Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I received access to this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

I chose to read this story because it had an interesting premise and a solid start. I was fascinated by Katie's use of tarot cards to rationalize her world, and thought the mystery was intriguing at first. I also enjoyed the large cast of characters and how none of them were perfect, as well as the snarky dialogues present throughout. However, there were some aspects of this book that were a bit frustrating to read. The side romance seemed both underdeveloped and unnecessary, and the second half dragged compared to the first half before summing up the story with an ending that I personally found unsatisfactory. Overall, I felt like the book didn't live up to the premise, but there were numerous positive aspects of the reading experience and I do think others will enjoy it more than I did.

CW: murder, blood/violence

First, thank you so much netgalley for the opportunity to review this book,. Though I’m very late on so many books. I hope this year I can cut that down and probably won’t request for a while.

TW: death, blood , suicide ( just brief mentions but still)

We’re following Katie true, a tarot card reader who believes her friend Marley is missing . Basically we’re following along as she tries to unravel what’s going on( pretty short.)

I really like Katie True voice and character she’s so real. I also love the focus on friendship and how they met and such. It really gives us - the readers, a look into friendship and how much Marley impacted Kate’s life. We see her family and how Jamie the only one who’s helping her so far. Although let’s be honest she’s a pain in the a** to him. Despite that each character has their own goals and accomplishments . It’s like we’re in the each moment, awkward ape not.

There was very little I didn’t like the awkward conversations, and so much more. But also a very picky reader so stuff like people assuming that two people are in a relationship bother me. Cause i don’t care for but it at the

I’d have to my favorite character is definitely Katie true, we get to a huge change throughout the book. Plus she’s just really relatable and shows how not every mc has to have their life together.

Overall I was worried cause I’m not a huge fan of tarot card. I just find them pretty. It would be daunting read with me needing to look up EVERYTHING. Because as much as I love reading. A book that throws so much information on a reader really impacts them for future books. But nope, it was a digestible read with witty characters whom all come to life with their own personalities and conflicts.

I’d definitely recommend if you love really realistic characters, dry humor, existential crises everywhere and the thrill of a lifetime that come with the mystery in this book.

this was a solid read! the taro and murder mystery aspects were really fun to read and see put together in a book. overall, it was just that: a solid read. I'm not usually a mystery reader, so this may have affected my reading experience but will definitely be sharing it with others who are interested in the genre!

Play the Fool is a very enjoyable debut and a book I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys the "hapless amateur detective" type of mystery. It’s a fun book to read. The characters were all interesting, but I began to get confused by some of the names. It was a fun light read and I especially enjoyed the tarot card parts of the book, the way she would see the cards in her head and was able to bring them in to her current situation. I would definitely recommend this to someone who wants a quick read, with a little action and light hearted fun!

Play the Fool is a very enjoyable debut and a book I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys the "hapless amateur detective" subgenre of mystery/thrillers. Main character Katie True is a young woman who feels like a failure at almost everything she's ever tried to do. The one ability she's confident about is her ability to read tarot cards, and by extension her ability to read people. When she's giving an impromptu reading for a sketchy guy one day and sees a picture on his phone of her only friend laying by a dumpster, apparently dead, she gets neck deep in investigating what happened. In her efforts to ensure her only friend receives some kind of justice, she starts to open her heart and expand her life. I started the book being sort of annoyed at Katie's lack of effort in participating in her own life, but by the end I was rooting for her. I was also really pleased with the way the central mystery was resolved -- some twists I saw coming, some I didn't, and that's a really enjoyable twist combo for a seasoned mystery reader. And as a tarot reader of many years, I really enjoyed how connected Katie was to the cards and how they informed the way she interacts with the world and the people around her. Very well done. Looking forward to more from Lina Chern in the future!

i liked this one! i can genuinely say i’ve never read anything like it and i wanted to dive in as soon as i saw the cover. i think it’s a bit juvenile compared to mysteries i would typically reach for, but it’s absolutely a fun read. the characters were all interesting, but i think with so many characters introduced it can become a bit convoluted. katie isn’t my favorite main character, and genuinely drove me up the wall with some of her choices. she did bring me back around in the end, and as frustrating as she can be, you really can’t help but root for her. this is a perfect fun mystery to cozy up with.

thank you to randomhouse publishing group and netgalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review!

This was a fun, light read with memorable, lovable characters. I enjoyed the tarot card aspect of the novel and felt for the main character as she struggles to define herself. I will recommend it to friends who want a quick, fun read.

