What a fantastic debut!! One of my favorite reads this year. Linda Chern has a hilarious voice, and I will continue to read her books in the future.

This book really reminded me of Finlay Donovan with a slightly darker edge - if Finlay wasn't a single mom, and instead liked to read tarot cards. There's just enough hijinks to keep you entertained, and I also think there's some suspension of belief needed. It's definitely a book (like Finlay) where the character is always getting into trouble and can't stay out of the action, no matter how hard they try. There's even a hot cop too!

Honestly, I think this is a great book for all lovers of Finlay. I found the writing so funny and witty, the story was great, and the characters were memorable. I hope there is another book!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this one, it had a ridiculous main character who constantly falls into trouble and has no sense of self preservation, a detective who's exasperated but sees that these methods might actually be working, and an interesting murder mystery.

Katie can read tarot cards better than most and while doing an impromptu reading, she discovers her friend has been murdered. She immediately inserts herself into the case, finding out more about her friend than she ever knew and becoming a target herself. Jamie was a great character to play off Katie. He's smart and a good detective and sees the value Katie brings, even if it does cause him more trouble with his boss. There's only the beginnings of a romance there, but I ship them.

The book is well paced and I didn't want to put it down. The conclusion is nice, but I'm secretly hoping there will be a sequel so we can see more of Katie, Jamie, and the tarot cards.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for the copy.

What would you do if you seen a photo of someone you know in someone else’s phone? Nothing, right? But what if that person was dead, not like someone passed away some time ago, more like murder scene of someone you know? Call police? Scream on top of your lungs? Or simply trying to make the phone owner speak through your tarot cards? Apparently, last one was the best solution Katie True could came up with.

I couldn’t think of a better title for this book. Play the fool and pretend like you can read people better than you actually do. Show up in crime scenes or follow police around and pretend like you were there by chance. Because I’m sure you would be a better investigator than the police (don’t get me wrong, sometimes civilians are better at policing, but not how Katie was trying to do). This would made sense to you until you realize you don’t know your dead friend as well as you thought.

I rooted for Katie to solve the mystery because she was belittling herself so much with her every word, I wanted her to win one thing in life. To be fair, there were moments I wanna put the book away and never come back because of her behavior, but I wanted to give her one more chance. I like the role of tarot card in the story and it was a good palate cleanser when I needed one.

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and the publisher for review. Thank you for the opportunity! All thoughts are my own.*

I really enjoyed this mystery by debut author, Lina Chern! I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it after reading the first page or two, but I’m glad I kept going, as it kept me wanting to read more from there on out!

Katie True is a middle child who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with rather overbearing parents. Her older sister is quite successful doing real estate, and her brother is a neurodivergent college student. She has been floating from job to job, ever since she quit college. Her most recent job is working in a Russian knick-knack shop in the mall, where she plays with her tarot cards when the shop is quiet. Tarot has always been a passion of hers. Katie doesn’t really make friends, and so she is happy when she connects with Marley who works at another shop in the mall. They seem to get each other, and Katie feels like she can be herself with Marley.

One day, after being encouraged by Marley to read tarot as that’s her passion, she reads the cards of a man who comes into the shop battered and bloodied. When he leaves the room briefly, Katie snoops on his phone and sees a picture of her friend Marley, with a bullet in her head!

Katie’s world is completely rocked, and she can’t believe that her friend is dead. She realizes that there are some things the cards can’t foresee. She winds up going to the police, but they don’t seem too concerned, as there is nothing left at the crime scene, but a necklace that Katie found. Katie decides that she must find out what happened to Marley, regardless of the possible danger.

I really loved the relationship between Katie and her brother Owen, and how that was explored in the story. They just really understood each other, and I thought that was beautiful! I also enjoyed the connection that she makes with Jamie at the police station, the only one who seems to believe her story.

I recommend this standalone for fans of a good YA mystery! I enjoyed following the clues that led to a great ending!

Katie is working at a dead end job and what she thought was just a normal boring day turned for the eye. A man comes into her store with a head wound and pretends to ship. She gets him to let her so a tarot card reading in the middle he steps away leaving his phone unattended. Out of curiosity due to the guys of behavior she takes a look at his phone and never expected to see a picture of a dead woman; the woman being her friend! What will she do???

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC!

Frankly I totally enjoyed this book and its unusual heroine. While Katie True comes from a successful suburban background, her self-assessment has her believing she messes everything up, given the opportunity. Toiling in Russian knickknack store in dead end mall, reading Tarot as her only passion, she reads the cards for upset wounded guy. While he was paying attention elsewhere, she peeks at his phone and sees a photo of her only friend with a bullet hole in her forehead. As she follows the clues of her friend's death, the quick witted writing showcases a number of characters with their own unique takes on life. Fast paced, I was never bored.

