Tricks of Fortune

Katie True #2

by Lina Chern

Tarot card reader extraordinaire Katie True flexes her investigative muscles when her family becomes the prime suspect in a local murder in this exciting mystery from the author of Play the Fool

“A delicious blend of suspense and madcap humor” – Library Journal, starred review of Play the Fool

Katie True has finally gotten her crap together. It’s a miracle after the wild events of the last year, but she has her own tarot reading room now. The small space might be her sister’s unused real estate office, but it’s a start. Moreover, adulthood isn’t as exciting as Katie imagined, and it’s not long before she begins to miss the action of using her tarot cards for investigating murder, rather than answering trivial questions.

But when a murder of a veteran police officer shakes the small town, Katie is compelled to use her newfound investigative skills. Luckily, her partner-in-solving-crime, Detective Jamie Roth, is assigned to the case. Katie may be a useful resource in the investigation, as her family is quite close with the deceased after he saved baby Katie from the scene of a car crash.

It may take more than a tarot reading to solve this one, as Katie must dig deeper into her own past and rekindle a former friendship to help her this time around. Lina Chern brings another charming whodunit, following the same delightful characters, with a new thrilling murder to solve.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Thriller, Adult, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2025

About the author

Lina Chern is the author of Play the Fool, winner of the 2024 Mary Higgins Clark Award and nominee for the 2024 Lefty and Anthony Awards. A sequel, Tricks of Fortune, is forthcoming in 2025. Other work has appeared in The Marlboro Review, The Bellingham Review, Rhino, The Collagist, and Black Fox Literary Magazine. Lina has also written trivia questions, word puzzles for a TV game show, paranormal romances, dialogue for your favorite comic book characters, award-winning movie reviews, and poems that have been published and read by up to dozens of people.

Reviews

[Monica Hills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tricks of Fortune is the second novel in the Katie True series and it offered up another great mystery. Katie was saved by a police officer when she was a baby. The story catapulted both of them into small town fame. Now Lieutenant Matthew Peterson has been murdered and Katie's friend Gina is the prime suspect. Katie once again teams up with Jaime to figure out what really happened.

This novel dug a little deeper into Katie's past and how she got into Tarot cards. The reader also learned a little more about her past family. I also want to mention that even though this is a series, one could read this novel and enjoy the story without having read the first one. I did enjoy the first novel a little more than this one but I thought this was a solid mystery. There were hints of romance and many layers to the story. There were good action packed moments. The author also did a great job with the mystery as it took me awhile to put all the pieces together. Katie is such an interesting character and I really like that Tarot Card angle. It brings an interesting and unique perspective to the story.

Thank you to Bantam Book and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book because I love Tarot cards and a good mystery. But this fell flat for me.

The writing is all over the place. The tone swings wildly between serious and overly casual, with jokes that feel awkwardly wedged in rather than naturally flowing with the story. At times, it seems unsure whether it wants to be a tense mystery or a snarky commentary, and the result is a book that never quite finds its footing.

The descriptions don’t help, either. The author has a tendency to throw in adjectives that feel more like distractions than enhancements. Turning simple sentences into clunky, overworked messes. Instead of creating a vivid atmosphere, the writing often gets bogged down in unnecessary details that don’t add much to the scene.

“Rosie set her bowl of Cheetos on my mom’s pristine white couch and picked up the TV remote. The bowl wobbled like a top. Rosie put down the remote and made the bowl wobble again. And then again.”

“I tripped and fell against the post. The noise was a thick wall of danger, like a herd of predators rumbling through a forest.”

Then there’s the background information. SO much of it, and rarely in the right places. Instead of weaving details in naturally, the book dumps them in giant, momentum killing chunks that make it feel less like a novel and more like an impromptu lecture. It’s clear the author has done their research, but the way it’s presented makes the pacing suffer, pulling the reader out of the story rather than immersing them in it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing group for the ARC!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn, I love Katie True. She's absolutely hilarious, full of perfect one-liners that I wish I could say. I like that she is mildly self-conscious about her lack of ambition and crummy apartment but then makes zero moves to actually do anything about it. And I especially like that she has a growing group of people who accept that about her and meet her where she's at. Jamie. Gina. Owen.

