As much as I love a mystery, this was more cozy then the gritty mystery I am used to. The main character sleuths to clear her friend's maybe involvement in an active police investigation. No protocol, just "tell us what you find out". The friend was shifty as all get out, it was hard to root for her. Some parts stuck, some parts were great. The tarot card readings were my favorite. Overa all it was a fun ride.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine Books, Bantam, and Netgalley . My opinions are my own!

I could not wait to read the second book in this series. And it did not disappoint.

Murder, mayhem, and mall-based mysticism? Yes, please! Let me set the scene: a strip mall. A psychic. A murder. And a protagonist who might be a little emotionally undercooked, but hey, aren’t we all? Tricks of Fortune is like if your quirky friend who reads tarot at brunch accidentally stumbled into a criminal conspiracy while trying to avoid her actual responsibilities. And honestly? It’s a good time.

Katie’s not your average amateur sleuth. She’s a hot mess with a deck of tarot cards and just enough skepticism to make her fun. She sets up shop in her sister’s strip mall and things are going great…until a beloved local cop winds up very dead and her best friend gets arrested. So, naturally, she grabs her Rider-Waite and decides to Nancy Drew her way out of the mess.

Does she have formal training? No.
Does she have a plan? Also no.
Does she solve the case anyway? What would be the fu in telling you that?

The book starts off with a lot of characters and I briefly needed a flowchart. But once it finds its rhythm, it clicks together like a really satisfying Tupperware lid. There are crooked cops, family secrets, and tarot spreads that somehow always say “girl, run.” The mystery itself is layered enough to be engaging but not so convoluted that you need to light a candle and meditate on it.

Katie’s tarot readings are actually useful, both in plot and character growth. There’s even a cool aunt named Rosie who drops wisdom like, “Sometimes the cards tell you what you don’t want to hear.” (Ouch, but fair.) If you’re into woo-woo with a backbone, you’ll appreciate the way it’s woven in. The woo-woo is explained as not really being woo-woo-y in the end.

This book is a mystery with sass, snark, and spiritual guidance on the side. It’s perfect for readers who want murder with their meditation and sleuthing with their sage smudges. Sure, it starts a little slow and occasionally trips over its own character count, but once it gets rolling, it’s a very entertaining ride.

The murder of a police officer shakes a small town, and his connection with a tarot card reader with an investigative itch to scratch makes her a useful resource in Lina Chern’s Tricks of Fortune.
With her life in a bit more order and a dedicated space for her tarot readings in her sister’s real estate office, where she also works and has larger tarot jobs curated by her sister, Katie’s found a rhythm to her days but misses being part of investigations and the exciting thrill solving the mystery provides. Life soon answers with the murder of Officer Peterson, who happened to save Katie’s life as a baby and is a notable figure in the community, whose crime scene doesn’t quite add up. With her friend Gina poised as a primary suspect for the murder, Katie is left to wonder just how much she really knows about Gina, who has always kept elusive about her past, while she rekindles her childhood friendship with the son of Officer Pete, Matt, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become a police officer, and she investigates alongside Jamie, who’s officially assigned to the case. Dredging up memories of the past while delving deeper into details of the case beyond the insights her cards bring her, concealed and surprising realities surrounding the people and situations around Katie are revealed, which changes her perception to guide her interactions.
With a more serious tone to the story than Play the Fool, but keeping hints of humor that shape Katie’s character, the narrative moves at a slightly slower pace while it maintains an air of mystery through a preserved opaqueness and obscured truth through enough plausible justifications that redirected attention until a breaking point is eventually reached that reveals all. The story is intriguing with real-world issues to confront while standing well on its own with enough details provided if readers pick this up without having read the first in the universe of Katie True tarot-related sleuthing, but it does help further contextualize her interactions with and the behaviors of other characters, like Gina, Jamie, or Owen, for those who have read the first book. The tarot element was more thoroughly integrated throughout this narrative than the previous story, perhaps due to a slightly more established business venture, even if not quite in the form Katie desired, as well as due to the backstory of how Katie learned tarot through remembered lessons with her Aunt Rosie, a complement to the nostalgic sheen to the case at hand. While there were significant elements to Katie’s character presented that would contribute toward development, such as being rescued as a baby, that offer an opportunity for growth, this, along with the flashbacks with Aunt Rosie, feel more introductory to character than something than included in a second story, making it feel a bit out of place or as if it were an afterthought included later to better explain the crime being covered up and how interconnected all the characters were with one another yet unable to comprehend what was going on.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Net Galley and Random House Ballantine for allowing me this arc. Unfortunately I dnf and could not connect. I found all the tarot card readings distracting.

