Oyinkan Braithwaite, Atlantic Books

The first novel from this young Nigerian author has been pushed under the “hotly anticipated” banner and she doesn’t disappoint. It concerns two sisters living with their mother in Lagos. Korede works as a nurse in the local hospital and she thinks herself rather plain, especially when compared to Ayoola, her glamour puss sister. Ayoola lives on the largesse of her boyfriends, who she periodically bumps off, and then ropes in Korede to help dispose of the bodie. Things come to a head somewhat when Aylooa sets her heart on a doctor at the hospital who Korede also has eyes for. The author’s talents are particularly evident when it dawns on you that the book isn’t really about the murders. Instead she focuses her attentions on sibling rivalry and the corrosive effects of overbearing masculinity in a tale that is darkly comic and sharp as a paper cut. It isn’t the longest read – I got through it in a couple of sittings – but it certainly packs a whallop.