**Thank you so much Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group and Stacey Lee for the arc! All words and thoughts in this review are my own honest opinion!**
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The Storygraph
Posted on: 11 May 2024

3.4 (rounded down to 3) out of 5 stars.

Kind of struggling to write this review because I’m still on the fence of how I feel about this. I loved the theme, the plot, and the setting so so so much. The writing was a little lacking in some areas for me though. I didn’t feel as drawn towards the characters throughout the whole time I read, just during some scenes/parts. I think that if there was a little more depth to them, I’d have found ways to love them each a little more? They were just.. flat, with very redeeming qualities! Each of them, especially how May has her bits of growth or Gemma too! I also feel like Peony was kind of cast out too much? There was a bit of a struggle, it seemed, in deciding how important the little sister’s role would be in this too- or that’s what I felt anyways as I read.
What I liked was their cunning though. The sisters are given chances to grow, to see how they sway with the way the world is changing around them. There’s a certain kind of heart to be found in reading along, waiting to see how the mystery unfolds and just what might happen to our protagonists. I feel like that was the redeeming factor for me? Just the desire to see how the Chow Sisters will move next, how they’ll decide what’s best to do when it feels like things are wholly against them.

All of this back and forth to say that it was still an enjoyable read! I absolutely loved the era we are thrown in to, the challenges that the characters are battling, and the things they do for justice. In the heart of it all, it’s about friendship, it’s about family, and it’s about three sister clouds fighting against the perils thrown their way so they can stay together.

The murder of rising star Lulu Wong breaks hearts in Chinatown, but the rest of the world seems content to blame it on the wrong man. The Chow sisters, Gemma and May are determined to get justice for Lulu and try to save Chinatown from the railroad takeover. But can two Chinese girls really make a difference?
I liked the mystery of this book and the time period. It shed light on a prejudice against Asian Americans that I was not overly familiar with. The Chinese people being forced out of Chinatown by the railroad did not even have the right to vote. The sisters are very resourceful and though they have unique personalities, it was sometimes hard to remember which POV the chapter was from without looking back. I would recommend this book to teens with an interest in mystery and historical fiction.

I loved the setting for this book - 1930's Hollywood and Chinatown. I always love a good historical fiction mystery.

I really liked the dynamic between Gemma and May. It felt very authentic and real, their love for each other and their sisterly bickering. Little sister Peony was a great character as well, and I enjoyed how the two tried to keep her included in their investigation.

There were a few nice surprises and twists with the mystery of actress LuLu Wong's death. I thought the pace of the book was very good, and it kept me engaged throughout.

This is so atmospheric. I loved the descriptions of Chinatown, and just living there in this time period. I also enjoyed the sisters and their relationships with each other, it felt really realistic!

I’m a fan of Stacey Lee (The Downstairs Girl). Add her flair for historical fiction and a murder mystery noir, and you’ve got a recipe for an enticing read.

Kill Her Twice revolves around May and Gemma, Chinese sisters who are trying to keep the family floral business afloat while their father is sick. The two are as close as can be, but their different temperaments make for some conflict. The story unfolds from their alternating points of view.

Set against the backdrop of anti-Chinese sentiment and the move to get rid of Los Angeles’ Old Chinatown, Kill Her Twice is more than just a who-done-it. Competing interests mean the only people actively trying to solve Lulu’s murder are May and Gemma.

With lots of great banter, sticky situations and suspenseful twists, Kill Her Twice almost plays out like a film itself. At nearly 400 pages, the book reads a lot faster. That’s all down to Lee’s smooth writing and excellent pacing. Lee transports you to another place and time — one where you don’t want to leave.

Welcome to Chinatown in LA in 1932. It's rough being Chinese at a time when discrimination is high and life is tough. But May and Gemma are hardworking sisters helping their pregnant mother while their father is ill and recovering. One day, their good friend, Lulu, is discovered murdered and May and Gemma are frustrated at how little attention the case is getting. Lulu was an up and coming Hollywood Star. Who would want her dead? When the murder is pinned on an innocent Chinese man, the sisters set out to bring justice to Lulu and find the real killer.

