Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - My Sister, the Serial Killer

this book could have been good if it went deeper into everyone's psyches. as it is now, it's just average which is honestly a shame. also the author seems not to realize how not good of a person the main character is which doesn't help its case

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abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Listened to this in one sitting today during a long car ride and it was the perfect thing to keep me entertained! Fast-paced, disturbing, oddly funny, and absolutely fascinating characters make this an incredible read. I love the way this story was woven together with threads from the past and present, and illustrated the reality of hard decisions, family bonds, and what we’re willing to do for those we love.

Plus, that ending! Whew!

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annaclaire's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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nojerama's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow this book moved at breakneck speed I literally read it in one day. Absolutely gripping and so much of Korede's feelings towards her sister and other women in her life resonated with me so much. Absolutely loved it.

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dreamyari's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I would have loved this in theory, but reading it I was very underwhelmed and it just couldn't hook me. I really appreciated the shorter length, though, and I think it would be perfect for the right reader.

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nannahnannah's review against another edition

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3.0

Mystery isn’t a genre I’d normally read, but I’ve been wanting to get out of my “reading comfort zone” and -- of course -- read more from diverse authors. That, and this cover is really engaging!

Representation:
characters are Nigerian (as is the author)

When Korede gets an SOS call from her sister one night, she knows it means one thing: this is the third time. The third time her sister has defended herself from yet another boyfriend who has attacked her. The third time her sister has stabbed someone, and Korede has been called in to clean up and dispose of the body. But this time, Korede can’t get the man out of her mind. He’d been stabbed in the back, and she can’t shake the feeling that just maybe … there’s something wrong with her sister.

Things get worse when the man Korede’s in love with at work falls for her sister. They start dating, and Korede’s afraid it’s only a matter of time before she’s cleaning up his body, too. But what should she do … stand by her her sister as she’s always done or betray her for the man she loves?

This book goes by incredibly fast. The pages are very thick, so it doesn’t actually have that many words. Basically, that makes the pace very quick, and there’s not a lot of time for rest or secondary character development (if at all, actually; secondary characters don’t really have roles to be honest). Not necessarily a bad thing, because the book is really all about the few mains.

The plot and the main characters are gripping, and held my attention all the way through. Though small, the book really doesn’t lose momentum at any spot, it just keeps on driving and gaining speed and drama till the end. So while I have some problems with it, there’s no doubt it’s a good story.

What bothered me though was some problems with tone. There was a very obvious disregard/dislike for sanitation workers and janitors. Korede hated literally Every janitor in the novel, and these workers were all, without exception, lazy and pretty much good-for-nothing people. In fact, Korede was unnecessarily judgemental of everyone, and once equated disability = ugliness, which was … not pleasant. There was also some fatphobia as well, because why not? I know some of this was because she also had some internal issues to figure out but … because that never happened, I was left just having to conclude 1). She was just that judgemental, or 2). This is the way the author herself thinks.

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad book, and I enjoyed most of it -- though that ending … it wasn’t very satisfying! It felt like the feeling when you watch one of those “acclaimed Hollywood films” that just leaves you feeling unsettled at the end -- but some “jokes” left me wanting to close the book for a bit just to get that foul taste out of my mouth.

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miandrade's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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booknerdbetty's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

4.0

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