STAFF PICKCANADIANGLOBE AND MAIL BESTSELLER320 PAGESENGLISH
Nominated for The Trillium Book Award
Longlisted for CBC Canada Reads 2026
INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER One of NPR’s Books We Love for 2025
2026 Libby Book Awards Best Thriller
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.
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"I ordered it because it had high reviews on this website. I'm not sure why. It was not what I expected. I admit it was pretty engaging to begin with but most of the characters were unlikeable, particularly the protagonist, and it veered into a really dark place. Absolutely would not recommend it."
— Lilly2 (1/5)
Meh
"I thought the first part of the book was interesting, but I lost all of my interest mid-book. The cult? The aunt? The murders? By the end I was bored out of my mind, but I hate DNFing so I decided to finish it."
— NatNat26 (2/5)
A sloppy, R. F. Kuang wannabe book
"Book riddled with cliches, bad writing, and poor execution. The ending was terrible."
— Kate (1/5)
Loved Bits and Pieces
"I enjoyed the concept of this book, I feel like given that we live in a social media ruled world this was a very interesting storyline to dive into the dark and twisty aspects of online fame. The characters were well realized, however, I feel like it took a weird turn into near the end of the story. I feel like they took the cult aspects too far and it became less believable and felt like more of an attempt at shock factor rather than a full realized ending."
— Courtney (4/5)
10/10 Would Recommend
"Great book, really interesting. Reading it after Vera Wong's Unsolicited Guide to Murder and I love it. Not the same kind of humour but similar vibes"
— Martha (5/5)
Perfect
"This book is perfect. The banter, the tropes, the playfulness, and how everything seems plausible I loved every word of it. I laughed, I cried, and I listened to Come On Eileen!"
— Morgan (5/5)
A fun thriller
"Julie Chan is dead, A charming story, well as charming as thriller can be. I read through the entire book in one sitting, avid for the next page, and the next one after. It is definitely a book I will re-read in the future again and again."
— Sanders (5/5)
Great summer read
"I was intrigued by the title of this book which made me get it. I am so glad I got it. It was such a fun and engaging book with a unique story line. I enjoyed reading it. It’s so great to see representation through content created from a Canadian Asian author. This was a great first book for Liang Zhang. I can’t wait to see more books from her."
— EstA (5/5)
Yellow face in another font
"It’s kind of like YellowFace but it lost momentum half way through. The first half had me hooked with the identity swap and immediately living her twin’s life. SPOILERS BELOW But some parts were a bit bland for me for example the aunt knowing the identity (doesn’t really come into play that much), the trip being a cult really wasn’t that much of a surprise and it just felt like “hm how can I raise the tension? Oh I’ll make it a cult”. So all in all, it’s a good read, got me back into reading but the vision was a bit lost near the end"
— Melody (4/5)
Started Off Great, but…
"I will never read another book about influencers after this mess. Julie Chan is Dead is a train wreck from start to finish. It lures you in with a great premise, a broke cashier stepping into her glamorous influencer twin’s life, and then completely squanders it. I thought I was getting a sharp, possibly funny thriller about influencer culture. Instead, it sinks into absurdity and bad taste. Once the Belladonnas headed to the island, any sense of direction disappeared. The plot turns into a bizarre mess, highlighted by a revolting scene where a group of white women gang up on a Black woman, restrain her, and tie her to a bed. It is disturbing, and the author handles it with zero care or purpose. Then comes the jaw-dropping “what am I even reading” moment: a character eats a live baby mouse. Not symbolic. Not meaningful. Just gross for the sake of being gross. The book is riddled with loose ends. The aunt who is supposedly extorting the main character is never resolved. Entire threads vanish without explanation, making the story feel lazy and unfinished. By the time it ends, you are left with the sense that the author either gave up or never had a coherent plan to begin with. What could have been a clever and entertaining thriller is instead a pile of half-baked ideas and pointless shock value. It is not edgy. It is not smart. It is just bad. Zero stars. Not worth your time, money, or brain cells."
— BookishRetriever (1/5)
Q&A
Published date: Apr 29, 2025
Language: English
No. of Pages: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781668079867
Dimensions:
6.0" W x
0.8" L x
9.0" H
“Clever, insightful, and biting, Julie Chan is Dead, with its searing look at the influencer industry, lightning-fast plot, and unhinged cast of characters, is the definition of a read-in-one-sitting thriller. Chilling and immersive, this one is sure to leave a mark.” — ASHLEY TATE, bestselling author of Twenty-Seven Minutes
Liann Zhangis an award winning and internationally bestselling Chinese Canadian author. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in psychology and criminology. Her debut novel, Julie Chan Is Dead, has won the Libby Award for best thriller, been nominated for an Anthony Award, a Trillium Book Award, a Barry Award, an ITW Award, a Kobo Award, and was longlisted for Canada Reads. Her work has been translated and published in ten languages. She splits her time between Vancouver and Toronto where she lives with her two cats, Juice and Bean.
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