This is a perfect book to spooky reading season! Set in a time and place only slightly different than our own, Jane Shorefield proposes a marriage of convenience to the town doctor, Augustine Lawrence, after learning that her guardians are moving. He agrees but with the stipulation that she never enter his inherited family residence, Lindridge Hall, at night. But of course, within hours of their marriage that stipulation is broken and a series of events are set motion. The setting reminded me of Crimson Peak with the gothic touches of Jane Eyre and a dash of macabre Frankenstein-esque medical procedures. This book was very different than Starling’s last one (The Luminous Dead), but it still had the same isolated and chilling tone. Fabulous! Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy

I’m still a little confused about what happened and started to get bored with the book. It delivered on the creepy and mysterious. Overall, the book was just ok for me.

The synopsis of The Death of Jane Lawrence had me from the get go. The first half of the book, I could not stop reading!! But then there was something about Jane that didn’t vibe with me. I’m was just a little lost with how quickly she bought into all the “magic” stuff. Overall I did like the book but I thought I’d love it. I’m not even sure I understand the ending!!

This book has some serious Crimson Peak and Jane Eyre vibes running through it, so if you’re into gothic horror this will be a must read.

A woman’s search for her husband brings her into a gothic horror situation in “The Death of Jane Lawrence” by Caitlin Starling.

In post-war England, Jane knows the only path to independence for her is a marriage of convenience. With all the men in her circle, the only one who fits the bill is the reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, and she would love to be a doctor’s assistant. Surprisingly, he agrees to the marriage with one condition - she stay in town and not visit his family manor, Lindridge Hall.

When after their marriage - in which they both quickly fall for each other - they must travel to the manor, Jane assumes she’ll go home to the doctor’s house in the city after a quick visit, but a storm happens and she ends up stranded there. And that’s when she finds Augustine crazed, a red-eyed woman staring from the windows and all sorts of completely odd things happening. She was warned to stay away but couldn’t - what will happen now?

This was an odd mystery-thriller that reminded me of “Crimson Peak” mixed a bit with “Rebecca” and a lot of twisted bits that will make the reader wonder what they just read.

The perfect October read!! Such a creepy and perfect Gothic novel thats great for fans of Mexican Gothic and Rebecca. I could not put it down and nearly read it in one sitting because I just needed to find out what was going on. The mystery and horror was so well done and actually scared me??

It has an amazing vibe--the gothic horror seeps throughout. Loved the characterization--Augustine was a well crafted flawed character. I do not understand the ending at all, however.

One word for JANE LAWRENCE: mindf*ck.

Seriously. This book is not for those of delicate constitution, not for those who prefer their realities ... linear.

It's tough to review JANE because to be honest, I'm still not 100% certain what I just read. There were ghosts and secrets and societies and all kinds of gothic goodness (nastiness?) that really was reminiscent of CRIMSON PEAK. Caitlin Starling plays off your expectations, then *twists.* How else can I describe it? Basically, if you love rotting mansions, creepy sh*t, and marriages of convenience drowning in mystery (and, of course, you aren't afraid of gore) then THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE is an absolute must-read.

If not? Run.

An atmospheric tale reminiscent of Rebecca and Jane Eyre, this Gothic Horror is creepy, visceral, and absorbing.

As someone who enjoys Gothic Mystery/Horror and Victorian literature in and of itself, one of this novel’s strong points is nailing the conventions of the time period while including modern elements that those of the 1800s couldn’t include. This isn’t to say that the novel is anachronistic, but more realistic while not being too modern. The balance was well struck.

The story starts strong with a lot of nods to the classics, flounders a little bit in the second quarter (it feels too much like a Rebecca copy for a few chapters), but really picks up at about 55% when it goes in a different direction entirely.

The horror elements are excellent. It's very haunting and creeps you out well after you finish reading. If you want to be on the edge of your seat, this one is far scarier than Mexican Gothic (by Sylvia Moreno Garcia). Yet, unlike Mexican Gothic which excelled at description and setting, I had trouble visualizing the home in Jane Lawrence. I was unsure where the cellar was located in relation to the rest of the house and how big the house actually was. I couldn’t get a clear layout in my mind, so certain aspects of the finale were confusing to me. And while I thought the alternate timeline was an interesting setting, I wasn’t really sure what it contributed to the plot. Jane could easily have been an orphan of any of the numerous skirmishes of the real time period (or even the result of a colonial dispute) and it wouldn’t have changed the story.

