Play the Fool follows Katie True, a semi-professional tarot card reader who works at a Russian tchotchke store at a dying mall. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life and feels like the failure in her family. She’s got nothing going for her, but she does have a friend, Marley, who works in another store. An odd man shows up at her store and she gives him a card reading, and sees a picture of her friend on his phone - and she’s dead. This sends her down a whirlwind of figuring out what happened to Marley and who killed her.

When I first saw this book, I thought it would be an interesting murder mystery. It turns out that there was a lot to it - involvement with the cops, some shady businesses, illegal dealings. It was pretty interesting, but the book lost me in the last 1/3 of it. I felt like it was twist after twist after twist, and I was getting pretty dizzy.

The book lost me in the end. It got to the point where I just wanted to finish it to figure out where it ended up, but when I learned how it ended I didn’t love it.

I also didn’t love some of the parts of the book that felt too unrealistic. When Katie gets wrapped up in this case, the cop who is supposed to be such an amazing detective ends up giving her intel and letting her almost be a part of the case (except they make it clear it’s not really a case, even though he’s spending most of his time on this). It just was all a bit too unrealistic and corny for me. And it might be an unpopular opinion, but I couldn’t stand Owen, Katie’s brother.

Overall, this was a solid 2/5 for me. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC!

I really enjoyed the premise of the book and the writing style too. i really like the characters that are written and plot itself as well. Great book!!

This was so good!!! A really different kind of mystery. Very original. Great characters and the perfect ending makes this one of my new favorites.

This debut is fantastic.

The book tells the story of the chronically underemployed Katie 'True who discovers her best (and only) friend is missing. Both work at gift-type stores in the mall, but Katie also has a talent for fortune telling which leads her to discover proof her best friend may have been killed.

The book does have good twists and turns and a fun plot, but the real star of the book are the characters: Katie, Detective Jamie, and Katie's family.

This book kind of reminded me of the Spellman Files, which I also loved.

This book is awesome, and I look forward to more by the author.

Mystery and Tarot? What's not to love?

This is a great book in what I hope becomes a series. Katie True is a complex protagonist, and quirky and unique. The mystery was engaging and kept the tension going. I appreciated the deft hand she had in writing Katie's brother Owen. Writing a character on the Spectrum - it can come out too one - dimensional, or like a Rain man copy. But the author created a very real and interesting character. I also appreciated all the Chicago color in the book. And I am looking forward to seeing the friendship between Katie and Jamie develop.

I got an ARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest and independent review.

It's always important for an author not to show their entire hand. Sometimes, that applies to the things they choose not to put into a story as much as the things that they do. In the case of Play the Fool, author Lina Chern's restraint factors into the enjoyment of this debut novel almost as much as the clues she drops along the way.

I was pleasantly surprised at the role tarot plays in Play the Fool. I expected a gimmick, something like clues or messages hidden in cards. But Chern shows more restraint than that. Rather, Katie has a legitimate backstory with the cards, which makes thinking of people and things in terms of tarot cards second nature. (Familiarity with tarot will likely enrich the story, but I can attest it is fully enjoyable and accessible knowing absolutely babkas about them.) Chern also wisely shows a little subtlety in Katie's various family relationships, which, aside from Owen, are all dysfunctional in their own ways. There is no blowup behind that dysfunction, just expectations not meeting up with reality. Mundane stuff that doesn't cease to be painful or frustrating by how boring it is.

Making those things part of Katie's character rather than forcing them into more prominence into the plot means Chern can spend more time on the mystery. "A murder without a body is like a puzzle without a box," Jamie says, but this case is one where half the pieces are missing, too. No body, but also no motive, conflicting stories about her last day, and the progressive realization that Marley might not have been who she said she was—all of it complicates things for our detectives. It would be easy to say Katie's reckless and impulsive stabs at sleuthing on her own don't help, but the information she stumbles into (sometimes a bit conveniently) does help inch the case along. She makes many very bad decisions, but her heart is in the right place, and that same sense of caring means she has genuine relationships with others. It's as much a party of Katie as her self-identity of being a walking disaster, and you can't help but root for her a little.

