Kill Her Twice

Los Angeles in the 1930s. Three sisters, May, Gemma and Peony Chow, come upon the body of Lulu Wong in a stable off the beaten path. Lulu is the biggest star Chinatown has ever produced, and her death sets the whole story moving.

The sisters expect no help from the LAPD, which is corrupt and has no plans to look for her killer. Worse, powerful men in the city want the murder to read as proof that Chinatown is lawless. A neighborhood branded that way can be condemned, and the land is wanted for the new Union Station rail depot.

So May and Gemma, with Peony beside them, set out to solve the crime themselves. They want to honor Lulu's memory and stop the killer before another victim is taken. Every step puts them at risk, while the city works to erase the ground under their feet.

This is a young adult noir mystery told in alternating points of view, May's and Gemma's. It sets a whodunit against a real and ugly piece of Los Angeles history, and the pace is fast.