Katie's entire life is at a dead end. She's a tarot card reader in a run down mall, but instead of divining some stressed-out rando's future, she snoops through his phone and discovers a photo of her best (and only) friend dead behind a dumpster. But Katie soon discovers that almost nothing is what it seems. So begins her tangled quest to uncover exactly what happened, why, and what kind of dangerous characters she's dealing with.

This book takes place in a fictionalized rust belt city near my hometown in northern Chicagoland, and it was really cool to visit familiar landmarks. Our protagonist lives in the crappier part of town, where everything is rusty gray and weeds grow through cracks in the pavement. I appreciated that this grittier side of the midwest got some love.

And can we recognize how perfect Owen is? He's clearly neurodiverse, but it's not so much a "thing" as it is his character. He's loved. He's flawed. He's strong in his way. He's just... Owen. Pay attention other authors, because this is how you do it.

This book is extremely visual and fast paced. Strong characters in a unique -- if messy -- situation with lots of humor and heart along the way. If anything, I would've enjoyed even more tarot. This was a blast.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Katie True tried college and it didn't work out and is a working at a Russian tchotchke shop in a rundown mall, much to the dismay of her family. She carries a tarot deck she got from her Aunt Rosie in a velvet bag. Aunt Rosie taught her how to "read." the cards and people. She does readings from time to time for some extra cash. She has a new friend with the girl from the goth shop across from her, Marley. She feels Marley understands her.

One evening a man named Nico comes in looking like he has been in a fight and is agitated. She gets him to agree to pay her $20 to read the tarot cards. He excuses himself to the bathroom and while he is gone, she sneaks a peak at his phone and finds a picture of her friend Marley where it appears she has been murdered.

She can't let the sight of that picture of Marley go and feels she needs to find out what happened to her. Katie gets herself in the middle of a mystery with a lot of twists and turns. There are also some interesting characters she meets along the way. She gets some assistance from an interesting police detective, Jamie, recently relocated from LA and her brother Owen. Owen is my favorite!

Do yourself a favor and get this book! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. I am hoping there is a follow-up book.

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this book, since I feel like mystery books are such a hit-or-miss for me. It almost feels like there has to be this perfect balance of elements for it to work for me, and so often either the mystery is too boring or the characters aren’t engaging enough, and I just end up not caring. Luckily, this one ended up working perfectly for me, even if I still have a hard time pinpointing exactly why! It was one of those books that seemed to do everything exactly right, and I honestly can’t think of a single reason to not just rate it 5 stars, even if it didn’t clearly feel like a 5-star book throughout. It was one of those books that you realize after finishing was actually really wonderful.

One of the best things about this book was how easy of a read it was. It was so easy to just keep flipping pages, and I found myself breezing through chapter after chapter. I think this was due to just a perfect blend of writing style and character personality, to where it almost felt as if I was just in the main character’s head, thinking her thoughts. It was a nice break in a way too, because it felt like I didn’t have to think too much if I didn’t want to, and I could just sink into the story.

I also really enjoyed how quietly diverse this was, with so many characters just being queer and neurodiverse without it feeling like a Thing or a point that was being made. It’s always comforting to read a book like this, where it feels like these things are just a fact of life and a way that people are. It just added to the comforting atmosphere of the book for me, especially since I could relate a lot with the main character.

In general, this book was a cozy, comfortable one, which is funny, considering the entire book is a murder mystery and there’s a decent level of danger and tension throughout. I think it’s just the way it was all balanced and written, and it never felt like this comfort hindered the actual tension of the story, either. It just happened to work hand in hand.

Lastly, I also just really liked the family dynamics and how it played out here. While the main character doesn’t have a great relationship with some of her family, they’re still a constant presence in the story, either physically or just in the main character’s thoughts. I just really liked how there didn’t have to be a villain or obvious horrible person in the family for there to be tension and conflict, and I really liked how this was explored throughout the story. There was never a point where you could truly pin all the blame on someone, and it added a lot of nuance to the story overall, beyond just the familial conflict.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I really hope more people give this one a shot when it releases in March!


Review will go up on my blog on February 6.

