Julie Chan Is Dead
A Novel
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One of NPR’s Books We Love for 2025
For fans of Bunny and Yellowface, this razor-sharp debut thriller blends biting satire with chilling suspense, as a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life—only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.
Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything—except a pulse.
Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier barely scraping by, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL).
When Julie discovers Chloe’s body, she doesn’t call the police. Instead, she slips into her dead sister’s meticulously curated life: luxury fashion, high-end skincare, and a devoted online following who never noticed they weren’t quite the same.
At first, the transformation is seamless. Julie relishes the perks of influencer fame, but quickly learns that behind Chloe’s flawless feed lay secrets far darker than she imagined. Her sister’s final days were shadowed by paranoia, manipulation, and something far more sinister.
Now, trapped on a private island retreat with Chloe’s inner circle—an elite clique of influencers obsessed with status and secrecy—Julie is forced to keep up the act while being haunted by her sister’s untimely death. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.
Darkly funny, fiercely paced, and full of sharp commentary on identity, fame, and the cost of visibility, Julie Chan Is Dead is a twisted thrill ride where fitting in could be fatal—and the people behind the posts are the real danger.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Zhang debuts with a witty and insightful thriller about the pitfalls of influencer culture. Julie Chan and her twin sister, Chloe, were four years old when their parents died in a car accident. Chloe was adopted by the Van Huusens—an affluent couple in New York City—while Julie was sent to live with her grouchy, penny-pinching aunt. Now, at 24, Chloe and her luxurious lifestyle have attracted over a million social media followers, lucrative brand partnerships, and frequent all-expenses-paid trips to exotic locales. Julie, meanwhile, spends her days scanning coupons behind a cash register at SuperFoods. After years without contact, Chloe calls Julie and delivers a brief, garbled "I'm sorry" before she's cut off. A worried Julie heads for New York, where she finds her sister dead. When the police mistake Julie for Chloe, the temptation proves overpowering, and she decides to step into her twin's designer shoes. Suddenly, Julie is welcomed into the upper echelon of the country's influencers—but she soon discovers that the newfound attention brings with it the kind of danger that may have cost Chloe her life. Zhang offsets the novel's fast and entertaining first two acts with a gonzo final third, displaying impressive audacity for a newbie. It's a marvel.