In a more realistic novel, Katie would have gotten arrested and/or killed for her boneheaded moves. In a more gratuitous one, Katie would have singlehandedly solved the case through the cards and/or via an epiphany had in the throes of passionate sex with Jamie. Chern gives us neither, and the clever story she hands us instead feels genuine and as sweet as anything can be with murder and possibly organized crime. Nothing foolish about that.

From a strictly whodunnit standpoint, there are some big reveals here, but many of the twists were not earthshattering. I felt I could anticipate the importance of most things, though there were some nice red herrings thrown my way. I don't think this is a bad thing, though. Internet fandom has conditioned us to equate surprise with good writing when the inverse is often true. Foreshadowing means the author lays the groundwork for something before it happens. Genre comes with its own expectations, including, in the case of mystery, red herrings and, often, chases or peril near the end. Chern knows the tropes, and when to follow and subvert them. Play the Fool will not revolutionize the genre, but it is a solid mystery and a whole lot of fun.

(A longer version of this review will appear on RingReads on March 28, 2023, at 3:42 p.m. MDT)

Thanks to Netgalley and to Random House for this e-ARC.

I loved this book. I thought the plot was a good twist on a murder mystery and the main character was a great example of how sometimes you need to set your own expectations for life instead of waiting for other people to set them for you. Katie was a realistic lost soul and her relationship with her brother was particularly endearing.

Katie is working a dead end job with a good knack for reading people. When she finally makes a friend she starts to latch on to the relationship. When things take a turn, Katie works hard, defying both the local police and common sense, to solve the central mystery of the book. I loved that there was a flirtation, but not full on romance in this book. Instead the author chooses to focus on friendship and finding yourself in your late twenties. To me that really made the book a winner. I can't wait to see what Lina Chern does next and I hope Katie True has more novels to star in.

This was a very fast-paced, mystery with thriller thriller elements and a slight hint of mysticism. This story follows Katie True, an employee of a small tchotchke shop in a mall who reads tarot cards on the side, befriends an older mysterious women who works a few shops away whom she makes a connection with. After a random tarot card reading for a sketchy man, she sneaks a peak on his phone and sees a picture of her friend, murdered. We go on a quest with Katie to find out what happened to her friend and as she finds out more about herself. This was a fun, quick read that has you guessing what will happen next and also what kind of sticky situations Katie will find herself in!

Katie True lacks ambition. She tried to be a professional tarot card reader. That didn't work. She is floating through a series of entry-level jobs that lead nowhere. Life in the city was expensive so she moved back to the suburbs, closer to her parents. She takes a job in the mall selling knick-knacks. How can she find what is right for her? She is a self-taught tarot card reader with strong intuition and good powers of observation. Katie hopes her tarot cards will show her the path to be on. At work, across the mall is a girl, Marley, whom Katie has gotten to know. Marley is the only friend that Katie has. When Marley fails to show up for work, Katie becomes worried. Could Marley be abducted or is she dead? When Katie reports her missing, will the police believe her?

Katie felt like Marley was a good friend. She listened to Katie and offered her advice that made sense. The police aren't helping so Katie decides to take matters into her own hands. This decision could help locate Marley or cause problems. Will Marley be found?

This book is fun and unusual. Katie is like a leaf in the water, bobbing along with no purpose. She doesn't know what she wants to do, nothing seems to capture her imagination. When Marley goes missing, Katie comes to an understanding of what friendship is all about. How well do you need to know someone to consider them a friend? What are friends willing to do for each other? This charming story examines the elements of friendship, finding your purpose in life, and making peace with yourself.

Rounded up to 4. This was a fun, quirky murder mystery. It felt current but not trendy. A bit difficult to describe. Read quickly, a couple odd loose ends in my opinion, but still fun.

