Play the Fool, Lina Chern
Play the Fool, Lina Chern
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Play the Fool
A Mystery

Author: Lina Chern

Narrator: Kristen Sieh

Unabridged: 9 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/28/2023


Synopsis

WINNER OF THE MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD • A cynical tarot card reader seeks to uncover the truth about her friend’s mysterious death in this delightfully clever whodunit, “a delicious blend of suspense and madcap humor” (Library Journal, starred review).

For Katie True, a keen gut and quick wit are just tools of the trade. After a failed attempt at adulting in Chicago, she’s back in the suburbs living a bit too close to her overbearing parents, jumping from one dead-end job to the next, and flipping through her tarot deck for guidance. Then along comes Marley.

Mysterious, worldly, and comfortable in her own skin, Marley takes a job at the mall where Katie peddles Russian tchotchkes. The two just get each other. Marley doesn’t try to fix Katie’s life or pretend to be someone she’s not, and Katie thinks that with Marley’s friendship, she just might make it through this rough patch after all. Until the day when Katie, having been encouraged by Marley to practice soothsaying, reads the cards for someone who stumbles into her shop. But when she sneaks a glance at his phone, she finds more than intel to improve her clairvoyance. She finds a photo. Of Marley. With a gunshot wound to the head.

The bottom falls out of Katie’s world. Her best friend is dead? Who killed her? She quickly realizes there are some things her tarot cards can’t foresee, and she must put her razor-sharp instincts to the ultimate test. But Katie’s recklessness lands her in the crossfire of a threat she never saw coming. Now she must use her street smarts and her inner Strength card to solve Marley’s murder—or risk losing everything.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Theresa

Katie True is at another dead-end job when she meets Marley, a woman who also works in the mall and becomes Katie’s friend over lunches. While Katie isn’t good at holding down jobs, she is good at reading tarot cards. When a man comes into the store she works at with a wound bleeding from his head,......more

Goodreads review by Trisha

I think this cover is so great! I love the card embedded in the bright blue! I wish I'd loved the book as much. The first third of the book was fascinating. I liked getting to know Katie and her wild life, her friends, her job and her apartment. I loved how she carried the cards around and how, somet......more

Goodreads review by Mallory

This was a pretty good debut novel. I thought the writing was good, although the story itself was hard to believe at times. I liked the humor but there were a few moments it went too far. I didn’t think the mystery was that mysterious, but it was a wild and bumpy ride. I loved the tarot card imagery......more

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!! This was such a fun murder/mystery! Katie works at this kind of strange store in the mall, among the many odd stores that can be found in malls everywhere. When a man bleeding from a head wound comes in, Katie offers to give him a tarot reading part......more


Quotes

“With a delicious blend of suspense and madcap humor, Chern’s standout debut is guaranteed to delight fans of Lisa Lutz [and] Alan Bradley, and readers who enjoy witty, fast-paced mysteries.”Library Journal (starred review)

“A sharp, unique, and memorable debut, Play the Fool is unlike any mystery I’ve read before—and that’s a good thing! Lina Chern’s voice shines brightly, and readers will be immediately drawn into Katie True’s twisty and gripping investigation. It’s a fantastic read.”—Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity

“Lina Chern’s Play the Fool pulls off a tricky blend of humor and menace that had me flipping pages like crazy. The mystery is fresh and twisty, but it’s her characters (and voice) that kept me enthralled. I can’t believe this is a debut novel, and I can’t wait for more.”—Duane Swierczynski, award-winning author of Canary