Overall a good story.
Katie is drawn into sleuthing when her best friend, Gina is accused of killing the beloved police officer that saved Katie's life when she was a baby.
I love the use of the tarot cards to help solve the murder, and the characters are great. At times the story dragged a bit, at least in the beginning. I was glad I read through to the end though.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Someone has murdered the beloved community hero, Officer Matthew Peterson. But who would want to kill him? Gina Dio becomes the number one suspect: once a colleague of Peterson’s who left the police force under pressure. Her friend, Katie True, might tell you she still works in law enforcement, but mainly on the shady side (facts that don’t sit well with the police). To help Gina find the real killer, amateur sleuth Katie True will use the skills her aunt Rosie taught her: focus, intuition, empathy, and trust in her interpretation of tarot cards.

For our hero, Katie, tarot cards are a way to open and settle her mind. They allow her to approach a situation with her strength in nonlinear thinking. This serves well when working with her “partner” Jamie: friend, police officer, and maybe-someday romantic interest. His training in following leads and dealing with facts compliments her intuition. As the suspect list gets longer, Gina and Katie find they have links with the deceased and the suspects which may put them in danger. Yikes

This is the second installment in the Play the Fool Mystery series; however, you don’t need to read book one to follow and enjoy this one. With snappy dialogue and humor, this cozy mystery was a delight to read. I appreciate the writer creating a female character who is witty, insightful, and fearless, having grown from book one to book two. The secondary characters have well developed personalities, and the story rolls along; gaining speed towards a satisfying ending. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

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

Thank you to NetGalley and to Random House - Ballantine for the ARC of Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern.

I stumbled upon the first book in the series, Play the Fool, last week, and was pleased to receive an ARC to continue Katie True's story.

I would give this a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 here.

In this sequel, it has been a year and Katie now has her own tarot card reading office based out of one of her sister's properties. She's maintained her friendships with Gina and Jamie. Her brother, Owen, remains the heart of the book with his delightful intrusions into her personal space. Things seem to be going well, but then a cop who saved Katie from a car accident when she was an infant is brutally murdered and no one can seem to solve the crime. When Gina is accused of the murder, and with her past feeling like a focal point, Katie is onto a new case and into new danger.

Having read the first book so recently I think it feels in conflict with the sequel, or, rather, like parts of the second book should have been what established the first book and now seem out of place. The flashbacks with Gina's aunt explaining how tarot cards work would have been incredibly helpful in the first book, so it may have been a recommendation from other readers to do so for this one. For me, while helpful, it now just felt a bit out of place. Katie's backstory with Officer Peterson also felt out of place as this rescue seems like a very large piece of family lore that better explains some of her reticence as a human to "accomplish great things." It was odd for her all of a sudden to be a mini-celebrity where everyone recognizes her name vs the first book where everyone just thinks her name is fake. I also found myself a bit confused about the relation of the town where Officer Peterson worked vs where Katie now lives / her family lives and how Jamie gets pulled across multiple town departments - it didn't really track to me how they all align.

When it comes to the mystery itself, I think I solved it by about the 30% mark and then it was just a matter of the threads working themselves out as to the why. I think the ending part about the consequences this person faced seemed impossible considering the premeditated murder and timeline of how court cases work, and that really threw me off the story at the very end.

