“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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My Sister, the Serial Killer is set in Nigeria. The two sisters, plain, tall, and responsible Korede–first born– but not the favorite of her mother. Korede’s mother expects her to take care of her baby sister, Ayoola– the tiny and gorgeous, though both girls are grown. Braithwaite ‘s sense of humor is off center and hilarious! This book is so quick–between the pacing and the action; I would have loved more character development. Still this was such a different read for me and I enjoyed it.
A bit slow, took longer to read than I expected just because I kept putting it down.
This was a delightful read! I’d seen a lot of talk about this about a year ago on Twitter and picked it up, took me till 2020 to get to this, my TBR mountain is very tall! This is a great story of two sisters, one with a serious flaw! Blood is thicker than water as you will see if you read this! I highly suggest grabbing this.
What would you do if your sister was a serial killer? Would you protect her? Turn her in? Or clean up her messes? Very interesting premise for a story. I wish this was a bit longer and character development was deeper but overall I enjoyed it and would recommend.
“Have you heard this one before?”
This was a great read. Very recommended.
“…Two girls walk into a room. The room is in a flat. The flat is on the third floor. In the room is the dead body of an adult male. How do they get the body to the ground floor without being seen? First, they gather supplies…”
I thoroughly enjoyed this fun read. Bite size chapters, crisp prose, sharp observations and tender moments.
At first I wasn’t sure I’d like this book–the light tone and popcorn-size chapters seemed out of synch with the seriousness of a serial killer sister. But, in the end, I gobbled it up. It helps, I suppose, to have a black sense of humor, as I do.
My Sister, the Serial Killer is breezy, but original. The Lagos setting and sprinkling of Yoruba words and culture add the seasoning.
Quick read about 2 sisters in Nigeria. Korede is the eldest, and is a nurse at the local hospital. She is kind and competent, but she is not beautiful. Ayoola, tge younger sister, is a beauty, but she is shallow. She is swayed by wealth, and men are enthralled by her. She is also a serial killer, who kills and then calls Korede to help her clean up the mess.
Korede wants to tell someone, but doesn’t want to live without her sister.
This is an interesting tale on the relationship of sisters, their attitudes towards men and each other, and their life shaped by an abusive father.
I liked the authors writing style, the quick chapters, and the way she told Korede and Ayoola’s story.
#MySisterTheSerialKiller #OyinkanBraithwaite
I Still want a part 2 though
This book was very straight forward, but very entertaining. I’d recommend it if you’d like a relatively easy read.
Funny, clever and gripping
What a cool read!
I’d never been to Nigeria in books before. I found the setting very colorful, what was described anyway… was mostly attire.
I really liked the characters, although I was frustrated at times by Ayoola’s foolish and flirtatious manner. I can just imagine how her sister felt.
The story was not what I expected, which turned out to be a good thing.
Not too ‘gory’ although there is murder in it. Fans of thrillers that are not too violent will enjoy this one!
Great debut. This was a quick, yet darkly humorous read. I loved the simplicity in which the first person narrative dealt with her sister’s misdemeanours, like it was just something that sisters do! I look forward to reading Braithwaite’s next book.
Fabulous, quick read about the ties of blood, and how even if your baby sister is a sociopath, she’s still your baby sister. I loved it, and the characters’ voices on the page came through loud and clear.
Original story, great characters and an undercurrent of black humour.
3.5 Stars
Let’s start off by saying I flew through this book in two days! It was a quick paced read with some really good pulse pounding moments. The pace and chapter flow made My Sister, The Serial Killer my quickest read in a long time. I think the plot was facisnating and from the first page I knew I HAD to get to the end as quickly as possible. I think Oyinkan Braithwaite is an extremely talented writer! I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next! It is clear by her writing and original concepts that she has many promising novels ahead of her!
My Sister, The Serial Killer is set in Nigeria and it mostly takes place at the local hospital and the family home. As a reader you learn a lot about the culture and family dynamics. This gives great background into how the characters became who they are. Oyinkan also used a lot of local language and that was an aspect of the story that I really enjoyed.
While this book certainly had strong points I finished this book not completely satisfied. Part of that is because I went in expecting a traditional serial killer thriller and I would put this novel in the suspense category. I wanted more edge of my seat terror! There were moments that made my pulse race, but I wanted more of that feeling! I also found all the characters to be unlikable in this story. How Korede is treated throughout the entire novel frustrated me to no end and Korede being so willing to always help Ayoola constantly made me angry. Ayoola (and let’s be honest all of her family) does everything possible to make Korede’s life a living hell. I don’t mind unlikeable characters, but I need them to have some redeeming qualities and I didn’t find that in this book. I think this is the reason that it was not a four star read for me.
While I didn’t give it a full four stars I think people should pick this book up! It is a quick suspenseful read that is well written with a bit of dark humor.
This book was a fun and twisted ride which kept me glued to the pages.
I read this in less than a day. It’s a quick read with short chapters. Quite intriguing!
So different to anything before it. Very addictive!
This book was quick read.