This was such a wickedly fun thriller - unhinged & darkly comedic, I flew through this one. Extra thanks to the short chapters for that. 🫶🏻

My only complaint is the direction it went in the ending was not my favorite and I felt it wrapped up a bit too neatly BUT given how much fun I had leading up to it, I’m still recommending it.
I’m sure other people will vibe with the ending, particularly if you like Bunny by Mona Awad (at least from what I’ve heard)

Anyways, y’all go give this debut some love! Can’t wait to see what Zhang does next!

Don't let the cute cover deceive you. This book is wild. It started off so great - it felt similar to Yellowface. I had heard that comparison going into it and I saw it, too. Then it started to feel a little like Nine Perfect Strangers, another book I enjoyed! Then things got pretty weird. I love weird books, but this one was also kind of gross. I still enjoyed it. I think I'd go so far as to say I recommend it! But I warned you about the gross part. :)

I hope Liann Zhang keeps writing. I want to see what's next.

Julie Chan is Dead is a mystery/thriller about a woman who takes the identity of her twin sister after she dies. Julie is struggling to make ends meet in her twenties. Her identical twin, Chloe, was adopted by a wealthy white family in New York City when she was young. Chloe is now living an enviable life as an influencer.
Though they are rarely in contact, Julie receives an ominous sounding call from Chloe. Julie decides to drop everything and travel to Chloe to make sure she is okay. There she finds Chloe has died. Instead of reporting her death, she pretends that Julie is the twin who has died, not Chloe. She decides to take on Chloe’s persona and life, figuring she will have access to a better life if she does so. She also wants to escape her miserable, conniving aunt who raised her.
Julie swiftly takes on her sister’s persona and falls in with the inner circle of influencers that catapulted Chloe’s Insta-fame. The story drew me in and I kept turning pages. It goes a little deeper than the barrage of influencer mysteries that have flooded the market, at times reflecting on class and race. It gets a little weird, but I wish it got weirder! Overall, an intriguing and fun mystery that is a perfect beach read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This book was absolutely wild and unrealistic... but in the BEST way. I thoroughly enjoyed Julie Chan Is Dead and gave it 4 stars. It follows the story of Julie, whose life... honestly sucks. She was sent to live with her abusive aunt while her twin sister was adopted by a rich, white, upper class family after their parents died. Her sister, Chloe, is a famous influencer, and after finding her dead in her apartment, Julie decides to steal her life.

The writing style and prose of this book was very engaging and humorous. It caught my attention right from the start and held it all the way to the end. While the "who did it" aspect of the story was predictable, the journey that Julie takes to uncover the truth is wild. There were a couple times that my jaw dropped in disbelief or disgust, but in a good way? It was almost like a car crash... you don't want to look but you can't look away.

Liann Zhang also approached topics such as classism and racism in this book that are very prevalent in today's day and age with technology and influencers. None of the characters in this book were particularly likable, but I think that added to the commentary on influencer culture and how some people are inherently set up to be more successful on social media than others.

There were definitely some moments where I thought the plot didn't make sense (such as why Julie picked up her old phone to talk to her aunt even though she was supposed to be dead? So many problems could've been avoided if she ignored her aunt's original calls?). There were also some pretty far fetched and nonsensical moments, especially on the island. But, the story was very entertaining and in stories like this, you have to suspend some aspects of reality to enjoy the thriller and suspense part.

Overall, I would recommend this book!!

Julie Chan is envious of her twin sister’s life. Chloe has everything that she wants and lives the life of a glamorous influencer, so when the opportunity arises for Julie to slip into that life, she takes it. This thriller is fun, if a bit unhinged. The behind-the-scenes trope of the internet celebrity lifestyle is entertaining, and you can see the author’s past as a beauty content creator used to full effect.

I love books about influencers and this one was really fun. I loved the concept of Julie stealing her twins life and then learning more and more about her sister. It was really fun and I loved the mystery and loved the island and other influencers she interacted with.

Thank you Atria for the ARC! This was such a unique book in so many ways, and I was definitely hooked from the first page. The plot was intriguing and made me want to find out what happened next. I did end up giving this a lower rating simply because the second half got a bit too dark for me. That particularly part of the storyline, while executed very well, just wasn't for me personally. However, overall this was a really solid debut thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely devoured this book oh my goodness gracious. I love all the pop culture references, the subtle digs at certain influencers and cancel culture, and how Zhang had the ability to dive into the supernatural but chose not to. The writing style is what brought this book from a 4 star read to a 5 star, as the use of punctuation, contractions, and tonal shifts. [ When Julie is on the trip and fully starts "feeling" like a Belladonna, Zhang's writing style completely changes. The narrative we get from Julie is no longer a stream of consciousness with the hyperawareness we're used to seeing, but an eerily calm, completely dulled thought process with no true feeling behind it. (hide spoiler)]

Liann Zhang is a genius when it comes to using literature to alter the way we interact with stories and using small details to make an entire plot change.

A very good debut! I selected this for my book club and think it will provoke a very interesting discussion, as the characters are all generally unhinged. Lots of themes to explore here too -- race, class, capitalism, influencers, and some high-society crime for fun. The main character is a real anti-hero who is mostly hard to root for. I have some unresolved questions/plot holes, but the book will keep me thinking, I enjoyed the use of the plant belladonna as a metaphor for influencer culture - beautiful and toxic - and look forward to following Zhang's career.

Thank you to Atria Books for allowing me to read this!

A gorgeously spinning, twisting chaotic ride. I really loved Julie, and the mistaken identity felt real in ways I would have been skeptical about otherwise. The influencer ride was extremely compelling, and felt realistic in the way expectations, reality, micro/macroagressions, and threats worked in the influencer landscape from. well. a non-watcher.