The will-they-won't-they TEASES in this one were killer. Pun intended. RIP me.

I liked the mystery in this one better than the first - the whole community was impacted by it, even Katie herself. The stakes were high and it was hard to read about someone who starts off as a pillar of the community and ends up as the worst kind of scumbag. Katie goes through a lot mentally and emotionally (and physically!!! girl can't catch a break!!!).

I am already impatient for Katie's next adventure. (and maybe Katie's adventure with a certain detective wink wink nudge nudge).

Thank you to NetGalley, Lina Chern, and Bantam Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sue Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

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. Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jeremy Hornik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tasty little mystery that gets a bit deeper, about the stories we tell ourselves and the people we tell them about, even when they don’t deserve it. The main character is delightful, and the tarot deck plays a very interesting role.

[Jamey [Longhollow.Lore] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️’s

What has Katie gotten herself into this time? Book two pulls her into an even darker, twistier mystery, and once again she barrels headfirst into danger with equal parts wit, charm, and questionable judgment. Katie remains wonderfully relatable, even as I sometimes wanted to shake her into a little more self-preservation.

Her relationship with Gina continues to intrigue, still layered with secrets and blurred lines. The tension between keeping someone “safe” and deciding when the truth must be told threads tightly through their story. It’s messy, complicated, and all the more compelling for it.

What really stood out to me in this installment was Katie’s slow education in tarot through her Aunt Rosie. Each card feels like a mirror held up to her life - revealing lessons, connections, and the building blocks of the person she’s becoming. It’s a beautiful touch, grounding Katie’s chaos in something meaningful.

The romantic subplot simmers quietly in the background, growing at a natural pace without overshadowing the mystery. And the mystery itself is sharp and engaging, one you can’t help but puzzle through alongside Katie, even as she stumbles into dangerous corners.

This series continues to be fun, fast-paced, and heartfelt. If there’s a book three, I’ll happily be along for the ride to see what trouble Katie finds next.

A special thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy; All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Cindy Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my full review @robertsonsreadingrecs on instagram.

[Caraline · Rating 3 out of 5]

this one was underwhelming…
full review will be in my cozy mystery reading vlog…stay tuned!🤭

[J Kromrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

In "Tricks of Fortune", Lina Chern masterfully intertwines wit, intrigue, and a dash of the bizarre to create an intriguing mystery.

This latest installment in the "Play the Fool" series transports readers into a world where nothing is as it seems and every character harbors secrets waiting to be unveiled.

Set against the backdrop of a charming yet deceptively intricate small town, the protagonist—our endearingly quirky amateur sleuth—finds herself ensnared in a web of deception and treachery.

Chern's skill in crafting vividly lifelike characters shines brightly here; each individual is meticulously portrayed with quirks and complexities that make them jump off the page.

The narrative features clever dialogue and the protagonist’s sardonic humor.

As clues are uncovered and red herrings are discarded, readers are treated to a series of twists that keep the tension taut and the pages turning. Just when you think you've solved the puzzle, Chern artfully shifts the game, proving her mastery in keeping the audience on their toes.

Chern doesn't shy away from exploring deeper themes of trust, loyalty, and the often-blurred lines between truth and illusion. This lends the story an emotional resonance that elevates the story to a reflective piece on human nature and relationships.

"Tricks of Fortune" is a delightful concoction of suspense, humor, and heart. Whether you're a long-time fan of the "Play the Fool" series or a newcomer looking for a fresh and engaging mystery, this book is a must-read.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves a good puzzle with a generous sprinkle of cleverness and charm, and prepare for a journey filled with unexpected turns and unforgettable characters.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited to get this second book in the Katie True mystery series. I really enjoyed Play the Fool and was eager to see Katie's next adventure. But I'm not sure what my issue Tricks of Fortune was. I read it in two days, dropping all my other books to read it, but I was left feeling like there wasn't much here to the story. Normally when a whodunit is easy to figure out, the why becomes the meat of the story. I figured out the murder suspect early on, but I never felt the why ever coming to the forefront. It just felt like there was a piece missing.

