Liann Zhang is an author to watch this year, bringing a lot of frothy fun to our book stacks with her debut thriller exploring the darker secrets of influencer culture.

Julie and Chloe are identical twin sisters whose lives veered into very different paths after their parents tragically died in a car accident. Julie is sent to her penny-pinching aunt and is unhappily working a minimum-wage job at a supermarket. A wealthy white family adopts Chloe, and she has become an influencer with a rabid following. These estranged sisters only interact when Chloe uses Julie's unfortunate life for a video, gifting her sister a house, when she realizes philanthropic work is trending, and her sponsorships could be lucrative.

Despite their complicated relationship, Julie can't help but answer the phone when Chloe reaches out in a bewildering call that indicates she could be in trouble. Trouble is putting it mildly because Julie finds her sister's cold, dead body in her high-rise apartment with few clues as to what could have happened.

When confusion ensues on the case, and the cops believe it is Julie who has died and not the infamous Chloe, she decides this could be reparations for all her life's hardships. She swiftly takes over her sister's world in a classic con story moment filled with fun revelations on what it would be like to be suddenly inundated with love and scrutiny by your fandom.

But the second half develops into an unusual influencer excursion on a private island where she uncovers dark secrets about what it took for her sister to rise on the influencer food chain. Zhang takes the reader on surprisingly diabolical and sometimes grotesque turns as a cult horror subplot develops, reaching a fevered pace until the story's final page.

Readers should be prepared for Bunny meets Yellowface as these two halves of the puzzle come together in sometimes farfetched ways that still offer sharp commentary on race, class, and privilege. I enjoyed this story immensely.

Julie Chan Is Dead

Liann Zhang