I did like the story, but I think there were some sequel growing pains here trying to overcorrect aspects of the first book to realign for the future of the series. I would still be interested in how the series continues and how Katie continues to grow into this new skill and in her friendships and family relationships. I appreciate that she uses tarot to read people, not to actually have a paranormal ability, and I like that it's used as how she views people and the world as opposed to being the reason the crimes are solved. Like I mentioned earlier, Owen is really the star of the whole series and he adds great levity to all of his scenes. Katie and Jamie are trying to protect their friendship by avoiding becoming romantically entangled, but their relationship is evolving regardless. Gina remains a mystery, and an interesting one at that, though I hope the third book isn't once again focused around her antics in relation to a murder and it expands outward.

4 🌟

Such a fun follow-up to Play the Fool!

Do you every gave stressful times in your life where you just want to pick up a light non romcom book and think about something else for a bit?! This book does just that. The mystery was mysterious enough. Solving a crime with tarot cards was a fun spin. Overall this was a fun book to escape from the real world for awhile.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

I was a huge fan of PLAY THE FOOL, and this was a welcome and satisfying follow up. I love Katie True's perspective and quick wit. She's a beautiful hot mess, but she's my beautiful hot mess.

When Katie True was a baby she was rescued from a fatal car accident where her parents were killed by Officer Pete. Since then, Katie has not had many successes in her life. She has also been constantly reminded of not wasting her life since she was given a second chance. Eventually Katie does become adept at solving mysteries through reading tarot cards taught to her by her Aunt Rosie (Evidently solving a mystery was in the first book in this series, which I did not read.) When Officer Pete is killed, Katie uses her tarot cards to solve his murder. Unfortunately, the interruption of chapters of Auntie Rosie teaching the meaning of the tarot cards bothered the flow of the book for me. Overall the ending was satisfying and I appreciate the eARC from Netgalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine Books. This review is my personal opinion. 3.5 stars

Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern is such a fun, sharp, fast-paced mystery with the kind of dry, snarky humor I love. The main character, Katie True, is exactly the kind of amateur sleuth I want to follow. She’s clever, nosy, a little chaotic, and somehow always in the middle of something she shouldn't be.

The tarot angle adds a cool twist without feeling overdone, and the mystery kept me guessing the whole time. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something new threw me off. The supporting characters are just as entertaining, and there’s this quirky charm to the whole community that made the book even more enjoyable.

If you like your mysteries with sass, secrets, and a main character who gets into a little too much trouble, Tricks of Fortune totally delivers. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book. The tarot cards were interesting to me. I just did not connect with this book. I am not sure if it was because I have not read the first book in the series or something else. I will be honest, I am also not really a fan of the cozy mystery genre.

The story follows Katie True, a tarot card reader who is using her cards to solve the mystery of Officer Pete, the same man that saved her when she was little.

The writing was a bit hard to follow. I felt that there was some lighthearted snark one moment, and then tense mystery moments the next, but they did not fit well. I truly felt lost at times. Characters felt a little one dimensional and were portrayed as Neurodivergent, but I took them as being a bit stereotypical.

This was just not a favorite. 3 stars.

This was a good read! I enjoyed it from start to finish and felt like it was an excellent addition to the series. I'm enjoying getting to know the characters and want to see more books about all of them.

Katie True is a tarot card reader. Her best friend, Gina, is accused of murdering the police officer that saved Katie’s life when she was a baby. She sets out to prove Gina’s innocence and find out who killed this beloved officer.

This was an interesting cozy mystery. I admit I didn’t really get drawn into the story until almost halfway in. There were so many secrets and lies that I had to find out how it all ended. I never read the first book in this series but had no problem reading this as a standalone.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine | Bantam and NetGalley for this ARC.

