As a person who loved watching mysteries, this book definitely had me intrigued. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the character of Katie and the whole tarot card aspect of the novel.

I was hooked by this story as soon as I read the description. I find tarot cards fascinating, and I was excited that that would be an element in the book. I also am a fan of whodunnit mysteries.

The beginning of the story was a little slow for me. It took a while to set the scene and sometimes there were flashback scenes that came out of nowhere. However, once the plot started to take off, I got more invested in the story. It definitely stressed me out a lot of the time. As a person who likes to follow the rules, Katie's decisions frustrated me to say the least. Some of it wasn't the most believable, but it's a story so I was all for it. I liked the way tarot cards were used through Katie's perspective, and I liked a lot of the side characters like Owen and Jamie. I had a couple of guesses as to where the story/plot was heading...and some were right, while others were vastly wrong. Overall it was a nice read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy for an honest review

This book reads like the cozy mysteries that our grandparents love, just with a lot more curse words. Like many cozy mysteries, I felt somewhat neutral about this. I really liked Katie and her brother Owen; they made a great pair. The mystery started off strong as well. I think the book ended up being a little too corny. There are a lot of occurrences that add a certain charm to the book but are too unbelievable. While that sort of trope is fine in small doses, the book asked me to believe a lot of things that felt too wild. I would have liked the side characters to be more fleshed out, as well. They almost felt cartoonish in their personalities.

This was such a fun, entertaining and lighthearted book! Even though the story felt a bit chaotic at times, it was still an enjoyable and comfortable read. Katie in certain points was hard to root for, but towards the end I warmed up to her. Thank you for this fun arc!

When it comes to mysteries and thrillers, I'm more a fan of the Lee-Child-Harlan-Coban type action-packed mysteries, and it's what I'm used to reading. I felt the ending was a little obvious, you'd have to not have been paying attention through most of the book to have been surprised. But other than that, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this cozier, more "wholesome" (to the extent a book involving murder and very colorful language can be wholesome) mystery novel!
I enjoyed the tarot card facet of it, I thought it played well into the plot. I did find Katie unreliable at times, but not to the point where she made the reading unenjoyable. I also felt at certain points towards the end that there were one too many plot twists and unannounced back and forths through time.
Otherwise, like I said, I had a good time with this book!

Play the Fool by Lina Chern is a fun, relatable, engrossing crime mystery. Katie isn’t good at anything, except for reading tarot cards. Finding herself working at a Russian Tchotchke store after coming home failing at living and schooling in Chicago, Katie finds herself caught up in the mystery of her only friend being murdered. Growing up is the worst, even as someone who has a passion and life always feels chaotic. Any younger post college adult will be able to relate to her emotions.

I really wanted to like this book but ended up not being able to finish. The main character was so unlikable that I just couldn't relate to her.

When she suspects that her friend has been murdered Katie True takes on the case to find out why. I truly enjoyed this book. Katie's been kicking around just getting by doing odd jobs and reading tarot. When her friend Marley goes missing she starts trying to find her. But who really is Marley and what were her secrets, Katie may be in over her head and that might have deadly consequences.

Play the Fool has a way of pulling you right in from the very beginning. I absolutely enjoyed Chern’s writing style. And while Katie is a true Hot Mess, she does have a way of worming her way into your heart. I think this book absolutely SHINES when we’re following Katie foolishness and her sleuthing but really starts hitting an uncanny and ask for a lot of belief suspension when the police start becoming involved. At the 50% mark though the story really began to drag for me which is so unfortunate because the first half is so compelling. While this book didn’t fully give everything the first half did, I honestly really look forward to any future work from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my honest review!

LOVED this book. The Tarot card connection, the dying shopping mall setting, the imperfectly perfect characters. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read what Lina Chern writes next.

Katie is a quirky, lost middle child in her late 20's. She moves aimlessly from job-to-job with no real direction. The story begins with Katie working at a trinket shop in a dying mall. She spends her time at work playing with her tarot cards and eating her lunch with a new friend, Marley, who works in the store across the mall. As Katie is performing an impromptu tarot card reading at work, she discovers a startling photo on the customer's phone of her friend, Marley, dead by a mall dumpster. This discovery launches Katie on a search for Marley's killer.

Although I did not feel Play the Fool was a thriller, as listed, it is an intriguing mystery. We meet Katie's diverse siblings, explore her relationship with her parents, and meet some other interesting characters along the way. I found myself immersed in the plot and loved the setting. The author does a fabulous job of interweaving tarot cards and their meanings seamlessly into the book. This is a strong debut by Lina Chern!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions stated above are my own.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Katie is working at the local mall where she befriended Marley. When her friend is murdered, she uses everything at her disposal to solve the case. I liked this book.

3 stars.

The good:
The early dive into shady characters and unsolved mysteries creates some intrigue. The dilapidated mall as a primary setting also creates a unique set up for a cast of customers, workers, and owners.

