Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee ~ 400 pages ~ published on April 23, 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Goodreads Synopsis:
Los Angeles, 1932: Lulu Wong, star of the silver screen and the pride of Chinatown, has a face known to practically anyone, especially to the Chow sisters—May, Gemma, and Peony—Lulu’s former classmates and neighbors. So the girls instantly know it’s Lulu whose body they discover one morning in an out-of-the-way stable, far from the Beverly Hills mansion where she moved once her fame skyrocketed.
The sisters suspect Lulu’s death is the result of foul play, but the LAPD—known for being corrupt to the core—doesn’t seem motivated to investigate. Even worse, there are signs that point to the possibility of a police cover-up, and powerful forces in the city want to frame the killing as evidence that Chinatown is a den of iniquity and crime, even more reason it should be demolished to make room for the construction of a new railway depot, Union Station.
Worried that neither the police nor the papers will treat a Chinese girl fairly—no matter how famous and wealthy—the sisters set out to solve their friend’s murder themselves, and maybe save their neighborhood in the bargain. But with Lulu’s killer still on the loose, the girls’ investigation just might put them square in the crosshairs of a coldblooded murderer.
What I Thought:
*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for this ARC!*
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I am a big fan of Stacey Lee’s previous works, most notably The Downstairs Girl (if you haven’t read it, go pick it up!!) I was really excited to read this title. I love a good mystery, and the early 30s is a fun era of Hollywood. Anytime I get to pick up a book with Chinese main characters, it makes me happy, as my daughter is Chinese and I want to pass on books to her where the main characters look like her ❤️
I enjoyed getting to view this murder from the perspectives of both May and Gemma. Although they are sisters, they are very different people with very different views of the world and personalities. May is the eldest, which makes her much more concerned with the family name and legacy. She is mild mannered and beautiful. What I loved about May was getting to see her work through these decidedly ugly situations.
Gemma, on the other hand, is a live wire who feels much less stress about keeping the family name pristine, and more concern with getting food on the table by whatever means necessary. Her ideas and gumption make her quite radical for her time period, though she would fit in perfectly in today’s more liberal and relaxed society.
Seeing 1930’s Los Angeles from the perspective of a minority family, in a minority neighborhood was enlightening. I am always eager to learn more about U.S. history from the lens of those that didn’t write the history books. I am so grateful that my daughter doesn’t have to live in a society where she will constantly be looked down upon for the shape of her eyes or the color of her skin.
It was also really fun to get to see a behind-the-scenes look at that Hollywood was like at this time. I don’t know if there was a Chinese actress that was on the rise at this time, but I really hope there was (though I hope she didn’t meet such a tragic end). Getting to see May step in as an extra, then as a lead, was fun. I am now more curious about how the film industry worked back then.
The murder mystery itself was just twisty enough to keep things interesting, but I was actually more interested in the dynamics between the sisters and the world around them. I would recommend this to someone who likes a light mystery with a healthy dose of historical fiction and family drama in the mix.
My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I gave Kill Her Twice 4 Stars!
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Are you a fan of historical mysteries? Books about the 1930’s? Have you read any of Stacey Lee’s other books? Let’s chat in the comments!
Love and happy reading,
Whitney
Whit Reads Lit 