I really liked this book. It was entertaining and fun. Right from the first line I was hooked. I this might just be my Wednesday obsessed brain but I feel like the Mc had Addams family vibes. I was interested in where this story was going from the very beginning, and I can’t wait for more books by this author.

I ended up really liking this book! At the beginning Katie is really unlikable and it was most a bit cheesy, but then I was really drawn into the story and it kept me guessing! I never expected the twist at the end!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

So this started a little slow for me, but then at about 30% I really got into it. And I really enjoyed the characters. I liked the promise with the Taro cards I like Owen and Jamie the great side characters that really support Katie. I meant it took me a little bit to warm up to Katie, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed her. I am hoping that this becomes a series because I will absolutely read the next one. I have to find out where her hi-jinx lead.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

In this entertaining contemporary mystery, we meet Katie True. Katie’s currently working in a failing mall outside Chicago, the latest in a string of jobs headed nowhere. She didn’t like college and has never found her passion – except for reading tarot cards. She can’t stand her parents and older sister; the bright points in her life are her brother, Owen, a brilliant, neurodivergent college student, and Marley, who works in the shop across from Katie’s. But then Marley disappears. And Katie sees a photo of what looks like her corpse on a stranger’s phone…

Likes: Katie narrates the novel, and I loved her voice. It’s sarcastic, self-deprecating, at times hilarious. The mystery had plenty of twists, with several convincing red herrings. Katie’s ability (or lack thereof) to investigate rang true. Owen’s a great supporting character! And I’m interested in tarot, so I found those bits intriguing.

Dislikes: The backstory for the cop character was a tired cliché. Also, Katie talks a lot about her Aunt Rosie, who taught her about tarot but moved to the West Coast during Katie’s teen years. In an age of email, text, and mobile phones, I was surprised Katie never tried to contact her.

FYI: violence, murder, criminal acts.

An ending can make or break a book. You could write a book that holds a readers interest and one that keeps them fully invested throughout and still ruin it with an ending. That’s why I’m a reader and not a writer. I would definitely ruin it all.

The cover is a rare one. The bright neon colors pop out at you and catches your eye. You come for the neon lights and stay for the tarot card. I saw the cover and quickly added it to my tbr. Then I read the synopsis (lesson not learned) and I was fully invested.

I loved the first thirty percent of this book. It held your interest and left you wondering what the hell was going on. The rest was like sliding headfirst down the side of a mountain. And we all know where that leads, disappointment. (Okay, more like devastation but we won’t go that far) The ending was obvious and overplayed. I wanted something weird or Goodfellas style but we get this lackluster ending.

Not everything was terrible. I loved that the main character was an expert tarot reader. That added a different element to a mystery novel. That’s one I would love to see again. I also liked how she knew something was wrong with the disappearance of her friend and she made a decision to not rest until she got answers. We all need that kind of person in our lives.

The mystery wasn’t much of one. I really didn’t care about it all that much. I was way more invested in seeing what kind of mess Katie got herself into next. That’s what kept me around.

Play the Fool was an okay mystery novel but not for me. There was too much that I didn’t enjoy and the ending wasn’t one I liked. I admit, I’m extremely harsh when it comes to endings. I can see other readers loving this, it just wasn’t my style.

In Play the Fool by Lina Chern, the main character Katie True is passionate about two things, tarot cards, and not working for her sister's real estate agency. She chooses instead to stay on the edges of life, working in a struggling gift shop in a mall, where she has one friend. Marley is edgy, strong, and stylish. Katie finds herself drawn to her. One day Marley doesn't show up for work, and after a series of events Katie believes Marley to be dead, but her body is missing. She immediately jumps into action to try and solve her friends murder, distrusting of the local police's ability to find the murderer, even if she is drawn to the head detective.
This book would be perfect for readers who enjoy Stephanie Plum and Finlay Donovan novels. It has the same quirky attributes of a main character who goes all in to find the murderer without following any semblance of protocol. I did enjoy the relationship aspect with the head detective and how this book had no spice, since so often that doesn't happen. I was confused at first with the novel and thought it possibly could be considered YA but after reading it does gravitate toward more adult fiction. It really could be either. The main aspect of Katie's character was that she loved reading the cards and called herself "Psychic", however those parts didn't add to the story very much in my opinion. I found the descriptions of the cards and meanings relatively tedious, but I believe this is more personal preference, it seemed more of a side show instead of an important part of Katie's personality. Overall, Play the Fool is great for lovers of comedic mystery.

