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

"I can't pinpoint the exact moment I realized that Ayoola was beautiful and I was...not. But what I do know is that I was aware of my own inadequacies long before."

Korede is a nurse in Nigeria, dedicated to her patients and well-respected by her superiors. But no matter what her achievements are, she knows she'll always play second fiddle to her younger sister, Ayoola. Ayoola is the pretty one, the favorite—and she's a psychotic murderer.

One night Ayoola summons Korede to her boyfriend's house. Ayoola says he attacked her and in self-defense, she stabbed him. It doesn't matter what the facts really are—who would disbelieve Ayoola? Korede is the sensible one, the calm one, the logical one who takes charge of the situation. She knows how to clean up the blood so no traces are found. She knows how to get rid of the body. It seems she has had a great deal of practice with this sort of thing, since this is the third boyfriend Ayoola has killed.

"Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer."

Ayoola isn't the slightest bit remorseful about what happened. She's ready to move on, find another man to charm. Korede thinks she should lie low for a while, even though she knows it won't be long before Ayoola bats her eyes and more men will come running. But this time Ayoola sets her sights a bit closer to home, as she alights on Tade, a handsome, kind doctor Korede works with. He's also the doctor that Korede has been secretly in love with, but she knows she's no match for Ayoola's charms.

As Korede watches Ayoola ensnare Tade, she feels powerless and frustrated. What she wants more than anything is just to reveal her sister's nefarious side, but she knows Ayoola will turn the evidence against her. She wishes she could just escape this life, but she has an obligation to protect her sister. With no one to turn to, she vents her anger and fears to the only person who will listen—a patient who has been in a comatose state for years. But she knows all too well what will happen if she doesn't stop it.

"I am the older sister—I am responsible for Ayoola. That's how it has always been. Ayoola would break a glass, and I would receive the blame for giving her the drink. Ayoola would fail a class, and I would be blamed for not coaching her. Ayoola would take an apple and leave the store without paying for it, and I would be blamed for letting her get hungry."

My Sister, the Serial Killer is a darkly funny yet disturbing story of familial obligation. It packs a powerful punch for a book that is less than 300 pages long, and that is because Oyinkan Braithwaite has created two complex, fascinating, not necessarily likable characters. You get glimpses of family history in order to understand where Ayoola developed her murderous tendencies. You both feel for Korede and want to shake her for allowing herself to be so fully manipulated.

More than that, however, you'll want to know how this book ends. I had lots of suspicions and wasn't disappointed where Braithwaite took her story. It's certainly a troubling book about a woman so fully overshadowed by her sister that she's forced down a path she never would have taken, but it's also commentary on how unfairly women are compared to one another, with the most attractive one almost always winning out.

I really enjoyed this, and read the entire book in a day. It certainly is a bit farcical, yet at the same time, you could believe this actually might happen, particularly in a society that treats women as second-class citizens. Braithwaite's storytelling was dead-on (no pun intended), and I look forward to seeing what comes next for her career.

Book Review: "Fatal Blow" by James L. Thane

It's a tale as old as time: a woman realizes her husband is being unfaithful to her, and she needs to decide how to handle it. Does she confront him? Ignore the evidence, because at least he's some other woman's problem now? Or should she try to punish him for his transgressions?

When Becky Miller discovers that her husband Walter is having an affair with a cocktail waitress, she tries to figure out what her next move should be. After spying on the email communication between her husband and his mistress, when the woman's threats to end the relationship if he doesn't leave Becky turn to suggestions that they'd be better off if Becky were out of the picture, Becky realizes she needs to act—fast.

When a female corpse is fished out of a drainage canal, Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson and his partner Maggie McClinton need to figure out who she is and what happened to her—no mean feat given that the corpse is missing its head and arms. DNA tests reveal the corpse is Becky's, and after doing some digging, her husband is identified as the leading suspect in her apparent murder.

But while it seems like a fairly open-and-shut case, despite Walter's vehement protests of innocence, there are definitely some anomalies that Sean and Maggie can't figure out. The deeper they dig, the more complicated the case actually becomes. It turns out Becky, who is quite the fan of crime novels, created a scheme or two before her apparent death. And as both Sean and Maggie deal with personal challenges of their own, this case is more work than they bargained for.

I really enjoyed this book and found it both a compelling crime novel and a well-written story to boot. I figured things out before the facts started to be revealed but found myself devouring the book anyway, as I wanted to find out how James Thane wrapped everything up.

While this is the third book in Thane's Sean Richardson series, it's the first one I've read, and I'll definitely be going back to read the first two books. I really enjoyed these characters and their complexities—Thane drew them as much more detailed than your typical detectives. In particular, Sean had some emotional issues to deal with, but they didn't leave him damaged or brooding, just trying to cope and move on, and that made his character refreshing.

