Review: My Sister the Serial Killer

Posted on 9 April, 2019

I am the older, cleaner, more responsible and homelier of two sisters.

For that reason, My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite resonated with me. It tells the story of sensible nurse, Korede, who is regularly required to clean up after her strikingly beautiful sister, Ayoola. This cleaning though is beyond typical sibling duties. Ayoola keeps calling Korede in a panic after she has accidentally killed her boyfriends. Plural.

I should be clear at this juncture that my connection to this narrative does not derive from any murderous tendencies on the part of my own sister. I think.

As the book opens, Ayoola has killed her third boyfriend, Femi, in self-defence. Korede dons her cleaning gloves and deals with the sickening aftermath, while Ayoola lies on the bed scrolling her Instagram feed. Korede battles her desire to judge Ayoola (as we elder siblings so often do), and to alert the authorities. Korede’s sense of obligation toward her baby sister is so strong in fact that she does everything within her power to protect Ayoola from the consequences of her own actions (another classic elder sibling move).

Until Ayoola starts dating Tade, a doctor at the hospital where Korede works and with whom she is secretly in love. As Ayoola and Tade’s relationship blossoms, Korede is forced to choose between the man she desires, and the sister who has stolen him from her…on what might become an irrevocably permanent basis.

This book is sassy, smart and satisfying. Its strength lies in its brevity. It’s the kind of book you’ll inadvertently read in one sitting, forgetting to pause for food, water or even ablutions.

With relatively few words, Braithwaite succeeds in creating and testing the boundaries of a complicated sibling relationship, while subtly commenting on a range of challenging issues like gendered societal roles, beauty standards, social media’s corrosive effects and abusive parents.

Simultaneously the book is somehow darkly funny. The satire is as abrasive as Korede’s cleaning chemicals. As an aside, there are some surprisingly useful cleaning tips throughout the book. Not that I’ve used them in the specific, post-murder context Braithwaite describes (at least not yet).

If you’re in the market for a quick, humorous and thought-provoking read, this might be perfect – especially if you’re an older sibling and especially if you’ve considered turning your younger sibling into the police (we’ve all been there).

I gave ‘My Sister the Serial Killer’ four out of five pairs of yellow cleaning gloves.