Jane, unlike most women in her time, just wants independence. However, in order to escape becoming a social pariah and oddity, her only way to secure that independence is ironically through a carefully planned marriage. Enter Augustine Lawrence, a local surgeon who keeps strange habits and spends his evenings at his family home, Lindridge Hall. Jane proposes a contract wherein little will be expected as far as intimacy is concerned and both can live their separate lives. What Jane does not realize is that her new husband’s past is full of the stuff of nightmares and she is about to become ensared in its grip.

A wonderful gothic horror, The Death of Jane Lawrence keeps a fast pace and is full of interesting twists and turns. Definitely recommend for fans of Shirley Jackson and movies like Crimson Peak.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this free advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Victorian era ghosts and magic - what a combination. Throw in a little romance and you have a spell binding (yes you read that correctly) plot. A little hard to follow at the end but on the whole a mesmerizing read. Thank you Caitlin Starling and NetGalley for the chance to read this!

The Death of Jane Lawrence is spellbinding and macabre. Jane is strong and smart, yet still vulnerable. Her surprise and uncertainty in herself make her loveable, and her mind makes her incredibly intriguing. Add medical mysteries and supernatural threats, and this story becomes dangerously dark and suspenseful.

This tale walks a fine line between genius and insane. There are moments of brilliance and doubt that weave together to keep you invested, but guessing. I was simultaneously rooting for Jane and screaming at her to turn back. When I find myself talking to the characters, I know that I've found a winner.

I would have given it five stars if I hadn't found one small section slightly confusing and in need of a reread. It was a necessary part of the story. I just found it a little disruptive to the flow of the narrative.

If you like your books dark, intellectual and twisty, then The Death of Jane Lawrence could be for you.

Gothic horror is kind of rapidly becoming my thing; ghosts, madness, crumbling mansions, Victorian-era sexual repression… What’s not to love? Reccently, I got an opportunity to read The Death of Jane Lawrence, a gothic novel which finds its inspiration in the film, Crimson Peak. I absolutely adore that film—Guillermo del Toro, Tom Hiddleston, high collars… It’s all just too good. Unfortunately, beyond a passing resemblance, there isn’t much similarity between these two works. I am not going to take this opportunity to tell you about Crimson Peak, because quite frankly, you should have already seen it, and I am disappointed in you. Go watch it. Now. Then you can come back and read the rest of this.

Let’s talk instead about the plot of The Death of Jane Lawrence. This is about a Victorian woman, Jane, who desires a marriage of convenience. One that allows her the freedom to continue working, and studying her true passion—math. Let me say, bless you Jane, because math is super NOT my thing, if we’re sharing truths. But Jane is seemingly quite good at the infernal subject, and she’d like to continue doing it. I support it. She strikes a bargain with resident doctor and tortured soul, Augustine Lawrence. He agrees to marry her, but he also has conditions. You know, the start to any healthy relationship. Jane must never go to his ancestral home, Lindridge Hall, but he will be sleeping there every night. This feels normal…

Well clearly, that plan goes straight to hell (as math should), and the new Mrs. Dr. Lawrence ends up at the very ancestral home she previously promised not to go. Cue mysterious figures, cue madness, cue secrets, cue betrayal, etc etc. These are the foundations of all strong marriages, am I right? Keep it exciting!

I was actually really looking forward to reading this and the first half didn’t let me down. Exactly the repressed Victorian tale I was pining for. Also, can I just say that the cover is so beautiful, I would frame it and stick it on my wall any day of the week. About halfway through, things got weird, and didn’t exactly go in the direction I was hoping for. With this said, this could truly be a me issue (like most things), because others could really enjoy the plot after this point. I, on the other hand, felt as if the story was a bit overly reliant on this new plot device, which took away from some of the richness of the narrative that had been developed to this point.

I imagine that the last ¼ of the book may be controversial as well; some people will love, and some will not. I understand what the writer was attempting to do, and there certainly are shining moments, but ultimately, I found much of it to be a bit convoluted. Again, this is my opinion, and I can definitely see others loving this part of the book (math lovers.. They would love this stuff). Overall, I credit this book for a somewhat unique take on the genre, and would encourage people to ignore my criticisms and give this one a go, especially if you too are a fan of high collars and sexually repressed Brits. <3 I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me.

