Play the Fool by Lina Chen is her debut novel but you would never know that when you read it. This is a uniquely written whodunit that kept me guessing throughout the entire book. It is a fast paced mystery with humor mixed into it. The main character is a little reckless but she believes in Tarot Cards, which I did not know much about at first, but found it quite interesting and fun. I really enjoyed this one and it would be a good mystery/spooky read in October. I hope to see more from this new author.

Thank you NetGalley, Bantam Books/Random House and Lina Chen for this humoristic story to read and review. The opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley. #bantambooks #randomhouse.
#linachen. #playthefool. #arc. #debutnovel

I want to start off by saying that I think this is a solid murder mystery. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't really love it either. I'm not sure why, but I just didn't feel the sense of urgency that I typically like to experience when reading a mystery/thriller. The mysteries I enjoy the most keep me on the edge of my seat begging to turn to the next page because I just have to figure out what is happening. This book started out with an interesting premise and a good setup in the beginning, but it ultimately just didn't sustain the level of intensity I wanted. It didn't help that I saw all of the twists coming from pretty early on in the book.

My favorite thing about the book was the main character. Katie was an absolute mess. She couldn't hold a job, lived in squalor, and had no real plans for her life. She was super impulsive and just bounced from thing to thing. I was captivated by her hot mess of a life, and the main reason I kept reading was to find out what kind of disaster she would create for herself next. She did grow quite a bit, though, and learned a lot about herself from the things she experienced in the story. I also really loved how the use of tarot was weaved into the story through her character. She saw people and the world through the cards, and her instincts were fun to follow. I honestly wish the author had leaned even harder into the tarot/mystical aspect of the story, but I also liked the focus on how Katie had learned to pick up on clues and read people that way.

One of my biggest problems with the book was that I didn't find much of it to be very believable. From the start, I questioned why Katie would react the way she did to the supposed death of someone she barely knew. I get the sentiment behind it. She didn't really have any friends and thought she might finally have one in Marley, but it all just felt a bit too extreme of a reaction. Katie's interactions with the police also didn't seem very believable. As the story unwound, it just became more and more impossible for me to suspend my disbelief at some of the circumstances. Katie seemed to always get out of trouble easily even though she did some REALLY stupid stuff.

I also didn't think there were many compelling themes in this book. The standout issue was Katie learning to be true to herself and pursue her strengths and passions in her own way. There could have been interesting explorations into policing, but instead a nuanced commentary on how police handle cases like this one was swept aside for the cop romance. I get that not every book needs to be thematically complex, but it just seemed like a big missed opportunity.

Overall, this was an easy read with some entertaining characters and a decent mystery. If you are looking for something quick that isn't too complex and are able to suspend disbelief for a bit, you'll probably have a good time with this one. I was just hoping for something a bit more. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

A surprisingly enjoyable read! Katie is a tarot reader who is dissatisfied with her life. She meets another reader, Marley, and feels a strong connection. Soon after, Marley is murdered and Katie goes on a journey to find what happened to her and peels back more layers than she anticipated. The characters are memorable and the dialogue pops off the page-sharp and smart. Katie is a broken anti-hero almost but one you can’t help but root for her to find her redemption. The tone reminds me of Finley Donovan, but there is a surprising amount of depth to the characters and the ache in Katie. Admittedly, the conclusion is far-fetched but it does fit in with the tone of the story. I hope this is the start of a new series and I will be watching for the next installment if so!

Arc provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and clever debut from Lina Chern! I don’t read too many mysteries but I enjoy a classic whodunit. It took me a little to get into the story, but once I did it was hard to put down. I liked the addition of the protagonist being a tarot card reader; I think it added a unique element to the story. I found the main character to be a bit unlikeable at times, but I was still rooting for her. There was a quirky, sometimes unhinged, cast of characters and I enjoyed them all. I didn’t predict the ending, but I was hoping for a more shocking reveal. This was a fun read that explored some deeper subjects, such as loneliness and trauma, which added some depth to the story. Overall, this was an enjoyable reading experience and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

I enjoyed the first quarter of this book while we were still being introduced to Katie, the main character. Quickly this book started loosing itself and lacked everything needed to fully keep my attention and make me want to read it. 3 stars was being generous due to there nothing being overtly bad about it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

If you are looking for a book that has a mystery AND is fun, then this book is for you! Katie is working at the mall in a dead end job when she befriends Marley. Unfortunately, Marley ends up dead and Katie is the only person who cares to figure out what happened. Enter Jamie, the cute cop with a troubled past, who is willing to find the murderer.
This book has relatable characters! I also like Katie’s brother Owen. It is good to see a character on the spectrum who is an integral part of the story.
Many thanks to the author, Random House Publishing and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"Play The Fool" was an entertaining mystery by debut author Lina Chern.
The characters were well developed & interesting & the use of tarot cards
was unique.
The cover art for the book was stunning.
I would love this to be a start of a new series.