Yet, one particular aspect (which is also a trope of the genre), I really enjoyed and was excellent. I can’t really say what it is, as it’s a spoiler, but it was fantastic.

Now, magical realism is a sub-genre I, with minimal exceptions, do not enjoy, and the novel strayed into that a bit too much for my liking. While the supernatural (or the suspicion of such) is a trope of the genre, there was just too much magic for me to find the mystery itself that compelling.

It was also disappointing to me that the allusions to Jane’s being on the spectrum or being asexual (it isn’t very clear) weren’t fleshed out. In fact, given a trope of this genre is the handsome, often brooding or temperamental, man of the house, it would be a twist to have a story where the woman wasn’t seduced or affected in some way by his charms. It seemed like the story was building to that in the first few chapters but quickly falls under the standard whirlwind romance. I’m not sure why these references to her not wanting to be married or being awkward around others were included if she reverted into the same (brave, intelligent, and resourceful, yes) heroine we’ve seen in Rebecca, The Woman in White, Jane Eyre, and others. Perhaps it’s because the novel tried to include a lot of other concepts, such as medical procedures of the day, so things like Jane’s potential sexuality and/or neurodiversity and the alternative timeline didn’t get enough space.

That being said, I thought the narrative craft in developing the tension between Jane and Augustine was very well done, though I definitely had a “well that escalated quickly” moment when it came to how far she was willing to go to save this man she’s known for like two weeks. Sure, she’s wrapped up in the “I just had sex and I want more” cloud, but is that enough to compel someone to the level she did? To me, that aspect was quite unbelievable and dampened a lot of what follows in the bulk of the novel.

Yet, don't get me wrong, the novel was a very fun read. I very much enjoyed it and the author writes in an evocative style that has a fantastically creepy air and her descriptions of action scenes were top notch.

I would 100% try another book by this author, I think people who enjoy Gothic Horror or mystery will enjoy it and thank you again to the publisher for the advance e-arc.

Content warning: gore, blood, old-timey surgery, miscarriage, vivisection, drug abuse, gaslighting, war, PTSD

Jane Shoringfield thinks she has it all figured out when she gets into a marriage of convenience with the handsome Doctor Augustine Lawrence. She gets to continue being an accountant without the other trappings of marriage. Things aren’t as they seem, however, when she spends the night at Lindridge Hall. Things go bump in the night, red-eyed ghosts visit, and Doctor Lawrence has friends with more occult interests. Next comes a whirlwind of chaos magic, unfinished rituals, intricate mathematics, and scares perfect for fans of Crimson Peak and Penny Dreadful.

The author Caitlin Starling will be featured on the blog on October 4th, the eve of release date.

This book is so goth. It’s steeped in atmosphere where there’s a sense of loss, longing, and things not quite being gone. There’s the typical decaying manor in the countryside. There are servants who don’t stay the night. But even on the city side, there is a tragedy and mourning suggesting a wider world. Though the story remains individualistic in its scope, the world-building really worked for me.

What I also really liked is how much care Starling puts into establishing the world. It’s not quite Earth, but the tragedies feel familiar. She intricately sets up Shoringfield’s PTSD as it relates to a war that took place in Great Breltain. That kind of character work lends itself so well to a story featuring ghosts, especially when there are hints that the main character has dealt with her some of her trauma. But now there is new, never-before-seen nonsense. It adds tension on a psychological level that raises the stakes and elevates the scares.

I greatly enjoyed the chemistry between Jane and Augustine. Even from the opening of “oh no, he’s hot,” to the gruesome events that unfold, there’s a romance there that feels so true to the gothic horror genre. It’s tender at times, but also completely horrifying. That ebb and flow does wonders for the pacing, adding in tension when you’re waiting for the next round of supernatural shenanigans.

There is one chapter at the very end which I will not speak of, but if you heard a high-pitched keening noise in the last week, that was me being absolutely delighted. If you enjoyed the game-changing twist of Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, you are in for a treat with this one.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Caitlin Starling returns with a historical horror novel in The Death of Jane Lawrence. Jane is newly married to Dr Augustine Lawrence, and is eager to prove herself useful as accountant and all around assistant at her husband's surgery. But Augustine is secretive and has been caught in lies that make Jane all the more curious. And why does Augustine insist that she not stay at his estate of Lindridge Hall overnight? A stormy night and a damaged carriage lead to Jane finding out much more about her husband and his home than she bargained for.

