by Stacey Lee
publisher’s 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 Liked:
-Character voices seems to be once of Lee’s writing strengths. From the start of the book, Gemma and May’s voices sparkle on the pages. Gemma herself seemed to be a little stronger of a character, but I think that’s because she had a more spunky, active personality.
-The positive sister relationship made me happy. So often, I feel like siblings don’t appear in fiction, or if they do they just fight with each other. I liked how all of the Chow sisters worked together, and the positive family relationships in general.
What I Struggled With:
-Something about the mystery fell flat and I was left wanting more. I can’t pin my finger on exactly why I felt that way, but it might have had to do with how Gemma and May solved the murder. They honestly don’t really see it coming or put together many clues until the end. When the murderer revealed everything, I could see the crumbs that had been foreshadowed–but I think that they needed something /more/ to make them work.
–SPOILER: I’m glad that Gemma and Freddie didn’t end up together. I’m not entirely sure of what the age difference was, but since he’d already graduated med school and seemed to have been a doctor for a while, I’m guessing it was fairly large. Because of the age gap, I was a little uncomfortable with the relationship that seemed to grow between them. I don’t think it would have bothered me if just Gemma had a crush, but Freddie seemed to like her as well. But as I already said, they don’t end up together. END SPOILER
Overall:
I enjoyed Kill Her Twice. But I was a little disappointed in mystery side of it. Yes, Gemma and May are solving a murder, but the mystery seemed to fall a little flat. However, Lee’s abilities in writing characters shine.
Cautions: three instances of swearing; one blasphemy; light romance; one kiss; brief, moderate violence; non-descriptive mentions of poisoning; two minor characters are discovered to be gay, referenced briefly; several Bible verses are taken out of context and twisted; SPOILER: an unmarried character is discovered to have been pregnant, which is referenced multiple times
(I received an eARC through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Kill Her Twice releases April 2024.)
Hailey Huntington 
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