Quick Synopsis

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.

Publisher’s Synopsis

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.

Book Review

Casket Case is a debut small town romance novel about Nora, a woman unexpectedly leaves her big city aspirations behind to run her family’s casket business. As she adjust to being back in her hometown and processing grief, Nora finds herself single and lonely. When an unexpected stranger wanders into her shop, Nora thinks she may have met the answer to her problems… until she learns that he works for Death.

I admit that I was drawn to Casket Case purely based upon its pretty cover, hoping that it was a “spooky season” romance. When I read the first few sentences of the synopsis, I was intrigued and knew I needed to read it. I love the idea of a macabre love story with death as an industrial complex. Unfortunately, this romance novel lacks any Halloween or fall themes other than death and does not explore the world in which it occurs.

Casket Case ended up feeling more like a book about grief with a side of love story than a book driven by romantic feelings. Even the third act breakup (which was completely unnecessary and felt contrived) revolves around Nora’s grief. While the novel is told in third person narration focusing on both protagonists, I felt the emphasis was truly on Nora and her life.

The romance plot further suffered from a lack of chemistry and connection between protagonists. It ended up feeling like instalove, where everything was told rather than shown. This was no doubt exacerbated by not having first-person narration. In addition, I was not fond of the dispensable love triangle or the contrived third act breakup. My favorite part of the novel was actually Nora’s relationship with her grandfather.

Casket Case‘s strong points are its realistic approach to grief, exploration of the death industrial complex, and intriguing concept. However, there was much room for improvement as all of these lacked detail and development. I wanted more world building, emotion, and editorializing. When you consider the book’s page number and its under development, it is really quite long.

Casket Case is Lauren Evan’s first novel, and I think its writing is reflective of this. I found her writing to be clunky and the dialogue stiff. I wanted more witty banter and flirting. As I previously mentioned, I also think the book would have benefited from being written from the first person perspective with dual points-of-view. This seems to enable authors to better capture characters’ feelings and emphasize their actions less.

Overall, Casket Case has a strong underlying concept but lacked in execution. I was hoping for more of a flirty, fun romcom that explored the death industry but found little of that. If you are interested in novels about grief, I think you may like this.

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