I really wanted to like this one. Originally, I very much enjoyed the first book in this series, Play The Fool. However, I feel like Chern lost her voice in this one. Katie was very compelling in her last story. Her journey felt like it was going somewhere at the end of Play The Fool, but did it? Her investigation skills might have improved, but her journey didn’t progress as much as I thought it would. The story itself felt disjointed and stiff in certain places. I see what Chern was trying to accomplish here with the dismantling of the ideal image of a cop, but it fell flat for me. The story almost felt too cop focused for me, when it should have been Katie True and tarot focused. The tarot elements are always fun, but I wish we could’ve had more of them. All in all, this one unfortunately wasn’t for me.

Katie True is at it again with her deck of cards and solving murders! This time she helps solve the case of a murdered police officer, one that saved her life as a child. He has always been seen as a great cop, but what skeletons does he have hiding in his closet? Maybe enough that Katie's tarot reading will do the trick? Or will Jaime have to help her solve this one?

Wow, what a twist! I was so excited to read this one, as book one of the series was a quick and fun little read. This one I found drug on a little bit and then wow, what a twist! I never would have thought what happened would have been done by who did it, and poor Gina, she takes the blame once again. I loved getting more background about Katie and here life. Her character continues to grow and develop and I just love her! Having her own tarot card reading office seemed fun while it lasted but I'm sure she will get business elsewhere when she is not helping Jaime solve crimes.

Thank you Random House publishing and Lina Chern for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Review will be posted on Goodreads and Fable on June 8, 2025.

Katie True finds herself in the middle of her second mystery when the police officer who rescued her from a car accident when she was an infant is found dead - a potential murder victim. Worst of all, her best friend is the prime suspect for the crime.

As Katie uses her intuition and tarot cards to try to make sense of the death, she finds herself learning all sorts of secrets about people she thought she knew.

I liked the flashbacks to when Katie was introduced to tarot cards by her aunt and liked the way the flashbacks fit into the plot. Katie is an interesting person who relies on intuition and who doesn't have her life together. Most of her family is successful and goal oriented. She is still exploring her possible future.

This was an engaging story.

What a fantastic premise for a cozy mystery! The idea of a tarot card reader diving into a murder investigation to clear her best friend's name sounds captivating. It's understandable that jumping into the middle of a series, even with a great setup, can be a bit disorienting when there are references to past events. It's a shame it didn't quite hit the mark for a re-read or to continue the series, but it's great that you still found enjoyment in the story!

In the second book of the Katie True series, we find Katie finally starting to live up to her potential... meaning, instead of failing her way through a series of dead-end jobs, she's now trying to make a living reading the cards. But the personal stakes of making her way in the world are immediately upped when her sort-of-friend Gina is accused of murdering Officer Pete, the cop who saved Katie's life as a baby in an incident that re-shaped both their lives. Officer Pete became a celebrity while Katie felt the pressure to *do* something with the second chance at life she was granted. As Katie tries to find the real murderer, she flashes back to her childhood learning to read the cards, in an interweaving of present and past that deepens our understanding of Katie's character and makes you want to root for her all that much more.

Lina Chern’s TRICKS OF FORTUNE won me over from the start. Despite being the second in the Katie True series, it seemed to work well as a standalone mystery. Katie is a free spirit who might not be expected to thrive in the hard-nosed world of crime. But she has a lot going for her. She is brave to the point of foolhardiness in her relentless pursuit for the truth and she has discovered the perfect vehicle for her natural highly developed intuition, reading Tarot cards.

The book switches back and forth in time from the present unsolved murder to a time in her childhood when her Aunt Rosie taught her the fundamentals of card reading. This book actually seemed like it presented material that would best have been covered in the first. Another reason I felt it was a good place to start in the series…

Chern’s writing really sparkles. Her insights into character, frequently wild descriptions and penetrating social observations are artful, often funny, making Katie a protagonist I’d like to hang near…except for that proclivity to be crime-adjacent…in which case, I look forward to reading more of her. That’s close enough.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bantam / Random House Publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.