by Oyinkan Braithwaite
227 pages
First things first, Braithwaite is from Lagos, Nigeria (where the novel is set).
Okay, so this book is told from the point of view of Korede, the older sister of Ayoola. These two sisters are extremely different from each other. Korede is a lead nurse at a hospital. She is obsessed with cleaning, and she is unattractive. Ayoola is a clothing designer, a mess, and the most beautiful girl around. Additionally Korede dislikes social media, but Ayoola is obsessed with it. Korede is madly in love with a doctor at her hospital, and Ayoola just uses boys and throws them away.
At the beginning of the novel, we see Ayoola call Korede to come help her clean up a murder scene. This is not the first time that Korede has been called to such a situation, this is the third. According to her internet search, this makes Ayoola a serial killer.
The novel focuses a lot on Korede's feelings of guilt over her roles in these murders. While she never takes part in the actual murders, she always helps dispose of the bodies and clean up the scenes. When Korede's doctor friend is on track to be victim number four, will Korede be able to keep him AND her sister's secret safe?
As if all of this isn't enough, there is a crazy twist at the end, that I didn't see coming. Well, okay, I sort of saw it coming, just not exactly the way it did.
Overall, this book was pretty interesting, but it wasn't my favorite. It was really unique and on one hand you definitely feel for Korede in her struggle between being a good person and being a good sister. On the other hand, Ayoola and Korede can both be pretty unlikable characters. Come to think of it, I don't know that any of the characters in this book are totally likable.
I'd recommend this book to people who want a dark story without a happy ending. People who like a twist ending would probably like this book too.
3.5 Stars