I went into this book expecting a gentle thriller but boy was I wrong!! The book starts out gently but soon spirals into something much different… a sort of trap that gets stranger and stranger by the page.

The story follows Julie, a young woman whose twin was adopted by an affluent family but is mysteriously found dead one day. Envious of her twin’s lavish influencer lifestyle, Julie assumes her identity and finds herself sucked into a circle of toxic media influencer ‘friends’.

The book offers an inside look at some of the absurdity of influencer life while also touching on the effects of mob mentality and power dynamics. Julie feels increasingly compelled to adapt and fit into this group despite the level of control of this group growing in toxicity.

The author does a great job at making you feel like you are ‘stuck’ in this situation with Julie so as the story evolved, so did my level of anxiety! Some of the incidents taking place were full-out bizarre, and some a bit horrific. Being a bit squeamish, I admit that I had to close my eyes and skip ahead a few pages on at least one occasion! But somehow, the story is written in such a way that you are drawn into this crazy universe and want to see how it turns out. It’s like being stuck on a roller coaster.

It’s not a book for the faint of heart but if you are looking for something a bit twisty that takes you on a crazy ride, this is the perfect book for you! It would also be an interesting book to debate at book club.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Julie Chan is struggling. She works at the supermarket and has a fractured relationship with her aunt that raised her. Her estranged twin sister has everything. She was adopted into a rich white family and hasn’t struggled in life. Chloe is a popular influencer that seems to have it all. Julie stumbles upon Chloe’s dead body and has the opportunity to swap lives with her.

The first half of this book is fast paced and hard to put down. It seemed like Julie is evolving right before my eyes and not in a good way. What happens when someone suddenly gets fame and money? What would they do to keep it? The ending goes off the rails a little. Overall I enjoyed this book and recommend it!

dentical twins Julie and Chloe were separated as children after their parents died. Julie was raised by their aunt and Chloe was adopted by a wealthy couple. Chloe became a successful influencer, while Julie is in a dead end job. The sisters have had little contact over the years, other than the time Chloe showed up at Julie’s workplace to gift her with a house, while coincidentally creating content to feed the masses who adore Chloe. When Chloe dies, Julie doesn’t hesitate very long before assuming Chloe’s identity and life.

This book is a sharp look at the shallow lives of influencers, and how far they are willing to go for clout and views. I might think of this book the next time I watch an unboxing video. It is also a creepy thriller involving a cult-like group of influencers. The thriller part of the book was definitely over the top, but the whole book was entertaining. I would read more by this author.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I received this e-book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for the copy!

Julie Chan and her twin sister, Chloe, were separated after Chloe was adopted at a young age. Chloe grew up to be a popular influencer, while Julie had to endure living with her Aunt, who did not treat her the best. While Julie is struggling to make ends meet, it looks like Chloe is living the perfect life. One of Chloe's popular videos included Julie, where she bought Julie a whole house! But when Julie receives a strange phone call from Chloe, she decides to investigate in person and her whole world is unintentionally turned upside down. As Julie pretends to be her sister Chloe, she gets entangled with a group of encouraging women influencers who continually encourage Julie.

Okay, that was a crazy ride and definitely not what I was expecting that to turn into! I devoured this book within a few days because I just wanted to know more! I thought this was going to go one way, but it went a completely different direction. If you want to go on a crazy ride to see what it might be like to be an influencer and the costs, then this is a great book. Remember though, this is fiction!

I love stories about influencers! I find them fascinating and I really enjoy seeing what direction authors choose to take.

Zhang has created a deep dive into the influencer community by taking an outsider, Julie, and dropping her straight into a what the hell is happening here situation.

There’s so much happening in this story from discussions surrounding race and identity to exploiting rich people gone batshit crazy. It’s safe to say every character is morally gray and they’re all looking out only for themselves.

Don’t be fooled by the cute cover, this book is thriller meets horror at times with some wild revelations I didn’t see coming! The pacing does slow down a bit in the middle, but it’s worth it to hang on for the ending!