Play the Fool by Lina Chern is a fast-paced murder mystery, leaning toward cozy, but with an entertaining, edgy vibe.
The protagonist, Katie True, is a young woman who has been through a series of dead-end jobs in Chicago, and is now back living in her suburban hometown, and working at a gift shop in the local mall. While she has been an underachiever, her “gift” is telling fortunes with her grifter Aunt Rosie’s Tarot cards. When her new, and best, friend is killed, Katie feels compelled to rush head-long into discovering the identity of Marley’s killer, and of course, runs into all kinds of dilemmas involving gangsters and dangerous situations!
While Katie is a flawed heroine, with a quirky, world-weary cynicism, she is a sympathetic character with a warm heart and fierce loyalty to her family. No spoilers here: the action is pretty much non-stop, and the snarky humor is reminiscent of Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum mysteries.
I enjoyed the pace of the story, the ancillary characters, and the cheeky, contemporary, irreverent prose. Ultimately, this blundering heroine is rather endearing, and the story is engaging and enjoyable!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review

Play the Fool was a weird one for me. The most interesting thing about Katie True is her pack of tarot cards and her brother Owen. (Neither of those things featured enough) Oh and her so-called best friend is dead.

The story started off okay and had me hooked immediately. But then things just flattened. The characters are all one-dimensional, like card board cutouts. We have the slimy mob guy, the lugheaded criminal, a bumbly police force, and a protagonist that is impulsive and annoying. Honestly, I had trouble believing she was a late 20 something, and not a sixteen year old. The only character I truly enjoyed was Owen, the main characters brother. I did continue to read and finished to see how things played out and if my suspicions were right.
I am not sure who I'd recommend this to... not really a thriller, maybe a cozy mystery? It's not really cozy, though. Maybe a young adult cozy mystery... it's that a thing?

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

Katie sees Marley as her best friend, someone who helps her through her life of constantly losing jobs, her parents’ and sister’s never ending pressure, and her general dissatisfaction. But when Katie sees a picture on a customer’s phone of Marley shot through the head, her whole world upends. Suddenly Katie is trying to solve a crime, with the help of her tarot cards, her brother, and a police officer, and she is putting herself into more danger than she realizes.

This was a fun read, with a main character you really root for, and a great supporting cast. The ending was really well done. I recommend this book, and hope it becomes a series.

This is one of those debuts where you can sort of tell it’s a debut, in that the writing felt a bit forced at times and there’s kind of a lot going on. While I enjoyed the story and the mystery, the pacing was a bit off. Some reading sessions I couldn’t put the book down for wanting to know what came next, while other times it felt like a bit of a slog. 

Katie herself is a bit hard to pin down, and I would have liked to have a better sense of our main character and what she wants. Some of that feels intentional, since Katie doesn’t really know what she wants, but other times I just felt frustrated by wanting to know her better. I did enjoy how she sees the world through Tarot cards, and I felt like the author did her research and got those elements right, for the most part. It was fun to see the cards play a role in the plot and in Katie’s life. 

The plot is engaging and definitely kept me guessing about what would happen next, in a good way. It does all come together relatively quickly, but in a way that I personally found more or less satisfying, if a bit far fetched. I got the vibe towards the end that Chern might be setting us up for a sequel, and I think I’d definitely pick up a second book if so. 

In all, this was an engaging book but most definitely one that feels like a debut novel. I’m interested to see what we get next from Chern and hope that some of the things that made this less than a 5-star read get ironed out over time. 

I recommend Play the Fool to fans of mystery novels, Tarot lovers, and those that enjoy a novel that asks for some suspension of disbelief. Play the Fool comes out this Tuesday, March 28th.

3⭐️

This was an interesting read. I did enjoy the writing and there were some pretty unique turns of phrase that had me laughing. But the plot a bit flat for me.

Katie lives with a pretty mediocre life. She works a dead end job at the mall, lives in a crappy apartment, and avoids her family because she doesn’t want to deal with their disappointment that she isn’t living up to her full potential. Until one day she sees a photo of her best and only friend dead. When a he can’t get the cops to take her seriously she decides to start investigating on her own with the help of the one cop who believes her. But Nancy Drew she is not and more often than not ends up in hot water or handcuffs.

I really liked the idea of this book. I was excited by the idea of a perfectly ordinary person investigating a murder. I expected things to go horribly wrong and for mistakes to be made. I didn’t expect her to make the worst possible decision every single time. Like following a murder suspect into a house they just broke into.

I also didn’t really like Katie. I think as readers we like it when characters are flawed and relatable. But she was too flawed, she kinda just depressed me. She was just such a screw up stuck in a vicious cycle of constant self sabotage. And for the love of all that is holy, she needs to buy a second cell phone charger. The number of times her phone was dead drove me batty.

I did really like that she read tarot cards. It made her interesting. I also liked her overall growth throughout the book but thought the pacing was off. There were times when it felt like nothing was happening. But I would give this author another try.