Katie True's life isn't too good to be true. The "mess up" from an otherwise perfect family, Katie's just trying to find her place in the world. For now, that includes working at an import shop in the mall, living on her own but still too close to her mom and dad. Katie ends up befriending fellow wanderer, Marley, and the two strike up a friendship. The girls get along well, and Katie loves the fact that Marley accepts her for who she is. Trying to figure out exactly what she wants to do with life, Marley encourages her to just be herself and to enjoy her gift; reading tarot cards. Running her tarot readings, Katie gets more than she bargains for when a bloody stranger comes into her shop. When he goes to clean up his cut, Katie goes onto his phone in search of more information for his reading. What she finds is a picture of Marley, dead, with a gunshot wound through the head. Terrified for her friend, Katie jumps into action, giving herself much more than she ever bargained for. A tale of following your own path, Katie learns to read the cards as she works to help solve the murder of her friend.

Well written, believable until the end, Lina Chern kept me interested and engaged throughout most of the book. I loved how Katie went on a journey to find Marley's killer; all while finding herself in the process. I also liked the True family. I would definitely enjoy a book written all about them. Overall, not bad read!

Love love and loved this book! Can't wait to read more from this author!
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

2.5 out of 5 Stars.

The first 30-40% of this book was excellent. I enjoyed the introduction to Katie and Marley’s friendship, Katie’s mysterious past, and set up for the murder mystery. By the halfway point, everything was going downhill though. The plot just became too unrealistic and messy for my taste. So while I really did enjoy the beginning, it just didn’t stick the landing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a review.

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

Play the Fool is a screwball comedy/mystery about a new adult trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life in the Chicago suburbs. Katie True has a mysterious and fascinating friend, a throwaway job at a Russian tchotchke shop at the mall, and a family with normal family issues. When she accidentally sees a photo of her friend, dead, and starts investigating, an attractive cop enters her life as well.

As a suburban Chicagoan myself, I enjoyed the setting. The main character even mentioned one of my favorite places, the Bristol Renaissance Faire on the Illinois/Wisconsin border! The library plays an important part in Katie's investigation, always happy to see props from authors. The narrator is most definitely too stupid to live at times, as she is careless with her safety as she tries to figure out who killed her friend. Her relationship with her autistic brother is sweet and her rocky relationship with her sister believable.

Katie reads tarot cards, taught by her Aunt Rosie as a child, and is constantly both dealing and consulting her tarot cards and comparing situations to them. I’m not familiar with a tarot deck, so this meant less to me than it might to some readers, but they are a winsome touch that help define Katie. The book cover is very eye-catching.

The mystery is not terribly mysterious, and there is never any real sense of danger, but the cast of characters is fun. I sense a sequel in the future. I read an advance reader copy of Play the Fool from Netgalley. It is scheduled to be released on March 28 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

While the premise was very interesting, the execution just didn’t work for me. The mystery wasn’t really there, the characters didn’t interest me and the ending was a bit lackluster. Not a bad book, just not for me. I’m willing to give this author another try as I did enjoy the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Play the Fool: A Mystery” by Lina Chern ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Mystery Thriller/Family Dysfunction. Location: The Chicago suburb of Lake Terrace, Illinois, USA. Time: present.

Katie True is a cynical card reader who sees people she meets in terms of their tarot card equivalent. She’s been working dead-end jobs for 8 years, currently at Firebird Imports in a dying shopping center. There she meets Marley, who works at the mall’s goth boutique. She’s mysterious and worldly, and Katie hopes Marley can help her get through her current rough patch.

One day Katie is reading a stranger’s cards. She peeks at his phone and sees a photo of Marley with a gunshot wound in her head. Katie tries to investigate, and her recklessness puts her in danger. After she’s caught sneaking into Marley’s empty house, she forms a tentative agreement with Detective Jamie to find the stranger with the photo.

About 1/3 through, we see a subplot of the hot mess that is Katie and her siblings. Her sister Jessie, the anxious overachiever. Her brother Owen, clearly on the Autism spectrum. Author Chern doesn’t label him; she lets us experience his single mindedness and lack of understanding of social nuances. And Katie herself, smart but easily distracted, completely disorganized in life, drifting through life with no friends except her oddly blank relationship with Marley.

Author Chern describes learning disabilities and disability spectrums without naming them. She creates really outstanding images through her prose. For example, Katie sees tarot cards flashing by in her mind until one stops and she focuses on its meaning. This method of corralling her scattered mind through images is similar to techniques used by people with learning disabilities.

Chern’s plot, however, could use some corralling- it’s pretty scattered. And her off-kilter characters can be a bit much. Setting the story in a dying mall was a unique twist. She leaves a lot to be learned about characters like Jamie, making one wonder about sequels. It’s 3 solid stars from me.🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️ Publishes March 28, 2023. Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam, and Lina Chern for this early copy.

