When Katie attempts to pull one over on a frazzled & skeptic customer, she gets more than she bargained for. She decides to snoop through his phone for leveraging her tarot reading when she discovers a picture of her friend Marley- dead- from an unknown number. The questions start flying through her brain- who is this man and did he kill Marley? The questions can't contain themselves and of course Katie now must stick her nose in business that she'll find does not belong to her. Cast with a techy brother, a guilt-ridden policeman, and family drama - Play the Fool was a delightful and witty whodunnit.

I thought this was such a fun and fast read- I can't say I found a lot of it plausible and had to suspend belief a bit, but the snarky and clever banter and dialogue really had me chuckling anyway. I always love when we have MCs who just can't help themselves and get caught up in situations that are disastrous. It's almost like watching a horror movie and screaming at the girl not to go into the abandoned house by herself- when you know she is going to get chopped up- like, come on...amiright? These amateur sleuth-type narrators are almost so bad that they're good? Katie is quirky and nosy and doesn't care what she says or who she says it to. She's pretty bold and BadA in that respect and I loved her for it.

I REALLY enjoyed this one and it was a fun change of pace for me.

This promising mystery thriller with the use of tarot cards closely intertwined features a down on her luck main character determined to get to the bottom of her friend's death.

While the premise of this story was promising and intriguing, it veered to much into the unbelievable for me in a title not marketed with magical realism or fantasy where I would have allowed a lot more wiggle room.

It started of really strong and enticing but after awhile I felt like it burnt out quickly. It just didn't hold my attention as closely as other mysteries have and while I like a nicely wrapped up ending this one felt a bit too perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC for an honest review.

Katie True is quick witted. She has to be for failing so much in life. She’s loved back in with her parents and works a dead end job, but all that changes when Marley comes into her life. She’s a mysterious person with a mystery to solve.

I liked getting to know the characters and the story plot was interesting. Towards the end though it felt a bit aloof and wasn’t much for suspense.

This is more of a cozy mystery than the thriller the marketing suggests, but I still found some moments a little terrifying. The actual unraveling of the mystery of who killed Marley and why is genuinely compelling; the twist at the end genuinely surprised me too. Protagonist Katie is stubborn, which I liked most of the time but makes her frustrating during parts of the investigation. I also wished some of the side characters had been fleshed out more. (I appreciate that Owen's neurodivergence isn't TOTALLY stereotypical, but even more nuance here would have been great.) I don't feel like a sequel is necessary, but I'm sure Lina Chern will write one to further explore Katie's relationship with Jamie.

I thought this book sounded interesting from the blurb but wasn’t sure if I would really get into it since it didn’t sounded gripping or addictive, but… I low-key obsessed over this book! It's a murder-mystery without being your typical psychological thriller but also not a cozy mystery. And it's full of complicated characters that give plenty of depth to the story without relying on lots of twists and turns or unreliable narrators or other unbelievable elements. Just raw, real characters in an unclear situation having normal reactions.

Katie True is a jaded, unambitious tarot card reader in a Russian tchotchke shop at a dead mall. Her parents and sister think she's wasting her potential and keep asking her what her big plan for life will be. Feeling a little lost and she makes friends with Marley, a girl who works in the punk shop across the way at the mall. in Katie's mind, they're best friends, bonding over their shared work breaks and one memorable night out. When Marley disappears and a strange man walks disoriented into her shop, Katie uses her "psychic" skills to try to make a few bucks bucks on a reading, but accidentally finds out that Marley is dead - shot in the head and left next to a dumpster outside the mall. What ensues is a strange but entertaining trip along with Katie while she amateurky but effectively investigates Marley's disappearance... From the disoriented thug in the shop to Marley's boss, her boyfriend, a cop that wants to help even though there really isn't a case, Katie’s brother, and a whole lot of brash confidence, she finds out that she never eve knew the person she thought was her best friend.

