I think I liked this book. It’s a gothic horror centered around the titular character, Jane, and her marriage to Dr. Augustine Lawrence, as well as the spooky mansion he inherited from family. The book feels like a real ode to the genre in a many ways, and pulls elements from Crimson Peak, Jane Eyre, Fall of the House of Usher, and lots more.

So here’s what worked for me: The first two thirds of the book. The setup, the characterization of Jane, the relationship between Augustine and Jane (which was blessedly missing the usual huge age and power disparity I see in these books). The atmospheric tone, the way “magic” worked, the sort of timeless and also old feel of the story, the place-less-ness (if that’s even a word) all contributed to this interesting liminal space where the story takes place.
Here’s what didn’t work for me: the last third of the book, which felt honestly like a continuous fever dream that probably made sense and felt felt beautiful to someone much smarter than I am. I spent so much of the end just at a loss for what was going on, and if that disorientation was intentional I also didn’t feel a sense of clarity or resolution that made the prolonged disorientation worthwhile. I’m inclined to still give this a good review because I have a sneaking suspicion that this book will reveal itself to me over time, and also because the writing in the first two thirds was really lovely.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I just cannot decide if I loved this book or hated it. The beginning was intriguing and made me want to keep reading to find out why Dr. Lawrence was so adamant that Jane not spend the night at his house. But once that part of the story became clearer the book got very intense and a little hard to follow. The mathematical and magical logic was convoluted and clearly the author has a great command of the written word to even attempt to put some of that in the book. The description of the house and the detail gore associated with the surgical procedures was very well defined, but the ability to conjure images of Elodie and the other visitors was very impressive. I began to hate it when the story focused on Jane's attempt to rescue Augustine, some of it was just too icky to read - necessary to maintain the heightened level of anxiety and fear - but still icky. Overall it just seemed a little too long, some parts could have been eliminated without impacting the quality of the writing or the story. I found myself skimming pages and eventually skipping pages just to get to the end. I found the resolution very satisfying but there is one chapter, which I cannot reference without giving away too much of the story, that just seems to be stream of consciousness and VERY difficult to follow. So in the end I liked it, didn't love or hate it. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, first of all thank you to Netgalley for an advanced read of this book!
Now for my thoughts....that's a tough one.

This was quite a ride! Both in the story and how I felt about it. I liked it, then lost a bit of interest, then was fully on board again, then loved it, then was totally mindfucked! And don't even get me started on chapter zero.

In short, this was a really original piece of fiction. It kept me guessing just when i thought I knew what was happening. It made me think about things a bit differently for a while and I think that is what great writing does. I definitely recommend

The stunning cover art and comparison to Crimson Peak (one of my favorite movies) drew me to this book from the start. And it delivered on the eerie, victorian-gothic kind of atmospheric horror I had been craving.

I would caution that there are quite a few sequences of gory body horror, that were intense enough I think you need to know what you're signing up for before reading.

There was so much potential with its atmosphere and fictitious, alternate world, that I feel like was let down by its lack of originality in plot. It pulled quite a bit from Crimson Peak, which is fine in terms of atmosphere but more of a problem when it came to the plot elements. There was one specific twist/trope that seemed directly borrowed (I wont say for the sake of keeping this spoiler-free, but if you want to know, just ask via comment), and the ending itself I thought heavily resembled that of Crimson Peak. This may not be a problem if you've never seen it, but for me it didn't feel like it was bringing anything new to the table.

The supernatural elements were very abstract, in such a way that it lost me at times, especially at the end. There were moments that were written so well that I was deeply drawn in, but unfortunately just as many that were too abstract to keep my interest, and we never reached any kind of understanding even though those elements led to a very sudden resolution.

The building tension was very well done throughout, and I enjoyed how Starling played with reality and made the reader question the reliability of the various characters. Therein lied the true strength of this story, and what made it an enjoyable experience despite the misgivings I had over other elements.

[ Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an arc via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review! ]

The Death of Jane Lawrence was suspenseful and terrifying with moments that had me clutching my seat. Jane and Augustine set the perfect background for a horror novel, guaranteed to keep you up at night!

This was a really interesting, gory read. I liked that even though the world wasn't much different than our own in maybe the late 1800s or early 1900s, but it was technically a fantasy. The ghosts were so interesting and the storyline itself seemed like it was loosely based on Jane Eyre-- with horror elements, of course.
However, the problem I did have was not liking Jane as a character. I liked all of her character traits: intelligent, practical, logical, strong-willed, but the execution wasn't that great. I found it hard to like Jane or be invested in her emotions, even though usually I would like and admire a character with those traits. Jane just seemed a little bland.
I was also bored for a lot of the book: it wasn't until the end that I was interested in what was happening.

