Excerpts-

• From the cover 1
  
  I always knew Marley would disappear. We worked across from each other at the Deerpath Shopping Center, me at the Russian knickknack place and her at the goth boutique, where she rang up anarchy T-­shirts for tweens in five-­hundred-­dollar Nikes. She was a lot like me—­smart enough to get the hell out of Lake Terrace once she grew up, but dumb enough to come back. For how long, I didn’t know. She put out a chill bloom-­where-­you’re-­planted vibe but always looked like she was watching the exits, marking the days until she could peel out and leave Lake Terrace in the rearview.
  
  When she did disappear, it didn’t go down how I expected.
  
  The guy who set the whole thing off walked into Firebird Imports on a Sunday, the deadest day of the week and consequently the only time my boss, Larissa, trusted me to run the place alone. Less for me to screw up. I was laying out a three-­card tarot spread when the store’s heavy glass door slammed open.
  
  I jerked up. He was plastered against the inside of the door, breathing hard and staring out into the mall—­a weight-­lifter-­looking guy with a bristly haircut on a blocky head, a faded Gold’s Gym T-­shirt, and jogger sweats. He spun toward me and I froze, hands on the cards. There was an angry red gash on the man’s forehead.
  
  A low warning throbbed in my mind. “Are you—­ Do you need—­”
  
  He took a stumbling step into the store and collided with a sign reading 60% off all musical spoons. The sign bowled over and he floundered after it, hooking it with his arm before it hit the ground. He looked like he was tangoing with a beautiful lady who had been, alas, enchanted into a piece of advertising.
  
  A squeaky honk flew out of me, part dimwit guffaw, part concerned oh! The guy jiggled the sign back into place. I glanced across the mall court: was Marley watching this? At Stone Blossom, the “alternative lifestyle boutique” where Marley worked, a pale mope in a Black Flag T-­shirt slouched at the counter. No Marley. I hadn’t seen her all day.
  
  “Do you need a tissue?” I pointed to my own forehead. “Or an ambulance or something?” My eyes slid to my phone. The low-­charge light was blinking, as usual. I didn’t have extra cash lying around for new tech toys, so I plundered my brother’s castoffs. By the time they reached me, their best days were far behind them.
  
  The guy flinched like he’d already forgotten I was there. A red splotch crawled down his temple and landed—­plop—­on his shirt. “I’m fine,” he said hoarsely and disappeared in the jungle of display racks at the front of the store. I craned my neck after him. At least if he stole something, I could tell Larissa a piece of merchandise had made it out of here today. He picked up a lacquered box and stared at it with glassy eyes. “Just looking around.”
  
  Shocker. Everyone was always just looking around. Earlier, a guy came in looking for a Cubs jersey, and I had to inform him, reading off our perfectly visible sign, that we sold only “fine goods from Russia and Eastern Europe.” Then a mom came in with three kids and a screaming baby, looking for a bathroom. I pointed her to the family one out in the mall, where someone had Sharpied a set of anatomically correct genitals on the dad icon.
  
  “Suit yourself.” I sat down and swept the loose cards into the deck. I pegged this guy for a Cup, but a sloppy, backassward one, awash in reversed...

Reviews-

• 

  January 23, 2023
  Katie True, the 29-year-old narrator of Chern’s enjoyable debut, is stuck in a dead-end job at a “Russian knickknack place” in a mall outside Chicago. Her only friend, Marley, works in a goth boutique across the way. Secure and self-sufficient, Marley is everything that Katie is not. With Marley’s encouragement, Katie, whose only skill is reading tarot cards, takes her first steps toward discovering her place in life, in defiance of her caring but judgmental family. Then a bleeding man stumbles into Katie’s shop and asks her to read his cards. A panicked Katie sneaks a glance at his phone while he’s distracted and spots a photo of Marley with a gunshot wound to the head. Katie’s quest to discover the truth about her friend’s death leads her afoul of organized criminals as well as a disturbingly attractive, by-the-books police detective. Mystery-first readers may find the plot a bit scant, but Katie is a heroine anyone will root for. This good-natured romp works best when it focuses on Katie’s efforts to negotiate the gentle art of adulthood. Agent: Joanna Mackenzie, Nelson Literary.

• Kristen Sieh performs Lina Chern's entertaining mystery with her usual enthusiasm and a talent for characterization, enhancing this debut work. Meet Katie True, a Tarot-reading 20-something who is working a dead-end job in a Chicago suburb. When a bloodied guy happens by with a cell-phone photo of Marley--a tough-talking, worldly gal who is Katie's only friend--shot dead, Katie vows to find out what happened. Sieh delivers Katie's first-person narrative with unemphatic appreciation, letting the character's adjective-laden style shine without overdramatizing the unrestrained metaphors. Male and female characters sound equally believable, with Sieh illuminating the personalities of such disparate characters as sweet but reckless Katie, guarded Marley, and Jamie, an emotionally wounded cop. A totally fun listen. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
• 

  June 10, 2024
  

  Kristen Sieh narrates Chern's debut contemporary mystery, set in the suburbs of Chicago. Katie True is barely adulting. She shuffles her ever-present tarot cards while working another dead-end job at a Russian-themed specialty store in a dying mall. While snooping through a discombobulated customer's phone during an impromptu reading, she sees a photo of her closest friend and fellow mall employee Marley lying dead in a nearby alleyway. When she searches the area, she finds that Marley's body has gone missing. With the help of a police officer who believes Katie's story, she puts her skills at reading people to the test to solve the mystery of Marley's disappearance. Listeners will enjoy Sieh's narration of this fast-paced mystery. Sieh has a knack for uniquely voicing different characters and handily switches between each one. Most notably, she captures Katie's essence, bringing her to life. VERDICT Sieh's entertaining performance ensures that listeners will be delighted by this audiobook production. Add to collections where mystery novels are popular.--Amanda L. S. Murphy

  Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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