Starling is absolutely talented at creating that Gothic sense of dread and impending bad-things-lurking vibe. This sense of what might be or what could be or what is real is oftentimes worse than what is, and provides a pushing force to the novel. This book was marketed to fans of Rebecca and The Haunting of Hill House, and for once I can absolutely see the validity of the comps. Couple in a healthy dose of madness, illness, or supernatural and you will have a good idea of what you're getting into with this book. Content warnings for some gore and body horror sort of stuff, keeping in line with Augustine being a surgeon and the book being horror.

Starling also managed to make the characters accessible and likable even while pushing forward with the horror mystery plot line. The fact that as many times as Augustine was caught lying, and I still found myself rooting for him speaks highly to Starling's ability to develop his character.

I hesitate to say more about this book to avoid spoilers. I was very pleased with my reading experience and will be exploring Starling's backlist as well as anticipating future releases.

I originally reviewed this a few days ago but haven't stopped thinking about it. While my coworkers don't quite find supernatural medical drama enticing, this is the perfect outlet for my continued thoughts: I am obsessed with this book and have already preordered a physical copy for myself. As a fan of the genre, I was immediately drawn in by the Crimson Peak comparisons, which are totally warranted, so I may have gone in with a bias. While some have said that the second half is slower and too descriptive, I enjoyed that aspect of it. I do love how quick the book starts off, matching my excitement to see what happens next. However, I think my brain processes complex thoughts a bit similarly to Jane's. I don't often love magic in books but the philosophical approach grounded the story for me, and personally I feel the big concepts need extensive breakdown. Coupling that with the way that Jane uses logic and reason to process these larger-than-life ideas, and the way that in real life this is how many people process grief, and we use rituals to give us some sort of catharsis or healing...absolute chef's kiss.

On a less dense note, I absolutely loved the romance. Their awkwardness was so endearing, and I felt their love towards the end of the book was totally genuine. To delve into the tropes of the genre, I love how an inexperienced new wife's paranoia and insecurities manifested in the supernatural, and the sequence with the surprise dinner party was a magnificent display of the feelings coinciding with an (again, inexperienced) anxious person essentially having the rug pulled out from under them in many ways. Their behavior felt much like the climax of Durrenmatt's The Visit; I was quite panicked. Add on top of all of this, I felt the writing appropriately matched Jane's mental state throughout the book.

I fear this is the longest review I've written here, and I'm embarrassed and must wrap it up. Needless to say, I loved this book.

Jane Shoringfield believes that a sensible marriage to one Dr. Augustine Lawrence is the best way to begin her adult life. However, Jane quickly discovers that all is not as it seems.

The Death of Jane Lawrence has everything I love in a gothic horror story: a crumbling mansion, lots of scary apparitions, and some truly harrowing scenes of the supernatural.

However, I found that I could not like any of these characters, and that Jane’s “sensible” personality was too easily broken before the truly scary events even began!

Also, I could not find the “thread” of this story. Is it the haunted house (revelations that happen very fast)? Is it Dr. Lawrence’s secrets (again, discovered close to the beginning of the plot)? Is it what will happen to Jane? I just couldn’t tell.

Perhaps this plodding tale was simply not for me.

This book is a perfect fall read. I loved the spooky aesthetic and the way the mystery creates twists and turns I'd never anticipate. The story moves along at a steady pace for about the first half of the book, and then the timeline slows down a bit more towards the end as the climax ebbs and flows. I liked the characters, and I thought it overall well balanced throughout. Some content notes to be aware of: drug usage, violence, gore, trauma, psychological distress/torture, body horror, death, & blood. A full review will be discussed with Kriti on armedwithabook.com closer to release date. Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this earc in exchange of an honest review.

Right off the bat this has the most delicious Haunting of Hill House and Rebecca vibes but this is not for the faint of heart.

Jane's guardians are moving away from the home she has lived in with them since the war took her parents. They have offered to let her come with them, but she knows her expenses will quickly outstrip her earnings, and so she devises a plan. She will marry a man who will not worry over the intimacy aspects of such a relationship, and will allow her to carry on with her accounting work. Jane quickly finds a perfect candidate in the local doctor. His only condition: she never come to his family home. But after a series of mishaps on their wedding day, Jane is forced to spend the night at his grand family home. It's a nice place, in need of repair. Oh, and too bad it's haunted as f*ck.