Fatal Blow is a well-told, solid, and compelling crime novel as well as an enjoyable character study. You might not have heard of Thane or read any of his books, but if you're a fan of this genre, you should add him and this series to your reading list.

The author provided me a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Every Note Played" by Lisa Genova

When I read Lisa Genova's Still Alice nine years ago, I remember how much it wrecked me emotionally. I was on a business trip and remember sitting on the bed in my hotel room, sobbing, as I finished Genova's story of a woman fighting through Alzheimer's disease.

Perhaps it was the memory of the sniveling mess I was that kept me from picking up any of Genova's other books, but enough time had elapsed, so I decided to read her newest book, Every Note Played. Once again, she balances her knowledge of neuroscience with her immense creativity and empathy to create a memorable story of someone struggling with a neurological disorder, and how their struggle affects those around them.

Richard is a famed pianist, traveling the world and performing for crowds to great acclaim. It is the piano first and foremost for him—which posed a challenge to his marriage and his relationship with his daughter, who is now in college. But although he's mostly alone, that doesn't faze him, since anything is essentially a distraction from his music.

"Maybe human beings are capable of only so much passion. The pie has only so many pieces. For Richard, all but a sliver is devoted to piano. He loves women, appreciates them as much as any man, but ultimately they find themselves achingly hungry with him. And he refuses to feed them. His artistry for playing piano seduces them. His lack of artistry as a man is why they leave."

When his right hand starts disobeying him, not hitting the right notes, or taking too much time to move from note to note, he gets a horrible diagnosis: ALS. While the realization that he probably won't make it until his 50th birthday, and the fact that he'll be fully dependent on people for the most basic activities not too long from now is overwhelming, knowing his days at the piano are limited may be the toughest cut of all. Before long, his right arm becomes paralyzed, quickly followed by his left.

As the disease quickly runs its course and leaves him weaker and at risk of death with every day, he knows there will come a time in the not-too-immediate future that he'll need round-the-clock care. His ex-wife Karina agrees to take care of Richard and let him move back in to their old house, even though she's still angry with him for many things that occurred during her marriage, from infidelity to her being forced to abandon her own musical dreams so he could pursue his.

"Richard always seemed invincible to Karina, as if he could conquer anything, and he did. He was an unstoppable force that awed and intimidated her and, at times when she was most vulnerable, trampled her. Now he's the vulnerable one, and she can't help but wonder what it would feel like to sit at the other end of the table."

In Every Note Played, Genova follows Richard's decline and his coming to terms with his imminent demise, as well as how Karina and their daughter Grace deal with his illness. Beyond the disease, however, Genova looks at the years of resentment, anger, betrayal, and regret that Karina felt regarding her relationship with Richard, as well as his feelings about her. The book is full of things both characters want to say to each other but are afraid to, and how the way we navigate relationships is often shaped by our earlier relationships.

As you might imagine, this is an emotional read, full of realistic detail about the physical toll that ALS takes on a person, as well as all of the possible side-effects that treatments cause. As difficult as reading about the physical challenges is, reading about how what it's like to come to terms with the fact that you're going to die much sooner than you thought, with things remaining unsaid.

The one challenge I had with the book was that while I certainly felt sympathy for Richard, he was far from a sympathetic character, and I had difficulty feeling much sympathy for Karina because she seemed fairly detached at times. Regardless, this was a tremendously well-told, emotional story that will stick with me for some time.

Book Review: "Trust Exercise" by Susan Choi

Wow, this one didn't work for me at all. Given how much I read I guess it's surprising that it doesn't happen more often.

Susan Choi's newest book, Trust Exercise, is a marvel of language and imagery, but on the whole, I found it confusing, a bit meandering, and once Choi flipped the script on the plot, I wondered whether what I was reading was actually happening or if it was a figment of the characters' imagination.

The book took place in the early 1980s at the Citywide Academy for the Performing Arts. The first-year students are ready to being learning Stagecraft, Shakespeare, the Sight-Reading of Music, and, of course, acting, where their charismatic teacher, Mr. Kingsley, puts them through a variety of trust exercises, challenging their sensory perceptions and awakening their emotions.

Two students, Sarah and David, fall for each other, and begin a passionate yet mercurial relationship in full view of their fellow students. But neither of them are ready for the ramifications of a relationship, and they're not prepared for the manipulations of their peers—or Mr. Kingsley, for that matter. In an effort to drown out the pressures of everyday life, Sarah makes a decision which has major ramifications, ramifications that ripple long into the future.

And then Choi speeds up the timeline and sets the book in the future, and the whole narrative goes hazy, so you're not sure if what you read actually happened, or if Choi simply wants you to question the storyline. But that's not her only gimmick, as she throws yet another twist into the plot that once again left me shaking my head.