My other issue with this book is that it clearly takes place about a year after Katie's first book, but I still get the feeling that she's a failure to launch character. It's obvious that Katie and her siblings are all neurodivergent and that character trait is reflected on throughout the story. But she doesn't seem to realize that she's an adult and that there are responsibilities. How is she really supporting herself and paying for her apartment and food and her car and her medical care. She talks about rich parents...are they essentially still supporting her? It just bothered me and felt like I couldn't pay attention to the plot. Her siblings also felt like two dimensional stock characters with ND as their only personality trait. Even the romance brewing with Jamie felt a bit tepid.

Overall, I just felt like the book was lackluster. I liked it just fine, but I'm going to forget about it by next week.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the arc for review purposes.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Tessa Talks Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you loved the humor, hijinks, and tarot-flavored mystery of Play the Fool, you’ll find plenty to enjoy in Tricks of Fortune. Book two in Lina Churn’s quirky cozy mystery series brings back our favorite reluctant amateur sleuth, Katie True, and once again throws her into the middle of a small-town whodunit—with a deck of tarot cards and a lot of heart.

Just like book one, I really enjoyed the blend of humorous moments and mystical vibes. Katie’s habit of interpreting people and situations through tarot cards is such a fun and unique character trait, and it continues to give the series its signature flavor. Katie herself is a delight—quirky, scrappy, and endearingly imperfect. She doesn’t always have it together, and that’s exactly what makes her so charming.

That said, I struggled a bit with the setting and logistics. The overlap of towns, jurisdictions, and Jamie’s role felt muddled, and I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how everything (and everyone) connected. It didn’t ruin the story, but it did make me pause and backtrack a few times.

Also, some of the storytelling choices didn’t land quite as well for me this time around. The new layer of Katie’s backstory—particularly the sudden revelation about her being “famous” for a childhood rescue—came out of nowhere and didn’t quite align with how her character was treated in book one. It made her journey feel a little uneven.

As for the mystery itself, the big reveal didn’t surprise me, and while watching the threads unravel was still satisfying, the final legal consequences for the villain could have been portrayed a bit more realistic, especially for such a serious crime. That ending was a bit disappointing for me.

All in all, Tricks of Fortune is a solid follow-up that keeps the spirit of the series alive—funny, heartfelt, and just a little bit magical—but some of its pacing, plotting, and character reveals kept it from reaching the heights it could have. I’m still rooting for Katie True though, and I’ll absolutely be picking up the next book to see what trouble she stumbles into next!

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

I greatly enjoyed the first book in Chern's Play the Fool series, following tarot card reader Katie True, and this book is likewise strong. This is a cozy mystery series with a darker edge: the language is coarser, the lewdness blunter, though still mild compared to a lot of other genres. The set up for this delves into police corruption right from the start: Officer Pete, the man made famous for being photographed saving young Katie from an accident years before, is murdered on the job. It quickly is clear that Pete was not the golden hero many thought him to be. Katie's close friend Gina is accused of the crime, and as Katie digs deeper, she finds things dirtier than dirt. The end is especially nice. I kinda-sorta guessed at the murderer, but things were more complicated than that, and I love when that happens.

[Paige Tiedeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie True returns in this gripping follow-up to help solve another murder — one that hits painfully close to home. This time, the victim is none other than the police officer who once saved her life as a child. As suspicion falls on her enigmatic friend, Katie turns to her trusted tarot cards for guidance in unraveling the mystery behind this shocking crime.

While the premise is intriguing and offers plenty of suspense, I found the pacing a bit uneven. The story felt overly long in places and at times lost focus, which made it difficult for me to stay fully engaged. Additionally, I strongly recommend reading the first book in the series beforehand — much of the character development is rooted there, and this installment doesn’t provide enough context for new readers to easily catch up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC. This title is set to be released on July 1st!

[Sharyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this quite a bit, great follow-up to the first one, which was just as fun. While I was into the story the whole way, what I like most is the narrator Katie and her deadpan, self-deprecating style. It's a murder mystery, but the author has a great sense of humor and I found myself laughing plenty. Looking forward to the next one.

