Keep reading for my full review of “My Sister, the Serial Killer” with The Quick & Dirty version at the end!

This review contains relatively low spoilers. Some plot points are mentioned but if you don’t already know how it ends, I don’t ruin it for you.

TW for the book: descriptions of violence/murder and attempted murder, crime scene descriptions, PTSD, descriptions of child abuse

Synopsis:

In a family culture shaped by the expectation that the older sister will protect the younger at all costs, Korede finds herself with a younger sister that will truly test that commitment. When Ayoola calls for help, Korede responds (ready with bleach and strategy) to shield her little sister from the consequences of the violent killing of yet another partner. Ayoola has killed three Nigerian men already. She doesn’t seem inspired to stop. How can Korede reconcile a life in which she nurses people back to health by day and finds herself waiting for her sister’s next “act of self-defense” by night? As it turns out, one day those two roles will collide. When Ayoola starts dating a doctor at the hospital who also happens to be the object of Korede’s affection, Korede will finally be forced to choose: family loyalty or bringing about a reckoning in order to save a good man?

The Verdict?

What worked:

The setting – Lagos, Nigeria. Each of the cultural characteristics of the characters’ life in Lagos was fascinating to me. Everything from workplace drama to family norms was incorporated seamlessly by Braithwaite. The easy flow of cultural context is something that we can enjoy as readers due to Braithwaite’s authentic authorship, since she grew up in Lagos, paired with her talent as a writer.

Writing style – I’m hesitant to call this book a “comedy” but I will say that it was darkly funny at times. I’m a big fan of dark humor and this goes right along with feeling like you have to laugh or you might cry. Braithwaite is brilliant at crafting a deadpan commentary on the trials of family dynamics.

Maybe the pacing – It was like being caught inside Korede’s stream-of-consciousness while she constantly processed living just on the outside of Ayoola’s chaos. To be fair, it did help me really feel the anxiety of what must be Korede’s perpetually-engaged amygdala!

What didn’t:

Maybe the pacing – Being stuck inside Korede’s harried brain didn’t feel particularly good. There wasn’t time to get my feet under me enough to even begin to identify with the characters.

The plot – This was the big bummer. With such a compelling setting and conflict – how is it that the plot didn’t land? My suspicion is that it was just too simplistic to bear the weight of such heavy thematic content. There is no real secondary storyline and meanwhile, everything moves so quickly that even the story arc that is there seems completely dependent on very shallow plot points rather than developing any depth. It felt like quickly hopping on lily pads without being able to slow down because they start sinking. The ending was… fine. It seemed like it was supposed to feel more dramatic than it did but I think the shallow plot up until that point really detracted from the effect.

TL;DR