Kill Her Twice

Three girls navigate a murder investigation with personal stakes in this slow-burn mystery by Lee (Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies). In 1932 Chinatown Los Angeles, sisters May, Gemma, and Peony Chow sell flowers as part of their family business. When they discover the body of movie star Lulu Wong, their hometown celebrity and May’s former friend, the siblings worry that justice will not be served and endeavor to honor Lulu’s legacy—and prevent the killer from striking again—by solving her murder. Led by ambitious, headstrong, mischievous Gemma, the trio push forward with their inquiry, though they’re met with resistance from the police, who underplay Lulu’s death and reject the plausibility of homicide, and political forces that want to paint Chinatown as a “mysterious and sinister” place full of “drunken and slovenly” people. While poking around town, the girls make discoveries hinting that the mystery goes deeper than they expected—and may involve people they know. Told in alternating POVs and interwoven with details from 1930s Chinese American culture, this immersive narrative gradually unspools an intricate murder mystery while exploring elements of prejudice, grief, and deceit. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)