I love the cover of this book! The neon colors really drew me in. I wanted to love this book and thought it had so much potential. I found beginning of the book was good but then it just fell flat for me.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

This was cute and overall enjoyable but at times felt a bit disconnected. I couldn’t tell at first if it was trying to be serious or quirky and in the end it kind of felt like a dark episode of a Disney channel sitcom. The characters were a bit over-exaggerated and were quick to get familiar with each other which made them seem all the more unbelievable but we’re overall loveable.

That being said it was a fun, easy read. There were elements of it that reminded me a bit of the Finlay Donovan series, so if you’re a fan of those I’d recommend checking this one out!

Oh how I had fun with this one..

From the moment I started I was hooked. An engaging murder mystery that had me saying “just one more chapter” because I wanted to get to the bottom of it. With a dash of comedic relief. And a plot twist.

I loved Katie. She was hilarious, and a wild ride. And her partnership with Jamie made it even better. Their sarcasm and banter added a nice touch. Truly couldn’t get an enough of them.

Overall it was an easy, intriguing read that I did not put down until I finished it. I wish the ending wasn’t so abrupt. It could’ve used a little bit more of a spark. BUT it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. And it’s a great spooky season book.

Katie True returned home from Chicago and now jumps from job to job. When she meets Marley, they immediately form a bond. Marley encourages Katie to continue with the tarot, but Katie soon reads the cards for a man who has a picture of Marley with a gunshot wound to the head. This was something her tarot cards couldn't predict, and Katie is determined to figure out what happened. This puts Katie in the middle of a much larger threat.

We start with the tarot reading in her store, then see how the friendship with Marley developed. She doesn't leave well enough alone, following the man from the mall, and continues to stay involved even after the police point out the failing in such a decision. If she stayed home we wouldn't have much of a story, but everything she does is well within the range of a normal twentysomething. She isn't super-powered or especially gifted at detection, though she's very good at reading people. She cares deeply about her family and friends, even though she doesn't have many of those. Her genuine desire to help isn't always appreciated by the police, though they realize she was caught up in circumstances she couldn't help. It's a really fun book to read and I enjoyed how the end pulled it all together.

I wasn't sure how I felt about a tarot-themed book, but I really liked this one!

It's not a classic cozy, but has a bit of the cozy feel with an amateur detective getting in the way of an attractive police officer.

Katie was a great character, an underemployed underachiever in her family but who has a talent at reading people like tarot cards.

Overall I thought Play the Fool had a great blend of character development, suspense, and even a little romance. Hoping this will be a series!

Play the Fool gave me Poker Face vibes (a show I just love). I feel like I want to know more about the characters, so if this is going to be the first in a series, it's a great start. As a stand alone, it doesn't satisfy in character development. I want Katie to continue finding herself. I want to see her learn and grow. I wasn't as attached to Marley. But the feelings Katie had for her and the loss of her made me really feel for her.

This was a quick read. It was a bit all over the place but enjoyable nonetheless. Katie was an interesting MC and I am curious as to why the author made her such a hapless and messy person. I wished we got more from Jamie as I found him the most interesting with his backstory and general vibe. I enjoy that there were some darker moments in this but it is definitely on the cozier side. Overall, if you are in the mood for a mystery this will fit the bill!

Play the Fool is an inventive cozy mystery featuring a tarot card reader who discovers her best friend's murder and sets out to find the killer.

Katie True is a bit of a hot mess. It's working a small job in the mall that she meets Marley, a take-no-prisoners, outgoing girl who convinces Katie begin soothsaying to make a little extra cash on the side. But when Marley doesn't show up to work and Katie takes a peak at a client's phone and sees an image of her best friend dead with a gunshot wound to the head, Katie soon discovers the cards don't hold all the answers.

Intercutting a mystery with the art and meaning of tarot was such a fun and imaginative way to bring in imagery and symbolism to the story! I enjoyed how the author chose to explain the cards and make them relevant to the moments in time they show up.