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is a gripping gothic novel that I could not put down and kept me up late into the night! It is reminiscent of classic gothic stories such as Rebecca and Crimson Peak while being its own unique story. It has all of the essential pieces of a great gothic novel- an old, crumbling house that is a character unto itself, a dark, mysterious history, a doomed love, and shadows that may or may not go bump in the night. The writing was beautiful and haunting and was perfectly suited to the story. I was hooked from first to last! I don’t want to say too much about the story to not spoil anything, but I cannot stress enough that you need to read this book! It is a book that will continue to haunt me in the best way possible for quite some time.
5/5

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling will be published on October 19, 2021.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC.

This book left me off kilter - in the best way. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began this, and I certainly didn’t imagine it going the way it did. This book is dark, creepy and gave the the shivers more than once. I really enjoyed this a lot! I found Jane to be an incredibly interesting character. My only critique would be that sometimes I had a hard time following the more in-depth discussions of logic, the workings and the mechanics of the magic in the book. But I think that just added to the feeling for me of being disoriented and nervous/scared for Jane.

This book both delighted and terrified me, in equal measure. A marriage of convenience trope? An old, crumbling and isolated manor? Yes, please.

Jane Shorefield wants to marry, and as quick as she can, in order to maintain her independence. She chooses Augustine Lawrence, the beloved and mysterious town doctor. Augustine hesitatingly agrees on the condition that Jane should never set foot in his family home. But, of course, that plan falls apart as soon as the pair wed. Jane soon discovers inexplicable horrors within the walls of Lindridge Hall and the reason why her new husband wanted to hide it from her.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Books don’t usually scare me, but this one definitely did. I’ve never watched Crimson Peak, so I don’t know if it compares to that, but I can say I noticed Bluebeard similarities while reading this book. I loved Jane; she’s a smart, practical woman who goes on a journey in this book, facing things that she never worked have considered possible before meeting Augustine.

I will have to check out Caitlin Starling’s other works post-haste.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an e-ARC of this book!

This book is everything I look for when I want to read a grotesque, haunted, creepy horror read. The Death of Jane Lawrence follows a girl named Jane. Jane has gotten to the age where she needs to get married and, after reviewing all of the prospective gentlemen in her town, has decided that Dr. Augustine Lawrence is her first choice. After explaining her logic, Dr. Augustine accepts this marriage of convenience with one condition: that Jane must never visit Lindridge Hall, his family’s crumbling manor outside of town. On their wedding night; however, after an accident Jane is stranded at Lindridge Hall with Augustine.

This book is pure madness and horror, and I couldn’t get enough of it. The manor screams Haunting at Bly Manor/Crimson Peak. The characters are extremely complex. The writing is beautiful and creepy. The romance is intense and complicated. There’s a mystery around the entire story that grabs you and refuses to let you go until the end. I highly recommend you pre-order this book immediately. I find myself still thinking about the story weeks after finishing it because it’s just that good!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

When a novel's strength is also it's weakness; The Death of Jane Lawrence is a modern take on classic gothic novel, toying heavily with concepts of mathematics and metaphysics. While the final output suffers from over-writing, and drowning in its own complicated pseudo-logic, it is still an amiable exercise at re-invigorating a familiar setting.

Caitlin Starling's detail-oriented prose shines when it comes to establishing settings (from the bleak, blood-stained surgery, to the ramshackle manor), and depicting grotesque supernatural incidents. But beyond these critical moments, this obsession for the minutia can be laborious to get through; the pacing never peaks because everything is dragged out by hollow textual busywork (no matter how beautifully written). You know this is an issue when chunks of paragraph can be skipped without losing the plot—the book can easily be 80+ pages shorter.

Set in a fictitious universe, this 'alternate timeline' approach allows flexibility in imagining a world that is more fantastical than our historical reality. With the female protagonist being someone who's obsessed with logic and order, the story presents memorable moments where her belief is thoroughly challenged. On the flip-side, without a grounded context (and the book never fully fleshes out its own world), and distressing scenarios constantly resolved by convenient, fantastical solutions, I find myself losing empathy as The Death of Jane Lawrence becomes more and more outlandish (even though it's part of its intent). The 'revelation' (No spoiler, but to those who've read the book it should be clear which chapter I'm referring to) is beautifully complex, would've been a daring move to end the book there—the remaining material feels anticlimactic, as it draws to a conclusion very typical to stories of this genre.

Overall, The Death of Jane Lawrence excels in conjuring the foreboding atmosphere and the supernatural, but the narrative as a whole suffers from an imbalance of homage and new ideas. Still, there is enough polish here to make it well worth checking out.

What a ride!

Instead of moving to Camhurst with her adoptive parents, Jane decides to marry the kind but troubled doctor, Augustine Lawrence. They agree to marry out of convenience, not love, but that agreement soon changes as they come to appreciate each other. Augustine doesn’t ask much of Jane, except she’s not to stay at his family home, Lindridge Hall, with him. On their wedding day, Jane is forced to Lindridge Hall and will soon understand why Augustine wanted to keep her safe from the house and in return, Jane will do anything to save them both.

Just as poor Jane didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t, you don’t know either and can feel what Jane was going through. It was definitely topsy-turvy, but in a good way. Characterization, setting and overall theme were brilliantly detailed and cinematic. It was like reading a movie.

