This is the most fun book I’ve read in months! I was worried it was going to lean heavily into mysticism or the supernatural, but it didn’t and just included it as a fun touch! The mystery was intriguing and kept me reading well past my bedtime! Plus, look at this cover 🤤

Play the Fool by Lina Chern

Published: March 28, 2023
Bantam
Genre: Friendship Fiction
Pages: 313
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Lina Chern has been published in Mystery Weekly, The Marlboro Review, the Bellingham Review, Rhino, The Collagist, Black Fox Literary magazine, and the Coil. She lives in the Chicago area with her family. Play the Fool is her debut novel.

“Everything was going to be fine.”

Katie is trying to figure out what she is good at. What will make her family take her seriously. She’s a talented tarot card reader. But her family would never see that as anything serious. When Katie befriends another woman who works at the same mall, Marley, she is drawn to Marley’s judgment-free attitude. Friendship is hard.

This book was so good! I loved how tarot cards were used in this book and how Katie visualized different cards when she processed things.

Katie was such a fantastic character. I loved her immediately. She is loyal and doing her best. I enjoyed watching her come into her own. Jamie was a great character, solid and true, and he was the perfect opposite of Katie. Their chemistry was fantastic.

I loved how emotion was used in this story. There was a perfect balance between humor and drama, which worked seamlessly to bring this story to life.

This is a fantastic debut; the writing is witty and clever, and the story is beautifully unique. This story sucks you in, and the more you read, the harder to put down this book becomes.

I enjoyed the storyline of this novel; the build-up and ending were so well done. This was such a fantastic read. I look forward to the next story Lina creates.

This book was great until around half way through. It just became unbelievable and the story fell apart for me. I loved the first half of this one but, just couldn't fully enjoy the last half.

Play the Fool has a really interesting concept: what happens when a neurotypical woman who reads tarot cards gets caught up in a murder? What I thought this book would be about was mystery, mayhem, and madness. And while I did get some of that because the main character, Katie, is pretty chaotic, this was more of a character driven book, where the mystery was more a vehicle to understand our characters more. This is more about how the mystery enables character development and growth because the focus on the mystery really isn't as prevalent, or as fleshed out, as I was thinking it would be, but the characters are.

Katie was a really misunderstood and lost FMC, but she is also quite hard on herself. Because she doesn't want to achieve as much, or on the same path, as her family, she is seen as a low achiever and she embraces that, even though the author makes clear that Katie is good at things in her own right. It was actually kind of heartbreaking to read at the beginning, of a person who just wants to be seen as valuable in her own right. I found that Katie was full of potential, but she was bogged down by others, who she believed. I wouldn't call her quirky, I wouldn't call her quirky, but instead lacked confidence in herself and didn't want to continue to fail the way she is told she does by others.

When she finally starts TRULY breaking out of that narrative and starts to believe in herself, the book ends. She was fun and I loved that she could "read" situations with tarot. I wish that aspect was explored a bit more because it is clear that the author is trying to showcase her abilities as atypical from what we expect of achievement, but it just didn't get there fully.

The relationship Katie has with her brother, Owen, and the detective on the case, Jamie, was amazing. It was like both of these characters could see the best in her, which was refreshing since Katie is so hard on herself. These characters also offered more diversity in terms of the social aspect of individuals (how not everyone needs to be super outgoing and have lots and lots of friends) and neurodivergence, and I appreciated that representation.

The actual mystery part was lacking, but again, I think that is because the mystery was supposed to be secondary to the characters. For the mystery, I was trying to figure out what happened and it was an easy read. So it wasn't extremely obvious what the outcome would be and I was flying through this book. I was interested, yes, but not overly invested in needing to know what happened. It seemed like you had to suspend disbelief a bit throughout and I never felt that Katie was in any real danger. The mystery didn't seem pressing and the bad guys didn't really seem that bad. The central idea was solid, but this would have been a slam dunk if the character development AND the mystery were equal.

Overall, I think this was a really solid book if you are interested in character driven mysteries and nonstandard characters! However, you may not be as enthralled if you read mysteries for the twists and turns. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this book in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this tarot meets psychic meets thriller saga! Overall, I decent paced read with a unique premise.