This one captured me with an intriguing premise involving Tarot cards and I loved the cover art. Overall it was just a 3-star for me, enjoyed reading it, but would not reread it. It was pretty fast-paced, however, some of the relationships and story were way too rushed at times. I think the story came together overall, but again, I didn't think there was enough character development or even plot at times. I did like the autism representation in the main protag's brother, Owen. The author never said he was autistic, but as a parent of a child on the spectrum, it was easy to decipher. I related to him most of all probably. Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for allowing me an ARC of the book for my honest feedback.

This was a pretty good book. It was unique and it kept me entertained and engaged. I'll definitely be on the look out for more by this author.

I love a mystery, and Lina Chern's "Play the Fool" jumped right in, giving readers a story to untangle. Katie True's lackluster life quickly becomes full of nonstop thrills when her best friend is murdered... maybe? Viewing everything through the lens of her tarot cards, Katie works to figure out what happened to her friend in an engaging and fun story.

I was drawn to this book by the cover, and I loved the angle of having a (not so cozy, I suppose) mystery with a tarot card reader. I liked that the main characters weren’t perfect, and don’t even try to pretend they are. I’m not quite sure on the whole plot line being wrapped up, I felt like there were some loose ends there. There were a lot of characters introduced that you need to keep track of, which could be hard with the main character bouncing all over.

Katie can’t commit to any job or career. She had held a bunch of low expectation jobs over the years since she moved back to her hometown from Chicago. And now her one friend from her job at the mall is missing, so she turns to her trusty tarot cards to try and figure out what is going on.

"A cynical tarot card reader seeks to uncover the truth about her friend's mysterious death in this delightfully clever whodunit, "a delicious blend of suspense and madcap humor" (Library Journal, starred review).

For Katie True, a keen gut and quick wit are just tools of the trade. After a failed attempt at adulting in Chicago, she's back in the suburbs living a bit too close to her overbearing parents, jumping from one dead-end job to the next, and flipping through her tarot deck for guidance. Then along comes Marley.

Mysterious, worldly, and comfortable in her own skin, Marley takes a job at the mall where Katie peddles Russian tchotchkes. The two just get each other. Marley doesn't try to fix Katie's life or pretend to be someone she's not, and Katie thinks that with Marley's friendship, she just might make it through this rough patch after all. Until the day when Katie, having been encouraged by Marley to practice soothsaying, reads the cards for someone who stumbles into her shop. But when she sneaks a glance at his phone, she finds more than intel to improve her clairvoyance. She finds a photo. Of Marley. 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."

I'm always here for the mystical and murder!

“Sometimes, you just have to
Play the role of a fool to
Fool the fool who thinks
They are fooling you.”
(Unable to find the original source)

Katie True is a young woman who consults tarot cards for personal guidance. As a child, she learned how to read tarot—and people—from her aunt; skills that lead her towards a career in tarot card reading. Back in her hometown after another perceived failure, she has a dead-end job, a dump for an apartment, no friends, and family that think she should be doing more than working at a Russian Emporium in an empty mall. All she has is her brother Owen, until she meets and befriends Marley: a woman of mystery. When Marley disappears, Katie finds herself using her skills of reading people to aid in her investigation of Marley’s fate (and past). Along the way, she deals with kidnappings, organized crime, drug running, and a varied cast of characters. She also finds a renewed purpose in life.

The title references the Fool tarot card which can indicate a new adventure, a new beginning, innocence, youth, idealism, and lack of commitment: words and phrases that perfectly describe Katie. However, the title can also mean to feign ignorance; or to act like a buffoon.

Play the Fool is the debut novel by Lina Chern. However, you could not tell by her writing. She gives us intriguing characters, a solid plot, excellent prose, and humor. The book is well-paced and twisty.

I highly recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bantam for the opportunity to read and review this fun read.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an advanced copy of this mystery featuring tarot cards, growing up and learning to trust one's self as well as what the cards show.

Detectives who use the power of magic and divination, or at least pretend to, have been solving crimes for a very long time. To tell someone their future, one must understand their present, and that means a keen eye for detail, and the ability to get the person talking and sharing. Great detectives share that secret with great seers, and/or great con people, as most prognosticators tend to be. One can claim powers from beyond, but sometimes seeing how a person reacts to simple questions tells a person more than the spirits ever could. Or maybe the detective/ tarot card reader has a real gift. Play the Fool by writer Lina Chern features an aimless young lady, with a gift for tarot on her first mystery, and possibly a better future.