I really enjoyed this mystery. It kept me engaged from the beginning to the end. I wasn't sure how I felt about Katie in the beginning with her straight forward who is me personality but it grew on me and she ended up being my favorite. I enjoyed the relationship Katie has with her brother Owen. She understood him and he understood her which reminded me so much of my own relationship with my siblings. The storyline was engaging and the clues that led to the ending were well developed. The ending was not predictable in any way which is what I hope for when reading thrillers/mysteries. I 100% recommend this to anyone looking for their next YA mystery!

Katie works at Firebird Imports, a Russian tchotchke collectible store in a failing mall. She is also an experienced tarot card reader. Unfortunately for Katie, she is the proverbial screw-up in her family. Her family is well off and both of her siblings are thriving—her sister a successful real estate agent and her brother a college student. Katie is constantly seeking something more than her current circumstances, hopping from job to job, moving to and from her parents’ house, after every failure. Despite her setbacks, Katie keeps existing without friends and making her way until she meets Marley. They both work crappy jobs at the mall and started talking in the courtyard during their lunchbreaks. This is the closest thing Katie had to friends. This is why when Marley disappears suddenly and a strange bloodied man comes into the store, Katie is intrigued and wants to offer him a better tarot reading. When the man steps away to the restroom, Katie snoops in his phone to find a photo of Marley dead by the dumpster behind the mall. Freaked out, but naturally curious, Katie tries her best to find out if this man is Marley’s killer, or knows what happened. Katie becomes caught up in figuring out exactly what happened to Marley and puts herself in some precarious situations throughout her journey.

3.5 (rounded to 4) out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katie True sees people in the form of tarot cards.
Her brother, Owen, will always be a Page of Wands..
Max, the owner of a wannabe Hot Topic store, is such a Knight of Cups.
And Officer Bailey, he's totally a Three of Swords.
But Katie is having trouble pinning down her new friend, Marley. Marley is such a mystery, which probably why Katie is so intrigued by her.
After Katie sees a picture of Marley dead during a particularly weird tarot reading, she's determined to find out what really happened to her friend. Along the way, Katie will find out that her friend's life was even more a mystery than she thought.

This probably won't be a story for everybody, but I absolutely loved it. There characters were so quirky and fun that it kept me invested in their journeys. Were some of the circumstances farfetched? Sure, but that's part of the magic of the storytelling. I was fully invested in the weirdness and would love to read more books featuring Katie True.

Also, the book cover is so eye-catching and vibrant. I'm obsessed!

A murder mystery with a tarot theme? Sign me up! Katie is a classic middle child, overshadowed by her ambitious older sister and special needs younger brother, floating from one dead end job to another. Most recently, she finds herself working in a Russian imports gift shop in a downtrodden mall in the Illinois suburbs, passing her downtime playing with her tarot cards. Not one to make close friends, she recently befriended the slightly older woman who works at the novelty store across the aisle, Marley. One night, a bloodied and disoriented man comes into the store just before closing, and curious about his situation, Katie offers to read his cards. When he leaves briefly to wash up, she snoops on his cell phone, and sees he has a picture of an apparently dead Marley outside the mall near a dumpster. Katie gets rid of him, and then gets involved with the police to try to solve the murder of her only friend, which no one seems too concerned about because her body was missing from the dumpster when they went to investigate. I love how the tarot element was woven into the story, with Katie cycling through each card to assign personality traits to each person she meets in the course of her investigation. Am I guilty of doing this as well? Yes, yes I am. I found Katie to be a relatable character in this sense and other personality traits Not quite a cozy mystery, but it did have some of the traditional elements, which I always enjoy. Not sure if this is a one off or the start of a series, but I would definitely be interested in continuing with these characters if it is.

This was a fun and entertaining mystery. I really liked the characters and I LOVE the cover for the book.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was in Chapter 18 of this book when I realized I couldn’t remember the main character’s name. (It’s Katie.) That’s not to say that she isn’t interesting — she’s the black sheep of an affluent family who works in a Russian tchotchke shop at the mall and reads tarot cards to entertain herself (and sometimes others). When she looks at people, she sees the tarot card that would represent them. She has a lovely relationship with her brother and a tense relationship with her sister, who thinks she should quit her job and come be a real estate agent. And there are parts of Katie that were relatable, even as annoying as I sometimes found her. It’s just that I didn’t care enough about her, or the story, to really get invested.

