My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Published by Vintage on July 30, 2019
Source: Gift
Genres: Crime Fiction
Pages: 226
Format: Paperback
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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...
Ayoola, our murderer in My Sister, the Serial Killer, is entirely different from the serial killer in the last book I read. She’s beautiful and charming. She doesn’t brag, but justifies and makes excuses. Ayoola kills men she dates and calls her older sister, Korede, to help her clean up afterward. She often tells Korede that the man attacked or threatened her, but the book opens with the third dead man Korede has helped deal with, and Ayoola never has any bruises.
The sisters are opposites. Ayoola is lovely, outgoing, flirty and a talented clothing designer. Korede is quiet, self-contained, and good at her job as a nurse. But they are sisters and Korede will do what she needs to to protect Ayoola. We are told the story from Korede’s point of view and given her thoughts on her life, her sister, their family, the police, She has an interesting perspective, unusual when it comes to serial killer novels.
If you want to look deeper, the book raises some interesting thoughts about sisters and about expectations for older siblings versus younger siblings. It’s also about how pretty women are treated versus average-looking women.
It’s a short, fast-paced read that I enjoyed. It’s set in Lagos, Nigeria but I wish I had felt more immersed in the city. It’s hot and there’s a lot of traffic but that’s about all I know. It’s definitely a book that concentrates on plot over setting and character.
About Oyinkan Braithwaite
Oyinkan Braithwaite is the best-selling author of My Sister, the Serial Killer (2018) which has now been translated into 30 languages and sold millions of copies. It won the 2019 LA Times Award for Best Crime Thriller, the 2019 Morning News Tournament of Books, the 2019 Amazon Publishing Reader’s Award for Best Debut Novel and the 2019 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. It was also shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019, among several other prizes, and longlisted for both the Booker Prize 2019 and the 2020 Dublin Literary Award.
Oyinkan has published several short stories over the last few years for a variety of publications and platforms, including Audible and McSweeney’s. She also wrote a novella The Baby is Mine in support of adult literacy. Alongside her work as a novelist, she is also a screenwriter with two projects in development for television and one for feature film, the latter an adaptation of her first novel.
Her new novel Cursed Daughters was published in Autumn 2025.
She lives with her husband and daughter.
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