[Patty (IheartYA311) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to follow, fast paced, and a fun story. The snarky main character is a hoot. I usually despise first person point of view, but I didn't mind it here. These books were a pleasant surprise.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[AndaReadsTooMuch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I promise I’ll get into the plot but I have to say this first. If there is not a restaurant named “Kabob’s Your Uncle” then this world is not complete. I spent a good couple of minutes laughing when I read it.

Okay, into the plot we go! I did not realize this was the second book in a series. If it had featured more prominently on the cover, I would have read the first book first. She does mention she solved a murder before with Jamie, so you aren’t totally lost. But again, I don’t know what I’m missing but it does FEEL like I’m missing key information as I’m reading.

I really liked the integration of the tarot cards into how Katie thinks about herself and the people around here. I especially enjoyed the flashbacks with her Aunt Rosie explaining the major and minor Arcana cards. (We could all benefit from having an Aunt Rosie.) And the way she navigated the myths around reading tarot. I appreciated that it was based in reality and not “fortune telling”.

The mystery and murder is baffling. Her best friend is arrested for killing the police officer that saved Katie’s life as an infant. There’s more than just a beloved neighborhood cop to the victim and Katie works to find out who really wanted Officer Pete dead. Trigger warning, there are themes that deal with sexual assault and sexual harassment that are key to the central story. They are not explicit, however you are the best judge of your tolerance for those subject matters. That said, I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I got immediately sucked in and blew through half of the book in a single afternoon. Katie True is engaging and not afraid to use dry sarcasm as a conversational weapon. I very much related to her as a main character. I feel like this is one people could easily underestimate. They shouldn’t. Highly recommend reading Tricks of Fortune when it’s available in early July!

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Tricks of Fortune.

I'd recommend readers check out the first book in the series before reading the sequel.

** Minor non-psychic spoilers ahead **

Katie True is back in all her messy glory and this time her BFF, Gina, needs her help to clear her name when she's wrongly accused of murdering a good cop.

But Katie has a personal connection with the deceased and when her investigation turns up dark secrets, she realizes her savior was never who he pretended to be.

But who is? And will that knowledge put Katie in danger once again?

I'm intrigued by tarot cards which is why I began reading this series.

Katie is a likable character, she's goofy, innocent, and is pulled into the investigation to exonerate Gina.

The narrative seems messier this second time around; we get flashbacks where we learn how Katie was taught to read tarot by her unorthodox aunt, Rosie, which disrupts the pacing of the story.

There are the usual suspension of disbelief moments when Jamie confides details of the case to Katie and how she uses tarot to figure out whodunit.

This gimmick is wearing out its welcome pretty quickly.

I enjoy tarot cards and tarot card reads for fun but I prefer my mysteries to be grounded in reality and police procedure.

[Homerun2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This is definitely an odd (in a mostly good way) mystery, featuring tarot card interpreter Katie True. Katie was rescued as a child from a fatal car wreck which killed her parents. The police officer and Katie got a lot of notoriety which hasn't altogether faded.

So, years later, when the police officer is found murdered, Katie is understandably interested. Her possible love interest Jamie is a cop and the dead guy's son is a cop, so Katie becomes entangled in the case. Her best friend Gina is detained as a suspect so Katie is motivated to find the truth. Gina is a burdensome character. She has a lot of secrets, some of them not very nice. Numerous people warn Katie off of her friendship but she won't listen although she has doubts of her own.

It's not a particularly straightforward narrative. Current chapters are interspersed with Katie as a kid learning about tarot (and life) from her eccentric Aunt Rosie. Katie hasn't quite found where she fits -- she is semi-sponging off her sister and doing odd jobs. The writing and reflections are quite nice, but Katie is quirky and so is the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Wendi Flint Rank (WendiReviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read with Tarot cards and magic.
I’m not sure I would read another because I was mildly
entertained but I feel like I had no idea about what the
Author hoped for the reader. The book left me feeling
confused and the word, bizarre, kept coming to mind.
The part I did understand is the murder, the connection,
but Katie was where I became lost.
While the characters seemed nice, I was lost, likely
because I was unprepared, as I did not read the first
book.
By the time things were wrapping up, I remained
lost~I understood the gun but again, I felt lost…
My thanks to Bantam via NetGalley for the download
copy,of the book for review purposes.

