*See disclaimer at foot of post.
‘My Sister, The Serial Killer’, by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
Why buy a book duty-bound to give one nightmares?
Because it has an attractive cover? Can a nightmare even have an attractive cover?
Think about it.
What could be more appealing, to a cult-follower of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, than a lime-green book title, offering to serve up the innards of a serial killer.
Flicking through the book, I come across this sentence:
‘She has unwrapped the amala and dipped it in the soup before my mother and I have finished serving ourselves.’
I’m a great fan of dunking my nosh in home-cooked soup, so I make the purchase and dip in!
Rather disappointingly, the soup in question does not turn out to contain anybody’s innards! Nonetheless, I gobble up the whole book in one sitting. Some might think me rather morbid to be sitting on a cliff-edge, up on the highlands of Suffolk, waiting to see who a young woman murders next. But, if you too, were sitting there – not with me on the cliff-top (comes with a caution) – but there, somewhere in your own reading space, you too would be unable to resist.
And if, like myself, not only are you a fan of gothic literature, but also of Mrs Hinch and her cleaning tips, you will soon abandon your household chores for the alternative of watching as Braithwaite’s main character does the cleaning:
‘The cabinet under the sink is filled with everything required to tackle dirt and disease – gloves, bleach, disinfectant wipes, disinfectant spray, sponge, toilet bowl cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, multi-surface cleaner, bowl brush plunger and caddy, and odor-shield trash bags. I slip on the gloves and take out the multi-surface cleaner. I need some time to think.’ (Braithwaite, p.97)
No thinking required in my case. The evidence is all laid bare! Is there something us readers don’t yet know about the Hincher?
Are my Hincher-hunches right or, being Jay Cool, am I sniffing around under the wrong sink? Purchase this don’t-stop-until-finished read, take a note of the evidence, and decide for yourself!
Copyright owned by Jay Cool, November 2019
Silly-savvy rating: 5/5
P.S. If you really get into the whole psychological-thriller thing, and find yourself out of affordable reading material, try a bumper collection of novels from The Book People, such as this trio by Debbie Howells!
Disclaimer: Should you choose to make a purchase, via one of the links, I will receive a commission from the supplier at no extra cost to yourself.
Other posts by Jay Cool:
Savvy Writing Tips – How to Get Published
To Everywhere – Fleetwood, Lancashire, 1976
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The Silly-Savvy Salopian in Suffolk: read, believe and write ... 
Good one – but not my genre. Hope you get a few 20p’s from people who purchase it after being titillated by your cliff top kitchen review.
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Nothing more titillating than a cliff-top!
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