I want to give not just a huge thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this eARC, but a huge, gift basket, and cake!!!

It’s been so long since I’ve read a book that I’ve loved this much! It’s definitely a new favorite and one that I know I’ll reread over and over! I’ve read 122 books so far, and of the ones that were not retreads this is my favorite!

So, I don’t like to give a lot away with reviews, and I’ll be doing a full review on my blog soon.

So, here’s a quick summary and review. We follow Katie as she’s recently moved back to the suburbs close to her overbearing family (her brother is amazing!). She’s working a dead end job at a dying mall. Katie is smart, she’s witty, and so relatable! What like is that she’s so smart, but she does not have it all together. She has amazing gut instincts but also makes bad choices. She’s determined, and she’s full of fight and heart but not in a sickening cheesy way! I seriously love her!

She meets Marley, this cooler older girl who’s comfortable in her skin, and is worldly and mysterious. They become friends. Marley gives Katie inspiration and she likes the feeling that Marleys her friend. She also supports Katie’s skill of reading tarot cards!

One day Katie’s doing a tarot card reading of this sketchy guy and she sneaks a look in his phone and finds a photo of Marley with a gunshot to the head.

Katie soon dives head first into finding what happened to Marley. But in the process she might just become the next target.

Seriously, the writing is top notch! I pretty much read the majority of this book in one day because I couldn’t stand to leave this world/ I had to know what was going to happen.

There is some romance and it’s perfect. It’s not the main plot, it’s just a really nice added element that works perfectly. The chemistry is perfection!

This book is perfection! I want more! I want a series!

This book comes out March 28th, 2023! I already have my copy preordered! I really hope there’s signed editions!

I’ll be talking about this book soooo much! I’m still processing my love and obsession of this book!

tl;dr
One party cozy mystery, one part coming of age tale, with plenty of twists along the way.

Thoughts
Lots of fun twists in this one! The first chapter caught me off guard with it's immediate plunge into the murder case. We don't even get to know the victim first? Ah, as it turns out, we do get to know her through the used of well-timed, interlacing timelines. The main plot and the flashbacks move quickly, making this a really easy read for anyone looking to devour a book in a few sessions. Genre-wise, it's paced out like a cozy mystery, with our amateur detective heroine and her circle of friends solving a case that the local police seem largely uninterested in.

Katie is a scrappy protagonist, with just enough curiosity to get into trouble, and a genuine desire to do good. Her family is realistically frustrating without swinging all the way into Cartoonishly Terrible, with her brother being my absolute favorite character by far. Jamie fills the role of "hot and interesting police officer" very well, and I appreciated that he got a bit of his own story as well. Their relationship never shifts into romance, something I am genuinely grateful for.

The mystery itself has a lot of twists in it, some less believable than others, but nothing that isn't reasonably foreshadowed by the clues provided. Woven within is also a thoughtful story about embracing yourself, and finding a way to succeed in a world that isn't one size fits all.

Okay, so I enjoyed the first half-ish part of the book, but after that it just felt…flat? It just felt a little too unrealistic for me to really get into. It wasn’t terrible, but I definitely rolled my eyes a few times /:

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own, this review is being left voluntarily!

I will start by saying I love the cover of this book!

The first part of this book was very interesting. I loved getting to know Katie, her friends, and her life. However, I started to lose interest halfway through this book. It came to a point where the story was no longer believable, the whole police case was too much, and I wasn't feeling the love interest whatsoever. It wasn't a terrible read, but wasn't my favorite either.