Play the Fool creates a fun mystery with a magic twist and splash of humor to create a very different type of mystery.

Lina Chern creates a cast of characters that are a mix of humorous and wacky and give this book an identity that sets itself apart from other mystery books and makes me think of stories such as Inherent Vice and even Fletch with the blend of suspense and humor. The characters have dry wit or wacky identities and this brings us into the world of Play the Fool and helps us set it apart from other books in the genre.

If I can say any negative part of the book it would be the characters because while Chern creates some great characters that stick with you throughout, others either fall flat or are second thoughts. I love the characterization of Katie and Marley as well as Max and Jamie but other characters just didn't stick with me or make that impression.

Overall I really enjoyed Play the Fool and am excited to see where Linda Chern goes next, I just seem to see some great books in her future.

Short synopsis: Katie True is barely getting by, working one dead end job after another. While working in a mail gift shop Nico stops in to have his cards read, when she sneaks a glance at his phone she sees a photo of Marley dead by the mall dumpster. Now Katie is determined to find out what happened to Marley while keeping herself safe.

My thoughts: This was described as a witchy book, which it definitely was not. The clairvoyance was a fun add in to a Murder mystery and seriously kept me guessing throughout.

I liked Kate’s perseverance and unwillingness to give up her search for answers even when her life was at risk. And I loved how in the end she found her true passion and was upfront with her sister about it.

Read if you love:
* Murder mystery
* Tarot reading
* Who done it
* Hidden identities

Play the Fool by Lina Chen
Someone Katie True liked who she met working in a rundown mall is murdered. Katie is shocked and hurt by how little she knew about Marley but she still wants to find out what happened - she considered Marley her best friend. She recklessly puts herself in harm’s way. Katie has always felt like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole especially where her family is concerned. Her parents and sister are very successful, her brother is a genius with a personality disorder. But Katie feels that she has never stuck to a task or a job or a person which makes her more determined to find out who killed Marley.
Katie thinks in images of tarot cards. She has an old deck her Aunt Rosie gave her as a child. When she meets someone or gets ideas, images of Tarot cards pop in her head - her gut/ intuition working in a very unique way. The book started slowly but I really liked Katie so I stuck with it and I am very glad I did. A very clever mystery.

What a fun mystery! Loved the characters and the vibe of the whole book. Wish there was a bit more with the tarot cards but I still enjoyed it! Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

This truly complex novel was both hard to read and also felt like a breath of fresh air. Go into this one with nuance, and enjoy.

First off, thank you so much to #Netgalley, the publisher and especially the author for this ARC!

I loved that this book had pretty original aspects for a mystery book… I enjoyed the elements of tarot reading in the book and this book actually made me chuckle a few times ☺️ I will say that this book gets a little slow in the middle, nothing terrible, but boy does it pick back up for the ending and it’s worth it! I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future!

A fascinating and engrossing story! Katie True has kind of given up on life. She thinks there is one thing she is good at - reading people (and tarot cards). Kind of a loner, Katie is surprised to make a friend at the mall where she works. Marley is enigmatic and non-judgmental. When Katie sees a photo in a client's phone of Marley, dead with a gunshot wound to the head, she is shocked and determined to figure out what happened and who killed her.

This is a well-crafted, emotional, suspenseful, and satisfying read. Despite not being interested in tarot cards, I was completely drawn into Katie's world and read this in one sitting. I made the mistake of starting to read Play the Fool in the evening and had to stay up late to find out how the story ended. Katie's brother, Owen, is a delight. As a bonus, there is great chemistry between Katie and police officer Jamie as they collaborate to solve Marley's death.

Highly recommend Play the Fool to anyone looking for their next great mystery/thriller read.

Thank you very much to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

PLAY THE FOOL
BY: LINA CHERN

This is being marketed as a mystery-thriller, but I am going out on a limb, and after finishing it; saying it felt more like a cozy mystery throughout reading it. I am no prude, but it had a lot of course language in it, that lowered the bar for me. So if you are looking for beautiful prose here--look elsewhere. Otherwise, this has a really comfortable vibe to it, that keeps your interest and makes you want to keep reading, and not want to set this one down, once you start it.

It takes place in Lake Terrace, Chicago in a small suburb town. Katie True works at an old mall selling Russian baubles, and she has self admitted going from one dead end job to the next. In a store close by she meets Marley, whom the two of them start to hang out together. Marley is also disappointed to have moved back to the small town of Lake Terrace. What Katie likes about Marley is that Marley accepts Katie for who she is and where she is at in life. Unlike Katie's sister Jessie who works in Real Estate and often tries to encourage Katie to move up in her station of life and want more for herself.

