Madeline
My Sister, The Serial Killer came on my list alongside the first of many black authors are arriving in mainstream books to read lists. As is with the rest of the world, black people are being lifted up in every industry including the writing industry. If something is good it should be popular for being good. Not because the creator is white or black or purple. I did enjoy this book and it fits the bill of being popular for being good.
Premise of My Sister, The Serial Killer
This book starts with cleaning up a bloody bathroom and disposing of a body in the river in modern day Lagos, Nigeria. Korede, nurse at a local hospital and narrator of My Sister, The Serial Killer, explains why bleach should not be used as the only cleaning solution. Shortly after, the reader discovers that this is not the first time Korede has helped her beautiful sister, Ayoola, clean a murder scene and dispose of a body. All the past body’s have belonged to the boyfriend’s of Ayoola. And since this is the third body, her sister technically qualifies as a serial killer.
The book title comes from Korede’s realization of this small classification her sister now belongs to. And all throughout the book, she rolls it over and over in her mind… and to the reader. The reader is her outlet for this heavy decision. She does not know if she helps her sister because she is her sister, or if she should turn her in because that is the right thing to do.
Shortly after the disposal of this body, the cycle starts again. A new man and doctor at the hospital Korede works at, starts to court Ayoola. She sees him as a person and can see his future as a murdered man. And Korede cannot just sit back and watch her sister murder another boyfriend. She becomes vocal about her conundrum but no one who hears will listen.
Korede is stuck between caring for her sister and doing what she knows is the right thing to do. She is constantly trying to keep her sister’s secret while also protecting any innocent bystanders that may get in her sister’s wake. Her sanity is suffering but she will not give up her sister. This is increasingly hard as her sister seems to have no loyalty back. But in the end, someone outside the sisters knows something that can change everything.
Final Thoughts
My Sister, The Serial Killer was a quick and easy read about a tough subject. It was a commentary on family, loyalty, mental instability, morality, beauty and much more. With my love of True Crime, this book fit right into what I am interested in. It mixed in a culture that I am not familiar with as well. On top of that, it is written by a black author who can write. This is a book that was put on many reading lists because it deserved to be there. And for that reason, this book deserves some kutos.
