Fresh, Intriguing..
The first of the Tarot Mysteries and Xana uses her Tarot trained intuition to solve mysteries rather than any common sense or logical approach. Interesting, fresh and intriguing with a deftly drawn cast of characters. Nicely written mystery with red herrings scattered and a slow burn storyline.

The Fool Card is the first book in the Tarot Mystery Series.

The story revolves around Xana a tarot card reader who wants to live a quiet life. Everything is going well until the night that Thorne crashes into her house injured. Now Xana gets involved to try to find out who killed his boos and shot him in the fast-paced novel.

This cozy novel has a bit of suspense, as well as, a bit of humor. A novel you will definitely enjoy reading.

Highly recommend!!

A quirky protagonist in an even more quirky cozy mystery, what more do you want me to say?!
Xana as a main character and protagonist captured my attention from the beginning of the story. She relies on her intuition - which she calls 'The Voice' - and her tarot cards for directions. She's kind, curious and helpful. When a car crashes into her house and a man requests her to hide the car, she readily agrees - remember the voice? Then, she decides to help him in his investigation.
What happens next is a drive through the city of SF and some serious picking and prodding of suspects - it doesn't end well always, but, an investigation is an investigation. *shrugs*
I loved Atkinson's storytelling and character portrayal. I am looking forward to reading the other five books in this series.

What a lovely short mystery story.

This is very well written and I really enjoyed the characters. Not quite sure what to expect when I started it but am glad I read it. Although I am interested in the Tarot, there really is not that much reference made to it throughout the story.

For a quick read I would definitely look to read others in the series.

Thank you Electra Enterprises and NetGalley.

We are introduced to the interesting leading lady Xana Bard. She is relaxing in her house with two cats and two dogs when a car rams into her home. The man who emerges from the almost wreck is someone who will upend her currently serene life. The start was pleasant enough but only halfway into the narrative when you accept Xana's ability to see more into the Tarot Cards she reads than what appears at the surface, things get interesting. The narrative style was sarcastic, humourous at the same time was not frivolous or superfluous. I say that because it is usually a thin line that divides the attributes when it comes to mysteries like these. The way she installs herself into this investigation was questionable, but she does question it multiple times, so that evened out the situation. The tale is short and action-packed, with something happening every few pages. We also get to meet Xana's mother, who does add a whole other level to how the narrative is carried out. I immediately picked up the next book after setting this aside.

Thanks to Net Galley for approving my request to read this book. First off, the cover of this book is what caught my eye. I love series, so I was excited to see this was the first. The author captured me from the first few paragraphs. Xana is a colorful protagonist, an independent woman with a self assurance I love. When Thorne crashes the car into her house and stumbles in bleeding from a gunshot wound the intrigue begins. Xana helps him as best she can and when he passes out, she lays down a five card tarot spread. When The Fool is the centerpiece she knows she's in for a ride. Xana's intuition is an important part of her success. The beginning of a great friendship is established in the book. The way Xana and Thorne work together is fun to read. I definitely recommend this book.

I enjoyed this series and felt the author got better with each and every title. I hope more books forthcoming from this author.

I liked the idea of this as I like mystery series and I’m fascinated by tarot cards, but this wasn’t for me.

Knowing the Ryder-Whaite pack of tarot cards, I thought this looked interesting. How right I was - it was a blast from start to finish.. I now know a fair amount about the San Francisco weather patterns - and I look forward to hearing more in other books in the series.

I found myself nodding along, and sometimes having to think about, her reading of the Fool card.

Loved it.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher I reada free advance review copy. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

The debut book in the Tarot Mysteries introduces a fictional world filled with, well, tarot and mysteries, lol. The Fool Card is more well-suited to people who enjoy cozy mysteries and who are willing to suspend disbelief further than normal. My wife is a tarot card enthusiast, and she greatly enjoyed reading this book and the others in the series.

The series is very good. This review is for the series and I'll be posting the same review for each individual book -- each one is quite good. The main character Xana is pretty entertaining, and she and the other characters are appropriately quirky. Sometimes the plots are a bit predictable, and a bit unrealistic, and I'm not into Tarot Cards, but still enjoyed these. The author does a good job bringing the characters to life and obviously has talent. She knows how to build tension and characters, and writes pretty good dialog and humor.

The first book is good and the series gets better as the series progresses. These are not "literature" but they're good cozies if that is what you're seeking.

I really appreciate the review copies from NetGalley!!

What a delightful find this was!! I love cozy mysteries like this - they're easy, fun, engaging reads that don't require a lot of effort and offer pure entertainment value. This one had the added bonus of well-developed, quirky characters who I loved from the opening pages. Xana is a delight - I enjoyed her insights into tarot, her self-reflections, and her utterly un-self-conscious recognition of her own limitations. The story itself was interesting although felt a bit rushed at times, as things hurriedly came together into a tidy package by the end. But that's often a hallmark of cozies, I think, and it didn't bother me at all. This was a fun read full of interesting people and if the story sometimes flew by, well, so be it. I enjoyed the journey wholeheartedly - and when you do, the trip often seems too quick! I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment...