I knew this was a historical fiction and I liked that aspect of the novel. I found the story a little slow to get into. The last third of the novel was when the pace picked up. Full disclosure: this is a YA novel and reads like a YA novel which might be why I found the characters a little naive and their ability to unexpectedly get a job on a movie set or sneak into a high class party a little unrealistic.

I ended up getting a copy of this so didn't download but read the physical copy instead. If you are looking for an historical YA mystery this author is the way to go. I've loved her other books so I knew i had to read this one. I enjoyed it very much and think others would as well!

Hard enough when you’re Chinese and a girl – let alone when you live in Chinatown in Los Angeles, 1932 and the majority of the city wants to demolish it. The Chow sisters—May, Gemma, and Peony—try their hardest to keep their father’s small business afloat and make ends meet. Then their friend, Lulu Wong, who made it as an actress and got out, is murdered. Worried Lulu won’t get justice and with Chinatown now at a higher risk of getting demolished, the girls set forth to investigate her murder themselves.

I liked the characters a lot though it took me a while to get into the book. May could be a bit trying but I understood her reasons for doing what she did and not going along with Gemma’s harebrained ideas. Gemma was a hoot, despite her recklessness or maybe because of her recklessness.

I enjoy Stacey Lee’s writing style a lot and the only reason for the 3 stars is I seem to have lost interest in the mystery genre and I get tired of too many red herrings. That said, the ending was a good one and that final plot twist was pretty clever.

This is another one that was lost to me because it was wrongly pitched smh This cover is gorgeous and because it was pitched to me as a thriller I just KNEW I was going to love this. A thriller set in the 30’s? If you know me, you know I’m not a huge historical fan. I try to read historicals that have another genre I’m a fan of included to make it a little better for me. Too bad this one wasn’t exactly pitched correctly.

Ok so I was told this was going to be a thriller, but there was nothing thrilling that happened. It was just a mystery. And normally this wouldn’t matter at all to me. I would usually love a mystery. But when I’m looking for a thriller and then nothing thrilling happens, it really makes me want to DNF it. But I will say, the fact that I didn’t shows just how entertaining it was.

Like I said, I’m not a fan of historicals, but when I do read them, I always get so invested in learning everything I can about the person or event its about. In this one I learned so much about the movie scene and it shined a new light on the way Chinese people were treated in the movie scene. And the murder weapon?! I wish I could say what it was, because that was pretty cool. Literally only something that I would think about being in the movies. And the Author’s Note says the movie star in this one is loosely inspired by a real life Chinese movie star Anna May Wong.

The mysetery half was also frustrating. Unfortunately I resonated with parts of this too. The police didn’t want to help figure out who did it because they felt it was just another person from Chinatown that was gone. (Basically how they treat Black people.) Them trying to figure it out was really cool tho. Being a woman and being a person of color during that time and still being able to figure out what happened to Lulu was pretty amazing. I do wish they had less connections, just that they looked alike. Idk, that would have seemed more thrilling to me lol

I listened to the audio version of this and it was full cast. (Two different narrators for the two different POVs in the story.) I thought they did a phenomenal job. They had two different voices and they hit all the right inflections and they had all types of emotion, especially when they were trying to one up the cops when they were doing things they weren’t supposed to lol I thought they did a really great job.

This book was good, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. Had I been told to expect that this was just a historical mystery, I think I would have enjoyed it more. But because I heard it was a historical thriller I spent the whole book waiting for it to get thrilling and the killed the whole vibe for me. Although some things were exciting for me, I couldn’t get over that part.

Kill Her Twice was a compelling and cultural read surrounding two sisters who discover a girl they know has been murdered and will stop at nothing to find her killer. I really enjoyed the descriptions and how cultural this story was and how the imagery just puts the reader in the world that May and Gemma lived in. It has the 1930's vibes with a bit of an L.A. Confidential feel to it. May and Gemma's determination to save Chinatown and solve their friend Lulu's murder was captivating and it was interesting to see the story unfold through the dual point of views.

