Play the Fool has a way of pulling you right in from the very beginning. I absolutely enjoyed Chern’s writing style. And while Katie is a true Hot Mess, she does have a way of worming her way into your heart. I think this book absolutely SHINES when we’re following Katie foolishness and her sleuthing but really starts hitting an uncanny and ask for a lot of belief suspension when the police start becoming involved. At the 50% mark though the story really began to drag for me which is so unfortunate because the first half is so compelling. While this book didn’t fully give everything the first half did, I honestly really look forward to any future work from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my honest review!

LOVED this book. The Tarot card connection, the dying shopping mall setting, the imperfectly perfect characters. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read what Lina Chern writes next.

Katie is a quirky, lost middle child in her late 20's. She moves aimlessly from job-to-job with no real direction. The story begins with Katie working at a trinket shop in a dying mall. She spends her time at work playing with her tarot cards and eating her lunch with a new friend, Marley, who works in the store across the mall. As Katie is performing an impromptu tarot card reading at work, she discovers a startling photo on the customer's phone of her friend, Marley, dead by a mall dumpster. This discovery launches Katie on a search for Marley's killer.

Although I did not feel Play the Fool was a thriller, as listed, it is an intriguing mystery. We meet Katie's diverse siblings, explore her relationship with her parents, and meet some other interesting characters along the way. I found myself immersed in the plot and loved the setting. The author does a fabulous job of interweaving tarot cards and their meanings seamlessly into the book. This is a strong debut by Lina Chern!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions stated above are my own.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Katie is working at the local mall where she befriended Marley. When her friend is murdered, she uses everything at her disposal to solve the case. I liked this book.

3 stars.

The good:
The early dive into shady characters and unsolved mysteries creates some intrigue. The dilapidated mall as a primary setting also creates a unique set up for a cast of customers, workers, and owners.

The not-so-great:
Katie and Marley's unlikely friendship creates more questions than it offers answers. The two seem to be outcasts, but even their friendship is a sad testament to their personalities. Katie is just an unlikable protagonist for me. Her impulsivity and mess ups aren't endearing, but annoying. It also makes the possibility of a romance with her seem incredibly farfetched. Marley is an underdeveloped character, and the hometown element doesn't quite fit with the story.

I kept waiting for the tarot cards to play a significant role, but it instead felt like unnecessary noise that was just supposed to make Katie more unique.

The story itself was ok. I figured out a large part very early on, and there never seemed to be enough twists to satisfy me.

Overall, it was fine. Not great. Not wildy disappointing. Just fine.

**Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Katie True has been down on her luck and works in a mall where she meets her new best friend, Marley. One day Nico, Marley's boyfriend, stumbles into the shop where Katie works, and she does a reading on him and finds out that Marley has been murdered.

From the beginning, I was instantly hooked; it was hard not to be. I enjoyed the mystery and Katie solving the puzzle for her friend. About 50% in, I started to get bored and wanted the story's pace to pick back up, but overall for Lina Chern's debut novel, this was a great idea and executed well.

I enjoyed the tarot card aspect of this story. Katie does readings for people and visualizes different cards while interacting with people. I haven't read many books with tarot card readings in them, and it was nice to get the meaning of various cards and have them intertwined with the plot.

Thank you, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Kathleen Quinlan, for providing an eARC of Play the Fool. This review is being left voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.

When I think of thrillers; I think of suspenseful and scary. I wouldn’t put this in that genre. I’d say this is more of a cozy mystery book. With that being said, it’s a good book. It held my attention enough and the plot was really good. I would recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries. My one critique is the big reveal at the end. I feel like I remember the name popping up once or twice in the book but clearly it didn’t stick with me so I feel like it should’ve been a big a-ha moment but for me some of it missed there. This was a fun, cutesy mystery with lots of sarcasm and humor!! I admit to laughing out loud a few times. It was a fast read and I enjoyed the story, even if it was somewhat predictable. Katie was a very likable main character. She reminded me a little of Stephanie Plum, finding herself in many awkward situations that blew up in her face or backfired. Overall really great read!

P.S.

This cover s till makes my heart SO FREAKING HAPPY!

Thank you NetGally and Random House Publishing Group for an early ARC of Play the Fool.

I flew through this book and was hooked from the beginning. This is the perfect spooky/October read. I really enjoyed the aspects about Tarot reading, mystery, and the flashbacks centering around Katie and Marley’s friendship. Definitely recommend for those who enjoy mystery.

While I'm not typically a reader of mystery novels, I was intrigued by the story's plot... and promptly finished within 2 days.

"Play the Fool" is told from the perspective of Katie True - a young woman who's run into her fair share of difficulties. She hasn't found a career path her family approves of, and is back in the suburbs of Chicago where she grew up working at a Russian tchotchke in the local mall. Katie's always had an affinity towards the tarot cards though, and when one customer appears in her store to have his fortune read, Katie finds on his phone a photo of her friend Marley Callaghan, shot and killed. Despite their unconventional friendship and Katie's own lack of authority, she partners with a new-to-town cop named Jamie to help unravel what happened to her friend.

