The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is an eerie Gothic novel that blends romance, horror, and mystery in a story reminiscent of classic haunted house tales. The book follows Jane Shoringfield, a pragmatic young woman who marries Dr. Augustine Lawrence out of convenience, only to discover unsettling secrets about her new husband and his crumbling manor. The tension steadily builds, but the plot becomes overly complex and veers into confusing supernatural territory. While the book succeeds in mood and intrigue, the twists may disorient some readers. It is a solid choice for fans of Gothic horror who enjoy an intense, unpredictable read.

What to listen to while reading...
Heart Heart Head by Meg Myers
Blood in the Cut by K. Flay
Feral Love by Chelsea Wolfe
Holy by Zolita
6 Underground by Sneaker Pimps

Solid thriller/horror that kept me turning the pages well in to the night. Will definitely read more from this author in the future. Highly recommend!

This was so very interesting and thrilling! I couldn't put it down! If you love Gothic novels, then look no further than this. I recommend this book to horror and thriller fans alike.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review. I enjoyed the time I spent reading this book but I wouldn’t necessarily read it again. The pacing sometimes felt slow and I didn’t always feel connected to the characters.

OK....cue the music. The back story sounds reasonable, almost reasonable. Then the weather changes and the creepy music starts, telling me that something is going to happen and I'm going to jump when it does. The story is so well written, it pulls you in and shows you some things you'd really rather not see. Caitlin Starling is a new to me author, but she's obviously skilled....she certainly managed to make me jump several times.

This book was good but not great. I loved the atmosphere and the writing style, and yet something about it just felt lacking for me, I think many people can enjoy this, however it was just ultimately not what I wanted.

This was absolutely right up my alley and a book I will continue to recommend to readers of the horror and thriller genre. This is a book that I think will stay at the top of my recommendation rotation in the lirbary.

I do love a good gothic horror book and this one is exactly that.

Jane was a wonderful character. She makes her own decision at a time where women’s destiny are usually decided by me. She knows she doesn’t have a lot of prospects so she decides to make a marriage of convenience with Doctor Augustine Lawrence. The only condition to this marriage is that Jane must never visit the Doctor’s residence Lindridge Hall. We all know what is going to happen here. After an accident strands Jane at the manor is when things take a turn.

This is the kind of book that you expect a certain something from and then it takes you somewhere else completely. It was odd and made me wonder until the end. To be honest I’m still not sure of what happened 😂 and it’s not a bad thing. I like books that surprise you. If you enjoy weird gothic horror romances than this is for you.

This book started off strong. It sets the tone and creates a gothic atmosphere that I found immediately intriguing.
Unfortunately, the book really meanders in the middle. It really dragged and never felt like it delivered on it's promise.

This was just so twisted and creepy and weird and I loved it! It definitely won't be for everyone but it was for me.

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting mystery and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me guessing until the end. I highly recommend.

I absolutely adore Caitling Starlings way with words, especially when she's leaning toward a more gothic vibe like in this one. THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE is a little slow to get into at the start, but it quickly picks up about 25% through and does not let up until the absolute end. The Shirley Jackson comps are ON POINT for this!! Perfect for fall or winter time reading, or anytime tbh, but something about curling up with a spooky gothic book like this is just so perfect for cold weather & a snuggle blanket with a warm drink on the side.

Also, can we talk about that cover? GORGEOUS.

I enjoyed this novel a lot! It was intriguing and pleasantly gothic. I can’t wait to buy myself a copy!

I will never not love a gothic twist of a book. For those vibes alone this book is excellent. There was some confusion in the beginning but otherwise this book had me questioning what was real in a good way.

This book was very enjoyable, if not quite what I was expecting. It was creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat; like Jane, I kept questioning everything and everyone about what was real and what was in her head.

I can see the similarity with Crimson Peak, but Jane seemed like a much stronger and more assured character.

This was my first book from this author, and I’m sure it will not be the last.

This book is more fantasy than horror. I came in expecting a horror novel in the vein of The Haunting of Hill House, with an essence of Jane Eyre. Instead, it was a book of magic, reminding me a bit of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, but after graduation? And set in the Victorian era? (Or is it the Victorian era? The time and setting was confusing).

Secondly, I found Jane's character confusing. She is introduced one way and acts completely differently. I was disappointed in her, not because she fell in love, but because she fell in love so quickly when we were led to believe that was not in her nature at the start. She was not cold and calculating, but emotional.... which was disappointing after the introduction.

I skimmed quite a bit.

Really appreciated the horror elements (especially all the scares and gore!). However, the story itself was a bit too meandering for me and lost me by the end. I adored The Luminous Dead so I'll continue looking forward to what Caitlin Starling writes.

Where do I begin?
I was given this book from NetGalley a while ago, and somehow it is now that I am reviewing it. "The Death of Jane Lawrence," was, for me, a 2.5. It was not a bad book, however, I found that it did not capture my attention the way that I had hoped it would. So much so, that it took me far longer than I intended to finish it. I enjoyed the character Jane, very much in the beginning, but as I progressed through the story, I found myself not believing nor understanding some of her choices. The ending was for me predictable, but throughout the story the author did a great job bringing in small pieces of information that I would not have expected. I have not read a great deal of the modern gothic/horror novels, but I think that this book is a great entry point for readers if they would like to read this genre. Caitlin Starling will definitely be an author that I would love to try again, and I am looking forward to reading her next work.

When spinster Jane Lawrence's guardians decide to move abroad, she is left with a choice to make. Should she accompany them? She decides instead that she will get married. Not a conventical marriage but one where she and the man she marries will respect each other but live as separate entities. She meets and approves of a local doctor, Augustine Lawrence. Her demand is to be able to work and keep the books of his practice; his only demand is that she will never go to his ancestral home. They marry and the first days pass easily.
But an unforeseen event leads Jane to Augustine's home and she starts to learn that he isn't exactly the man she thought she had married. He is keeping secrets and she slowly starts to learn them. She also realizes that she is actually in love with him and he with her. But can she live with a man who has hidden a first marriage from her as well as the fact that his wife died during an operation he performed?

Jane meets with a group of Augustine's college friends and they introduce her to beliefs in magic and the practice of it. When Augustine disappears, Jane tries to locate and save him with the black magic Augustine was adamantly against. Will she be successful?

This novel was an NPR Best Book of 2021. It reads like a Victorian novel but seems to be set some time later. Jane is an independent women who is determined to make her own way and have a marriage that works for both of them. She changes when magic enters her life to become more dependent on others and becomes full of misgivings and fear. It felt like the novel could have been edited to be shorter and pack more punch but was still an interesting read. This book is recommended for horror readers.

This book was weird. And not really in a good or interesting way. I definitely didn't love it but I don't quite hate it either.

I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to expect .. I figured I would be getting a gothic ghost/ haunted house sort of story? I sort of got that with some occult aspects heavily thrown in. Unfortunately, I think this book was trying to be too many things.

Starling's writing is good, but still didn't really suck me in or set the atmosphere well enough for me. The small romance aspect of the book didn't feel right, no matter what era this is supposed to be in, but particularly of how Jane is written/described to be. The book also gets lost in its own craziness a little, with all the sort of explanations of the logic, math, and magic. Unfortunately, that bogs down the story and made me skim many of those parts.

This book may end up being for some readers, but I ended up not being one of them.