This was a grisly and gruesome book. Right off the top there are so so many trigger warnings so please believe me when I say it is best to go into this with eyes wide open. Firstly, Augustine is a doctor, and Jane assists him in several surgeries, which are described in full detail. I can't find a list to share but some major trigger/content warnings include miscarriage, gore, self-harm, starvation, drug use.

Jane is such an intriguing character. I do admire her motives for marriage LOL if I was more gutsy I'd probably do the same in her shoes. That said, I was quite delighted when it turned on her and she did fall in love. It was actually surprisingly romantic in the beginning, woven in around the dark and horrific. Yes, it was a little instant love in a sense, but it was executed in such a way that made it feel somewhat plausible. And the time era and atmosphere of this world also helped make that work. It's set in a parallel universe England with magic, but it's set in a period reminiscent of the late 1800's slash early 1900's. That's what I imagined at least. I really liked Augustine as well. The man is such an enigma for most of the book, and it gave him a certain tortured appeal that helped both the reader and Jane to figure this man out together. But also, bro knows how to gaslight his new wife.

The horror instances in this do. Not. Miss. Every single scene where there was a ghost, a phantom, some twisted memory or a cluster*ck of an illusion was utterly chilling. In particular a certain chapter where Jane is in Lindridge Hall's library, and the part where Augustine and Jane are in the cellar were desperately haunting. When I compare this to Hill House, I mean the show, not the book. The horror in this holds a lot of parallels to Shirley Jackson's book, but this is more of what I expected from the older book. Even the smallest detail used to describe something made a big difference in setting the tone and the atmosphere of Lindridge Hall.

The last half of the book was a trip. I'm still not sure what to think, to be honest. The ending confused the frick out of me. Someone said in their review that their brain is broken and that is a very apt description for how I feel in finishing this. Hopefully the author will explain it further once the book is published. I also struggled with the introduction of math theorem into the story. With Jane being an accountant and finding calm and sense in numbers, it is a thread that carries through but is extremely prevalent towards the end. However, any book that tries to explain concepts of zero and applies it to magic is going to lose me. It's nothing personal, I just can't wrap my head around it.

This was a solid horror novel. There are a lot of terrifying scenes that will satisfy a lot of readers looking for this kind of dark material, but you need to have a strong stomach to get through some of it.

The Death of Jane Lawrence conjures up magic, mystery, gothic horror, haunting of a house with a strange thread throughout! Thank you #NetGalley#StMartinsPress#TheDeathofJaneLawrence

I knew I would enjoy this when I read that this was inspired by Crimson Peak, one of my all-time favorite Guillermo del Toro movies. And wow did this book deliver!

Suspenseful, delightfully gothic, and creepy as all hell, this book kept me on my toes and had me questioning every single twist and plot development as they occurred. The ending was SO satisfying as well. I feel like a lot of books try to do the whole "gothic" thing and only do an okay job of it, but this was truly inspired.

This is like a mash up of House of Leaves and Rebecca--but with extra gore. A little too much gore for me personally, but a fast paced and original story with great intense gothic atmosphere. Though slow to start it picked up considerably and maintained a high degree of tension, magic, and shock factor. A perfect one for the upcoming Halloween season!

When I read the summary of The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling it piqued my interest, but I was a little hesitant to pick up this genre again after my experience with Mexican Gothic. I am glad I did because this book packs more punch. But, I am starting to think that gothic horror might not be my genre. I found Jane Lawrence to be entertaining, but I’m reading to find the solution rather than enjoying the adventure along the way. It feels like I’m stuck sitting on the surface when all I want is to get pulled under. My own personal feelings aside, the story itself is unique and can satisfy any craving for gothic ghoulies.

