Katie is a tarot card reader and she discovers that her friend is dead. Katie starts poking around to determined to figure out what happened to her friend when she gets too involved and it becomes dangerous for her.
I had a hard time getting into this book but as I kept reading it started to catch my attention. Very few people had hopes in Katie so it was nice to read about the people that did believe in her at the end.

Play the Fool was an okay mystery novel but not for me. There was too much that I didn’t enjoy and the ending was lacking excitement. I admit I really love good endings. I can see other readers loving this, it just wasn’t my style. There wasn't much suspense and the novel was pretty lackluster in my opinion.

Sypnosis:

A cynical tarot card reader seeks to uncover the truth about her friend's mysterious death in this delightfully clever whodunit.

I loved the characters in this mystery. Everyone felt really well developed—suddenly intrepid sleuth Katie, her allies, her suspects, even the total side characters (one off and recurring). It made a seedy, criminal underworld mystery feel surprisingly "cozy". Of course, I found the whole central mystery wildly obvious and telegraphed, but I guess you can't have everything.

Mysterious? Tarot? Sign me up! This book was a very fun read--not usually my type of mystery, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Actual rating 3.5, rounded up for the gorgeous cover.

I don't know a lot about tarot cards, but the blurb caught my attention and I decided to take a dive into Katie's world. Very fast read, definitely one for the beach read lists. Not the most realistic, more of a fun interpretation of a murder investigation, if that makes any sense. A few twists, but nothing you won't see coming. Generally enjoyable.

My thanks to Random House/Bantam, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bantam Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Spice Level: None
Gore: Mild (not actually on the page at the time of events)
Language: Kinda rough in spots (at least for me)

There were a couple of chapters where I was confused if Katie was going off in her imagination—and I usually don't get confused unless I'm reading too fast. But it only lasted for two scenes, so I wasn't overly worried about it.

I wondered how the tarot deck would weave into this story and if there'd be a supernatural feel to it. Nope! Katie really is a cynic and is better at reading people than the cards. Haha. Though she pictures cards when she meets people, and that was a lot of fun to see her perceptions and the actual. And she was a master at talking to surly people, as witnessed through her friendship with Marley.

It was interesting how Katie latched onto Marley—who is older than her, world-wise, and frankly, kind of a drifter, half-punk, loser. Of course, Katie is at loose ends too, especially with the expectations of her go-gettum' family.

Is there a romance?
Sort of.
Jamie is the cop who keeps working with Katie on the mystery, but it's not like their hormones are raging or they're thinking about each other more than the key element of the story—the murder. Is there such a thing as romance adjacent? Or the slowest burn ever? Even though I'm kind of laughing here at myself, their "love interest" between Katie and Jamie does add a roundness to the reading experience that makes it feel more life-like. I think their connection added to the story.

This story wasn't what I expected at all, but it was a good surprise.
I recommend this book for mystery readers who want something between cozy and grizzly.

Play the Fool is a debut—you're going to want to keep your eyes out for her next book. There could be a sequel, even though this one stands alone.

Happy reading!

I really enjoyed this story, though I will say I kind of predicted the ending in a way. I loved getting to know the main character, who was perfectly flawed (I love an unreliable character). I am not a huge romance reader but I would have liked to see Katie and Jamie's relationship develop even more before the end of the book. Overall I really liked this and would recommend it for a fun mystery!

Katie's in her late 20s and she's never been able to settle into anything but she's finally found a friend in Marley. Except that Marley has disappeared and Katie's seen a photo which indicates that she is dead. With a bullet hole in her head. Except that the police don't find her body and, it seems, Marley doesn't exist. But Marley's boyfriend Dom does (he's the one with the photo on his phone) and then Jamie, a sad detective, believes her. They set off on a quest to find out the truth about Marley, dodging danger along the way. I gotta admit I liked this for Katie, an inveterate tarot card reader who becomes the most dogged of investigators. Her neurodiverse brother Will, a graduate student, is a hoot and her sister Jessica does have a bigger heart than she wants to show. And Jamie, who left LA to come to this small town outside Chicago. Chern has cleverly left clues along the way that I know I missed until Katie herself realized they were there. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

I thought the tarot card angle was inventive for a mystery. It was fun to play with! The humor made this book different than all the other mystery/thrillers out there.