[Just Blue Through Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 down from 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.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows Chern’s Edgar winner, Play the Fool, which introduced Tarot card reader Katie True. While I haven’t read the first book, this one still did an excellent job of weaving Katie’s origin story into the plot. As the book opens, Katie, who runs a tarot reading business out of her sister’s real estate office, is stunned when her friend Gina is arrested for the murder of local hero cop, Matthew Peterson, better known in town as “Officer Pete.” Not only is Katie rocked by Gina’s arrest, she’s rocked by the death of Officer Pete, who famously rescued baby Katie True from a car wreck and saved her life.

As she grew, Officer Pete had checked in with her, telling her she had been saved for something extraordinary. While Pete may have meant well, Katie feels not only is this far from true, but she’s pretty much failed at everything: college, jobs, relationships. Her little tarot reading place in her sister’s office is the only thing that feels right to her. Otherwise, she lives in a crappy and noisy apartment and drives a crappy car.

What she has going for her are friends – Gina, for one, but there’s also Jamie, a cop, and Matt, Officer Pete’s son who has reappeared after this tragedy and is reconnecting with Katie. And there’s also her odd, genius brother Owen who sometimes appears in her apartment. He’s a professor and sometimes crashes with Katie to get some work done. This oddly assembled group (except perhaps Owen) are all trying to find out who killed Officer Pete. The only thing Katie is certain of: it wasn’t Gina.
Weaved through the story are vignettes of Katie and her slightly disreputable aunt Rosie, who taught her cards when she was eight. Each card Rosie turns over for the young Katie then ties to the chapter in the present, which is a neat structural trick, as well as giving the reader an insight into why Katie finds tarot a refuge in a busy and chaotic world. The way the cards are explained in this book, the way Katie reads them, make so much sense I became a convert.

I also became a convert to Chern’s prose and her sometimes nuttily resonant turns of phrase. She so captures the chaos of being a young person in the world trying to figure out where you might best belong, something that’s not limited to finding the perfect job, as Katie also seems pretty clueless in the romance department.
This book is also an excellent look at the public persona of someone – in this case, Officer Pete – who visited schools, sponsored a children’s group, and was a great dad, whose son, Matt, has grown up in his image and become a cop. And then there’s the underside of Officer Pete, which of course is a major part of the book. The public part of the man was so accepted and so circulated that the underside is hard or impossible for people to grasp.

Katie, through sheer determination and a belief in her cards (she carries them with her everywhere) does manage to get to the bottom of Pete’s murder. This book for sure isn’t a cozy but it’s not quite a noir either. It’s certainly a thoughtful and original read. I enjoyed Katie True and look forward to reading more about her.

[Kayleigh O'Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!! I was impressed by the first book—it got me out of a reading slump, but this book was beyond my expectations to some extents. I believe it helped make a lot of sense of the first book in some aspects with filling in gaps. One of the biggest gaps I personally wanted to be filled in was Aunt Rosie. I think having the flash backs between past and present was extremely cool and reminded me of movies and tv series that do the same thing to kind of fill in the gaps and keep you on your toes. Some I believe may think it’s annoying or all over the place, but I think it’s awesome and adds to the suspense of the mystery.

I enjoyed the character development further for Katie among the other characters within this particular book in comparison to Play The Fool. I think both books did a great job of painting pictures of each individual characters. I also enjoyed how similar to the first book, you were always kept guessing. There was no exact moment when you knew who the murderer was. Even when they supposedly “solved the case” and June confessed to doing it, there were still pages to read, action to come, and mystery to be unveiled. It kept me thinking and on my toes. I was trying to solve the murder in my head as well and put the pieces together.

I enjoyed the progression of learning more about Marley’s back story. I think we got enough about Marley in the first book where she was still a mystery, but this book completely put us in the know about how she became a cop, who she was, and her overall personality. Like I mentioned before, it’s similar with Aunt Rosie.

I enjoyed more information about the tarot cards themselves and how to read them. I almost wish this was provided a bit more in the first book, so I could understand things even better.

