A review by vildfarenraev
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

3.5

While I'm entirely unfamiliar with Nigerian culture and traditions, and felt that I stumbled here as there as a result, I was more curious about learning more than confused. In a lot of ways, it reminded me a lot of the style of East Asian stories that I've read over the years; in terms of tone and tradition vs. modern styles of dress/living/etc.

I really liked Korede as a narrator and her inner conflict regarding if she really should protect Ayoola or not creates a dynamic story. It adds to the question "which of them is the bigger monster?", though by the end of the book, that question changes to "who's behaviour is Ayoola really copying?" Ayoola, herself, is as interesting as she is bratty and - to a certain degree - gives me Amy Dunne (Gone Girl) vibes that didn't click until I started writing this review.

I think I was hoping for more thrills, more horror, but that was based on my expectations based on the title and I quickly accepted that this was more of a domestic thriller than horror. It was fast-paced and easy to read and I would still say it was a solid novel.

Below are some spoiler-filled after thoughts I have:

I'm really curious about the question of whether Ayoola is acting as she does because of the actions of their father on because Korede is the one who suggested they kill him. It's mentioned how Ayoola follows what her elder sister does and since it was Korede's idea to murder their abusive father, is that why Ayoola kills men when the relationships she has change? What change would be necessary? Does it have something to do with sex since their father was killed for attempting to pass Ayoola to a p*d*phile?

I have so many questions but, surprisingly, I'm more intrigued by these questions rather than annoyed by the lack of answers.
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