Creepy and dark. A gothic tale of death and magic. Interesting storyline with the right amount of gore and strangeness to keep me intrigued to the very end. Jane was odd but likeable and her surgeon husband also very odd and less likeable,it seemed he carried the weight of a lot of death around him. Sometimes a bit hard to follow but rang true of a different, dark and decidedly crude time in the world.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

Wow! What a read! I am still reeling by how much I truly enjoyed this book. After seeing Shirley Jackson mentioned in the blurb, I'll admit I was a little nervous. Most of the time, this leads to disappointment and me wondering if the gothic genre is dying out. The Death of Jane Lawrence has given me hope once again! Caitlin Starling is not messing around. The setting, the plot, the characters... everything felt so effortless.

Jane, our main character, convinces the town doctor that the two should be married as a business transaction. It is a mutually beneficial offer with strict parameters set in place by both parties. However, soon after they are married, those rules seem to unwind and Jane finds herself wondering who she truly married. Why must Augustine sleep at Luthridge Hall, by himself, every single night? Why can't she join him? What or who is haunting him in the night?

The impossible becomes the possible and it's left to Jane to put everything back in order. There is such a perfect hush, hush tone to the gothic nature of this story. For some, it would be considered a slow burn. But I found myself instantly entranced and taken with Starling's vivid descriptions. Luthridge Hall and the perfect ending to this story will stay with me for quite some time.

I think this book bit off a bit more than it could chew; the story was interesting but the plot was convoluted and hard to follow at times, which makes for a hard to follow story. The story was dark and gruesome at times, I wouldn't recommend this book for people who are squeamish or who avoid gore.

The Death of Jane Lawrence is a beautifully written gothic, gory, and very scary novel. Caitlyn Starling has conjured a main character that is intelligent, quirky, and, ultimately, tragic. Jane Lawrence is a woman who enters a marriage contract with a local doctor. She chooses him based on practical reasons, not romantic inclinations. At first, Augustine Lawrence, resists her proposition, but he soon sees the advantages of marrying Jane. His one stipulation is that she can never come to Lindridge Hall, his family estate.

A storm causes an accident which forces Jane to stay her wedding night at Lindridge Hall where she experiences what Augustine was trying to shield her from: the ghosts that haunt Lindridge Hall. Soon, she begins to uncover the secrets that Augustine was desperate to keep from her.

The Death of Jane Lawrence, quite simply, gave me nightmares. It has all the touchstones of a great gothic read: a decaying manor, ghosts, and an unsettling backstory that literally haunts Jane. This story is dripping with unnerving atmosphere, scary visuals, and gruesome situations that will stay with you long after you finish.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy to review!

I wanted to enjoy this book. Horror, a gothic atmosphere, a strong lady protagonist who was reminiscent at first of Deanna Raybourn's excellent leading ladies.

Alas, no.

I soon found this book overzealous - both a haunted house and magic meshed together in an unreliable narration that had my head spinning by the halfway point. I think it should've been one or the other - the book wasn't long enough to flesh out any of its assets sufficiently for me. Not the unique Britain-adjacent alternate setting, the ghosts, the strange and tepid maybe-romance, nor the nebulous magic system.

By the sixty percent mark, I was so lost in the garbled, metaphysical turn the plot had taken that I was having absolutely zero fun. This is from a veteran reader of dark, ghostly, magical stories, so...Not great.

As for pros, I will say that I suppose if readers are meant to feel immersed, the author certainly achieved that. I felt as insane as the protagonist was at several parts, and the horrific, gross descriptions of magical rites and spells' ill effects had me nauseous. If you enjoy darker, visceral magic systems, like that of Ninth House, this felt familiar, though the latter redeemed its grossness with other good aspects.

This, and the other Caitlin Starling book I read, The Luminous Dead , are both *good*. But for me, they always drag on too long. In both this text and the other, Starling's premise is enchanting. But in both as well, the story feels like it carries on for longer than it merits. I think if Caitlin ever wrote a novella, it would be outstanding. At certain points I really was skipping whole pages, because it would just be description and description and no actual moving forward of the plot. But if you enjoyed The Luminous Dead or enjoy heavily descriptive prose, you might like it more than I did :)

I just didn't really like this. It starts out fine. But then it takes a weird turn and becomes very surreal, like a nightmare or something. It just didn't do it for me. It starts out as Gothic horror and then it was like The Yellow Wallpaper but with magic.

I do like the cover.

The title is misleading. I kept expecting her to die or to be dead. That in itself was distracting.

Caitlin Starling makes an ambitious change of direction from her 2019 debut The Luminous Dead, which was nominated for a Bram stoker Award in the First Novel Category. That novel was a fascinating and atmospheric blend of horror and science fiction, with this latest novel blending horror with historical and period drama. The Death of Jane Lawrence was one of those books I enjoyed in fits and starts, finding some parts exasperating, but others very entertaining. It certainly has the potential to find plenty of fans, but equally it will not surprise me if many readers struggle in making it to the end. However, it is worth sticking with as the first and second halves of the plot are significantly different from each other, with the pace quickening in the latter part.

