Such a refreshing and surprising read this turned out to be. Very reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's style. Lots of funny moments that had me laughing out loud (I may have even rolled on the floor laughing!!!) and lots of action/suspense. I absolutely loved Katie - she is outrageous and funny and awkward. I also loved her brother, Owen - he's definitely on the spectrum and is so very charming in his mannerisms and frankness. And then there's Jamie, the detective who kind of gets caught in Katie's path. The way they interacted with each other just leaves you wanting more. I really hope this turns into a series and we can follow along in Katie's (and hopefully Jamie's) journey.

A murder mystery with a witty and hilarious psychic - count me in. Initially the book started a little slow but all the back story on the main character truly was necessary for the character development and plot to have such a large impact as the story progressed. I really enjoyed the mystery and intrigue woven throughout this book. There were some great laugh out loud moments too. 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Release: March 28

Oh my goodness this was a fun QUICK read. I giggled a few times, and shockingly as someone who doesn't read romance, I was even rooting for the subtle hints to emotion and wanted more!

I think it was super clever, didn't drag on, and was entertaining! Loved it!

(Instagram to be posted 11/09)

Well written and easy to read. It was a nice change of pace compared to my normal fantasy book choices. This one has a touch of magic and is set in a realistic world. Great murder mystery

🔎BOOK REVIEW🔍

Play the Fool by Lina Chern

4/5

This story follows Katie, the “loser” of her wealthy, suburban family, who instead of following the family’s upper class footsteps, works at a novelty/trinket shop in the mall. She’s always had an intense passion for reading tarot cards, after being taught by her black sheep aunt. She is drawn to tarot because she loves to read people and figure out their stories - and she is really good at doing just that.

When a troubled, bleeding man stumbles into the shop, she talks him into a reading - partly as a way to distract from her fear of him and partly because she’s curious what the story is. She finds herself in too deep when she discovers he may have something to do with a murder - the murder of her only friend.

Determined to get to the bottom of it, she puts herself in a number of questionable situations, making friends with an officer along the way. She wanted the truth, but quickly realizes maybe the truth is way more than she bargained for.

I enjoyed the twists and turns - and especially loved all the tarot references of the book. But I overall found Katie an immature, bratty main character and it was honestly hard to root for her. I recommend it for anyone who likes a good mystery, especially if you have any interest in tarot.

Publish date: March 28, 2023

Thank you @bantampub, @netgalley and the author for early access to this book!

This was fun, the premise was fun, but I got a bit lost after the second half. The strength of this book just fell off, and it was hard to finish because of this.

I absolutely loved this book. There’s just something about a well-meaning but clearly out of her league protagonist trying to solve crime but really just engaging in crazy antics that gets me going. Play the Fool reminded me of the Finlay Donovan series in all the best ways — the witty internal monologue, the cop love interest who treats the MC like an intelligent human being, the general tomfoolery and hijinks — all of which adds up to a fun, low-stakes mystery. I hope this becomes a series because I am dying to see what Katie gets herself into next!

At first I really latched onto the writing style and the tone of the story. I like Katie’s down to earth vibes. And though I feel for her and the things she’s been through, I didn’t really connect with this character on a deeper level. I don’t think it has anything to do with the writing or the plotting, I think it’s just on a personal level.

It's a fun and quirky story. The first chapter is intriguing, shocking, and immediately hooked me into the plot, but things kind of fizzled out from there. I didn’t find the flashbacks as interesting. I liked the idea of the tarot cards playing a role in a murder mystery story, but I didn’t find the execution of this compelling enough, it felt more like it was thrown in on the side, rather than actually imperative to the plot or characters themselves. It went in unexpected directions, with some of the plot points not feeling quite believable to me.

From the concept of the story, I really thought this would be one I’d enjoy. But it just wasn’t for me. I think it’s a decent book and I’d be interested in checking out more from this author. I really did like the style and writing, but I just failed to connect with this particular storyline and characters. It’s not bad; I’m just not blown away. Even though my experience with this story isn’t glowing, I think there’s still an audience for this one.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Katie True, working a dead end job at an eccentric mall store, uses her tarot abilities to track down the killer of her friend and coworker.

I enjoyed Katie's character development and determination throughout the story.