Katie was taught to read tarot cards from her Aunt Rosie and Katie has been reading them since she was six years old. One day when Katie is working in walks a guy by the name of Nico, who Katie does a reading for him. She sneaks while he is not looking and peeks a look at his cellphone and she is shocked to see a picture of Marley dead. This becomes a quest for Katie to try to solve Marley's murder with the help of a kind detective named Jamie.

Why does Nico have a picture of a dead Marley on his cellphone? What could have happened to lead up to this tragedy? Is Nico the boyfriend that Marley was last talking of breaking up with? Katie soon finds out when she gets swept up in a situation that starts to spiral out of control, that everything is not what it appears to be. Katie quickly learns that she needs the help of Jamie, the nice police detective to help her solve Marley's murder. And that her tarot cards aren't enough to keep her out of danger.

I enjoyed reading this cozy mystery immensely. I had found myself thinking about it, when life interrupted my reading, because I happened to be busy the day I started reading this. I kept wanting to know the same answers that Katie did pertaining to Marley's sudden disappearance. I got contacted by the publisher to read this, and for that I am grateful, because this wonderful novel had not appeared on my radar. I would recommend this to those who love cozy mysteries with strong female protagonists. Katie is truly fearless, much to her detriment sometimes! This was a strong debut and I wish Lina Chern, my very best wishes for as wide an audience as this deserves.

Publication Date: 03/28/2023

Thank you to Net Galley, Lina Chern and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Bantam for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#PlaytheFool #LinaChern #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantineBantam #NetGalley

Katie True learned to read tarot cards from her Aunt Rosie - she is skilled to the point where she carries them wherever she goes for guidance... they've never led her astray, and she tries to use them..along with the assistance of a cop she befriends, in order to solve the supposed mystery of her friend who she knows as Marley.

There's a lot of mystery to Marley and Katie inevitably goes on a wild goose chase. It's a lot of fun in hindsight and makes you laugh to look back knowing the truth about the situation.

I appreciated all the tarot references and how quick the associations that Katie had was. I thought there were some fun moments and it was really fast paced. I think that this book would be well enjoyed by those who like murder mysteries or just a mystery-solving type of book in general.

I wish there were smoother transitions between past/present, as well as there was more connection with Aunt Rosie and the paranormal side of things - but it was a nice little story to consume that gave me a better insight into certain cards.

Thanks to Random House along with NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

What I enjoyed: I loved learning more about tarot card readers and the storyline between Katie True and the police detective. Katie is fun and whimsical and her character is fun.

What I didn’t enjoy: Mainly how the author switched between the past and present with no warning. It was really hard to follow and keep up especially in the beginning. Because of these issues I ultimately decided to stop reading the book about half way through – it was just too much too follow and it wasn’t the fun magical read I wanted.

Katie True has no direction in life, she currently works at a store in the mall, and has no higher aspirations despite her family’s pleadings. Her one and only friend is Marley, though Katie is much closer to Marley than Marley is to Katie. One day Katie is reading tarot cards for a man in her shop and stumbles upon a picture of Marley in his phone, presumably dead. Katie then sets out on a quest to get to the bottom of what happened to Marley even though everything she has is on the line.

I want to extend my thanks to the publisher, Random House, and NetGalley for my e-ARC in exchange for this honest review. Due to this not being a fantastic read for me I will not be sharing this review to my social media account, but am leaving only on NetGalley in hopes the publisher can see my feedback prior to publication.

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. I looked forward to what she was going to do next with each chapter. Very well written for a debut and I will definitely keep my eyes open for future books by this author.

