Review: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Longlisted for the Women's Prize, 2019 Winner of the LA Times Award for Best Crime Thriller, 2019__________

'A literary sensation'Guardian'A bombshell of a book... Sharp, explosive, hilarious' New York Times

'Glittering and funny... A stiletto slipped between the ribs and through the left ventricle of the heart' Financial Times__________

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...

I looked at my reading spreadsheet and saw that I had only read all white people so far this year. It may not sound like a big idea to you, but I like diversity in my books and in what I read. I went to the library, and they had this book, My Sister,, The Serial Killer, and I remembered how much I LOVED African Lit in Collage, so I snatched it up, and when I arrived home, I started reading, and I read it straight through! This book was beyond good! This is defiantly going on my Top Ten List in December.

I also loved the fact that it was written BY a Nigerian because we all seen what happens when white westerns attempt to be or write fro the viewpoint of a non-white non-westerner. That is the stuff of Disasters. I really feel that no one writes about Africa or in this case a Nigerian better than someone who is a westerner and I don’t care how skilled a writer a white dude is the bias is always gonna show up in the writing. And I dunno about YOU but I like my fiction (unless it is something like Science fiction) to be as “real” as possible.and that is what Oyinkan Braithwaite manages to accomplish here.

The plot felt like it could have been a real event. The way she weaves Nigerian culture and life in the story had so many “real” stuff (lest you think I am just blowing hot air outta my ass I used to work as aide worker so I have SOME idea of real-life in West and Central Africa) that not only brought back memories of my time there but even describing the technology and how it was used made perfect sense. Although the use of SnapChat in the plot may feel dated after SnapChat has indeed died, for now, it adds an excellent decision to the story. And guess what?! there were o plot holes at all that I could see. I hate plot holes, and I know I am not alone. It seems like a majority of stories have a plothole in them. It may not be a substantial gaping plot hole, but it is still there, and if I noticed it, I am just ughhhh.

The ending though was..wow..Just when you think one thing will happen, the plot does a 180, and I was left speechless.

I totally fell in love with Oyinkan Braithwaite writing. I almost fell off my chair when I realized that this was a debut book.  Then it made me nervous because what if the next book flopped dure to sophomore issues? It will be hard to make a book better than My  Sister the Serial Killer.

I AM looking forward to what else she writes though. This is one author that you do NOT want to miss!

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