On a side note, the love triangle was a nice add—especially since I wanted more intimate scenes (not overdone, just more relationship wise). I do think though that it was a tad bit frustrating that all of the physical intimacy, the kissing, was with Matt versus Jamie. Jamie and Katie were electric and practically dating at this point since Play The Fool and I think it’s a little frustrating that even at the end, we don’t get more than just holding hands. I think it’s sweet, but I would have liked more on their relationship outside of this almost relationship/friendship. I was hoping it would come more full circle.

Overall, pretty solid book. Both the first and second books got me out of my reading slump though and are for sure books I would recommend to any mystery book lover.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern
This is the second in the Katie True mystery series. Katie is a fortune teller who has set up shop in her sister’s real estate office. Things seem to be going well for Katie until the untimely death of police officer Matthew Peterson.
Katie and Peterson have history. He saved her life when she was a baby. She has always looked up to him as her hero. The community has celebrated him as a hero but when there are questions about his death and the main suspect is a friend of Katie’s, she had to investigate.
At first, she is devasted to learn that Peterson has committed suicide. She refuses to believe he would kill himself. As the investigation unfolds, the police decide it wasn’t a suicide either.
Katie is warned to back off and let the police investigate. Of course, she doesn’t and finds herself in danger. Can Katie catch the killer before he catches her?
Katie uses her knowledge of tarot to help interpret the clues. The story is told in two different time periods, present day, and when she was a child.
The present-day writing moved the story forward. The past stopped it without adding much to the story except an explanation of the major arcana cards in a tarot deck. The past is revealed as Katie is a child being mentored by her aunt Rosie while they are watching an old science fiction movie. I wasn’t sure if it was an old B movie or Doctor Who.
Since I too read Tarot, I was interested in the author’s interpretation of the cards. I wish she had chosen a different way to share the information. The introduction to Aunt Rosie was interesting because it explained how Katie learned to read the cards, but I felt the connection between the cards and solving the mystery missed something.
I may have enjoyed this book more if I had read the first in the series and I may still go back and read it. I thought the storyline was interesting along with the premise, but it lacked something in the telling. I did like the author’s writing style and thought the characters were developed well. At times I felt there were too many characters to keep track of.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for an advance readers copy. I always enjoy reading a new to me author.

My full review will post on my blog Book Love - Book Reviews at Virginia-Gruver.com on May 21st.

[LindaPf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie True is such a delightful character — I was so happy to find out that she’s back in “Tricks of Fortune” by Lina Chern after making her amusing debut in “Play the Fool.” This book is again witty, charming, clever and dosed with a lot of sardonic humor. It definitely can be read as a standalone, but you’ll be enticed to go back and read the first book.

Our current Katie is still in northern Illinois, in the far-reaching suburbs of Chicago that get close to the Wisconsin border and feature towns that all have local lakes. She’s currently set up as “Out of the Blue Consultations” in one of her sister’s satellite real estate offices. Her guy friend is Officer Jamie, her quirky brother is Owen, and her unusual ex-cop friend is Gina. Katie does want more out of her tarot readings, she doesn’t want to be “dressing up like Madame von Freakshow so I can tell some drunk VP of sales if he’ll score at the hotel bar that night is not what I had in mind. I want to solve a real problem for someone.”

As an infant, Katie was spectacularly rescued from a car crash by local legend Officer Pete, and nearly thirty years later, Officer Pete is found murdered, Jamie is assigned as a task force investigator, and Gina is a suspect. Of course Katie will get involved.

Her unique investigation technique is to keep the reading cards of the people who knew Pete (it’s her clever way of getting suspects to give up information) but it’s her perception and intelligence that sees clues and assembles the missing parts of the mystery. She still sees people as cards: Officer Pete is the Knight of Swords

We do get more background on how 8 year old Katie learned to read tarot cards from her wacky Aunt Rosie, and this is an evenly paced mystery with well-developed characters. I just loved it! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No eye colors except for some flat blue ones.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO And Matt is spot on about lotuses only blooming in August.
Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tricks of Fortune is a quirky cozy mystery set in the Chicago suburbs. Although it is the second book in the series, I think you could easily read it first without feeling too lost.