A fun read.

The cover and synopsis of this book are wonderful. I really wish I had enjoyed the book as much. I picked it up initially as a spooky October read since NetGalley advertised it to me that way but it really didn't give me what I was looking for. I'm not saying it's bad but I think I was looking for something a bit more exciting and this just fell a bit flat for me.

This book was good! I enjoyed learning about Katie and Marley both. I thought the mystery aspect was done well, and it was intriguing. I've never read a book centered about tarot cards, so it was a fresh topic for me. It wasn't my favorite book, but I did have a good time reading it.

This was my first Netgalley book that was suggested to me directly by the publisher. It sounded decent, but I honestly didn’t have high expectations going into it.

IT WAS SO GOOD! I loved Katie’s character and how her friendship with Marley allowed her to see how unique and special she was. I enjoy reading about strong and uplifting female friendship! Even better when there’s a murder mystery involved!

There’s also a tinge of romance in the story, but it’s definitely not the star of the show.

Overall the book had an interesting and amusing cast of characters, a murder mystery woven throughout and is a winner in my book! Pun not intended 😂

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #playthefool

As a person who loved watching mysteries, this book definitely had me intrigued. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the character of Katie and the whole tarot card aspect of the novel.

I was hooked by this story as soon as I read the description. I find tarot cards fascinating, and I was excited that that would be an element in the book. I also am a fan of whodunnit mysteries.

The beginning of the story was a little slow for me. It took a while to set the scene and sometimes there were flashback scenes that came out of nowhere. However, once the plot started to take off, I got more invested in the story. It definitely stressed me out a lot of the time. As a person who likes to follow the rules, Katie's decisions frustrated me to say the least. Some of it wasn't the most believable, but it's a story so I was all for it. I liked the way tarot cards were used through Katie's perspective, and I liked a lot of the side characters like Owen and Jamie. I had a couple of guesses as to where the story/plot was heading...and some were right, while others were vastly wrong. Overall it was a nice read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy for an honest review

This book reads like the cozy mysteries that our grandparents love, just with a lot more curse words. Like many cozy mysteries, I felt somewhat neutral about this. I really liked Katie and her brother Owen; they made a great pair. The mystery started off strong as well. I think the book ended up being a little too corny. There are a lot of occurrences that add a certain charm to the book but are too unbelievable. While that sort of trope is fine in small doses, the book asked me to believe a lot of things that felt too wild. I would have liked the side characters to be more fleshed out, as well. They almost felt cartoonish in their personalities.

This was such a fun, entertaining and lighthearted book! Even though the story felt a bit chaotic at times, it was still an enjoyable and comfortable read. Katie in certain points was hard to root for, but towards the end I warmed up to her. Thank you for this fun arc!

When it comes to mysteries and thrillers, I'm more a fan of the Lee-Child-Harlan-Coban type action-packed mysteries, and it's what I'm used to reading. I felt the ending was a little obvious, you'd have to not have been paying attention through most of the book to have been surprised. But other than that, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this cozier, more "wholesome" (to the extent a book involving murder and very colorful language can be wholesome) mystery novel!
I enjoyed the tarot card facet of it, I thought it played well into the plot. I did find Katie unreliable at times, but not to the point where she made the reading unenjoyable. I also felt at certain points towards the end that there were one too many plot twists and unannounced back and forths through time.
Otherwise, like I said, I had a good time with this book!

Play the Fool by Lina Chern is a fun, relatable, engrossing crime mystery. Katie isn’t good at anything, except for reading tarot cards. Finding herself working at a Russian Tchotchke store after coming home failing at living and schooling in Chicago, Katie finds herself caught up in the mystery of her only friend being murdered. Growing up is the worst, even as someone who has a passion and life always feels chaotic. Any younger post college adult will be able to relate to her emotions.

I really wanted to like this book but ended up not being able to finish. The main character was so unlikable that I just couldn't relate to her.

When she suspects that her friend has been murdered Katie True takes on the case to find out why. I truly enjoyed this book. Katie's been kicking around just getting by doing odd jobs and reading tarot. When her friend Marley goes missing she starts trying to find her. But who really is Marley and what were her secrets, Katie may be in over her head and that might have deadly consequences.