The Psycho-thriller or African Noir? Reading Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer

This article reads Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer as a novel that straddles the liminal space between two genres: the psycho-thriller and the African noir. On the one hand, an analysis of the protagonists, Korede and Ayoola, reveals that the novel falls within the confines of the psychological thriller identified by the contradictions in its central dialectic, which presents challenges to understanding the minds of the central characters as they deal with unresolved trauma and are unable to form meaningful relationships. On the other hand, the narrative does not provide the reader with a neat ending, but instead, they are left with an overwhelming sense of pessimism and cynicism while at the same time being entertained by the fast-paced scenes of violence and destruction – a central feature in the African noir. This reading of My Sister, the Serial Killer employs trauma theory concepts, focusing on how Korede and Ayoola address their unresolved trauma through narratives of their physically abusive childhood. My reading of the novel as a story between these two genres focuses on Korede and Ayoola and I argue that their deceit and predatory character is a consequence of unresolved trauma which culminates in low self-esteem and their complicated relationship with other characters around them.