whitneydaniell

Summary

SuperFoods cashier Julie Chan wants to be anywhere but clocking into her dead-end job, with a coworker she doesn’t like and a boss who only keeps her around because of her tenure. By her own account, Julie is lonely and craves belonging and family.

At four years old, Julie’s parents were killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Orphaned and alone, Julie’s twin sister, Chloe, was adopted by an affluent white family dealing with their own public relations nightmare—while Julie was sent to live with their maternal aunt, who took her in out of obligation rather than love. Her Cantonese aunt and cousin, Patrick, often neglected, dismissed, and belittled her. Her aunt even went as far as to steal Julie’s savings without so much as an apology.

After being separated for seventeen years, Julie watches her sister rise to internet influencer stardom. Then, one day, Chloe walks into SuperFoods with a camera crew and introduces the world to her long-lost twin sister—hashtag emotional. Acting like she’s doing Julie some great favor, Chloe buys her a house, films the cringeworthy reveal, and then disappears back into her fabulous life, leaving Julie stuck with a dilapidated house she can’t afford to repair.

After radio silence from Chloe, Julie receives a strange call from her. “Mistake, mistake, mistake.” But what’s the mistake? Julie doesn’t know—but she senses something is wrong when Chloe goes dark on socials for two weeks and hasn’t returned her many calls. Finding Chloe’s address through the home purchase documents, Julie heads to New York City to find her sister. And find her she does… dead.

To the untrained eye, Julie and Chloe are identical. So when the doorman and police mistake Julie for Chloe, she decides to just go with it.

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. Chloe’s final days were filled with paranoia, manipulation, and something more sinister. As Julie peels back the layers, she realizes the road to fame and fortune isn’t paved with good intentions. Trapped on a private island with Chloe’s inner circle, Julie uncovers the dark forces that may have led to her sister’s demise—and realizes she might be next.

Darkly funny, fast-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.

Character Summary

Julie Chan is a lot of things. She’s jealous of her sister—even in death—because Chloe attained something Julie sees as unattainable, despite having the same opportunity to turn a camera on herself and start posting. Julie has no friends, no positive influences, and a history of being criticized by her aunt and cousin. As an adult, she is overly critical of herself and others.

Once she assumes Chloe’s life and begins interacting with other influencers, Julie’s obsession with likes and follower counts shifts from jealousy to envy.

I’ve been thrust into Chloe’s identity and have adapted to it with ease, like my sister’s life was never out of reach, like I was always capable.

My Thoughts

This was a good read—if dark humor is your thing.

I couldn’t help but notice a few plot similarities to The Sinfluencers—likely just a coincidence—but this book was written better, with a more thought-out plot and sharper execution.

I enjoyed the character development—or deliberate lack thereof—of Julie. Her backstory gave me an emotional connection where I wanted to root for her, but by the halfway mark, I realized Julie is simply an awful person. No amount of luck or good deeds could change that, and she’s far too removed from her childhood for it to still excuse her behavior. At some point, her choices are just who she is.

It wasn’t lost on me that early on Julie describes Chloe as awful, selfish, and only using her for likes and views. But by the end, Julie becomes the same person she accused Chloe of being—if not worse.

The addition of Isla Harris—the one Black woman in a sea of white women—was masterful. Isla wasn’t with the shits and saw through the nonsense immediately. I hoped she and Julie would become friends, but Julie was never capable of being a good friend. Yes, she protected Isla in the end, but that was the one good deed she managed.

I would’ve liked to see more of the aunt’s extortion scheme, as well as Julie’s spiral into Chloe’s life. The occult angle and everything that transpires on that island, felt like a step too far. And the ending? Okay, Julie—you did all this, you know who killed your sister, but you still can’t see beyond your own delusions? For someone who doesn’t believe in anything, she sure let the occult overrun her mind. I need an alternate ending.

Final Verdict

This was a solid 3–3.5 star read for me. The ending did it no favors, and that’s where I checked out.

Cult nonsense? Sacrificial ceremonies to Eto? Murder? I don’t know. It leaned too hard into tinfoil hat territory, feeding the narrative that fame and fortune come from dark occult organizations like the Illuminati. Just like with The Sinfluencers, there was a strong premise—how far influencers will go for fame and fortune—but it slipped into something silly when it could’ve been a sharp, grounded thriller.

I wanted more of Julie fumbling Chloe’s life—because she absolutely would’ve—and more of her obsession with being liked by strangers. I also, wanted more of Isla.