3.5 ⭐️

"Play the Fool" by Lina Chern is an entertaining novel with interesting characters and plot twists I didn't see coming. The author weaves her extensive knowledge of tarot cards into the plot, adding to the mystery. And the cover of this book is gorgeous! Though the story kept me engaged, the plot didn't wow me. I wish there had been more detail. I like richly detailed writing and this book came up short for me in that aspect. It left me wanting more. Overall, it is an entertaining, fast-paced, and easy read, great for a day at the beach or a snowy afternoon on the couch.

Thank you NetGalley, Bantam publishing, and Lina Chern for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Play the Fool is an adult murder mystery. It follows Katie, who struggles from job to job, is a complete failure to her parents and has no interest in college. She is working at her local mall when a large, disheveled man with a bleeding head walks in. Katie has always had a talent for reading people and something is definitely wrong and when she offers help, she ends up for more than she bargained for.
This book is character driven by Katie; the whole investigation is propelled by her. Katie is a very self-aware character, she knows where she struggles, flaws, her dynamic in her family as well as things that she has always been good at, especially reading people, which helped her be an excellent psychic, but in the investigation of her dead friend. She is constantly making horrible decisions and it ended up with her in hot water with a very sexy cop from LA. The writing was good, and I liked the incorporation of her using the tarot cards throughout the whole story, they were like a security blanket for her as well as a tool she used.
I liked diverse characters, especially katies relationship with her brother, Owen. She understood, accepted, and wanted to protect him. Katie’s relationship with other characters were all unique, she had open communication and attachment with one, and was very closed off and avoidant with others.
I had a really good time with this book, it was entertaining, fast paced, and character focused. I definitely recommend checking this murder mystery out.
Trigger warnings: blood, guns, substance use, kidnapping
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!

This was such a fun murder/mystery! Katie works at this kind of strange store in the mall, among the many odd stores that can be found in malls everywhere. When a man bleeding from a head wound comes in, Katie offers to give him a tarot reading partially just so she can figure out what is going on with him. What she doesn't expect tho, is finding out her friend Marley is dead. And, this starts her on the case.


I loved the main character. Katie is relatable and an overall cool person. The cop that becomes involved, Jamie, is another favorite character. Really all the characters are great. This book was funny and enjoyable.

Out March 28, 2023!

Katie True has no prospects. Returned to the suburbs of Chicago, she knows that her job in the mall is a dead-end. Until one day, a mysterious customer enters the shop and turns her entire world upside down. The customer has a photo of a dead woman on his phone- who just so happens to be her coworker Marley. What happened to her coworker and is the photo real? When the police are slow to intervene, Katie takes on the task of discovering what really happened to Marley, armed with her trusty tarot cards.

I couldn’t stop reading once I started! Play the Fool was such an interesting book; I felt immediately hooked by the wild premise. Katie is a deeply messy and chaotic character with an enormous heart. I loved how Katie never stopped looking for Marley, even at the expense of her own safety and security. I enjoyed how Katie used her tarot cards to gain deeper meaning into situations. One of my favorite side characters was her brother Owen, who has autism. He is a deeply caring and quietly brilliant sidekick to Katie as she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life and searches for Marley. I would recommend Play the Fool for readers who enjoy action-packed mysteries, tarot cards, and heartfelt characters.

Play the Fool is available March 28, 2023. Thank you to Lina Chern, Bantam, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

3.5⭐️

The only good thing about Katie True’s latest dead end job at the tacky gift shop is the quirky girl who works at the goth clothing store down the row. Marley is the bright, carefree girl that Katie thinks she wants to be and she just so happens to be Katie’s only friend.

One day, a strange man comes into the store and Katie offers him a tarot reading. The man temporarily walks away and Katie take a look in his phone just for a jumping off point. It was an innocent invasion until she sees the picture in the man’s texts: Marley’s dead body. But without the actual body, the small police force isn’t too keen to look into the potential case. So Katie investigates herself, with a little help from the LAPD police detective who takes her seriously.

Another book where I was drawn in by the cover. I feel like this started out slow but got interesting enough to keep my attention around the middle. I feel like everyone’s personalities were a bit over the top; Katie being the unmotivated person who has never really tried for anything until this case; Marley-the manic pixie dream girl; Jamie-the traumatized cop. But at the same time their actions don’t really mesh with their personalities. I can’t really pinpoint what bothered me, but I did find that I didn’t really care about what happened to any of the characters.