There are three main characters in this, Xana Bard the tarot-loving gal uncertain of her next step in life, there's the taciturn Thorne, turning up at her door wounded and quite literally crashing into her life and then there is San Francisco in all her golden glory appearing at every turn.

This is a cosy murder mystery with cats, nice fancy dinners and musings on the Fool card of the tarot. I was almost expecting mysticism or magic to go with the tarot theme, but the story stays placed firmly in the real world.

If you're a fan of these gentle murder mysteries where the sleuth's mere presence in a room is enough to get the toughest of suspects to confess everything - then you will definitely enjoy this trip to SF. Looking forward to the sequels to see how this progresses.

Xana Bard has just told the universe she's ready for the next thing, whatever it may be. And it's a doozy. Tall, dark and handsome,...And gunshot. That starts the adventure where she and Thorne, as that's his name, combine forces to discover who killed his employer. A quick read with two engaging leads, a decent mystery and an interesting take on San Francisco and some of its denizons. Lots of fun and I'll be reading more in this series.

I'm more than happy I requested this ARC because this is an excellent series, gripping and entertaining.
I liked the well written cast of characters, the well crafted plot and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I was certainly not disappointed with this book but it did take me a little bit of getting used to the writing style and a bit more suspension of disbelief than I can usually muster; Xanas motivations for getting involved (a tarot reading) with a man that has been recently shot and crashes into her house seem a little bit flimsy but I ran with it regardless and was rewarded with a rather fun little romp around high-society San Francisco.

The main character, Xana, comes across as unsympathetic and at times callous, butting her nose into an unsavory business where she isn’t welcomed and I found myself questioning her motivations a few times only to recall that they weren’t the strongest element to the book. Yet, there is something instantly likeable about her as a character. The way her thoughts are expressed in The Fool Card are humorous and entertaining and she came across as very real. As a side character, Thorne is fairly decent but other than a man trying to ‘stay off the grid’ and him being the ‘Mr Muscle to Xana Ms Brain’ there isn’t much depth to him that doesn’t feel forced. I’m still trying to work out if this is a positive or not; not everyone can be deep and it’s refreshing to come across a couple of characters that know who they are and are comfortable with themselves; which is the impression that I got from Xana and Thorne. I am also overjoyed that the author didn’t throw them together in a romantic sub-plot; which would have ruined their enjoyable chemistry as a platonic, working duo.

The plot itself was enjoyable if a little straight-forward and direct – there are no real curve balls thrown at the reader to throw you off the scent and leave you guessing but the direct route is interesting enough to keep the pages turning until the mysteries conclusion. The sub-characters that centre around a family-tragedy, murder plot help to add a few layers to the intrigue and are well written and as equally well considered as the main two.

Bevan Atkinsons writing style is loose and casual which made the book very easy to pick up and read. At times the pacing was pretty break-neck speed that didn’t let up and seemed to bounce a little here and there, patched in with Xana’s (always right) intuition. It’s a decent debut novel and I urge picking it up if you’re after a quick, fun read. If you’re after something a bit more thoughtful and leaves you more to work out then maybe give this a skip for something a bit more in depth.

The Fool Card is the first book in the The Tarot Mysteries by Bevan Atkinson. Originally released in 2008, this reformat is 244 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is an entertaining and well written series debut. Protagonist Xana is intelligent strong and likeable. The book is written in 1st person PoV, so hearing her internal monologue was a big part of the appeal for me. Her foil/partner is Thorne, an intelligent behemoth who literally crashes into her solitary life. Together, they sort out the mystery of how Thorne's recently deceased employer died.

This is a murder mystery with Greek-tragedy level family intrigue, betrayal, murder, abuse, money, and fraud. The plot gallops along, the tension arc is well controlled, and the technical aspects of the writing are seamless and enjoyable. This is an author who can really write. The secondary characters are well and sensitively drawn. The denouement was satisfyingly twisty. The language is G-rated, there's no sexual content, and it's an enjoyable and humorous ride from start to finish. I was captivated from the first page.

I appreciated that the author didn't throw the main protagonists together in an unfortunate and unbelievable insta-love romance. In fact the author didn't abuse my suspension of disbelief one time in this book.

Possibly worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. It's always fun to find a new to me author and series to read. I would definitely recommend this one to fans of modern American mysteries. I'm looking forward to more from this author.

Five stars.

This is a delightful start to a series! It has elements that I enjoy - mystery and tarot cards. Xana and Thorne are wonderful main characters and I really enjoyed following their story line. The author does a great job with developing her characters; they are interesting and engaging. The style reminds me of Janet Evanovich omysteries in that there is a male and female protagonist. I recommend this book and look forward to reading the next adventure in book two of the series.

I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.