Susan Choi has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and certainly there's no doubt about her writing ability. But unfortunately, Trust Exercise never worked for me. I have seen some really positive reviews, however, so it may work for someone else.

NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company provided me a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

"I was humbled and excited to be First Lady, but not for one second did I think I'd be sliding into some glamorous, easy role. Nobody who has the words 'first' and 'black' attached to them ever would. I stood at the foot of the mountain, knowing I'd need to climb my way into favor."

God, do I miss the Obamas.

Since I've had the right to vote, two presidents have energized and excited me—Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. That's not to say that I agreed with everything they did, or that there weren't times when they disappointed me. But in both cases, their candidacy and then their campaigns for re-election motivated me enough to volunteer, excited me enough to be fraught with nerves as election results came in, gave me cause for celebration, and left me sad when their terms ended.

Reading Michelle Obama's new memoir, Becoming, reminded me of those times. It also reminded me just what a fan I've been of hers since watching her and her daughters when President Obama declared his candidacy for the White House almost 12 years ago, since hearing her speak at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. I was always wowed by the sheer joy she appeared to have for the job of First Lady, despite the overwhelming amount of cruelty she and her family were subjected to throughout her husband's two terms as President.

With Becoming, she gives you a glimpse into her childhood and her relationship with her parents, which definitely impacted the way she carried herself throughout her life and how she raised her two daughters. It tells of her ambitions, her desire to help make the world a better place (one clearly shared by her husband), the challenges of marriage and motherhood, and how she dealt with her husband's political ambitions. She talks of her desire to make an impact as First Lady while at the same time ensuring her daughters' lives were as "normal" as they could possibly be, and the successes, frustrations, and disappointments she experienced.

I love the matter-of-fact way she shares her feelings and experiences, revealing emotions and fears and moments of anger, as well as the moments of sheer joy, as mother, as wife, as daughter, and as First Lady. While she certainly reveals instances when she felt she wasn't treated fairly by the media or by those unhappy with her husband (or her), this isn't a tell-all book. She is critical of those that deserve her scorn, but even when she didn't see eye to eye with people, she didn't tear them to pieces.

For the most part, the Michelle Obama you've seen at public appearances, on television shows, and in photos, is the Michelle Obama you get in Becoming. And that feels just right. This is a woman who loves her life, loves her country, and most importantly, loves her husband, her children, and her family. She doesn't overinflate her importance or her contributions as First Lady but she realizes she held a position few women have through history, and to be the first black woman to be First Lady made her a role model in the eyes of so many. It may have been a position she wasn't always comfortable with, but it is a role in which she absolutely shone.

"For me, becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn't end. I became a mother, but I still have a lot to learn from and give to my children. I became a wife, but I continue to adapt to and be humbled by what it means to truly love and make a life with another person. I have become, by certain measures, a person of power, and yet there are moments when I still feel insecure or unheard. It's all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there's more growing to be done."

There was much to enjoy about this book, much to think about, and much to savor. And, at least for me, much to reminisce about.

Book Review: "The Wedding Date" by Jasmine Guillory

I'm definitely a big romantic sap, so I guess I'm surprised it's taken me this long to get hooked on the romance genre. I certainly believe in true love, in destiny, but I also look for bright spots in a world that is so angry, so upsetting, so perplexing, so it's no wonder these books have been appealing to me. Beyond that, however, the books I have read over the last year have been well-written, enjoyable, fun, sexy, and utterly compelling, so who could ask for anything more?

I first heard of Jasmine Guillory's The Wedding Date when I saw that Roxane Gay said it was one of the best books she's read in a while. Given that I like the way Gay writes, if she recommends something, I didn't think I should pass it up. And she didn't steer me wrong!

Drew is a pediatrician from LA, forced not only to attend the wedding of an ex-girlfriend, but to serve as a groomsman as well. And to make matters worse, his "plus-one" canceled the night before. The thought of showing up without a date, dealing with the stares and the probing questions of everyone in the wedding party makes him sick. But he figures he'll just hook up with one of the drunk bridesmaids and the weekend will be over.

But on his way up to his hotel room in San Francisco, the elevator gets stuck. He's not alone, however; his fellow passenger is Alexa Monroe—curvy, vivacious, chief of staff for the mayor of Berkeley. Alexa doesn't normally fall for random white guys in elevators, but something about Drew (other than his sexy good looks) makes her agree to be his date for the wedding by the time the elevator starts up again. She'll break out of her work-only funk, he'll have a beautiful woman on his arm pretending to be his girlfriend—it will be fun, right? And after the weekend, he'll head back to LA and that will be that.