The title of the novel The Death of Jane Lawrence is a slight spoiler for what lies ahead. Do not let that put you off though, much of the fun is how the plot arrives there and nothing is quite what it seems. And that includes death. When the novel opens the main character is called Jane Shoringfield and is plotting to find a husband, however, she is not looking for love and is after a marriage of convenience, so she can remain independent and carry on with her own career. Her first choice is the dashing, but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence who would be seen as a catch. Going back to the title of the book: you know what is going to happen; the couple click.

The plot takes its time finding its legs and true direction, which begins when Augustine tells Jane that there is a major condition to their marriage: she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Jane agrees, but the reader knows this is not going to happen, with her realising that her husband is a very different man when he is on his own turf. Much of the novel is about uncovering secrets and Jane finding herself seriously out of her depth in the empty and unloved house. It takes a while for anything supernatural (or magical for want of a better word) to happen, which might test the patience of some readers, but Jane is an engaging main character, and she comfortably carries the novel on her shoulders, even if she does prefer numbers to people.

Various blurbs and promotional materials have namechecked Crimson Peak and this was a fair enough comparison, the underlying brooding romance was a key part of the story, with Jane on edge over the potential skeletons (romantic or otherwise) lurking in her new husband’s closet. Even though there a fair amount of gore, courtesy of several operating scenes, fans of quite sedate stuff like Jane Eyre or the atmospheric work of Shirley Jackson might enjoy this, even if the final third is very heavy on the magical, with potential madness or separation from reality not far away.

The setting was an intriguing one, but it did not truly click for me. One of the blurbs says “Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England” to be frank, I am not too sure all readers would even notice this unless it was pointed out to them. I found this confusing and kept thinking, for some reason, it was set after the American Revolution! This location was just not defined well enough or distinguished from our own world to make any noticeable difference to the plot. BookRiot said “It’s like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell meets Mexican Gothic meets Crimson Peak.” I have read both books and seen the film and the quote is a fair sell, however, the alternative reality where The Death of Jane Lawrence exists is not a patch on Jonathan Strange and Mrs Norrell or any of the best in fiction, such as Ishiguru’s Never Let Me Go. Interesting little tip-bits were dropped here and there, but there not enough of them to make this alternative reality intriguing enough to truly shine.

The story takes place in an alternate mirror version of Great Britain, which is called ‘Great Breltain’ whose capital, Camhurst, is struggling to recover and rebuild after suffering gas attacks from the ‘Ruzkans.’ I am not sure of the point in having a place where the location names were so similar to our own. Organized religion have become unpopular following the war, after many citizens found they were unable to combat the horrors of war and industrialization with mere faith. So, God, Christianity, and the Devil are never mentioned in the story and there were some really great scenes which illustrated this. After the marriage, there was this odd gathering of all the locals who followed and congregated around the married couple. Also, I noticed women had very good jobs, one of the secondary main characters was a surgeon, which most certainly would not be the case in the early 20th Century in our reality.

The plot swings into a standard slow-burning gothic horror story, with a few variations, with repetition setting in before the end. However, the use of mathematical inquiry and the concept of zero to make sense of death and transcendence in the second half of the novel was fascinating, but I must admit I did not understand it all. Considering the book was a fair length, it was a tough ask for Jane to carry it on her own, although her struggle with moral goodness and empathy was always engaging, it could have done with more characters or alternative perspectives. The servants were wallpaper in the background and the visiting surgeons (who practiced magic) seemed only to be a plot device in order to give Jane some magical tips. Perhaps ‘magic’ is a better word than ‘supernatural’ for what goes on in this novel, but whichever you prefer it was very well presented and thought out by the author.

The Death of Jane Lawrence was an intriguing mix of literary ideas and although it never becoming a bodice ripping romantic tale, it does in places teeter towards it. However, Jane Lawrence was an intriguing and, very much, a modern woman who embraces the magical world with both hands when the chips were down.

Listen, though. Yes, the Crimson Peak vibes are strong, but to say this is Crimson Peak plus Jonathan Strange plus the Mutter Museum plus Mexican Gothic makes it sound like a derivative mish-mash of Gothic horror tropes--and the substance of it is moooooore than that. This book is beautiful and horrifying and e n g r o s s i n g and layered. The visceral horror is relentless but it's not just there to scare you. And there's just enough steady, believable romance to cut through the gore.