Katie True is somewhere on the neurodivergent scale, and I think anyone who feels they look at the world in a different way than most people could relate to her. She has an autistic brother who is making his own way, and a successful sister she scrapes along with. The first murder victim is the police officer who rescued Katie from a car accident when she was a baby long ago. The officer goes on to become a local hero. People often say to Katie, “You’re the baby,” as a photo of the rescue is well known in the community. She struggles with a self-imposed expectation to make something of her life after the dramatic rescue gave her a second chance.

I’m not into tarot cards, but throughout Tricks of Fortune we flash back to Katie’s Aunt Rose going through the deck of cards with her. I found this very helpful since Katie uses the cards to help her understand people and situations. There’s no magic involved, just psychology.

I guessed the Big Reveal almost from the very beginning, but that did not alter my enjoyment of the book. There’s a slow burn romance to watch in addition to the unraveling of what happened with the first murder. At one point after she’s been in a car accident the commander in charge of the investigation brutally interrogates Katie, which I found pretty unbelievable (she was not a suspect), but fortunately there was not too much of that.

The book isn’t laugh out loud funny but the author has a way with words that often made me smile. “Jessie narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re not helping Jaimie investigate this, are you?’ She said investigate the way I once heard a shaggy street preacher say fornicate.” (ch. 14 of the advance reader copy)

I read an advance reader copy of Tricks of Fortune from Netgalley. I am looking forward to book three.

[Sascha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie True doesn’t seem to have the best of luck with best friends. In the first book in the series, Play the Fool her best friend Marley is murdered. In the second book, Tricks of Fortune, her new best friend Gina is accused of murdering the police detective, Matthew Peterson, who saved Katie’s life when she was a baby. But as Katie begins investigating, she realizes that she really doesn’t know Gina nor did she really know Matthew Peterson. Do you really know anyone? Even yourself?

Each chapter begins with Katie’s interaction with her Aunt who taught her how to read the cards. And, yes, I would really love Katie’s eccentric Aunt to make an appearance in some future novels, despite the fact that it feels like her Aunt is lost. In some ways her Aunt is a bit like Katie if Katie let her life become consumed by weed (and who knows what else): smart but underachieving. In the scenes with Katie’s Aunt, we are introduced to some revelation from the cards that will be pertinent in that chapter.

As in the previous novel, police detective Jamie and Katie’s younger brother Owen play a large part as does Katie’s sister who couldn’t be more different from Katie if she tried. Jamie and Owen help Katie sort through the bits that she intuits with Jamie offering a more commonplace perspective and Owen one that comes from having an above-average intelligence.

Lina Chern provides lots of twists to keep the reader engrossed but I think I would have been immersed regardless simply because of how well the characters are written. These characters make me want to keep reading about them as I become more and more invested.

I certainly hope that Lina Chern gives us the opportunity to read more in this quirky series in the future!

Many thanks to Bantam for sending me a copy.

[Juli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second outing for Tarot Card reader Katie True finds her working to clear her friend Gina Dio, who happens to be an ex-cop, of murder. The cards foretold that a secret from Gina's past would hurt her. It has been a year since Katie has been in business as a professional reader working out of one of her sister's real estate offices and they are celebrating. No sooner does Katie read the card than Gina is arrested for the murder of Lt. Matthew Peterson (Officer Pete, as many in the community refer to him). Katie and Officer Pete have history, he rescued her from a car accident when she was a baby. Katie knows that Gina is innocent and decides to prove it.

As Katie investigates she learns that Officer Pete was not the sterling person she thought he was. He cheated on his wife, drank alot and stole money. When another officer is killed the police want to blame Gina for this one also. Are the deaths connected?

The story is told in two time periods, present and when Katie was a child learning about the Tarot cards from her Aunt Rosie. Lina Chern intertwines the cards with the suspects that Katie interviews to seek out clues. There are secrets revealed, red herrings thrown at us, twists and turns to keep us engaged. Although this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone. I would recommend reading Play the Fool, the first book as it provides the background and introduces us to the major characters. I look forward to more Katie True and her Tarot cards!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Ballantine Bantam Dell | Random House Group, for an ARC. The opinions in the review are my own.