To be honest it took a long time for me to get back into the groove with Chern's follow up to Play the Fool. There were characters I couldn't remember or it seemed like it should remember and I had to put the book down at one point and re-read spoilers from the first book to try and figure out what certain character's roles were supposed to be. Even with that, I still had a difficult time keeping some characters straight and beyond the main character there was not a lot of character development in general to make them super memorable.

That being said, I was really in to the plot, so I put my character nitpicking to the side and enjoyed the story and mystery itself. I didn't realize until the author's note at the end that it was (loosely) inspired by a real life case and how the people in the community were affected by it. I was able to see the twist at the end coming, but that didn't make it any less shocking or emotional.

If Chern keeps writing, I'll keep reading. Her mysteries are fun, and I'm a sucker for the amateur detective with the tarot reading making her stand out. That being said, I would love for her to start showing more attention and love to the other characters in the books especially if they keep reappearing.

A solid mystery, but a lot of characters. Hard to keep track of everyone at times. I would read more of the series, though.

I love coming back to Katie True, as she uses her knowledge of tarot and her ability to ask questions that the police can't to help her detective friend Jamie.. and potential future love interest, help solve the murder of Lieutenant Peterson. A man who saved her life when she was a baby, and seemed to be beloved by the community. But as we know, things aren't always what they seem behind closed doors, and Katie, Jamie, and Gia, since she's the one being accused of the crime, are one of the case to prove what happened.

I loved how determined Katie is and the depths she will go to, to protect her friends and her family. I loved the snippets we got from the past, where we see her learning tarot, and I thought the mystery was well-plotted. I had no idea where it was going or who the killer was going to be until it was all revealed at the end.
I hope we get more of Katie True and her Tarot Cards!!

Combining mystery and tarot readings, the Katie True is a winner. How Katie and Jamie, her cop friend, work together to figure things out is a great metaphor for living a full life. One part looking at facts and the other using your gut, or tarot cards, to fully understand. Even though I read and enjoyed the first book in the series, I did find the beginning of this book a little confusing with who all the characters were and their relationship to one another. Once past page fifty, I was hooked by the mystery, the tarot explains and by Katie, herself.

The second book in this series did not disappoint. I loved it. The mystery was solid, the crime aspect kept me hooked, and the whole thing just worked. It was such a fun and easy read, with the perfect mix of clever, cute, and suspenseful. Total page-turner. I flew through it and enjoyed every twist. Can’t wait to see where this series goes next.

I wish I had read the first in the series (which I do plan to do) to see how the relationships in this book began.
Katie True is a tarot card reader, and we do learn all about the cards, which was quite interesting.
Katie has an interesting family, and her childhood problems with her family show up in adulthood. Her sister Jessie is a successful real estate agent and tries to help Katie be more than a tarot card reader. Her brother Owen is a brilliant man on the spectrum and he is my favorite character.
She has a best friend, Gina, who was a cop, and another friend who is a cop, Jamie. He apparently met her in the first book when she helped solve a murder, and she does the same in this book.
The murder mystery is, who killed Matt Peterson a well loved cop who was famous for saving baby Katie after a car accident.
There are several red hearings and Katie does indeed help solve the murder.
This was a fun, though occasionally confusing boo. I do plan to read the first just to see how this started. I'll also be watching for the next book to see how Katie and Jamie may progress to an actual relationship.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. The opinions are my honest thoughts.

Katie True has opened her own tarot reading room, but the murder of veteran police officer Matthew Peterson shakes the community. He had saved her life as a child, so Katie is especially hit hard. On top of this, her best friend Gina is the primary suspect and her innocence isn't a given.

This is the sequel to Play the Fool. There, she used her intuition and knowledge of the Tarot to help solve a murder. It's in that book that we first meet her older friend Gina, who is prickly and secretive of the many twists and turns her past had taken, as well as Jamie Roth, the detective that she wound up working with. He's new to the area and an outsider, which means he and Katie have the most objective view of Officer Peterson. She uses her intuition and Tarot readings of those close to the crime, and learn more about him and those closest to him than she had ever cared to learn.

Within the story, we have the investigation, but also many chapters in the book open with Katie learning Tarot from her aunt Rosie, who was seen as the family flake. The cards tie into the connections she has with the people she's investigating, show us the meaning of the major arcana cards, and also give us a better look into Katie's psyche.

Tricks of Fortune is the second Katie True cozy mystery by Lina Chern. Released 1st July 2025 by Penguin Random House on their Bantam imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

According to the author's afterword, this is a *very* fictionalized story based on a real life true-crime case (with local repercussions and with which most readers won't be familiar). At any rate, it's a well constructed mystery, slightly more gritty than the average true small-town cozy, but not too much for the genre. Violence occurs mostly off-page and the language is moderately rough with scattered uses of the "f-bomb" but again, nothing too egregious.

It's not derivative at all, but fans of Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich will probably like this series too.

Four stars. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, home use, or possibly a binge/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

3.5 stars rounded up

This book started out strong and it fell a little flat in the middle and redeemed itself in the end. I really enjoyed Katie True and her tarot reading skills. I got lost within the mystery. I did suspect I knew who the killer was and some of the twists were good. This is the second in the series and maybe it is better to read them consecutively.

The much anticipated sequel to Play The Fool. The author delivers an entertaining mystery with quirky characters.
Katie True is a delightful character.
I appreciate the publisher/author for providing this complimentary advanced copy. The opinions shared in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lina Chern for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Tricks of Fortune coming out July 1, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I read the first book and liked it, so I wanted to check out the second book. I really want to love this series because I love the genre. Mysteries are a lot of fun. I just can’t get into the story. I would check out other books by this author.