I loved the spin off the rails. And I'm glad someone got out safely!

I enjoyed this book! I mix of thriller and dark comedy with some unexpected twists. I would highly recommend this book!

Julie and Chloe are twins who live separately after their parents death. Chloe lives a luxurious life and Julie is just getting by. When Julie gets an odd message from Chloe, she checks in on Chloe only to find that Chloe is dead. Julie takes this opportunity to step into Chloe's seemingly glamorous life. This book blended humor and thriller perfectly and was really good commentary on social media and influencing. I really loved it!

In Julie Chan is Dead, Nicolette Polek delivers a hauntingly oblique meditation on the weight of identity, the strangeness of digital immortality, and the quiet ache of disconnection. The novella dances between surrealism and stark realism, unfolding like a dream remembered in fragments.

This is a book for readers who relish ambiguity, who find poetry in the unanswered. Julie Chan is Dead doesn’t hand you meaning; it invites you to sit in the silence and find it yourself.

Fairly fun plot. Occasionally good, generally mediocre writing. The beginning is so painfully simplistic I nearly stopped reading. This book is camp, and it’s fine.

I really don’t know what to say in this review because I’m not sure of what I read. What happened to this book? I really enjoyed the first half, but the second half completely went askew and lost me. It was a bit too much.

Chloe and Julie are twins that were separated at a young age when their parents tragically passed away. Chloe was adopted by a rich family and became a mega successful influencer. Julie lived with her awful aunt and worked a miserable job at a grocery store. They couldn’t be more different. But when Julie gets a weird phone call from Chloe, it prompts her to check on her twin, only to find her dead in her apartment. So what does Julie do next? She becomes Chloe, of course. Julie Chan is Dead.

After all of this, the book gets unhinged. After reading every chapter I had to take a minute and ask myself what just happened. It becomes a bit unbelievable (I know, as if everything else that happens is believable, but trust me it gets crazier) and just completely lost it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

This book was utterly and entirely MESSED UP. Unhinged is another word I would use to describe this book. TRIGGERS: cults, cult rituals, miscarriage/self inflicted abortion(?), social media, death of a loved one. The first 40% of the book the author does have a very interesting narrative about social media, trends etc. I think a lot of people want to compare it to Yellowface for that reason… and once the influencers get to the island, you really cannot compare the two books. Then SOMEHOW by the end of the book the author pulls it out and brings it all to wrap up nicely… which somehow also unsettles me because like how did she bamboozle me like that? Anyways justice for Viktor, if you know you know. I both would and would not recommend because it was just so freaky. 2.5 out of 5 because like what even did I just read.

Didn't really like this one! The concept is really interesting but it felt like it went a bit off the rails towards the end of the book

Julie Chan Is Dead is a razor-sharp, wildly addictive debut that blends dark humor, social satire, and psychological suspense into one unforgettable thriller. Liann Zhang masterfully skewers influencer culture while keeping the tension high and the twists coming at breakneck speed.

Julie Chan is barely getting by as a supermarket cashier when she stumbles upon her estranged twin sister Chloe—dead in her luxury apartment. Instead of calling the police, Julie slips into her sister’s ultra-curated life, assuming the identity of a glamorous, beloved influencer. What begins as an escape from her own bleak reality quickly becomes a dangerous masquerade filled with secrets, lies, and a whole lot of designer skincare.

Set against a backdrop of private islands, high-stakes brand deals, and perfectly filtered lives, this story shines in its critique of the performative perfection demanded by social media. Julie’s voice is sharp, dry, and full of bite—her descent into Chloe’s world is equal parts hilarious and chilling.

But behind the filters and hashtags lies something far more sinister, and as Julie gets closer to the truth of Chloe’s death, the novel transforms into a tense survival game where the real monsters are masked by ring lights and beauty sponsorships.

Darkly funny, feminist, and full of social commentary, Julie Chan Is Dead is You meets White Lotus with a splash of Gone Girl. If you love thrillers with bite and a side of satire, don’t miss this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This thriller definitely had comedy which I really appreciated. Influencers gone bad and add in a cult like atmosphere and I was sold. I definitely guessed what the ending was going to be but it didn’t make me enjoy this one any less.

I truly do not think I can find the right words to express just how much I love this book—immediate favorite, 5 stars, no criticism. I wish I could read this again for the first time. I love weird books; it is my niche, and this delivered on a magnitude that I have not been able to find for a very long time. I will be chasing the high of this for the foreseeable future. Normally, the modern-day setting in books is off-putting for me, but Zhang executed this perfectly. The influencer culture and what social media has become over the years was so eloquently displayed and laid bare; the act of being swept up in personas designed specifically for the public, the game of numbers, and the push for content at any cost. This is something that all of us who have grown up in the age of the internet can relate to, especially those of us active in the (book) influencer community. Satirical commentary and callouts aside, this is a wild and breathtaking horror thriller. I am a sucker for a good twist, and by god did this surpass all of my expectations. I have so many hyper-specific thoughts and opinions I am dying to share, but alas, I strive to remain spoiler-free in all my reviews and thus will refrain.

I akin the feeling of reading this to exactly how I felt while reading Bunny by Mona Awad, an all-time favorite of mine, of which this book has found itself a permanent place among. I cannot recommend this book enough. Even if thrillers or horror are not your genre, I still recommend this. This is not the overarching jump scare that leaves an icky feeling, but rather the kind that wiggles into your thoughts page by page and forces you to evaluate the things around you.