I think it’s only fault, was there was one chapter that came off as repetitive. I understand why Ms Starling included it, to show us the state of Jane’s mind, but if you were paying attention to what you read in the previous characters, it slows everything down when you want to be ramped up.

Other than that one thing, “Death of Jane Lawrence” was SO GOOD.

This is a difficult book to review because I liked the ideas but didn't like the book. The first half was interesting and suspenseful, much more gothic than the second half. When the magical part of the story was introduced, it ruined it for me. It felt sudden and out of place in what was a gothic horror up until that point. I'm not sure the gothic and fantasy horror were a good match? The second half dragged which killed the mood. A magical cult, a haunted mansion, and creepy doctors are great ideas but I think there were too many ideas that were competing with each other.

If you like your thrillers dripping in atmosphere and intrigue, propelled by a compelling plot, look no further. This gothic suspense explores how far we'll go for love and what horror we'll perpetuate in doing so.

*Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for proving this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review."

3 ☆☆☆

The Death of Jane Lawrence was a captivating and interesting read! The slow burn and gothic scenery/visuals were amazinggg. The beginning of the book has graphic scenes that as much as they were disturbing will pull you in and leave you wondering what’s going to happen next! I liked our main character Jane. She was very logical and practical. I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the 2nd. The last half of the book fell a bit flat to me, I didn’t feel connected and the story could have benefited from being shorter as some parts were a bit dragged out. Overall, this was a solid read for me.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC copy of The Death of Jane Lawrence!

n author that improve a lot since her last book. The ambiance, the atmosphere is more gripping, more intense and so we get more into the book and forget everything else around us. The plot is fun and keep you on the edge all pages long. I recommend this one if you searching for new-worthy-voices in horror literature!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. All I can say is "Wow!". I originally rated this book at 4 stars. It was late when I finished last night, so I decided to defer writing my review until today. I seriously dreamt about The Death of Jane Lawrence all night long. As this almost NEVER happens, I am upgrading it to 5 stars because I just cannot get it out of my mind. I'm not a fan of reviews that repeat a synopsis (you can read the back of the book much quicker than I can rewrite it!), so I will just say that while Crimson Peak was an inspiration for this book, it is so much more. The story takes place in an alternate-world of Great Britain (Great Briltane) which gave it a Fringe-like feel.. With hints of war with the Ruskans and gassing, I only wish there was a little more detail to the backstory of the alternate history of GB. The creeping dread appeared in the first chapter and kept building until it crawled beneath my skin. If you are intrigued by creepy medical practices of yesteryear and a bit of dark magic, then this book is definitely for you. It is not for the faint of heart or those who yearn for happy endings. And let's talk about this gorgeously gothic cover! This image will stick with me for a very long time!

A delicious gothic novel full of both psychological horror and magic, this book explores a number of standard gothic tropes, turning them into far more complex and interesting plot devices. There's a slow-ish burn romance, women helping women, and set pieces that while recalling gothic predecessors are original and full of creepy detail and suggestions.

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. So often it had me on the edge of my seat so curious and excited to see what happened next, and then other times I was bored out of my mind. This book was very wordy, which in some instances was great, but at other times a bit frustrating. I don’t need all the details on mathematics and how she did the books. It just felt like there were many instances where we were given pages and pages of details that just weren’t needed or all that important to the story.

The story itself was amazing and gripping and constantly had me wanting to keep reading, and what ultimately had me pressing on despite my moments of frustration. The ending was done very well, even if it did maybe go a bit over my head since I had to read it twice to truly understand everything that happened, and even now I’m not sure I understand it all, but I’m okay with that since it gives me a lot to think about, and I love books that leave you thinking about it long after it is over.

Jane felt that she had no control or power in life. Her parents were killed when she was a young child, and she became the ward of Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham. She grew up trying to not be noticed; making no emotional demands or ties. Vulnerability was not an option. With a move to another city lurking, Jane came up with a plan to get married so she could remain in Larrenton. As a logical, intelligent, and rational person, she came up with a list of the positive attributes her future mate would have to possess. Dr. Lawrence was this man. However, as Jane will soon find out, his secrets and her emotions will put her to the test.

This gothic tale has all the key elements: a young woman who is isolated and in distress (Jane); the anti-hero (Dr. Lawrence); romance; an isolated and crumbling estate (Lindridge Hall); fear, suspense, and emotional distress; atmosphere and setting (darkness, flickering candles, locked doors, mysterious hallways, a crypt, mysterious sounds and sightings); and the supernatural (magic, malevolent entities). Jane chooses to deal with all of this with research, personal sacrifice, and determination.

Caitlin Starling--a Bram Stoker-nominated author—is an excellent author. She avoids the cliché: Jane doesn’t swoon, nor is she underage; Dr Lawrence doesn’t treat her gruffly, nor is he an older man. They respect each other. The book moves at a fast pace, and the characters grow.

I highly recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book.