Thank you to the author, Random House (for the email) and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun and fast paced story about a tarot card reader named Katie trying to solve the mystery of her friend’s murder. I liked Katie as the MC, she’s kind of messy and reckless, but it makes her relatable and funny. I also liked the tarot aspect and how it added to the whole mysterious vibe. However, I wasn’t super interested in the story for a while and I felt like I didn’t care much about what was happening. It does pick up a bit later on and I liked the way it ended, and it also gets points for making me laugh a few times. There are also a couple good side characters. I’m not sure if I would necessarily recommend this, but you may enjoy it if you’re looking for a quick mystery for spooky season or if you’re into tarot.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a stellar debut mystery novel! Katie True has no real direction in life and has no real purpose. In her late 20s all she has going for her is her job selling Russian tchotchkes at a dying mall. Katie really loves tarot reading but doesn't have the drive to really make a go of it. Her only friend and therefore her best friend, Marley, is someone she has only known for a couple of months. One day while sitting around at her work playing with her tarot cards, a customer comes in and is interested in having a reading. Katie just happens to look at his phone while he visits the bathroom and discovers a picture of her best friend shot to death. Katie can't let this go and decides to get involved and find out what really happens even if this means her own life may be in danger.

This novel was extremely fast paced. I read it in a day as I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. All of the characters were extremely engaging. Katie is not a typical main character as she really has no drive in life and is kind of a screw up. I also loved her family, especially her brother. He is autistic and it just lends authenticity to the story. Jaime, the cop that deals with Katie's case was also extremely likeable and I loved the chemistry that was building. Overall, this was a story that I think anyone would enjoy.

Thank you to Random House Publishing for this advanced copy.

This is Lina Chern's first novel? Well, please write more! It was a fun read. Whenever I thought I knew where it was going next, the roller coaster did another twist or flip. And if you know anything about tarot cards, the references to them made the story even more interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own.

I received an email that I was preapproved to request this title and after reading the synopsis, I was hooked! I LOVE a Whodunit story!

This book was clever when it needed to be to get a few chuckles and the pacing was fantastic. I love a fast paced book that I can fly through because my TBR is huge, so it's always a win when I can finish quickly!

The characters were very likeable and relatable and you become invested in them. They were developed nicely.

For a debut novel, this one was stellar and I will definitely be adding Lina Chern as an author to watch.

I highly recommended checking this one out when you have the opportunity.

Good book! This book had light suspense, intrigue, some action, murder, and a good who done it! The storyline was interesting and flowed nicely! I will recommend reading this book as it was worth reading! I enjoyed reading this book, I wouldn't say it was one of my all time favorite but still a decent read! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

As always thank you to Netgalley for this ARC and a special thank you to Kathleen Quinlan for sending this one my way! I feel like I have so much to say about this one! As someone who would call themselves an amateur tarot reader, I absolutely jumped at this book once I received it. A murder mystery along with tarot is exactly up my alley and this did not disappoint. If you know anything about tarot reading and the meanings of the cards, you can see and feel that Lina Chern really knows what she’s talking about here. Each card reference is pretty spot on. Each character, for the most part, gets a card assigned to them which gives you a great bit of insight into each of them, especially because Chern gives brief explanations for the chosen cards. This book feels like a labor of love.

Our main character Katie is our resident tarot reader and to be quite frank, she’s a bit of a mess. But God, she is one of the most relatable characters I’ve read in a long time. Katie is stuck at a point in her life where her failures have frozen her into not being able to move forward. She’s stuck at a dead end job feeling like she has nothing tethering her to life. The smarts that she does claim she has she feels don’t matter and Katie truly feels like she should be further along in life like her siblings. Even her family has sort of given up their expectations in her, which in a way has lead her to stop expecting things from herself which now leaves her in this dark sort of shame. I’m getting very carried away here. To make a long story short, Katie’s lack of fulfillment and purpose is extremely relatable.

This book manages to balance great character dynamics with not so slick detective work, among other things. It opens with a bang that will only leave you wanting more! Out on March 28, 2023, Play The Fool should definitely be on your To Be Read list!

This was a cute cozy mystery. Katie True finds out that her new best friend had been murdered and is determined to find justice for her. It was a little silly, but fun to read!

As soon as I got the email about this book from Random House, I knew I needed to read it for spooky season. While the book wasn’t actually that spooky, it was an incredibly fast-paced mystery with some pretty funny moments. I loved these characters and their development throughout the story. I can’t believe it’s a debut novel! Definitely add this one to your list!!

Thank you Random House & NetGalley for my advanced copy 🙌🏻

Play the Fool is a cozy mystery about Katie, a tarot reading who is down on her luck, living back too close to her parents in the suburbs. She meets Marley, and the two become fast friends. When Katie receives a picture of Marley with a gunshot wound to her head, she is determined to find out what happened to her.
I'm quickly realizing that cozy mysteries are some of my favorite books I've read. This book was fun, and didn't take itself too seriously. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, this one will be a fun ride for you!