I’m not quite sure what vibe Lina Chern was going for here. There are bonkers aspects of the book, but it’s dark and gritty, too. So maybe this is a screwball-new-noir mystery? Regardless of what it is, it didn’t quite work. Katie is investigating the murder of her “friend,” a woman she’s essentially been having lunches with five days a week for maybe a month. Katie then gets herself embroiled in the investigation and gets involved with a handsome, troubled cop (who doesn’t seem to actually play much of a role in the story). The plot in the first third of the book was really interesting, and I was curious to see how the story would play out, but then the book just went off the rails and felt rushed. There wasn’t really much danger, and the mystery — and how it wrapped up — felt meh.

And, yes, I had to open the book back up while writing this review to once again remember Katie’s name.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Play the Fool is a captivating read. Lina Chern's writing style is sharp, unique, and unforgettable. The story follows Katie True's thrilling and intricate investigation, which will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Chern's voice is captivating, and her storytelling skills are exceptional.

Katie Tru is back in the suburbs after failing in her attempt to be an adult. She uses her tarot cards as her life guide, but can they lead her down the right path? When her best friend is killed, she decides that tarot may not have all the answers, but can she find the answers for herself?

Play the Fool is a novel that I instantly wanted to read due to the eye catching cover.

Kate True knows that Marley has been murdered. Getting others to trust her and find the killer: that's a problem no one is ready for.

Marley is mysterious, hard to read and captivating to Katie. The two are each other's yin and yang. Marley has even convinced Katie to start tarot card reading again. Interesting enough, that is how Katie leads to find a picture of Marley on a guy's phone with a gunshot wound to the head.

Katie is a mission to solve who killed Marley and nobody will be able to stop her. Not even a threat that she couldn't have seen coming her way.

I really enjoyed the First Half of Play the Fool by Lina Chern. I was captivated by the writing style and the mysterious elements at play. However; the second half of the novel seemed far fetched and had too many hijink moments. I will give Lisa Chern another try though and recommend that those who enjoy a myserious novel try this one out.

Thank you Random House Ballentine and Netgalley for my earc in exchagne for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Play the Fool; A Mystery by Lina Chern was a unique book that I enjoyed. The cover art is EVERYTHING and sucked me in from the beginning! I felt so lucky to get a copy for myself! I have shared on my goodreads, bookstagram, and booktok!

First things first - the cover just grabbed me! This was such an eye catching look. Love it. Then I read the synopsis, and I couldn't pass up a chance to read this.

This is a story about a girl, that gets herself deep into a mystery of her missing friend after she reads tarot cards to a very suspicious person. Her missing friend, Marley worked at a store across from where Katie works in the mall. They struck a friendship during their breaks. Katie doesn't have much going for her in her life. She can barely hold down a job, nothing interests her, and she's just basically just floating along. Till she comes across this mystery.

Katie becomes an amateur sleuth. With the help of a real cop, she starts to figure out what Marley was up to, and how she got herself killed.

It was a humorous book. Though a slow burn if I may say so. Katie is very mediocre person, with seriously failing at everything. She forgets important things, like locking the door at her job, she doesn't care how she looks, she doesn't have any friends. At times I felt like I didn't really care about Katie, but the tarot cards and constantly reading people with them helped move this plot along. Also, all the bad luck just hitting her constantly brought some levity to her boring life.

I didn't love this book, though the twist was interesting. It just kind of moved along slowly till everything is revealed. Sprinkled with some funny moments, and some mobsters had me wanting to finish this book, though it won't stick with me any longer than that.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for my gifted copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

I thought this mystery was well thought out and the pieces fit until I got to the end of the book. And then it kind of went off the rails.

I really liked the character of Katie True. I liked her personality quirks, her tarot readings, and her refusal to let the mystery go. I thought she was a believable character and I felt a kinship with her inability to move herself out of the rut she was in. I thought the character of Jamie was a bit harder to get a read on, but I liked their chemistry together.

The plot moved along briskly and there weren't any wasted scenes. The mystery made sense and while I wasn't enamoured with the end and the wrap-up, it didn't ruin the book for me.

This one was fun. A sympathetic character takes us on a murder mystery, and it's a good one. And also, the tarot card meanings are described correctly, which was a nice bit of detail.

Honestly, kind of mid. Nothing super egregious but also nothing that made me care about our main character or the story as a whole. Nothing much to say here, but I can see how some people might enjoy this.