My Sister: The Serial Killer— A Book Review

By Bibi Agarah

This book follows the dynamic relationship between sisters Ayoola and Korede.

The story begins with Ayoola placing a call to her sister in a panic saying she has 'done it again'. Korede rushes to her sister's aid and helps her to dispose of her boyfriend's body. Throughout the book, we see that the girls have taken to dumping bodies into the lagoon. 

Ayoola's lovers have a nasty habit of winding up dead, usually with her knife stuck in their chest. Ayoola has pleaded self-defense quite several times but now Korede is not so sure the bodies piling up in the lagoon were there as a result of self-defense. Korede is a nurse at a hospital, and her first instinct is to save lives but when it comes to her sister, she will do anything to protect her

 Kóredé's utter devotion to her sister has made Korede not just a medical professional, one of the best in health care and helping to restore life but also an expert in dealing with the dead and cleaning up perfectly afterward.

But things take a dark turn when Ayoola sets her eyes on the man Korede loves. Now Korede has to make up her mind. Just how deep does her loyalty go to her sister? To what extent would she go to protect the man she loves?

The book grabs your attention from the title to the end of the novel. It is fast-paced, it does have some slow moments but that's realistic enough. As the title suggests, the book is a little dark with dark humor scattered throughout the book as the girls, already in over their heads, struggle to adapt to a life of crime

The book is written from Kóredé's point of view so we get an insight to how his mind works. And the truth is Korede is a very relatable character, especially when we begin to learn the events from her past...after all, there is nothing we wouldn't do for the ones we love.

Korede has been saddled with responsibility from a very young age and now that she is an adult, she takes it upon herself to make sure everything is in its place. Because of this trait, she is promoted to head nurse and has become responsible for her sister's escapades.

Although we see Ayoola through Kóredé's eyes, you can quickly spot some discrepancies. Ayoola seems to have some sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies. For one thing, although she knows the rules, she does not think they apply to her nor does care about them.

Ayoola would take an apple and leave the store without paying for it, and I would be blamed for letting her get hungry. 

 I wondered what would happen if Ayoola were caught.  If, for once, she were held responsible for her actions.

Rather than being corrected at an early age, Korede is placed in the role of manger and required to protect her sister at all costs. Perhaps this is why Ayoola reached out to her sister after the first murder.

Also, Korede taught her sister how to react to social and emotional cues. Ayoola often has an inappropriate response to other people's emotions although she can manipulate them to her advantage, Korede explains that she had to tell her what was right and wrong.

Tell me what happened to my brother.” 

 Ayoola is wearing dungarees—she is the only person I know who can still pull those off—and she is licking ice cream, probably from the parlor around the corner.  She pauses the licking, not because she is moved by Peju’s words, but because she is aware that it is proper to pause whatever one is doing when in the presence of someone who is grieving.  I spent three hours explaining that particular etiquette to her one Sunday afternoon.

I would definitely recommend this book, it is dark and captivating. It questions just how far we would be willing to go for loved ones and family. The author does a good job of showing the dynamics of a typical Nigerian family. As they are willing to do anything to show a picture perfect side to the world.

The story is full of dark humor and questions the limits we will go through for the ones we love.

The author has an unusual writing style that is almost lyrical in nature but that just adds to the hypnotic twist and turns of the story. This is her debut novel and it was very well done.