I’ve been eyeing this one jealously every time I see it perched on my mum’s armchair, which she thankfully noticed and so passed it on as soon as she finished. This didn’t take long – it’s a super quick read which I nailed in one morning in bed, and I could have easily read much more of it.
Korede has spent her life protecting her little sister. Beautiful and charming, Ayoola needed a lot of protection when younger – from their abusive father and from his foul friends – but as she’s got older Korede has found herself more often protecting her from herself, by disposing of the bodies that keep piling up in her sister’s wake.
Korede’s excellent attention to detail, which makes her an excellent head nurse at the hospital in which she works, also lends itself beautifully to cleaning her sister’s crime scenes. She’s always believed her sister’s tales of self-defence too, but after being called to get rid of a third ex-boyfriend, she starts to question whether her sister is as unlucky as she claims. And when her sister sets her eyes on the handsome doctor that Korede has a crush on, she’s forced to consider taking action.
Braithwaite has written an insanely readable book, filled with interesting voices and vivid characters, and Korede’s complicated mixed feelings of love, envy, and duty towards her sister are instantly recognisable to any older sibling (even if none of us have gone so far as to hide evidence for them….I hope)
If I have any quibbles at all, it simply came down to wanting more. I’d have happily spent much more time in Korede’s company, and will be interested to read more of Braithwaite’s work in the future.