Tag: murder mystery

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Book Review: ‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite

My Sister, the Serial KillerMy Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite describes the contentious relationship between two sisters through the older sister who’s tired of cleaning up after her irresistibly beautiful younger sister’s murderous mistakes.

The story starts with Korede getting a call from her younger sister Ayoola to help clean up after the murder of her current lover. Korede obliges since this is the third man whose body they had to hide after Ayoola murdered them in what she calls self-defense. Though Korede justified the previous murders because she had met the men and deemed them disgusting, she’s unsure about this third man. She never met him, so she doesn’t know if she should believe Ayoola, who can be classified as a serial killer since this killing is number three. As Korede tries to suppress her suspicion, Ayoola keeps popping up even at Korede’s place of work where the man Korede likes takes a liking to Ayoola. Now Korede worries that this man and other men who keep falling under Ayoola’s spell may show up dead, so should she protect her sister or divulge the secret to stop more killings?

This book moves smoothly within Korede’s thoughts on how to approach her relationship with her sister and wondering if her sister’s actions are a result of her beauty or their family’s past. Korede is constantly in dilemma mode, which makes the book exciting, as Ayoola’s killer looks lead to disaster with Korede exhausted of cleaning up the messes.

Overall, it’s an entertaining read with an interesting twist on a young woman whose man-eating ways go too far and the sister trying to understand the phenomenon and stop the madness.

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Book Review: ‘Saint X’ by Alexis Schaitkin

Saint XSaint X by Alexis Schaitkin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*Received an advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

“Saint X” by Alexis Schaitkin is a novel that centers around a young woman who sees the man suspected in her older sister’s murder years later. Though from the younger sister’s perspective, there are snippets exploring the lives of others who found themselves connected to the murdered college girl.

The novel starts on the picturesque island of Saint X, where the Thomas family is enjoying their summer vacation. While 7-year-old Claire stays with her parents most of the time, her 18-year-old sister Alison runs off and hangs out with the other college-age kids at the resort. Except on the last night Alison doesn’t return. Claire senses something is wrong and tells her parents. A search leads to Alison’s body found in shallow water nearby. Devastated by the loss and the infamous stamp of Alison’s demise, the family returns to New York and eventually moves to Southern California. Claire becomes Emily, using her middle name for a new identity to separate herself from her sister’s well-known murder. Emily returns to New York to work in publishing only to see one of the men accused of Alison’s murder from the island. She begins to follow him and develop a friendship while still sorting out her grief and contemplating on the woman she became in the shadow of the sister she barely knew.

The writing is so seamless and poetic where it captivates the reader, making the book a possible quick read. It’s about a murder mystery with the family behaving the way anyone would expect, but the emotional angles are wrapped under the actions, especially with Claire aka Emily. Other characters get their own chapters such as the suspects who claim innocence and the tourists at the resort who had noticed Alison at some point during their stay and now feel an unwanted connection to her murder.

Overall, it’s a book that will keep your attention and does a good job of unpeeling characters’ layers amid the aftermath of a traumatic event.

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Book Review: ‘Bluebird, Bluebird’ by Attica Locke

Bluebird, Bluebird (Highway 59, #1)Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“Bluebird Bluebird” by Attica Locke is a well-constructed racial murder mystery set in small town Texas that nicely twists and turns with an ending that opens up to a potential sequel.

The story starts with Darren, a rare Black Texas Ranger, defending himself on the stand for his response to an older Black man shooting a known White supremacist in self-defense. While on probation, he learns that a body of a Black man and a young White woman washed ashore two days apart in nearby Lark. He weasels himself into the investigation and learns the male victim had traveled from Chicago to give an ex-musician an old guitar as part of his uncle’s last wishes. Darren feels a close connection to the victim who had graduated from the law school he had once attended but didn’t finish, as his wife brings up a lot. It turns out the ex-musician, Joe Sweet, had been murdered years before in the diner owned by his 70-something wife, Geneva. It’s also the diner the female victim had been a waitress. As Darren puts together the pieces of the two victims and how their lives intertwined one night at the diner with its own controversial history, he tries to deal with what’s left of his career, his marriage, and his desire to solve the crime.

Though not a fan of racial murder mystery, I enjoyed this story because the pacing was even with flawed characters that are still likable. Also an FX drama is in the works, so it’ll be interesting to see how the characters leap off the page onto the screen.

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Book Review: ‘The Favorite Sister’ by Jessica Knoll

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review

“The Favorite Sister” by Jessica Knoll, who arrived on the scene in 2015 with her debut best-seller “Luckiest Girl Alive,” is an enthralling sophomore novel that doesn’t quite meet the stature of its predecessor but stands on its own.

The story surrounds the “Goal Diggers,” a reality TV show starring successful millionaire millennials like Brett, the mastermind behind SPOKE, a bicycle fitness startup, who just brought Kelly, her older single mother sister on board with the show, along with her beloved niece, Layla. But Brett is dead. This is not a spoiler because it’s in the first paragraph, so the story builds up to how Brett died and how the spotlight contributed to it. She’s dealing with the blowback of her twisted relationship with her frenemy, Stephanie, a top memoirist and novelist, and Jen, a vegan food entrepreneur. In the background are the other cast members such as Lauren, an entrepreneur with a forgettable company; Jesse, the 40something executive producer and show creator, and Vince, Stephanie’s brawny yet empty-headed husband.

The premise in itself sounds frivolous since it’s around a reality TV show, but the characters are withering by the moment from their narcissism and the secrets behind the lives they choose to present on camera. At first, the characters and their lives and careers get entangled in each other with the excess descriptions and witty language, but as the story progresses, the characters who emerge from the verbose debris are Brett, Kelly, and Stephanie. They each get more chapters than the other characters who fade as supporters to the story.

I like Stephanie the best. She’s the lone black woman on the show, but she’s hyperaware of her race and gender and how it affects her reputation. For example, she spends a lot of time constantly pointing out the flaws of her castmates and how it’s impossible to support other women because she’s 34 and will term out of the show for her age. The concept, done in a way buried with trendy verbiage referring to every pop culture reference out today, is something to ponder. Along with the issues of domestic violence, body shaming, single mother shaming, vegan shaming, infidelity, race, eating disorders, and others interlaced in the plot. All of these are thought-provoking issues yet the mask of reality TV world may or may not conceal the seriousness of these issues for the reader.

Mentioning Stephanie as the black woman on the show raised by a single white mother and married to a white husband, the book had diverse characters rare to find in a traditional chick lit novel written by a white female author. At the end, Knoll admits her first novel didn’t really show any diversity and seeing it there and in Hollywood made her want to add more unique characters to this book. Other examples include Brett being a lesbian, Layla being biracial, Jen being vegan cancer survivor, Lauren being an alcoholic, the castmates choosing their trip of the season in Morocco for charitable reasons, etc. The characters show depth with realizing what’s at stake because of what makes them different.

When I started this book, I had a difficult time keeping up with the characters. I actually stopped reading it to read other books due to time restraints, and I thought I wouldn’t return to it. But I had to find out what happened to Brett, and I’m glad I picked it back up. With a fresh perspective, I absorbed the story and the characters popped off the pages. So this book is great for someone who loves those women-oriented reality TV shows like the “Real Housewives” franchises and guiltily imagine things going too far. It’s a more elevated beach read because of the setting mixed with the issues successful women face.