Rating - 2.5
A cosy-ish murder mystery with surprises and sausage dogs.

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤?
❤️ I listened to this all in one sitting, which straight away tells you something! It had a lot of characters which added to the ‘whodunit’ feeling, I was constantly switching between who I thought the murderer was right in until the very end. Over all i think this was a really fun, witty, cosy murder mystery with the wonderful addition of the Black and Tan Dachshund(I may be biased here 😉)

💔 Unfortunately I was not a fan of the narration of this audiobook purely due to the character voices. Some of them sounded so similar i did get confused a couple of times on who was talking. I feel like I would have enjoyed this more reading it, rather than listening.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭? ⬇️
Sadie, the owner of an apartment block, finds herself back in the middle of a murder, the brother’s fiancée who has came into town to say hello… but now the brother is also missing…

Follow along with Sadie, her eccentric grandma, two loyal dachshunds and others to try and find the brother and find out who committed the murder and why! 🐾

I was chosen to be an ARC reader for this book and it was a funny, whimsical thriller all while reading it. It was a good story and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys funny suspense

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC. Such quirky characters and a creative story make this cozy mystery fun to read.

This is a great second book in the series. I'm not sure what the series is called but doesn't take away from me truly enjoying this book. Sadie (Mercedes) meets her brother, Cary's new fiancé as they are discussing the new business of selling caskets. Seems like a good idea until Cary's fiancé turns up dead and he is the prime suspect. Sadie, her Gram, and other characters come together to try to solve this murder and prove Cary's innocence. However, the casket business is actually a get rich quick scheme and unravels into a murder for hire plot. Sadie works with detectives, her bestie Rebbie and then has to get reacquainted with her mom, Willie (who is a mess in a hilarious way). The story unfolds while Sadie battles being a landlord and writer. It did seem to end rather quickly but wrapped everything up nicely. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone in need a great murder mystery!

Good addition to the series. The mystery was fascinating and had so many different layers that you never really knew if it had finally been solved. There’s a lot of characters to keep track of and, as always, the dogs were my favorites. The audiobook was well done with the exception of the Australian accent, that alternated between passable to comical at times. Despite this, I will continue with the series.

I loved this. it’s exactly the type of book I want. the mystery was great, not too gory and kept me guessing. I loved the characters and especially the weenie dogs.
I checked out the first book in the series so I could read that too because I loved this so much. I hope this series continues.

Book #2 in the Never Series!

Cute. Fun. Fast paced. A little raunchy. A little romance-y. And overall, had me giggling… 🤭

Mercedes Harrigan (Sadie) is in for a treat as her brother (Cary Grant Harrigan) comes to her small Idahoan town for a visit! Unfortunately he shows up with his girlfriend/fiancée who Sadie does not care for at all!

But, he promises to take Sadie and Grandma (Gram) out for a nice dinner…and so, they go! But in the middle, dinner is interrupted, by the police…and it all seems to go downhill from here… 😮

Once again, Sadie and Rebbie (Reb, her bff) are looking to get to the bottom of this…but they are met with obstacles at every step!

And then, when Sadie has to get her mother (Willie) involved, well, the laughs just keep coming…. 🤣

And now, for book #2 we have Hot Cop as #1 and Hot Aussie Guy Axel as the #2 love interest/sexy guy in town.

Add to that Gram (the mortician) and her assistant (who I can’t remember the name…but a strange one…) and you are in for a real treat!!

Murders. Mobsters. Fires. Escapes. I fell like it has a Stephanie Plum type vibe…(IYKYK…😬😉)

Oh…and the two crazy Dachshunds, Bogart and Bacall, (a black and tan and a long haired red…just like mine…) are joined by a psycho Schnauzer who’s being fostered!

#NeverNapInACasket (Never Series #2) by #JWHodge and narrated sweetly by #MiaBarron.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!!

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #RBMedia (#RecordedBooksMedia) for an ARC of the audiobook which releases TODAY!! So, look 👀 for it on shelves NOW!!

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Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

Hmm, this was alright but just not gripping.

Some thing(s) I liked:
✅The gagging and pretending to throw up to get out of a dangerous situation made me laugh.
✅Cute cover.

Some thing(s), not so much:
⭕Omg, this is an audio book and I assumed the author was doing the really bad accents (especially the Australian) to make it obvious that the character wasn't who they said they were. But that wasn't it at all, the narrator was just really really bad at Australian accents and whilst it was funny, it really peed me off every time she changed to it.
⭕What's wrong with looking like an eighties rock star? XD

Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for this ALC.

Mia Barron did a great job performing this story. Yay!

The story was okay. With the dachshunds on the cover, I did expect their cute little selves to be more in the story than the bits they were. More puppy love!!!!

A small-town, murder mystery/whodunit about family and all the insanity they bring. An interesting, bizarre and not terribly likable cast of characters. I listened to this, but might have enjoyed it more had I read it. The narration for some characters was enjoyable and for others, did not work for me and took from the listening experience. Overacted and exaggerated.