The not-so-great:
Katie and Marley's unlikely friendship creates more questions than it offers answers. The two seem to be outcasts, but even their friendship is a sad testament to their personalities. Katie is just an unlikable protagonist for me. Her impulsivity and mess ups aren't endearing, but annoying. It also makes the possibility of a romance with her seem incredibly farfetched. Marley is an underdeveloped character, and the hometown element doesn't quite fit with the story.

I kept waiting for the tarot cards to play a significant role, but it instead felt like unnecessary noise that was just supposed to make Katie more unique.

The story itself was ok. I figured out a large part very early on, and there never seemed to be enough twists to satisfy me.

Overall, it was fine. Not great. Not wildy disappointing. Just fine.

**Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Katie True has been down on her luck and works in a mall where she meets her new best friend, Marley. One day Nico, Marley's boyfriend, stumbles into the shop where Katie works, and she does a reading on him and finds out that Marley has been murdered.

From the beginning, I was instantly hooked; it was hard not to be. I enjoyed the mystery and Katie solving the puzzle for her friend. About 50% in, I started to get bored and wanted the story's pace to pick back up, but overall for Lina Chern's debut novel, this was a great idea and executed well.

I enjoyed the tarot card aspect of this story. Katie does readings for people and visualizes different cards while interacting with people. I haven't read many books with tarot card readings in them, and it was nice to get the meaning of various cards and have them intertwined with the plot.

Thank you, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Kathleen Quinlan, for providing an eARC of Play the Fool. This review is being left voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.

When I think of thrillers; I think of suspenseful and scary. I wouldn’t put this in that genre. I’d say this is more of a cozy mystery book. With that being said, it’s a good book. It held my attention enough and the plot was really good. I would recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries. My one critique is the big reveal at the end. I feel like I remember the name popping up once or twice in the book but clearly it didn’t stick with me so I feel like it should’ve been a big a-ha moment but for me some of it missed there. This was a fun, cutesy mystery with lots of sarcasm and humor!! I admit to laughing out loud a few times. It was a fast read and I enjoyed the story, even if it was somewhat predictable. Katie was a very likable main character. She reminded me a little of Stephanie Plum, finding herself in many awkward situations that blew up in her face or backfired. Overall really great read!

P.S.

This cover s till makes my heart SO FREAKING HAPPY!

Thank you NetGally and Random House Publishing Group for an early ARC of Play the Fool.

I flew through this book and was hooked from the beginning. This is the perfect spooky/October read. I really enjoyed the aspects about Tarot reading, mystery, and the flashbacks centering around Katie and Marley’s friendship. Definitely recommend for those who enjoy mystery.

While I'm not typically a reader of mystery novels, I was intrigued by the story's plot... and promptly finished within 2 days.

"Play the Fool" is told from the perspective of Katie True - a young woman who's run into her fair share of difficulties. She hasn't found a career path her family approves of, and is back in the suburbs of Chicago where she grew up working at a Russian tchotchke in the local mall. Katie's always had an affinity towards the tarot cards though, and when one customer appears in her store to have his fortune read, Katie finds on his phone a photo of her friend Marley Callaghan, shot and killed. Despite their unconventional friendship and Katie's own lack of authority, she partners with a new-to-town cop named Jamie to help unravel what happened to her friend.

The underlying story is uncovering the mystery of Marley's death, but the bulk of the novel focuses on Katie herself. We get to see firsthand her complicated relationship with her parents and successful realtor older sister, her closeness to her brother Owen, and even her developing relationship with Jamie as they continue to work on this case. While some of the plotlines around the crime and its involved players got a little too tangled for me (possibly too many external characters?), I nonetheless kept reading as I was invested in Katie and her own outcome of events.

I really enjoyed Chern's writing style: to-the-point, honest, and candid. She crafted a protagonist that felt true-to-life and relatable, and one that readers will root for throughout the rest of the novel.

Fast paced, easy read. Should go over well for our patrons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This is the first book I have read by Lina Chern and it definitely won’t be the last! This story about a tarot card reader who unintentionally gets caught up in an investigation was well written and hooked you early on. The ending made me want to go on another investigative adventure with the characters rather than have their journeys come to an end.

Katie True is a quirky, cynical, down on her luck cashier at a mall novelty shop when Nico comes in. He’s been beat up and he’s highly anxious, pacing the store. Katie, who dabbles in Tarot card readings, convinces him to allow her to read his cards for $20. When he uses the restroom, she looks at his phone as a way of gleaning information about him for the reading, but instead she finds a picture of her best friend, Marley, with a bullet in her head.

Katie bungles her way through amateur detective work trying to solve Marley’s murder. She is exceptional at reading people and this serves her well in her investigative endeavors. She’s a likable protagonist and I was rooting for her to succeed.

This book is entertaining and lighthearted, albeit a bit juvenile for my taste. I give it 3 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.