I have to say I adored Katie. The book is full of interesting characters. I loved the dynamic between her and Jamie. The mystery was fun and I didn't see the end coming. The tarot aspect and how Katie saw them was unique. I'm really hoping there is a sequel. I'd love more of these characters!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Play the Fool follows tarot card reader Katie True as she investigates her best friend's mysterious death.

A solid debut with decent writing, Play the Fool felt like a surprisingly standard mystery to me -- not wildly mysterious, but certainly an adventure to watch the main character unravel. I think I went in expecting more, particularly the use of tarot cards since they are such a central focus on the cover, but overall I'm not unhappy with my experience with this book. I think readers who like a predictable mystery with an interesting main character will find lots to love here.

Katie, who's on the road to nowhere has a shabby apartment, a crappy car and a joke of a job in a rundown mall selling imported goods. Her only friend Marley disappears one day and Katie is determined to find her. Mistakes are made.

What follows is a debut book that reads like a noir mystery tempered with tarot readings and 10cc's Not in Love throughout. I loved the characters so much: Marley (I can't give spoilers but Marley!!!), Jamie, the big city cop hiding out in the small town after a shooting mishap, Owen, the neurodiverse brother, Jessie the overachieving big sister, Max, the owner of the stoner place at the mall, Joey and Nico, members of the local "moving company." Katie herself is an unreliable narrator, unsure of herself, and muddling along, guided by her tarot deck. Lina Chern writes great dialogue and action, and the mystery had me guessing til the end.

I'm going to be recommending this one as a not-so-typical murder mystery, yes police but not procedural, friends and family relationship issues, hoping for a sequel, read the person not the cards kind of book.

I loved it!

This was a totally fun amateur sleuth mystery with excellent pacing. It had just the right amount of character development and plot, so I read it in one day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lina Chern for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Play the Fool coming out March 28, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Katie True believes a keen intuition and quick wit are necessities in surviving. After a failed attempt at living in Chicago, she’s back in the suburbs living a bit too close to her worried parents. She jumps from one short job to the next, and flipping through her tarot deck to plan her next move. Then along comes Marley.

Mysterious, worldly, and confident, Marley takes a job at the mall where Katie sells Russian tchotchkes. The two of them understand each other. Marley doesn’t try to fix Katie. Katie thinks that with Marley’s friendship, her life just might improve. Until the day when Katie, having been encouraged by Marley to practice soothsaying, reads the cards for someone who comes into her shop. When she sees his phone, she finds more ways to improve her clairvoyance. She finds a photo of Marley and a gunshot wound.

Katie’s world is shattered. Is her best friend dead? Who killed her? She realizes there are some things her tarot cards can’t see and she must put her instincts to work. But Katie finds herself in the crossfire of a danger she never saw coming. She must use her street smarts and her tarot cards to solve Marley’s murder. Will she be able to find the killer in time?

I did receive this book from NetGalley directly based on my other reviews. Overall, I liked this book. I thought the first half was fun. I think I was a little lost in the second half. I had the impression that this story was going to be set in a dystopian future of the United States, but then it kind of just felt like regular life with Katie having some clairvoyant powers. I thought there could’ve been a little more of Marley to get a sense of her personality and Katie’s friendship with her. I just didn’t feel like I knew her character enough. I think I would’ve liked to see more world building and understanding Katie’s gifts. I enjoyed the dialogue between the characters and I thought Katie was the most fleshed out character. I would check out other books by this author.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys coming of age Murder Mysteries!

A really fascinating read with memorable characters and an engaging mystery! I could definitely visualize Katie, Marlene, and the minor characters at one of the seedier malls near my area. One complaint is that the pacing felt a little slow.