From the beginning I wasn't a huge fan of the narration or writing style in this book. I found it a little stilted, even though the action begins on the first page. I also feel like this is a case of mismatched marketing for Play the Fool, because while it is categorized as a mystery/thriller, it definitely reads more as a tongue-in-cheek cozy mystery (which can have thriller elements!) and for a book that walks the line between genres, I feel like the writing needed to be cleaner and less stylized. I also really found myself disliking Jamie from the beginning, his entire character felt shoehorned into the story and I just didn't find myself enjoying him or the romance set up.

Overall, I wish I had liked this more. I had high hopes for the novel because the premise was so interesting, but it just wasn't executed in a way that I enjoyed. I would like to think I would try another novel by Chern, especially if the concept is as inventive as this one, but Play the Fool wasn't for me!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, and Bantam for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.

Play the Fool- thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse this one rerelease today! It’s follows a cynical tarot card reader who attempts to solve her friends mysterious murder. A fun whodunit with some dark humor mixed in, this one sounds great!
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big thank you to @netgalley & @randomhouse for providing this ARC!
Happy Pub Day 🎉

Katie True is at another dead-end job when she meets Marley, a woman who also works in the mall and becomes Katie's friend over lunches.
While Katie isn't good at holding down jobs, she is good at reading tarot cards. When a man comes into the store she works at with a wound bleeding from his head, she tries to read his cards to give him guidance on what to do. When she takes a glimpse at his phone -because reading tarot is about reading people -she sees a picture of Marley dead. Now Katie is determined to figure out what happened.

I was so excited to receive this ARC since i’m an avid lover of tarot cards (my cats name is even tarot) and it did not disappoint!
I was on the edge of my seat needling to know what happened to Marley. I enjoyed learning about Katie, her life and her history with tarot cards. This was a good mystery with a strong female character. I was blown away by the ending completely. solid read!

Katie True has a dead end job in a dying mall, and Marley is her friend who works in a store in the same wing. Or she did.
One day a suspiciously bloody customer comes in, and Katie does a tarot reading for him - a skill she picked up when around her Aunt as a kid. When he steps away she snoops on his phone for personality clues and instead sees a photo of her friend, with a shot to the head.

She needs to find out what happened, but it’s hard to get the police to investigate a murder when there’s no body, only she saw the evidence, and her own investigation keeps her popping up where she shouldn’t belong.

During her search for answers Katie finds out she didn’t know Marley near as well as she thought, ignored red flags, inconsistencies and half told stories because it was nice to have a friend. But she does find one helpful officer, and in Jamie’s off time they work together to solve the mystery.


There are a whole slew of side characters ranging for awesome people to The Absolute Worst, and some that changed my opinions along the way. The only thing holding me back from rating this book higher, was that I didn’t end up feeling an emotional attachment to them.

Katie using the people reading skills she honed reading cards to get information from people - better than officers trained in interrogation - was super amusing and probably one of my favorite things.

And no spoilers, but I really liked the resolution at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC

Inventive and entertaining take on the modern whodunnit, this quirky tale gives us an unlikely heroine you can’t help but fall in love with. When Katie’s new, mysterious best friend suddenly turns up missing, she must use all of her questionable and lackluster talents to solve the case. Thank goodness she’s up to the task.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

What a clever debut for a Lina Chern! Play the Fool does a good job of mixing together fun and mystery into a thrilling, captivating ride.

The plot does sometimes benefit from suspension of belief as the events could be a little unbelievable in the real world, but that’s also what made it entertaining. This was a book where I was content to just go with the flow and was along for the ride no matter the twists and turns. The characters were dynamic and well developed, making Katie’s world a fascinating one. I particularly liked the use of tarot cards and everything I learned about that world by reading this book!

This was a super fun read I really enjoyed it was super hooked from the first page couldn't put it down!

Katie is at work giving a man a tarot card reading when she decides to sneak a peak at his phone. What she sees is shocking and horrifying. It’s a photo of her friend Marley, dead from an apparent gunshot wound. She immediately jumps into her own investigation to find what happened to her friend.

The book is full of mystery, sometimes unbelievable, but that’s the fun in fiction sometimes. I really loved the first half of the book, but then it fell a little flat and picked back up for a good ending. The cover is gorgeous!

Thank you to Lina Chern, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.