I liked the characters and appreciated the twist, but prior to it, I thought this was a bit slow placed for me. I wish I would have realized this was an interconnected book, because I wonder if I would have liked it more if I had read the first book. If you like books with amateur sleuths, I think this would be a book for you.

I thought this was just as strong as the first book, although one does not need to read the first book before reading this one. That said, since the events of the first book, Katie True should be doing pretty well. She is doing card readings in an office that her sister has lent her, in exchange for doing office work for her sister. But she's bored. When the officer who saved her life when she was a kid is gunned down, she teams up with her friend Jamie to help solve the case (unofficially, of course). The mystery was a good one if somewhat predictable ("local hero is killed, but things are not all as they seem"), but the author did a good job of laying down clues so that I could figure out essentially what happened, so much so that I was yelling at her not to do something near the end, but I still enjoyed it. But I also liked that her relationship with her sister continued to improve (eventually), and they came to a greater understanding at the end. Additionally, there were scenes between Katie and Rosie, her slightly disreputable aunt who taught her how to read Tarot cards, that were sprinkled throughout that sort of went parallel with what Katie was currently processing and explained what each of the cards meant. I found this to sometimes take us out of the story, even if it was interesting. I'm not sure if there was a better way to do this, though. There was some continuing romantic tension (should we or shouldn't we?) that I suspect will continue into future books, but I hope there is more progress than there was in this book.

Overall, this was a solid cozy mystery, and I would recommend it to fans of cozy mysteries.

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

I really enjoyed how the tarot card meanings were woven into the story—it added a layer of mysticism and insight that complemented the plot well. I didn’t realize this was the second book in a series when I requested it on NetGalley, and while it worked well enough as a standalone, I do wonder if having more background would’ve deepened my connection to the characters and story.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book – all opinions are my own.

Katie True is a tarot reader who is finally starting to get her life in order. At least she is until her best friend gets arrested for murder, and she gets pulled into the investigation because the victim is also someone from her past.

I loved how twisty the plot is. Chern loves throwing red herrings at you, making you think you know what's going on, and then dropping a bomb that changes everything when you least expect it. It makes for a super fun reading experience that gets heightened by the sweet, slightly awkward romance between Katie and Detective Jamie.

Another thing that I enjoyed was how well the tarot and its readings are woven into what's happening in the story. It's not just a theme to make it stand out amongst a crowded genre; it's actually a solid part of how the story develops.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for the intriguing read!

This was a very entertaining read that I finished in a few hours.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

As a tarot lover, I was so excited to dive into Tricks of Fortune! The book weaves in fascinating incite and meanings behind the Major Arcana by Katie’s Aunt Rose in flashbacks in the beginning of many chapters, which was my favorite part of this book. I Liked how Katie, the main character, isn’t afraid to throw herself into danger to help solve the suspicious death of a police officer who was the town hero. She’s clever, reads tarot, and keeps things interesting.

That said, I do wish I had read the first book in the series, Play the Fool, before jumping into this one. I could tell there were important backstories and character dynamics I missed out on, especially when it came to Katie’s relationships. At times, the pacing felt a little drawn out, but again, that might have felt different if I had the full context from book one.

Overall, if you’re into tarot, quirky heroines, and mysteries with a touch of danger, this series is worth checking out, just maybe start with Play the Fool first!

Tricks of Fortune may start at a simmer, but once the pace picks up, it’s a rollercoaster of twists, sharp dialogue, and clever reveals. The mystery kept me hooked, and once it hit its stride, I couldn’t put it down. (I received an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) A smart, satisfying addition to the Play the Fool series!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Tarot
Language: Very sweary
Spice Level: Possible slow, slow burn romance
Readability: It will read best if you are already familiar with the characters from book 1.

TRICKS OF FORTUNE is a spread of murder, suspicion, and secrets.

I really enjoyed this one. The twists of figuring out who to trust and who is lying was a lot of fun. There are definite moments that are unsettling in this murder mystery. I wouldn't call it a cozy because of the swearing, but it's sort of a cozy because Katie, the tarot card reader, is working on solving it.

Katie is also navigating more friendships and a possible romance in this one that adds another level of complexity. The main focus of the book remains the mystery, and I think it's perfect for murder mystery fans.

I would be interested in hearing if you figured out whodunnit it before Katie did.

Happy (sleuthing) reading!

5 Stars! Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Katie has finally gotten her life together - she just opened her own Tarot Card reading store, and seem things to be back on track. That is until her best friend, Gina, is accused of murdering beloved local cop, Matthew Peterson. This crime shakes up the local community, and Katie finds herself in the middle of it due to her close personal ties to Lt. Peterson. Katie turns to her trusted tarot cards to help make sense of the crime and the suspects, but will they uncover who the killer is?

I really enjoyed this book! Lina Chern's writing was phenomenal - the book had the right amount of mystery, character development, and story progression to keep me hooked the entire time I was reading it. This book was really perfectly paced. This book is also a sequel, and I did not read the first book prior to reading this one. I was able to infer character relationships, and I liked this book so much I'm going to go back and read the first one!

On a personal level, I am also from the part of Illinois this story takes place. It was very fun reading a book that mentioned local things, and I could envision the setting on the story perfectly, as well as relate to Katie and the other characters.

If you're a fan of mysteries and thrillers, I recommend giving this one a read!