I loved this mystery that plays with tarot tropes. Katie is an excellent character with a deep soul and her reationships have interesting dynamics. As she works to solve a murder she may find more than she expects.. Such a fun read, I couldn't put in it down.

Are you looking for a fun, fast paced and action packed book? Then this book is for you! We immediately jump into a crazy story in the first chapter! I loved how much this made me laugh, and also panic at the same time.

What I enjoyed:
- this was a fast paced read! I was able to finish this in one evening
- I loved the MC. Even though some of her choices made me panic
- I loved the mystery! And i couldn’t figure it out
- This had me laughing! It was the perfect book for a book rut

3.5 stars out of 5! Rounding up to 5. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was the kind of novel that you sit down with and finish in one evening, however, that evening is actually 6 hours long because you didn't check the time or pace yourself and well...you'll be tired the next day but it'll be worth it. The main character made some decisions that had me fearing for her life while simultaneously yelling at her for making dangerous choices (is this how my parents feel?). But she made me laugh and relate. Like, really, really relate...finding your path is hard. Having the 'perfect' siblings is hard. But I wanted Katie to succeed and find happiness and maybe hit it off with that nice cop she met. I loved the writing style, and the main characters, though frustrating at times, were interesting. I loved Katie's abilities with the cards and how she used them like a superhero.

This book immediately puts you in the action. I devoured this book in two days it was so interesting. I loved the tarot card element and the twist at the end. I will say it was a little dragged out in places but I loved the gritty-ness of the story itself. Even though there was some loose ends it was still such a solid story.

Good and fast paced read. The author does a good job at immersing you in the world of their story telling.

Thank you Random House, Ballantine imprint, for the ebook copy of Play the Fool by Lina Chern. This is a solid win for mystery fans who like the blend of mystery, coziness, and humor, somewhat similar to Dial A for Aunties. The humor really worked for me as did an engaging quick plot that lead to a solid conclusion. Thank you for a delightful early 2023 cozy winter read!

A bit all over the place, if I'm being honest. I think some of my finishing it was a love for where it started, and a hope that I see more from the author and maybe in this world. Overall, worth a shot, but it's likely to be one I have to recommend with some strong heads up,

This book is hilarious even as it's a murder mystery! Katie works in the mall and meets Marley, an enigmatic woman a little older than she is, but they become fast friends. Katie loves tarot cards and is adept at "reading" them even as she admits she really just "reads" the person and tells them what they want/need to hear. So when Nico comes in to her store and she happens to see a dead Marley on his phone, she's worried and isn't sure where to turn. As she gets involved with Jamie, the detective, she isn't sure where the truth lies as she somehow gets in situations that make her look guilty as well. I can see this as a madcap adventure movie as I raced through it to see how it would resolve itself!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

2.5/5 stars! Loved the cover of this book. Loved getting to know Katie. She gave me tough, bad*ss, quirky vibes, like many of CN Crawford or KN Breene's characters. My problem with this story is that it didn't know what it wanted to be. Was it a mystery? Was it a romance? Was it a dark comedy? It didn't know, which left the story disjointed.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was a really intriguing book. Katie is back in her small town after not finding success in Chicago. She is working in a store in the mall and develops a friendship with Marley. Marley encourages Katie to continue her tarot reading. Unfortunately while reading one day The Tarot cards for someone Kati sees a picture of Marley and it looks like she’s been shot in the head. From here on we see Katie trying to find out what happened to who she considers to be her best friend.The characters are quite intriguing and it’s really interesting to see how Kati changes throughout the story. It has lots of twists and turns and the ending is surprising but yet satisfying as well.

Play the Fool is a quirky, somewhat cozy mystery that takes place in the suburbs of Chicago and features a failure to launch young woman named Katie True who is a really talented tarot card reader stuck in a series of endless retail jobs. She gets sucked in to the murder of a fellow mall worker and proceeds to involve herself in solving the crime along with a love interest cop.

The initial two thirds of the novel have a great set up with interesting characters and a mafia hit-like crime. However, the story at this point sort of faltered for me and I felt like the author rushed to tidy everything up. The relationship between Katie and Jamie seemed forced and extremely platonic. There is zero spice in this book.

The ending was predictable and I felt like the theme of the tarot cards that was so well integrated in the beginning was lost by the end.

A quick, fun read for a new, younger generation of cozy mystery lovers. Although safe for your grandma to read, the characters and storyline will not be relatable to the older crowd.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bantam, and Lina Chern for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.