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A review by findingmontauk1
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
With a title like MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER I am unsure of how I put reading this on the backburner for so long! The synopsis is great and the book is even better. Two sisters. One a killer of boyfriends. And the killer has her eyes set on sister's love interest. What could go wrong?
The novel is fast-paced and has extremely short chapters that promote quickly devouring the story of Ayoola and Korede. At times I felt sorry for Korede for her part in taking responsibility for the messes her sister would get in (like murdering people) but then there were times I felt she enabled that behavior. I think, murder aside, a lot of people out there have sibling relationships and connections that mirror the one between Ayoola and Korede. So in that regard I think a lot of readers with siblings will connect to this on a deeper level and also question themselves: what lengths would I go to if my sister/brother got into some trouble or did something so terrible?
MSTSK has comedic horror elements along with those of dark fiction and thriller books. Satire and social commentary are definitely planted throughout the book - they are not always in your face, but I bet that most readers will see some of these subtle bombs that Braithwaite drops.
So while this book was not quiiiiiiiiiiiite a retelling of the Hayne's sisters' relationship from White Christmas, I will leave you with this quote from their famous song titled "Sisters" that I actually think fits a bit!
"Lord help the mister
Who comes between me and my sister
And lord help the sister who comes between me and my man."
The novel is fast-paced and has extremely short chapters that promote quickly devouring the story of Ayoola and Korede. At times I felt sorry for Korede for her part in taking responsibility for the messes her sister would get in (like murdering people) but then there were times I felt she enabled that behavior. I think, murder aside, a lot of people out there have sibling relationships and connections that mirror the one between Ayoola and Korede. So in that regard I think a lot of readers with siblings will connect to this on a deeper level and also question themselves: what lengths would I go to if my sister/brother got into some trouble or did something so terrible?
MSTSK has comedic horror elements along with those of dark fiction and thriller books. Satire and social commentary are definitely planted throughout the book - they are not always in your face, but I bet that most readers will see some of these subtle bombs that Braithwaite drops.
So while this book was not quiiiiiiiiiiiite a retelling of the Hayne's sisters' relationship from White Christmas, I will leave you with this quote from their famous song titled "Sisters" that I actually think fits a bit!
"Lord help the mister
Who comes between me and my sister
And lord help the sister who comes between me and my man."