I’m not really sure how to rate this book I enjoyed reading it but, at some points I was very bored and didn’t like the humor. The ending was very disappointing, for mystery was not as huge as the author was making it out to be

As a mystery fan, I enjoyed Never Map in a Casket. JW Hodge has a winner here. I listened to the audiobook and had a hard time putting this one down.

The cover of this book immediately caught my attention. While this is a solid murder mystery, I found it hard to fully connect with the story. Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for any of the characters, which made it difficult to get invested.

That said, I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator’s voice.

Thank you to RBmedia and NetGalley for providing me with this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

There’s times when you look at a book cover, and instantly think yes, this one is for me.

For me… it had dogs and a title that caught my eye immediately.

I learned a lesson that I should not judge books this way, and at least check the genre before delving in 🤣

This wasn’t a bad book, I’m just not really big into cozy mystery. I think if you do love this genre, you will love this book.

It was a quick and easy read with little pops of humour if that’s your thing! I listened to the audio and I did actually really enjoy the narrator, she was very easy to listen to and brings life into the characters. I can find some narrators monotone and not suitable to the character but this one was a great choice.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this review copy

Super fun, fast, cozy mystery that follows Sadie and a quirky group of neighbors as they try and solve a murder where Sadie's brother is the prime suspect. The book was fast paced and had included an adorable trio of curious pups to really keep me hooked! This is the second in a cozy mystery series, but you can totally jump in at this book.


I loved the small town setting and the cast of characters. Most of the characters, especially Sadie's family, felt very unique and fleshed out. There were two female characters that felt interchangeable though as they were both town gossips that were placed into certain locations to further the plot.


The humor was hit or miss for me. Some of the jokes felt cringy and a bit dated (not always politically correct), but others I thought were really clever and introspective. For example, one character repeatedly tells Sadie that this is not a one hour crime show and no suspect is going to confess or that labs take days for results to come in, which I thought was funny.


The mystery itself was not the most groundbreaking, but it was twisty enough that I was hooked for the whole time.

Overall, Never Nap in a Casket is a super fast and entertaining read!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and J.W. Hodge for this ARC of Never Nap in a Casket. This was not what I expected! This is a fun and witty murder mystery with both predictable and unforeseen elements. I did not expect that ending!

My one issue with this book is that our main character. For the most part she seems to be the only person who really has things put together. However, it really bothered me how she over sexualizes both Killian and Axel. They are humans and not all men are looking at her with lust in their eyes. I choose to believe that she is this way due to her mother who is rather vapid.

Over all this was definitely a fun read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

"Never Nap in a Casket" by J.W. Hodge is the 2nd book in this series (I can't find a series name at the time of writing this). It's an interesting take on a cozy-ish mystery. Mercedes (Sadie) Harrigan is a landlord, book writer and animal lover. However, the more interesting take is that this feels like a cozy romance thriller mystery more than just a cozy mystery. Lots of over the top dramatic moments that you'd see in PI thriller mysteries but no romance scenes more than a kiss. Just some of the descriptions seem more romance genre than cozy mystery genre level. Plus some of the names are very old Hollywood.

For the mystery, Sadie's brother and his fiancé are staying in one of her apartments while they work on some possibly iffy get rich sales scheme that ends up with the fiancé dead and her brother in hiding. Sadie jumps right into finding him and trying to prove his innocence. She encounters the detective she has a crush on, and who seems to have an on/off relationship with her bff? Luckily for her he is sending some pretty strong signals back he's at least attracted to her. However, there is another hunky possibility that even has an accent. I just leave it all at that as much more would lead to spoilers.

Idaho, rural, local-law-enforcement, local-gossip, small-business, small-town, writers, amateur-sleuth, friends, friendship, family, family-business, family-expectations, stables, horses, landlord, relatives, dachshunds, family-drama, family-dynamics, verbal-humor, smuggling, arson, situational-humor, hilarious, funeral-home, siblings, art-theft, casket*****

If the News and life have you down, this book is a guaranteed antidote! The characters are beyond ROFL, and that includes the pet Dachshunds named Bogart and Bacall! There's art theft, murder by gold paint, a teenaged ghostbuster, a dishy local cop, and a family so looney even mine felt normal. A fun read well narrated!
Voice actor Mia Barron has the script well in hand and highlights all the fun stuff well.
*I requested and received a free temporary audio file from RBmedia | Recorded Books via NetGalley. Thank you! Loved it so much that I went and bought book 1 on audio!
#NeverNapInACasket by J.W. Hodge Narrated by Mia Barron #SeriesNeverBk2 #Hilarious
@goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial #Mystery @barnesandnoble ***** Review @booksamillion @bookshop_org #Suspense @bookshop_org_uk @kobo @Waterstones