Of course, Alexa and Drew have more fun than they even imagined...and it lasts all weekend long. Drew has already told Alexa he "doesn't do girlfriends," so she's not expecting much after he returns home to LA. But they cannot stop thinking about each other. Both want nothing more than to be together, even as both of their jobs get crazy. They start trading visits, and can't keep their hands off each other, and they just enjoy the simple pleasures of being together.

The more this continues, the deeper Alexa's feelings develop for Drew. But she doesn't expect him to feel the same way, although she's afraid to ask him how he feels, since she doesn't think she wants to know the truth. Drew realizes he's never felt this way about anyone before, but he knows once they get more involved, Alexa will hate him, just like all his other exes have. So why take the chance of ruining it?

If by reading this plot summary you think you can guess how the rest of the book will unfold, you're probably right. But the book's predictability doesn't detract from its appeal at all—you can't stop reading because you want to know what will happen, you want to shake Drew and Alexa for not being honest and telling each other how they feel, and you worry some ridiculous artificial barricade will keep them from being happy.

This is a lighthearted, sexy, fun romp of a book, but it doesn't shy away from tackling issues like race, privilege, and self-confidence as well. Guillory hooked me from the meet-cute in the first few pages all the way to the very end. I rooted for these characters, hoped they wouldn't do anything too stupid in an effort to protect themselves, and longed for a happy ending, all the while just tearing through the book.

If you find enjoyment in stories like these, if you're a romantic like me, consider The Wedding Date. I'll definitely be picking up Guillory's newest book (The Proposal) very soon.

Book Review: "Elevation" by Stephen King

When I decided to read Stephen King's new novella, Elevation, at around 11:00 p.m. last night, I will admit I wondered what I was thinking. Would my reward for checking out King's latest be a nightmare or two?

I needn't have worried. While Elevation is a little eerie, it's more a story about interpersonal relationships, about how one small action can ripple and truly make a difference in the lives of so many. And while King is a master of triggering our fears and creating horrifying situations, the kinder, gentler King provided thought-provoking moments and moments of poignancy, too.

Scott Carey has been losing weight pretty steadily. There's little argument he could stand to lose a few pounds, but he seems to be losing weight every day, no matter how much he eats or how little exercise he does. It's not just that—he weighs the same amount whether or not he's fully dressed, even if his clothes are laden down with coins or other heavy things. He knows it could be something serious, but he's more convinced it's something mysterious, and he has no interest in being kept in the hospital while he's poked and prodded over and over again.

With nowhere else to turn, he confides in his old doctor and friend, Doctor Bob. Doctor Bob cannot believe what he's seeing, although he can't think of a logical explanation for what Scott is going through. Once he realizes he can't convince Scott to go to his real doctor (Bob has been retired for some time), he's willing just to observe what's going on, so someone other than Scott knows what he's going through.

"You could feel weight, yes—when you were carrying too much, it made you ploddy—but wasn't it, like time, basically just a human construct? Hands on a clock, numbers on a bathroom scale, weren't they only ways of trying to measure invisible forces that had visible effects? A feeble effort to corral some greater reality beyond what mere humans thought of as reality?"

As much as Scott is focused on his weight loss issues, he's also flummoxed by the tension between him and his neighbors in Castle Rock, a married lesbian couple who moved to town to open a vegetarian Mexican restaurant. Their dogs seem to be fond of leaving their calling cards on his lawn, and he'd like it to stop, but he had no idea that simple request would cause such bad blood between him and one of the women. While her wife is friendly, she is icy cold—and isn't interested in anything Scott has to say, even if he's trying to be hospitable or helpful.

Little by little, Scott realizes what a difficult battle these women face in a town that doesn't mind if they "keep to themselves," but the fact that they say they're married, and want to be part of public life—well, that just won't do. As Scott confronts his own prejudices and tries to help the townspeople realize how backwards their thinking is, it actually causes more tension—until he makes a split-second decision during the town's annual 12K race, which changes everything.

Scott's own problem doesn't go away; in fact, it starts escalating. But suddenly he's surrounded by a group of people who once thought the worst of each other and themselves, and they help him accept the reality of an unreal situation, and decide how to handle things once "zero day" arrives.

Elevation is utterly compelling, and at 160 pages, I couldn't stop reading until I finished. I had no idea what to expect, and given my experience reading King's books, I kept waiting for everything to go off the rails. While it was a relief that it didn't, at the same time, I'm not sure if the book was meant to be more a story of human kindness with a little oddity thrown in than anything else.

Perhaps it could have used a little bit of a jolt, although it might have altered the heart of the story. I'm just going to assume that in the midst of a world growing ever more angry, more divided, more disappointed, and more pessimistic, King provided the antidote we needed—the reminder that the smallest action can make a positive change.

It's a good message, and at least I didn't have to worry about Pennywise the Clown visiting my dreams.