My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Set in Nigeria, amid a corrupt system of law and order, Korede is forever coming to the aid of her beautiful, but kooky, younger sister, Ayoola, who has a bad habit of killing her boyfriends. She always claims self-defense, but she’s never injured, and her conscience never seems to suffer. 

Korede, is a borderline, antisocial nurse, more comfortable around her comatose patient, to whom she bears her soul, than with anyone else. She has a crush on Tade, a doctor she works closely with. However, when Ayoola shows up at the hospital to visit her sister, Tade is immediately smitten with her. So, not only is Korede hurt emotionally, with her sister’s history with men to consider, this development is quite troubling. 

Deep down, Korede is angry, jealous of her beautiful, favored sister, but she always comes to her rescue. Ayoola is self-absorbed, flaunting her beauty, and appears not to notice the stress and strain she causes Korede. Both sisters are flawed, with abominable character traits, but at the same time, they both managed to, inconceivably, elicit sympathy from me. The author creates a unique brand of suspense, an ever- present sense of dread, while toying with the readers' emotions. The social commentary could be at the core of the story, perhaps playing a key role in the sisters’ pathos. 

There’s much to ponder on in this amazing debut novel. Kordede’s stoic inner thoughts stole the show for me, though. The story is meant to be dark, meant to be taken seriously, but so sardonic, it is morbidly funny at times. 

But, one thing is for certain, this author has done an incredible job creating these wickedly entertaining characters, adding rich layers to the story, while keeping the prose pointed and sharp, even minimal, and still manages to add the rarity of humor into the mix with perfect balance and poise.

Recommended by Monica
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