A compelling Murder mystery set in the thirties about two sisters who must work together the murder of their friend.

Lulu wasn’t just any girl, she was a star in the making, she was trying to make a difference in Chinatown before she was murdered.

I loved the the duo pov of this story, and how we got to know each sister well.

There was a bit of Romance but it was more background, but still sweet. It was mainly about the sisters and trying to find out what happened to their friend.

In going on this journey they find out a little more about themselves and what they want.

I honestly thought the murder was brilliant and really took me for surprise.
I thought the way it was handled was really good.

Thank you for approving this Arc NetGalley and the publishers.

This was such a good read! All the magic and glamour of the 1930's while shining a light on the strength of those lesser known in Chinatown. So beautiful!

3.75/5.00

In this novel, we follow two sisters, May & Gemma Chow, as they try to solve their friend’s murder in 1930’s Hollywood. I didn’t grow up with sisters, but the banter between these two is something I wish I had when I was younger.

This was a great blend of historical fiction & mystery, even though historical fiction isn’t a genre I’m typically drawn to.

The mystery in this story kept going until the end, but my favorite part was getting to see how the family and community supported each other. I think a smaller cast of characters to focus on would have streamlined the plot more, but overall, I enjoyed this!

Thanks to PRH and NetGalley for the eARC.

This was my first book by Stacey Lee and I am definitely glad that I requested a copy. There’s just something alluring about Hollywood in general but old Hollywood? Sold.

I loved the extreme underdog main characters May and Gemma Chow. Their devotion to their family, culture and community is something that we see less and less of these days it seems. The three “clouds” as their ba endearingly calls them complemented each other quite well once they all started working together instead of just winging it. Surprisingly, I wanted just a little bit more from the romance aspects and I adored “bug boy” – it was comical to see them reconcile each other after so many years. I thoroughly enjoyed the vivid depiction of depression era Hollywood and Chinatown and it was also fun reading about actual actors from that time even if the interactions were obviously fictional.

How many petals can a flower lose before it stops being a flower? Before everything withers away and only the memory remains?

I do feel like the pacing of the book was a little bit slow but it made sense in a way. The girls were operating with huge disadvantages the entirety of the book but their sheer grit and willingness to see this through for one of their own is the only reason why the person responsible was found at all. The identity of Lulu’s killer was quite the twist, I didn’t figure that one out before the reveal.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the opportunity to read this gem of a tale – all opinions are my own. Rounded from 4.5 stars.

I’m so happy to have been given this book to read especially perfect for aapi heritage month. I really enjoyed this beautifully written historical mystery set in 1930 in Chinatown, please watch my full review on Instagram @ariandher.books

I'm a sucker for a good crime and mystery story, and this exceeded every expectation that I had. I was on the edge of my seat, page after page to know what was going to happen next. I really loved the concept of this story, and I was not disappointed at all. I loved this book so much. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I love a great historical fiction and old Hollywood. Put them together and you have magic. So well researched and written. I was fully invested from the beginning.

I found this piece to be exceptionally well-crafted, and I'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity to delve into more works by this author. Given its potential popularity among our library patrons, we're certainly looking forward to adding it to our collection

This book transported me right away. I had a long drive ahead of me and I sunk into the audiobook and the Chow sisters’ lives in LA’s 1930s Chinatown during the Great Depression. When they find their childhood friend turned movie star murdered headlines twist the story as another reason to tear down Chinatown for a railway stop. The Chow sisters must solve their friend’s murder and do everything in their power to save their town.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC! This book took me a while to get through, I struggled getting into the story as it is very slow paced. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys historical fiction and/or mystery. Overall I liked it and thought the ending was satisfying, though there were some storylines I thought could have been more thoroughly finished (the new baby, Ba's potential return, etc).