“Pulpy, peppery and sinister, served up in a comic deadpan…This scorpion-tailed little thriller leaves a response, and a sting, you will remember.”–NEW YORK TIMES“The wittiest and most fun murder party you’ve ever been invited to.”–MARIE CLAIREWINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR MYSTERY/THRILLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 WOMEN’S PRIZEA short, darkly funny, hand grenade of a novel … PRIZE
A 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.
Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she’s exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola’s phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she’s willing to go to protect her.
Sharp as nails and full of deadpan wit, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s deliciously deadly debut is as fun as it is frightening.
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I finished this book in a day and it was great!
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Title says it all. Protagonist chooses to help her sister, a serial killer.
It’s mesmerizing, tragic, funny, disturbing, and so compelling. I sped through this one pretty quick. Loved it. #ShortReview
Quite a unique book! A dark and quirky comedy about two sisters. Korede’s sister is beautiful and can get anything she wants- including plenty of men. The problem is that Ayoola has a bad habit of murdering her boyfriends. Korede is always put in a position of cleaning up after her sister. Unlike anything I’ve read before, I can see how it won awards.
First of all, I love the cover, the title definitely caught my eye and the synopsis sealed the deal.
For such a short book, the character development was excellent. I also really liked the narrator. This started off as 4 for me but the ending fell so flat I dropped it to 3 It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but even after it went in the direction it did, I still anticipated more excitement than there was. As I don’t want to include any spoilers I’ll just leave it there.
I’d recommend this if you’re looking for a quick read. The audio was only just over 4 hours.
After all the reviews for this book by authors and coworkers, I think I let my expectations get too high. It was a good read, but after all the build up, I thought it would’ve been better.
Great story of two women, a killer and a cleaner-upper, that introduced me to a culture I didn’t know much about. Colorfully written, with interesting moral dilemmas for the protagonist.
I couldn’t make myself care about any of the characters.
Rather than a thriller which the title might indicate, this is more of a family drama that focuses on the relationship between plain-Jane nurse, Korede, and her glamorous sister, Ayoola, in a well-heeled Nigerian family. So far, so normal, despite a father who had been physically abusive towards them. Except that Ayoola has a nasty habit of despatching her former lovers rather than leaving them in one piece alive. The killings, however, happen in the background, rather than directly on the page.
Korede has a secret crush on Tade, a doctor she works with. When Ayoola turns up unexpectedly at the hospital one day and meets Tade, he is immediately smitten and pursues her. Not only is Korede upset by this turn of events, she also fears for Tade’s future. Meanwhile, she has been pouring out her woes to a hospital patient who is in a coma and not expected to recover. When he emerges from the coma, Korede discovers that he can recall her secrets. Will he act on them?
The relationship between the two sisters is skilfully portrayed, but neither character develops significantly during the course of the novel. And the ending is abrupt and non-conclusive as if the writer simply ran out of ideas.
For me, this novel was such a disappointing read after all the hype and glowing reviews it received. Having been described as ‘frightening’ and ‘witty’, I was expecting a tense, action-packed thriller laced with dark comedic moments. Alas, it was not to be.
What would you do when the sister who’s enlisted your help to clean up the murders of her last three boyfriends, turns her sights on the man you secretly love? The premise of this book had me itching to read it!
I would consider this more of a family drama than a thriller. Ayoola’s character is easy to dislike; she’s the pretty one that can do no wrong and is selfish beyond measure. Korede by comparison is steadfast, hard working, and Ayoola’s fixer. I enjoyed the internal push and pull that Korede faces when it comes to her sister, especially after she sets her sights on her own love interest.
This is a very short read, a little too short if you ask me. It left a little too many loose ends for my taste. I also really struggled with Korede’s reaction to Ayoola and her antics; at what point is enough enough? At what point do you make your spoiled sister take responsibility for herself and her actions? I just struggled with Korede’s actions which made it hard to connect with the story.
: The narrator was easy to listen to and understand, even with the Nigerian accent.
This is a little gem of a book. A fast read, a pager turner that packs a wallop.