This book presents the impact of social media either economically, cult like as well as the underbelly that pulls someone in and can change lives negatively. In this time of huge social media impact it is hard to tell what is good and bad, real and fake. Julie Chan works in a supermarket, social media lurker and in the shadow of her twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, who is a popular social media influencer. Julie was also on her sister's stream one time when Chloe gifted her a house for likes. When Julie goes to her Chloe's luxury apartment, she finds her twin sister dead! Julie decides to take her sister's place and assumes Chloe's identity and luxurious lifestyle what could go wrong they are twins. All said and done, however, this disturbing look at social media influencers was both laugh-out-loud funny and thought-provoking in the extreme. An odd mix, which might’ve been part of why I had so much trouble nailing it down. When you get right down to it, though, this rollercoaster ride of craziness and mayhem was nevertheless unputdownable and satisfying. Immersed in a world of curated perfection, brand deals, and the exclusive Belladonna influencer circle, Julie navigates the challenges of maintaining the façade. However, as she delves deeper, she uncovers sinister secrets lurking beneath the surface of this seemingly flawless world. This book really shows impact in a dark way and it is still best to interact wtih people live. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

The best way I can describe this book is to say it's compulsively unhinged. I finished it 2 weeks ago and still don't know if I liked it or not. The parts I liked were 5 enthusiastic, fist pumping 5 stars. But the parts I did not like were a visceral dislike.

What the actual hell was this? If you’re into weird cult stuff, this is for you. Real dark stuff, but also - the audio is great. The voices and the inflections of the belladonnas were making me LOL.

It was interesting in the first half, and I enjoyed it! The second half felt very scattered and thrown together. I was often confused and not sure where the plot was heading. I loved the mystery, but felt like it was often flat and one-dimensional.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. The ending was shocking and very unexpected.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC to review!

4 stars

Julie Chan is Dead was a wild, smart, and unexpectedly emotional ride. The story blends mystery, dark humor, and sharp social commentary in a way that kept me turning pages. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it totally hooked me with its voice and pacing.

Julie is a complicated, messy character in the best way, and the book does a great job of exploring grief, identity, and the masks we wear—without getting too heavy. Some twists felt a little over the top, but honestly, that was part of the fun.

It’s bold, clever, and unlike anything I’ve read lately. Definitely recommend if you’re into character-driven mysteries with a bit of bite.

✨ ARC Review ✨

Eh. This was okay? It took me two weeks to read it. Here’s the thing: There was not one likable character in this book. One could argue that Isla was likable, but was she? I don’t know. I feel like you need at least one person to care about in a book. Am I wrong?

Anyway, Julie Chan is living a mundane and actually really depressing life when she gets a call from her estranged twin sister, Chloe. Chloe who was “the lucky one”, adopted by a rich, white couple after the twins’ parents were killed in a car crash. Chloe who translated her privilege into a lucrative career as a lifestyle influencer. Julie, “the unlucky one”, was taken in by their absolute shit of an aunt. Julie is a cashier in a grocery store on the verge of being fired for stealing sandwiches. They’ve only seen each other once since they were separated at four years old and that was not a great experience.

Chloe sounded distressed, so Julie takes off to NYC to find out what had Chloe reaching out. Weeeelll, she discovers Chloe’s dead body. It doesn’t take her long to decide to pretend she’s Chloe and the dead body is Julie Chan. Here we go.

I don’t want to tell you much more because if you do read this, I want you to get to the halfway mark and wonder to yourself “wtaf?!”

Not really recommended unless you care way more about the minutiae of running a lifestyle brand than I do. Or if you love reading about toxic af people.

I received this eARC via #netgalley and @atriabooks. All thoughts are mine alone.

#booksbooksbooks #contemporaryfiction #thrillerbooks #thriller #juliechanisdead #bookreview #bookstagram

Wildly entertaining & some great satire that feels very topical right now especially with the conversations going on about influencers in NYC right now. For a good chunk of this I thought we were going to see Julie completely lose herself to this world but I was pleasantly surprised by her come to god (eto) moment and the warped sense of justice she develops. Everything feels very full circle at the end with her garnering public approval, able to finally feel the validation she craves as herself and not someone else. She's not someone you would think you would root for but by the end I'm certainly not rooting AGAINST her and I think that makes for an interesting character. Some of the stuff around the mystery (?) of Chloe's death feels a bit muddled but otherwise this left me satisfied and thinking I should stay off Tik Tok.

