“Korede’s [younger] sister Ayoola is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic.” If that’s not an intro to an amazing premise for a story, I don’t know what is.
My Sister, The Serial Killer follows two Nigerian sisters, the younger of which is technically termed a serial killer because, so far, she’s stabbed and killed 3 of her ex-boyfriends. Korede, bending to Ayoola’s will because of an inherent need to protect her, is the one who cleans up every time.
As in most sibling relationships, it’s been drilled into Korede to keep baby sister safe, no matter what. Adding to the fact that she isn’t seen as a ‘typical’ beauty (dark skin, big lips, above average height), Korede is tethered to her little sister in a way that is really fascinating.
See, big sister knows that everything about all the situations is wrong: killing somebody, helping to clean up, her sister’s stories of why she does it. But that doesn’t stop her from helping anyways. Call it a desperate need to feel wanted by somebody socially important, or weakness, unfailing loyalty, or a desire to keep up a facade, Korede continues to help her sister whenever she kills someone. She brings the bleach, the body bags and general common sense to the situation. However, she finds herself being tested when Ayoola’s next boyfriend is someone she’s in love with.
Now, you’ll have to read the second half of the book to find out what happens in that weird love triangle, but let’s just say (a) there’s more to the younger sister than meets the eye – she’s actually kind of insightful and a pretty savvy business woman and (b) not everyone gets what’s coming to them.
I read this book in about a day: in between breaks at work, while travelling on the bus and spending a few extra hours at home at the end of the day. I consumed it. There were definitely times when I laughed out loud in public. There were definitely times when I wanted to slap a few characters in the book. It’s marketed as a thriller, but I don’t know if I would call it that. There’s moments where I’m left wondering what’s about to happen, but thriller seems more along the lines of darkness, which doesn’t really describe this book.
It’ll make you laugh out loud, re-examine your loyalties and leave you with more questions than on a multiple choice test.
My rating: 4/5