Jane Shoringfield has managed to carve out an independent and fulfilling life with her foster family. With a knack for numbers, Jane becomes a self-taught accountant and finds joy in managing the family’s accounts. But when her family wants to move to the city, Jane refuses to go back to the war-torn area that took her parents. As a young, unmarried woman, she cannot remain by herself, so Jane decides to quickly arrange a business deal, er, marriage. After careful consideration, Jane asks the town’s new doctor, Augustine Lawrence, to marry her for society’s sake and allow her to manage his practice. The young doctor is reluctant to take a wife but eventually agrees after laying down a few rules of his own, including one that forbids Jane from visiting his country manor, Lindridge Hall. However awkward their arrangement is, the two find themselves magnetized by each other’s presence and the strict rules quickly fall to the wayside. Jane eventually finds herself at the forbidden manor, only to discover she truly knows nothing about the man she married.

The pacing in Jane Lawrence is phenomenal. Starling knows how to keep the reader engaged. Truly, the momentum does not stop building for over 300 pages. All the fat was trimmed from this story, and there are no lulls or side quests to pull one off track. I especially appreciate the quick and efficient setup at the beginning. Starling wastes no time getting the plot rolling and introduces the oddities early and often so you’re pulled in fast. She did a great job establishing the world and characters quickly so you could get right to creepy stuff with little effort. My reading has felt really sluggish lately, but here I was compelled to read, even if it was only to find answers to my many questions.

Jane values logic and enjoys the structure of mathematics. Ghosts and magic tend to shatter that sense of order which makes Jane such a great character to go on this adventure with. As the strange, unknowable things make themselves known, Jane finds a way to adapt to the situation by interpreting events through her own lens. I appreciated that she is still shocked by the new reality she is facing but also doesn’t regress into a damsel in distress. Her determination is refreshing and while she might run at first, Jane didn’t hesitate to go in for the attack once she assessed the danger.

Okay, semi spoilers for this paragraph. The first 80% of the book is pure gothic glory. Old, decrepit manor, strange but handsome young bachelor, ghosties, fever dreams. The book does a great job distracting you with all the gothic tropes...at first. In the final portion, Starling pulled the dusty rug out from under me and the impact had me dazed and confused. The ending got weird. I don’t even fully comprehend what happened, but it was so unexpected and exciting that it easily brought my rating for this book up a notch. I’m simultaneously disappointed and entranced by the storytelling. I wish the elements in the last portion were more prevalent throughout, but also understand the ending was made that much more jarring by being fed the typical dark fare for the majority of the book.

Here’s another spooktacular book to get you ready for the best time of year. The Death of Jane Lawrence is classically refreshing and entirely unique with enough haunts to chase you through the fall. I highly recommend this one, even if somewhat selfishly because I would love to discuss and unpack that ending with someone.

Rating: The Death of Jane Lawrence - 8.0/10

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
A Horror, Coming October 2021 by St Martin’s Press, 368 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:
-Content Warning: This one definitely cycles through some gore and terror. Steer clear of this one if you have issues with blood, graphic descriptions of eating things you probably wouldn’t want to eat, and death.
-I could see readers having a problem with the discussions of mathematics and math theory that pervade some of this one. In my opinion it is tactfully done and beautifully written, but if you have a knee-jerk “I hate math” reaction, you wouldn’t like it.
-Ending. I like my endings to resonate and leave me thinking and this one, to an extent, does that. I do think it went a tiny bit too far and would’ve taken it even rolled back a little more. But that’s a personal preference.

What I Did Like:
-The setting. This is a classic haunted house setting in the vein of Shirley Jackson’s Hill House. It’s beautifully described, dark, macabre, and hums with a personality that makes it a character in its own right.
-Spiraling of the main character. I LOVE this in horror. The idea that the main character can change before our eyes and spiral out of control. The idea that we can follow them down this spiral, cheering them on the entire way. It isn’t until we pull ourselves away for a second and return to the real world that we realize how far they’ve spiraled. It’s beautiful and brilliant and I loved every second of it.
-That one chapter. I can’t say anything more because SPOILERS but there is a chapter here that SINGS. Every once in a while I read a book that has a single chapter that will inspire me and keep me thinking. This one has that. Read until you get to it. Enjoy it. Revel in its genius.

Who Should Read This One:
-Horror fans, specifically those who like to explore the toll living in a horror story can take on a character.
-Haunting of Hill House fans. Same vein, same brilliance.
-Magic fans. I don’t mean wand-waving teenagers. I mean adults deep into magic that has serious consequences but they have no other choice.

My Rating: 5 Stars. I expected macabre and gothic. I got brilliant language, deep characters, and a story that sucked me in. It’s dark and beautiful. Read this one.