My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is wicked yet funny. This novel is about sisterly love, jealously, and just how far we’ll go to protect the people we love. For Korede, that includes disposing of a body. Or three.
Set in Lagos, Nigeria, the story follows Korede, a practical, meticulous nurse whose younger sister Ayoola has a rather unfortunate habit of murdering her boyfriends. Always in self defence, of course.
Ayoola is a beautiful, charming, self-absorbed diva who is accustomed to getting her way. Korede is the responsible, organized older sister who is forever cleaning up her sister’s messes. Literally. She knows how to remove bloodstains, dispose of evidence, and keep Ayoola from posting on Instagram when she’s supposed to be distressed about a boyfriend gone missing.
Korede is Ayoola’s protector, and she is accustomed to being overlooked. Ayoola is beautiful. Korede is dependable. There is love between these sisters but also resentment on both sides.
Things get sticky when Ayoola catches the eye of Tade, a handsome doctor at the hospital where Korede works. Korede has a huge crush on this man and he is kind and polite to her but otherwise falls head over heels for Ayoola, who fans the flame, claiming she is obtuse to Korede’s own puppy love.
What I enjoyed most about this novel is that the family dynamics are front and centre. There’s a wonderful absurdity to all of it, but underneath that humour is a darker story about the roles we play in families and how difficult those roles are to escape.
These girls grew up with an abusive father, which means Korede is extra protective. There’s the Nigerian cultural aspects to this story too about respecting parents and the conflicting emotions around that. Plus, we get insights into the role of beauty and how the darkness of one’s skin leads to a willingness for authority figures to overlook indiscretions, even crimes.
Braithwaite’s writing is sharp and economical, but the story still has flourishes. Lagos is a lively setting, and Korede’s hospital coworkers are an intriguing cast of secondary characters. I really enjoyed this novel. I was reminded of The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff, another darkly funny novel about women, murder, and the questionable lengths people will go to protect themselves and each other.