Katie True is back in her hometown after an attempt at living in the big city of Chicago, working as a clerk in a Russian souvenir shop, and wondering where and when life went wrong. Katie's only real friend in town Marley works in the Hot Topic- like store across the mall, and is the one bright spot in Katie's existence. Marley just is, not judgy, but supportive, fun, mysterious and different. Sunday is the deadest time in her dead end job and Katie is running a quick tarot reading for herself in order to stay awake. A customer who looks like his day has been worse than Katie's enters and on the spur of the moment, Katie offers him a reading for twenty bucks. Katie's Aunt had done readings in the carnival circuit and had taught Katie how to cold read people, and give them a fortune, that might mesh with their life. The only future that Katie sees in this reading though is trouble and Katie is suddenly right in it.

The book has a lot going on, though it sounds like a cozy mystery, this is a little violent for a cozy, with a bit of romance, and Bildungsroman. Katie is a little petulant and annoying in that sitcom way that makes woman characters seem like children in the beginning, but does grow as a character as the story goes on. There is a little bit of suspension of belief also, but that is common in most mysteries and a lot of stories, so that was fine. I did like Katie better as she seemed to grow into herself, and the mystery is good, as is the story that accompanies the tarot cards. Actually I enjoyed the tarot and its descriptions on how to read people, the most.

Recommended for readers who like mysteries with characters finding themselves and learning to get along with what life gives them. I am not sure if this is a start of a series, but I would be interested to see where Katie is going, and more about tarot cards.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Play the Fool.

Katie True is a typical middle child; she works an aimless job, adores tarot cards, and is still figuring out her path in life.

When her only friend, Marley, is murdered, she pulls a Nancy Drew and commits to solving the murder, committing to one of the only things she's ever done in her life.

But will it get her murdered, too?

Katie is a likable character; a bit of a mess, not focused but decent, not unkind. She's not sure what she's good at yet, tarot cards for sure, but can't quite figure out what she wants in life, not unlike so many of us.

When she teams up with a kind police detective, she gets more than she bargained for, and realizes trying to solve Marley's murder and learning her true identity would lead Katie to finding her own true self.

The writing is good, from Katie's first person perspective with an easy flow and rhythm.

The narrative isn't very suspenseful or thrilling; the pacing is a bit slow as Katie gets into misunderstood shenanigans and leads her own Nancy Drew investigations, getting into trouble time and time again.

Some of the scenarios require serious disbelief suspension, not the least being how quickly the cop pulls Katie into his confidence and how fast they develop a friendship.

There's a twist at the end I didn't see coming (part of the disbelief suspension) but by that time, it was easy to go along for the ride.

This was a good debut with a character you can relate to. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Katie True is simply moving her life from one dead-end job to the next after losing the one job she's ever truly enjoyed; reading tarot at a cafe.  With solid intuition and sarcasm, she does her absolute best to keep herself afloat, even if that's just working at a Russian import store and befriending a woman named Marley who works at the store right across from here. Though they become fast friends, Marley is short with her answers and keeps most of her life close to the chest. When a man stumbles into her store one day, acting extremely weird, she offers to read his tarot cards. In an attempt to get a feel for him, she sneaks a peak at his phone and discovers a photo of Marley, with a gunshot wound to the head. Katie puts her instincts to the test and starts to stalk the man with the photo. She soon discovers there is far more to Marley than she ever thought, and it might be putting her life in danger. 

Lina Chern's Play the Fool uses tarot references to help the characters come to life. For those who have only a passing knowledge of tarot, this can be fun an interesting. Katie is an interesting character, but there were multiple times in this book where all I could think was "please make better choices, girl."  The mystery in the book is enjoyable, but at times feels longer than necessary and sometimes falls back in on itself.  Truth be told, I'd rather have had an entire book with Marley as the main character than Katie. Still, Play the Fool is an enjoyable read. 

Play the Fool is available March 28th.

Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher. My review opinion is my own. I enjoyed learning about the protagnist Kate and her somewhat questionable talents as a tarot reader. This is a unique cozy and the first time I have found a cozy with the protagnist as a tarot reader. Kate is stumbling through a do over in life and has found she can make a marginal living reading cards while she avoids the opinions of her parents . When she finds out a friend was murdered she is on the case and determined to solve this mystery.

The mystery kept my interest to conclusion. I like the supporting charcters who I hope will continue in the next in series. kate is a fairly in mature protagnist and has a lot of growing up to do. A interesting theme cozy.

Interesting premise but kind of felt bogged down in the middle. I felt like the characters had a lot of potential but weren't really fleshed out. It was an okay read.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Unfortunately not my cup of tea. The premise sounded interesting, but fell flat in practice. Certainly not a bad read, but think we can pass on this one for the collection.

A mystery where a tarot card reader investigates the mysterious murder of her best friend. I was expecting for this to pull me in a lot earlier/more than it did. It’s a decent mystery but I think it didn’t live up to its potential.