The underlying story is uncovering the mystery of Marley's death, but the bulk of the novel focuses on Katie herself. We get to see firsthand her complicated relationship with her parents and successful realtor older sister, her closeness to her brother Owen, and even her developing relationship with Jamie as they continue to work on this case. While some of the plotlines around the crime and its involved players got a little too tangled for me (possibly too many external characters?), I nonetheless kept reading as I was invested in Katie and her own outcome of events.

I really enjoyed Chern's writing style: to-the-point, honest, and candid. She crafted a protagonist that felt true-to-life and relatable, and one that readers will root for throughout the rest of the novel.

Fast paced, easy read. Should go over well for our patrons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This is the first book I have read by Lina Chern and it definitely won’t be the last! This story about a tarot card reader who unintentionally gets caught up in an investigation was well written and hooked you early on. The ending made me want to go on another investigative adventure with the characters rather than have their journeys come to an end.

Katie True is a quirky, cynical, down on her luck cashier at a mall novelty shop when Nico comes in. He’s been beat up and he’s highly anxious, pacing the store. Katie, who dabbles in Tarot card readings, convinces him to allow her to read his cards for $20. When he uses the restroom, she looks at his phone as a way of gleaning information about him for the reading, but instead she finds a picture of her best friend, Marley, with a bullet in her head.

Katie bungles her way through amateur detective work trying to solve Marley’s murder. She is exceptional at reading people and this serves her well in her investigative endeavors. She’s a likable protagonist and I was rooting for her to succeed.

This book is entertaining and lighthearted, albeit a bit juvenile for my taste. I give it 3 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I was not expecting this book at all! I was sent this book from the publisher after reviewing another book on NetGalley and I’m so glad I was! It was the perfect mix of mystery and humor. Great story pacing and character development. This will definitely be On the top of my recommendation list when this book comes out!

Play the Fool by Lina Chern is about a cynical tarot card reader who seeks to uncover the truth about her friend’s mysterious death.

The book was a quick read and fairly enjoyable. Katie, the main character, was hard to like at times due to her snarkiness and being kind of a messy character. The story is narrated by Katie. The author's writing was good and the story was developed well. It wasn't as "mysterious" as most marketed thriller books. Overall, an okay read for me.

I go back and forth on giving this a 3 or 4 stars, so I'll rate it a 3.5 out of 5 stars and round up to 4 stars.

#PlaytheFool #NetGalley @ChernLina @atrandom

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest review. Excellent book though the title wasn’t something that made me want to jump right into this book. Glad I did…thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and the characters were different and very like-able. Would highly recommend.

I think this cover is so great! I love the card embedded in the bright blue! I wish I'd loved the book as much.

The first third of the book was fascinating. I liked getting to know Katie and her wild life. Her friends, her job and her apartment. I loved how she carried the cards around and how, sometimes she was so connecte to them, that they would come as images to her in the midst of casual conversation.

But at about 50%, I thought the story derailed. It just hit the realm of not believable. I wanted to buy it, I really did, but I found the police angle to the whole case just too much. And I didn't love Jamie and whatever was going on there. I wasn't feeling the love interest in the midst of all the over-the-top mafia type family and the suddnely rush of a huge cast of characters. It was cute, I didn't mind the end, but I definitely didn't love it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Katie's friend is killed. Her best friend is dead? Who killed her and why? She's able to get messages from cards that others could not. She is out to solve the crime but puts herself in the crossfire! Such a good read! This kept me on the edge of my seat! I read this in a day! Highly recommend!

This book was a lot of fun! The main character, Katie True, is one that will have you internally screaming at her to make a different decision, but each of those decisions certainly work well to keep the plot fast-paced. The pace is faster than what you would expect from a single POV, and it works in this story. The characters have depth and are lovable without being cringy. A cozy, clever mystery where you likely won’t guess all of the twists, but the reveals still make sense.

Pub date: 28 March 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Kathleen at Penguin Random House for the ARC; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lina Chern, and the publisher for letting me read an advance copy of Play the Fool. This was this author’s debut book and she really combined a lot of investigation, mystery, and the occult in it. I enjoyed the detail of the characters and how they processed through the book. The twists and turns were subtle but noteworthy. I enjoyed the fact that there was no sexuality thrown into the mix which would have tarnished the complexity and ambiance of the characters.. It was an excellent read and I recommend it to mystery enthusiasts.

Play the Fool by Lina Chern tells the story of Katie True a tarot card reader who is not living her best life. She befriends Marley who she sees dead in a picture. Katie feels she needs to find out what happened to her. I enjoyed this story. Liked the characters and it was a very believable story. It read more like a cozy mystery. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.