My Sister the Serial Killer (2018)-Oyinkan Braithwaite
This is a fun and simple read
Content Warnings: Murder, abuse, forced marriage
Representation: Nigerian, Black
Favorite Quote: “He looked like a man who could survive a couple of flesh wounds, but then so had Achilles and Caesar.”
My Sister the Serial Killer is a thriller book set in Nigeria following two sisters from a moderately wealthy and affluent family in the wake of one sister, Ayoola’s, third murder. Ayoola claims each time these murders occur, they are in self-defense against a threatening boyfriend, but Korede is suspicious of this excuse and is growing tired of cleaning up her sister’s messes. Korede insistently protects her sister despite her frustrations, but the lengths that Korede will go to keep Ayoola out of trouble begin to be questioned.
Korede becomes particularly strained in her support of Ayoola when the colleague Korede has long pinned after shows interest in Ayoola for her beauty. She must then grapple with her jealously and concern for this man’s safety and her seemingly unending love for her sister—a love and care that Ayoola takes for granted.
Neither Korede nor Ayoola are particularly unlikable despite the circumstances, but they don’t feel well developed. Rather, readers are meant to hang onto the mystery of how far these sisters will go to cover their crimes. I didn’t find myself quite invested in this plot, however, to adequately make up for the lack of compelling characters. A good morally grey character has the audience torn by their urge to root for the character despite the wrongness of their actions, but Ayoola simply feels entitled and unfeeling while Korede is complicit.
The most one can hope this book can invoke in regards to emotions is mild outrage toward the main characters. It is unclear if this was the author’s intent, as it is categorized as a thriller but readers don’t walk away feeling unnerved as much as a vague sense of injustice. This is, however, a relatively short read that is easy to follow along with. So for readers seeking a simple book purely for entertainment, it’s not a bad choice. It is not, however, anything groundbreaking.