I.enjoyed this clever fast read. These sisters bonds are strong!
Korede is a hardworking nurse living with her mother and younger sister in Nigeria. She’s in love with a doctor at the hospital where she works and although she’s aware that she’s plain, she hopes that one day their friendship will spark into something more romantic. Her days are simple and ordered apart from when she is dealing with her spoilt younger sister, Ayoola. Ayoola is very beautiful and she knows it. She gets what she wants from the men in her life by making the most of her looks and her charming character. Korede has spent her whole life looking out for her impulsive, younger sister and protecting her as well as she can, first from their abusive father and now from her own actions.
Ayoola has killed twice before. She insists though that the men she has killed, her boyfriends, have attacked her, or made her terrified for her life leaving her no option but to defend herself and kill them. But Korede is tired of cleaning up crime scenes and disposing bodies. She has no one with whom she can share her burden and ends up confiding about her sister and her part in covering up the deaths with a coma patient at the hospital. When Tate, the doctor she’s secretly in love with falls for Ayoola Korede has to decided who she must protect, the man she loves or her serial killer sister.
This wonderfully clever book moves at a fast pace with short chapters and the occasional flashbacks that fill in the background and experiences that these two sisters have faced which now connect them so tightly. The first two sentences of the book hooked me firmly – Ayoola summons me with these words – Korede, I killed him. I had hoped I would never hear those words again. I suspected from that first page that I wouldn’t be able to put the book down until it’s (perfect) conclusion, and it proved to be the case.
This winner 2019 of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize was a wonderful read. What could be better than a novel stuffed with suspense, sarcasm and dry wit? A novel from Lagos stuffed with all those things, wrapping potentially expected and well-used tropes in the colors, customs, and language of two sisters from Nigeria. I found this book about sisterhood, Nigerian patriarchy, perceptions of beauty, and ultimately, familial loyalty a beautiful, frightening story, starkly rendered, like a Grimm’s fairy tale, but also funny as hell. If I was you, I wouldn’t miss it.
Strange situations createstranger ones
Different. A creative debut for a new writer.
Short chapters, quick, easy read.
It reads like a poetry (w/out the ryhming format).
When I read the author’s bio on the back cover and it mentioned she did spoken word performances, it was an ah-ha moment. It explained the narrative style.
My one big negative is that I didn’t like the ending. I was disappointed.
I’d recommend this to people who like poetry or spoken word.
Dark comedy at its finest!
Reading this book was like being transfixed on a deadly accident unfolding, not being able to look away, and finding myself filled with inappropriate laughter at the absurdness of it. In other words, the author wrote a wonderful book I couldn’t put down.
In a compact style of writing, the author takes us through the life of Korede – a nurse – and her attention grabbing, very attractive sister, Ayoola, who happens to be a serial killer. As the older sister, Korede has always been responsible for taking care of her sister. This eventually results in Korede cleaning up after her sister’s murders and protecting Ayoola from the consequences of being a murderer. The extremes Korede has to go to creates the underlying dark humor that kept me turning the page.
I enjoyed watching the characters unfolding as their backstories were dropped in to paint the bigger picture.
Quirky. Unique. Witty. Fast read with very short chapters. This is really about the relationship of two sisters. Four stars for unique new voice and great lines throughout.
I actually read this one last August and didn’t write the review then because I didn’t want to spoil it for my fellow book club members. So I don’t remember a lot of details except that I did enjoy it but not so much the ending. The sister dynamic was skewed and made me angry and frustrated at times. But overall it was a good read.
I don’t feel a lot of anything other than rage at the end of this book. I was hoping and praying for a different outcome, but alas, I should have known better. Was it a dark read? Yes. Would I recommend it? I’m not sure. I enjoyed the audio and the narrator did a great job, but the story was just a little too out there for me. Maybe it is because there is a differnt culture in Nigeria and I’m not familiar with the happenings there, but I just find the whole thing a bit unbelievable.
A brilliant and witty funny read. I cant wait to read more from this author. The sister relationships and family dynamics were so familiar and the cultural setting resonated with my own. Loved this book.