The cover for this book is absolutely stunning and I loved the idea of this book. A tarot card reader trying to solve the mystery of who killed her friend? Sign me up! Unfortunately, this story was mostly great idea, not great execution. It's not a very long story. It's only 320 pages. So it should have been a snap to read, but I felt my attention wandering frequently. The story jumps around a bit between present day and very random flashbacks Katie, our tarot reader, has about her friend Marley. For the first chunk of this book, I wasn't sure why I was supposed to care about what happened to Marley. I didn't really feel like Katie actually cared about Marley as a person. We eventually get some flashbacks that try to show why Katie cares, but I feel like they still kind of missed the mark. The story read like a first draft. We started in what would normally be the first little twist in the story. I think it would have been stronger to give us the last scene of Katie and Marley chatting. Just to establish their relationship a little bit before the murder happens. I feel like I would have cared a bit more. Once we get into the story a little bit more, it's just fine? Katie gets a ton of leeway and access to police information, which isn't out of the norm for a more cozy type mystery. I think a lot of the problem really just lies with the characterization of Katie. She is the most negative of the Nancies, her inner monologue typically just makes fun and tears down the people around her and herself constantly. She has no drive, no ambition, which is fine, but she mostly just lets everything fall into her lap rather than actually go for anything. She just comes off a little bit pathetic. I wish I could say that she exhibits lots of growth throughout the story, but she doesn't really. She makes up with her sister kind of and eventually figures out what she wants to do, but it's technically been figured out by someone else entirely? I don't know. I felt like Katie needed more growth after having to read her kind of insufferable complaints the whole time. There's a vague will they won't they relationship hinted at between Katie and Jamie, a cop on the case. It was not necessary other than to explain maybe why she was able to get so much insider information about the case.
There are times where I was really enjoying a certain scene. I think there was promise in the writing. I checked the author's website, and they usually write short stories. This tracks with there being really strong scenes. I think there just needed to be more drafts and more editing to help pull together the space between the scenes and to keep this story interesting.
The last thing I want to mention is Owen, who is Katie's brother. We are not specifically told, but this character seems autistic and ADHD coded...but in the most stereotypical way I've read in a while. He doesn't understand boundaries, appears unempathetic, hyperfocuses on things for hours on end, blurts things out he shouldn't, Katie treats him like a kid when he's a full grown adult. It didn't feel right. I felt really uncomfortable about the descriptions of Owen.
The only other positive from this book was that I liked the little wheel of tarot cards in Katie's head. When she meets people she tries to assign them a tarot card, which I thought was interesting.
Sad to say this book did not work for me. 1.5 stars

Play the Fool is a fun whodunit. Katie was a really interesting character, her actions can seem rash but her intentions were always good. I was intrigued by the tarot cards and would love to see more than that. One thing that slowed me down was Jamie. He didn’t feel like his place fit well with the story. I would read another book about Katie to see how she grows.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing -- Bantam for the ARC of this book. The opinions are mine alone and given freely and honestly.

Katie True works in a Russian tchotchke shop in the local mall. She also has an affinity for reading tarot cards. A loner most of the time, she befriends Marley, who works in another mall shop. Her world is turned upside down when an injured stranger wanders into the shop and has a picture of Marley's dead body on his phone. Katie has to know what happened to her friend.

I wanted to like this book. The early part of the book moved a little slow bit pulled me in. The characters were interesting. Then the plot took a turn and tried unsuccessfully to be mysterious. I figured out the situation a little after halfway through. This book takes itself too seriously.

Katie's interactions with law enforcement are not believable at all. The actual crime is needlessly complex and again not belelievablem It just falls flat.

"Play the Fool" is an amusing tale about a young lady, Katie True, searching for her place in life and realizing she is capable of more than she (and others) believes. Katie is a disappointment to her family due to her inability to hold a job. She is talented with tarot cards and talented at reading people, getting them to reveal more about themselves than they intended. However, she does not know how to translate that into a successful career. However, when her friend Marley disappears and appears to have been murdered, but the police don't show much interest (as there is no proof of a murder), Katie has to use her talents, determination, and the tendency of others to misjudge her to solve the mystery.

Play the fool is a fun, light, mystery filled with sarcasm and self-depreciation. I thought Katie was very real, and I really related to her in a lot of different ways, she isn't perfect by any means and isn't really happy with what she's doing with her life. Katie knows what she wants but not exactly how to get it. When she meets Marley, Katie feels like she's met a kindred spirit. Marley doesn't judge or make her feel like less for working in a trinket store in the mall.

So when Katie sees a picture of a dead Marley on this strange guy's phone she knows that she has to figure out what really happened to her friend. This gets her into some trouble. Thankfully one of the police officers she met seems to believe her and actually helps her investigate. I really liked the cop Jamie, he's definitely a workaholic when we first meet him, but when he meets Katie things start to shift a bit, and they find themselves hanging out, well it was after she was threatened but it happened, and you could see the feeling developing between them.

I thought the mystery was good, I didn't have any idea what was going to happen from one moment to the next and had no idea how it was all going to end. I loved the tarot angle, and do wish we got a bit more of it, I also loved how Katie just kind of stumbled into all these clues, and ends up solving the case.
I will definitely be looking out for what this author writes in the future.