If I had to compare this book to anything, honestly, it would be the Area X trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer (which, coming from me, is a high compliment). The sense of "something is very, very Wrong about this place" that becomes clearer and more dangerous but doesn't form a neat, tidy shape by the end. There's not this Big Moment of Dawning Horror where you realize the truth of whatever awful thing lies at the center of the story (looking at you, that scene in Crimson Peak), but rather a building sense of disorientation as our narrator untangles question after question about everything haunting her and her husband. The ending wasn't straight-forward, but I'd sooner reread the book than leave it at that.

Literally throwing stars at this book. Read it!!

Jane Shoringfield, a sensible, no nonsense young woman, with a head for numbers, decides that the best way for her to get on with life is to get married. With the help of her foster parents, she compiles a list of eligible bachelors and devises a plan to enter into a sort of business arrangement with the gentleman of choice that would only be a marriage contract in the strictly legal sense. The first man on her list is Dr. Augustine Lawrence, who is the town’s new doctor. Jane meets the extremely reluctant doctor and after a clumsy introduction manages to persuade him to invite her to his office so that she can get an idea of what being a bookkeeper/pseudo nurse and wife? to a doctor might actually involve and to give him a chance to make up his mind. Although the opening pages of this story make it sound like a romantic comedy or even a gothic romance, it is anything but. Jane’s introduction to medicine is a horrific, bloody case that ends in the death of the patient, but she manages to bond with Dr. Lawrence, who she finds herself strangely attracted to and vice versa. They marry, but he explains to her that he will spend his nights at his family home, Lindridge Hall, but that she will never live there. It does not take Jane long to realize that the man she has married has many dark and ultimately terrifying secrets. The story gradually unfolds as the reader follows hardheaded, ‘just the facts,’ Jane as she becomes slowly engulfed in a tangled mystery of magic, ghosts, demons and bizarre rituals. The story is well-written, and the characters are believable; however, this is definitely a novel for fans of gothic fantasy and horror.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

As a fan of the macabre and the grotesque, this is a publication that I highly anticipated, and knew I had to get my hands on! It can only be improved upon by its release in the spookiest month of the year. Fans of Jane Eyre and The Haunting of Hillhouse will find a lot to love here.

The book follows our heroine, Jane Lawrence, née Shoringfield, an exceedingly practical woman who arranges a marriage of practicality with Mr. Augustine Lawrence. He agrees, on the condition that she spends her nights in his place of surgical practice, rather than entering his home. He clearly has a great deal to hide, and what follows is a bloody romance with all the twists and turns you would expect in a classic horror novel.

The one take away for me with this book is that it had a bit of a plot slump towards the middle of the book, and could occasionally be a bit incomprehensible in its prose. That being said, it was still a pleasure from beginning to end and I plan on recommending this book to horror fans everywhere upon release!

This book has alot of things going for it, including great atmosphere and quirky characters, but it didn't work for me and I skimmed the last 100 pages to get to the end.

I loved how this book started off. Jane's pragmatic style was fresh and very appealing. Augustine was believable and their relationship was intriguing. I liked the other world setting too. There was a nice gothic feel. That being said I was a bit disappointed, not at the ending, but at the last bit of how they got there (trying not to give spoilers here). I would be curious to hear from others what they thought.

An easy to read, albeit tame, story of loneliness, madness and grief with a confusing ending. I found the author’s use of “non-places” for locations an irksome distraction.

Masterful gothic horror novel that reminds one of Rebecca crossed with haunting go hill house , janes marries a doctor for convince finds he harbors deep terrifying secrets . Scary and thrilling this novel is unputdownable

A gorgeously set novel that immerses you within the gothic temperance. I truly enjoyed this book, and in a way - it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice. Dr. Lawrence resembles Mr. Darcy, in a mysterious - oddly charming way, a bit anti-social. If, of course, Mr. Darcy cut people open for a living. And it meant I was rooting for their love from the beginning, it felt familiar and pure. I just couldn’t help it. And Jane is just so clever, and intelligent without ever having to directly tell us this about her. This really helped create a characterization for Jane that I absolutely respected and related to. She’s keen enough to navigate a route for herself to still do what she loves, when she wants - without having to rely on the Cunninghams. She isn’t bitter, though she has a lot to be bitter about.
As I am someone who excelled in reading/writing, never mathematics - I was often lost when it came to this, but the author does an amazing job of explaining it in such a way that it was palatable. The book does an amazing job of immersing you in spookiness, a real horror-feel where you actually care about the characters. I will warn, there was more gore than I thought there would be! I figured it would be a very subtle horror, and it was not. This is, of course, not to subtract from its genius - but a warning to those who dislike body horror.
Thank you so much to Netgalley, and the Publishers. I am sincerely glad to have received this ARC, and plan on buying it!