When I saw the synopsis for Casket Case, I was immediately intrigued by it. Our main character runs her family’s casket business. The man she runs into who seems perfect works for Death. I don’t know about you, but this screams spooky season for me. So today I want to tell you about this book and what I thought. Keep on reading to find out more!
A big thank you to Netgalley and Dell for providing me with an eARC to read and review. This doesn’t affect my opinion in any way.
In this warm-hearted debut rom-com, a young woman returns home to run her family’s casket business and falls in love with a seemingly perfect stranger. But there’s just one problem . . . he works for Death.
Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she’s found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.
There aren’t exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton’s ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions–as well as a date.
Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She’s not totally sure what “logistics” entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.
When a few of Rabbittown’s residents suddenly pass away–a heart attack here, a car crash there–and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?
He’s a logistics coordinator for Death.
When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?
Casket Case is the heartfelt story of a small-town girl who feels surrounded by death–literally and figuratively. This clever, endearing, and romantic debut explores how love and loss are forever intertwined . . . but death might not be as scary as it seems.
Review
Casket Case sounded like the perfect book to start off spooky season with, but unfortunately this one didn’t work for me as much as I was hoping. This book is marketed as a heartwarming rom-com. I agree that it’s heartwarming in many ways, but it didn’t really feel like a rom-com to me. Our main character Nora is back in her hometown running her family’s casket company after tragically losing her parents in a car accident. Then Garrett comes in looking for an address in town and that’s where it starts.
Garrett works for death, but it takes us as readers even awhile to really learn what his job actually means. I appreciated the little bits from his POV, so we got to know him at least a little bit. That being said, this plot went really slow while their relationship went a little too fast for me. They were saying I love you before they really even knew each other. I felt like they were fighting more than anything. It just didn’t work for me.
That being said, I do enjoy the small town feeling of this book. The side characters were a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the relationship Nora had with her grandfather. Grief was also handled really well in my opinion. It’s not something that just goes away or it rational. Even though I didn’t end up loving this one, I will give this author another chance if she gives us more books.
I’m sad that Casket Case didn’t work out for me, but I know plenty of readers will love this book. Have you read any spooky books yet this season? Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for more recommendations.
