#MySisterTheSerialKiller

Friday 56, October 28, 2022: My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 2 Comments

Welcome to Friday 56! Hosted by Freda’s Voice, you turn to page 56 or 56% in any book or reading device and pick a sentence that grabs you.

Two years in, I was hardened and ready to protect my sister, who I was sure would receive the same treatment that I had. Maybe hers would be even worse. She would come to each day weeping and I would wrap my arms around her and soothe her. It would be us against the world.

Rumor has it that she was asked out on her first day, by a boy in SS2. It was unprecedented. Boys in the senior classes didn’t notice juniors, and when they did, they rarely tried to make it official. She said no. But I received the message loud and clear.

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

The above quote is taken from page 56 of the book. Our two main characters are sisters, Korede and Ayoola, who live in Nigeria. Korede, the elder sister, is a plain, average woman who works at the hospital as a nurse. Ayoola, the younger sister is beautiful — sometimes harmfully so. I’m actually not sure what she does for a living, but she seems to post a lot on social media. Men are always fawning over her, and this sometimes leads to tragedy.

At this point in the book, Ayoola has already killed her third boyfriend with their deceased father’s knife, officially making her a serial killer. Korede has helped Ayoola clean up after each murder. The sister’s seem to have a messed up bond, created by their abusive father. Korede feels the need to protect her little sister, even from her own crimes. Ayoola says that it was in self defense, but Korede often wonders if this is the case. Can it always be in self defense? Will she kill again?

One day Ayoola makes an appearance at the hospital where Korede works and meets the doctor, Tade, that Korede has feelings for. Tade is immediately overcome with want for Ayoola and Korede worries that he will become her next victim.

I really like this book so far. It’s easy to read and its an interesting topic.

BOOK REVIEW: My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 5 Comments

Title: My Sister, The Serial Killer

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

Book Length: 223 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Contemporary

Read Start Date: October 19, 2022

Read Finish Date: October 22, 2022

Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: 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…

My Sister, the Serial Killer is a blackly comic novel about how blood is thicker – and more difficult to get out of the carpet – than water…

My Review: As of writing this review, this book has a 3.7 rating on Goodreads, which I find to be a little unfair. I really liked this book for several reasons. First, I found it to be an interesting premise. Korede and Ayoola are sisters who grew up with an abusive father, that is, until he died. I never figured out whether the father just up and had a heart attack, or if the sisters had something to do with it. I would have liked to see more clarity about this topic.

Secondly, I liked that this book was easy to read. I finished it in only 3 days.

The book starts with a murder — Ayoola’s third murder to be precise. The man she killed had been her boyfriend, and she claims he attacked her. But then, why was the knife (their father’s knife) protruding from his back? Why has Ayoola done this before? Could it really be that ALL the times she has killed was always done in self defense, or could she be, as Korede thinks, a serial killer?

In darkly comedic fashion, we are with the sisters as they clean the scene, wrap the body, and carry him down in the elevator to Korede’s car. They dump him unceremoniously into the river and go on with their daily lives. Ayoola is immediately ready to get back to normal, and Korede has to reel in Ayoola’s Instagram posts which might seem in poor taste to some, and to others suspicious. Neither sister seems emotionally stable, some might even call them sociopaths.

This book is as much about Ayoola being a serial killer as it is about the complicated relationship between the sisters. Korede is extremely jealous of Ayoola because of her beauty and success with men, due to a sense of familial obligation instilled in her by their mother, continues to cover up Ayoola’s crimes. Korede, though the elder sibling, has always lived in Ayoola’s shadow. “I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realized that Ayoola was beautiful and I was…not. But what I do know is that I was aware of my own inadequacies long before.” Korede is self-deprecating and very hard on herself — which I don’t feel is warranted. She is smart and a hard worker, having been recent promoted to head nurse at the hospital where she works. Yes, she might not be as alluringly seductive as her sister, but well, her sister clearly has some fatal flaws.

When Ayoola catches the attention of Tade, a doctor whom Korede is in love with, it is unclear for most of the book what Korede will do. Will she tell on Ayoola? Will she allow things to progress and see what happens? What will come first, family or what is morally right? I won’t spoil the ending, but I think that it is true to Korede and I wasn’t surprised.

First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday October 25, 2022: My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 1 Comment

It’s First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday! Hosted by Socrates Book Reviews this is where you share the first paragraph of one (or in my case sometimes several) of the books that you are currently reading.

Ayoola summons me with these words–Korede, I killed him.

I had hoped I would never hear those words again.”

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinhan Braithwaite