I feel like this is a book that Shauna Shipman of Yellowjackets would eat up (no pun intended).

This was one of those books that I read in less than 24 hours. It definitely took a lot more twists and turns that I didn't see coming!

I was hooked on this book from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down. That said, I’m not sure how much I actually enjoyed the story. I really liked the first half but the second part jump the shark and was really over the top.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
📱 single timeline
📱 single POV
📱 1st person POV
📱 New York setting 🩷🩷
📱 slow burn

One thing needs to be made clear: I did not kill my twin sister.

As soon as I read the description I was so excited about this one; it is exactly right up my alley! I was immediately drawn into the story and I read it straight through!
I know they always say not to judge a book based off its cover 🤪🤪 but I definitely do and I love this cover!! It caught my attention sooo long ago and it stuck in my mind.
I hated all the characters in here but really how could you not? 🤪🤪
I just wish it wasn’t such a slow burn, with nothing really happening until halfway through the book.
The only thing I didn’t like about this book was after the sister dies, the whole book just goes along like everything is great but like…. HOW DID SHE DIE??? Was it murder??? An overdose??? How is her sister not even wondering how she died??
Ok I’m out after they all eat baby mice 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 Nasty

What in the bunny did I just read? I loooooved the twisty weirdness of the last third. I didn’t expect it to dive right off the deep end. But I’m so glad it did!

This book feels like a tricky one to review because I felt so many feelings about it!

The first half I really loved and was super intrigued with where it was going. I really enjoyed the slow burn and getting to know the MC Julie. However it took a turn about halfway through and that’s where it lost me. It reminded me a lot of the movie Blink Twice and that’s not a compliment. It got super unhinged and I just found it a little much.

I will be curious what the author comes up with next, I liked her writing style and would for sure give her another shot. I flew through this one!

First half 4-5 stars, second half 2-3 stars so we are meeting in the middle with a 3. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Okay, so here’s my confession: I know very little about influencer culture. Somehow the algorithm just missed me with these women with the endless unboxing and sponsored posts. (Now if the Sleepy Time bear was on TikTok? Forget it. I’d be *influenced*)

This book is facetious and clever. It’s incredibly gory and there are some scenes that truly turned my stomach. But what surprised me most was how much truth it had underneath the satire. The author takes a scalpel (or maybe a ring light?) to influencer culture, carving out all the absurdity, performativity, and curated chaos—but she never lets us forget there are real people under the filters.

Even as I cringed and laughed and occasionally looked away from the page, I found myself unexpectedly impacted. Julie Chan Is Dead is part murder mystery, part social commentary, and part blood-soaked fever dream, but it’s also about identity, power, and what happens when the performance becomes the person. If, like me, you’re not fluent in the language of likes and collabs, don’t worry - you’ll still find something sharp, strange, and weirdly resonant here.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have received an advanced copy of Julie Chan is Dead from the author, NetGalley, and Atria Books! 🫶

Julie Chan is Dead is one of the craziest and most unhinged stories I have ever read in my life! 😱🤯🙊 If you think of Gossip Girl, Yellowface, Bunny, and Decoding Jessica with a sprinkle of Severance and mice and combined them together that is Julie Chan is Dead in a nutshell and I loved it! 🫶 I was devouring this book like I would eating a massive bowl of popcorn! 🍿 I just kept wanting more and more and more! 🤭

There are so many plot twists in this story and I had so many theories as to what I thought was going to happen and I was wrong on every single one of them! 🙀🙀🙀This story truly looks at the dark side of being an influencer and how quickly one can get absorbed up into the world of social media. It truly was such a wild read. I read this story as a buddy read with one of my friends who also got an advanced copy as well and we kept increasing the chapters we were reading to the point that we basically said to just binge-read the entire rest of the book! 😂😂😂 That’s how hooked we were with this story! 🫶

If you love thrillers, gossip girl meets yellowface meets bunny meets decoding jessica with a sprinkle of severance and mice, mystery, and a book you just can’t put down then definitely be sure to read this book! 🫶