’s the thing about this book: there’s no denying that you are very much in Korede’s head. It’s rare to be so subsumed by a character’s perspective in the book. The clipped nature of the chapters (and the shortness of the book as a whole) offer perfectly-timed windows into her thoughts, glimpses of personality that rapidly add up. You’re alongside the character in a way that you’re not often lucky enough to experience in a book.

And it’s funny. Not a guffawing or knee-slapping funny. A slow burn funny. A truly situational funny. A satiric, very dark funny.

“My Sister, the Serial Killer” is the kind of bold, fearless writing you don’t necessarily expect from a first-time novelist. The author proves capable of evoking darkness without being exploitive or overly bleak; there are lights that burn in the shadows that she casts, though not for long. A laudable debut, to be sure – we’ll undoubtedly be hearing more from Oyinkan Brathwaite.

Sisters are complicated. You can love them and hate them, often simultaneously, frequently in the same breath. They have memory bank eyes, never failing to remember us, at our most vulnerable, often when we feel most powerful. Enter these two Nigerian sisters, one smart, steadfast and prescient and the other, unpredictable, younger and beautiful. Did I mention beautiful? Because her beauty is a big factor in the family’s life and the sisters’ relationship. It determines their relative futures and therefore their relative current values. The book is a satire right up until it isn’t; it depends upon whether or not you have sisters and how enmeshed you are with them. The book is good regardless of your family background. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Korede is the smart daughter with a stable job and a good head on her shoulders, yet her beautiful, flighty, younger sister Ayoola, who simply walks into a room and men fall for her, is perfection in her mother’s mind. If only her mother knew that Ayoola just killed her third boyfriend.

That’s how My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite begins, with jealous Korede helping Ayoola clean up blood and ditch a body. Korede wonders if this will be the fate of any man Ayoola dates, and the stakes are raised when Korede’s boss, who she’s madly in love with, falls under Ayoola’s spell.

Told by Korede, this sounds like a dark novel, but if anything it’s a dark comedy, because Korede has such a sarcastic, caustic wit that cracked me up. With the story going back and forth in time, there’s also some good commentary on gender and power, making this a much more nuanced read than I thought it would be. Many dark things have followed these sisters for years and they’ll stick together through anything…or will they?

All the way through the novel I kept seesawing on whether or not I thought their bond would break, and while the end felt a bit abrupt, it didn’t end like I thought it would and I kind of like that. It’s an intriguing read about power, tragedy, sisterly bond, and, yes, some murder, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
A Classic Clash – Though My Sister, the Serial Killer is about two Nigerian sisters who grew up in a wealthy but very troubled household, the relationship Braithwaite built between the two rings true for so many siblings. Korede was the classic first-born: responsible, hard-working, driven. She was smart, but plain looking. Her younger sister Ayoola filled the role of the entitled, favored, flighty younger sibling perfectly. Clearly her mother’s favorite, beautiful Ayoola seemed to breeze through life.

“Her movements are in no way rhythmical; they are the movements of someone who has no audience and no self-consciousness to shackle them. Days ago, we gave a man to the sea, but here she is, dancing.”

From the time Ayoola was born, Korede felt both love and resentment for her sister. She wanted to protect Ayoola, but who was protecting her?

A Budding Mystery – Debut author Oyinkan Braithwaite masterfully drew you into her story with hints about a bigger cause for Ayoola’s strange proclivity toward men. There’s a dead father, around whom many questions swirl, a dazzling 9-inch knife with more than one story behind it, and a past that had to be let go. As her story unfolds each new clue leads the reader to understand this family just a little more.

Full of Humor – I’ll admit it. I feel a little weird saying a story about a serial killer and a family willing to cover up for her is funny, but it is! Plenty of parts of My Sister, the Serial Killer are quite serious, but Korede’s fears about her sister’s little habit and her own penchant for making everything right are often handled in a sort of tongue-in-cheek way that had me laughing out loud. Braithwaite deftly balanced the serious with some fun.

What Didn’t
A Little Too Understanding – At times I grew frustrated by Korede’s willingness to let her sister shine. She had so much going for her, but was willing to be the family’s martyr and though this was explained, I grew tired of her long-suffering silences. Korede’s fate seemed to be set on the day her sister was born.

{The Final Assessment}
Overall, I liked My Sister, the Serial Killer very much. I especially appreciated the classic family relationships taken to an extreme. Just how far are we willing to go for our family? It was a fun, sad, twisted little novel from an author I will happily read again. Grade: B+

Note: I received a copy of this book from Doubleday (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!