I mostly read fantasy and science fiction but cosy mysteries are my second choice. The cover art for this one said it wasn’t going to be too serious or bloody a read. The description sounded cute too. I’m glad I got to read this ARC. It was a fun read watching the lead character bumbling through the mystery. I finished it in a single day.

🔮🔮🔮🔮 / 5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Group for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a great debut! I loved that the main character has a passion for tarot-card reading, which was a big part of the story/plot. The writing was great, and the story was pretty fast-paced. I enjoyed the banter between Katie (MC) and Jamie (cop), and Katie’s knack for getting into trouble was wild. Though some occurrences seemed unlikely, I didn’t get too caught up in that because I was thoroughly entertained!

I don’t know as much about tarot, so this was a very interesting read! I really enjoyed it though, and I don’t usually enjoy mystery. (Just my own preferences!) Very fun, and will definitely recommend!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Play the Fool by Lina Chern is a fantasy novel that was graciously recommended and gifted to me by the publisher. It follows Katie True, who all her life, has been considered a failure. Until Marley hops into her life, and persuades her to work as a clairvoyant with a knack for the cards. And all is well for Katie, until she stumbles upon a customer's phone that has a picture of Marley with a gunshot wound in the head. Thus sparking an insane adventure filled with tarot and trickery.

No. Just no. The first half of the book was amazing, in the sense that it kept you hooked on trying to find out what was even happening. But the later half was a swan dive into disappointment. Honestly, just skip this book unless you likes these kind of ones. I didn't even really know what was happening half the time. And don't even get me started on the writing style.

I had high hopes for this book, sadly I just didn't connect with it. I think it's a case of it's me and not the book. It started off a little unbelievable and with too many side stories going on in the main characters reflections. Additionally, feel like you never really get to know the characters the way you wish to.

Adulting is hard for Katie True. She is the only one in her family who is having trouble finding a lucrative career path, she lives in a run-down apartment, and she jumps from one job to the next. Right now, she is working at the mall selling Russian tchotchkes, which is where she meets Marley. Marley works at another store at the mall, and they strike up a friendship. One day, as Katie is playing with the deck of Tarot cards she keeps on her at all times, a man stumbles into the store with a head wound, looking like he is going to keel over. He eventually asks Katie for a reading, but leaves in the middle to stagger off to the bathroom, leaving his phone. Katie takes a look at it, and discovers a picture on there of Marley, in the alley behind the mall, with a gunshot wound to the head. The bottom falls out of Katie’s world. Her best friend is dead? Who killed her? She quickly realizes there are some things her tarot cards can’t foresee, and she must put her razor-sharp instincts to the ultimate test. But Katie’s recklessness lands her in the crossfire of a threat she never saw coming. Now she must use her street smarts and her inner Strength card to solve Marley’s murder—or risk losing everything.
This was fairly good for a debut novel. The writing reminded me a bit of Lisa Lutz's novels. The storyline was a bit over-the-top and you definitely had to suspend disbelief in order to just sit back and enjoy it. Overall, this is a solid 3.

Play the Fool is a debut novel from Lina Chern. This novel has rich elements of a mystery, thriller, and romantic elements all rolled into one.

Katie True is a quirky, complex character that is easily relatable, and at times a little frustrating. She’s working a dead end job, not meeting her parents expectations, and fumbling along the way.

During a tarot reading she realizes her new friend is murdered and she becomes an amateur sleuth to solve the crime. She dives in head first and chaos ensues. There’s also an unexpected twist!

Character development is solid. The cover is eye catching.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballentine for the opportunity to review this eARC!

*3.5 rounded up

Katie works in a Russian souvenir store in the mall, occasionally reading tarot for customers. Her only friend is Marley, who works at the store across the hall. When Marley disappears and Katie sees a picture on a client's phone of her dead body, she becomes determined to find out what happened. If Marley is dead, who killed her and why? And where is her body?

This is a fun investigative novel where a determined young women tries to solve the case of her missing friend. Katie is a deeply real character, who struggles with things most young adults will recognize from their own lives: what you want to do with your life, feeling like you're "behind" your peers, struggling to define your own definitions of being successful and happy in a world of mainstream societal expectations of college and career. This all backdrops a compelling mystery, adding depth to the story beyond the whodunit. Kate's understanding of people through tarot cards and their meanings was also a unique character touch that I liked.

Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of the romance subplot and I was more interested in Kate's character development than the development of their relationship. I don't tend to enjoy the "traumatized cop love interest and civilian main character work together to solve the case and fall in love" when it appears in mystery/thriller books, so it just didn't work for me; but that's more personal taste than anything. It ultimately didn't take away from the book. If you like that kind of dynamic, you'll enjoy this!

You'll like this book if you like mysteries, and it will especially resonate if, like me and Kate, you're in your twenties and trying to figure everything out.