Thanks Netgalley and Ballantine for providing this ARC!

All aboard the hot mess express! Play the Fool is a debut mystery about Katie True, a woman in her late 20s, who's life has hit a dead end, and who is, frankly, a hot mess. When her closest friend is murdered, she decides to solve it on her own and gets herself way in over her head. That sounds dark, but it's actually charming, quirky, and funny. It's more of a gritty cozy mystery, than thriller - with all of the hijinks Katie gets up to and the B plot of romance with the detective actually solving case. There's great neuro divergence rep, and I also really enjoyed the tarot reading aspect and I am once again saying that I really want to get my first tarot reading! I highly recommend picking this one up if you've enjoyed the Finlay Donovan series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine, Bantam imprint for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Katie sees a picture of her friend dead. What follows is a mad cap race to find out what happened to Marley.
The story starts out slow. It gets a little faster paced and really had me rushing to the end.
It had some unexpected surprises
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I thought this had a slow start but overall enjoyed it! It was unique and would recommend to to certain friends.

I really really liked this one! Chern did a fantastic job crafting a main character who by rights should have irritated me but instead I found endearing and quirky in an utterly unexpected way. She paired that floundering protagonist with a delightfully broken detective, and the result was magical.

I enjoyed the way tarot and psychic elements were woven into the tale without ever turning it into a book about tarot or psychics. I found the characterizations fabulous. Marley was the perfect foil and a magnificent kickoff to the action. The supporting characters were a delight, most particularly Owen and Max, and I loved watching this entire cast interact because I never knew what they were going to do next.

This was a fantastic tale and I am definitely looking for more from Chern...

An engaging, thoughtful mystery. I was drawn into the story from the first chapter. The characters are flawed in a completely relatable way. You just can’t help but root for the main character, even when you know she’s making a less than ideal decision. The story had enough twists to keep me interested but stayed realistic. I enjoyed this immensely!

Play the Fool is a cute book that I enjoyed. I loved the fact that the the book was set in the Chicagoland area and wove in Tarot was a real draw in choosing to read this book. Katie True has dead end job in a mall. Her life gets more interesting when she meets another mall mate named Marley.

The book gets a little far fetched when Katie gets involved with the police and Marley's murder. I don't think the police would really let a civilian work on a case, especially one as dippy as Katie. The book does come together in the end and the mystery is resolved.

This is a cute book that is a pretty good light, pool read. I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Play the Fool. #PlaytheFool #NetGalley

Katie True has found herself wondering or rather stumbling through life. She’s had multiple dead end jobs and doesn’t seem to be good at anything except tarot reading. Everything changes when she meets Marley. She’s the first person who seems to truly understand Katie and meets her where she is not where she’s going. Follow Katie as she unravels the mystery of a life time and finds who she is a long the way.

Katie True works at a mall shop selling Russian baubles and becomes friends with Marley, who works at a goth boutique. Katie has a history of working at different dead end jobs - the only thing she enjoys doing is reading tarot cards, a skill learned from an aunt when she was young. Katie appreciates the fact that Marley
accepts her as she is and enjoys hanging out together.
When a man enters the shop Katie works at, she does a reading for him and peeks at his cellphone. She's shocked to see a picture of Marley with a gunshot in her temple near a dumpster at the mall. When she checks out the location later, the body has disappeared.
Katie is determined to discover what happened to Marley - as she investigates, she puts herself in danger and discovers she didn't really know Marley at all. What was Marley involved in? Who are the men coming after Katie? Will she uncover the truth before its too late?
An enjoyable read.
#PlaytheFool #NetGalley

Pure chaos - at no point did I know where this mystery was going and whether it would actually get solved. But actually lighthearted and fun too? And some good mental health rep. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Early reviews for 'Play the Fool' by Lina Chern are a little mixed. With this eye-catching cover, the fact that I love a good mystery AND read tarot myself I'm choosing to reserve judgement. Frankly the blurb sounds fantastic. Thanks to Kathleen Quinlan, Assistant Director of Marketing at Random House for always offering me THE BEST book options. Stay tuned for my full review closer to the release date.