The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is a dark, psychological horror novel steeped in medicine, magic, and ghosts. It reads like a slow descent into madness, blending the lines of reality and insanity. At times, it felt like a fever dream, mirroring the starvation and desperation of Jane. I often had to pause between chapters just to get my bearings, especially the ones towards the end of the novel when Jane really becomes obsessed with the idea of magic and ghosts and her ability to manipulate the world around her.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this book. I love the idea of a practical woman determined to make a marriage of convenience that works for her. I didn’t mind the romance between Jane and Augustine, which to me seemed almost more like an intellect-based attraction rather than a typical romance. But the true horrors of this novel are the ghosts that dwell in Lindridge Hall and the curse that draws the ghosts back to haunt Augustine each night. There are several scenes throughout the novel that gave me chills and had me double checking the dark corners of rooms. I love the blend of medicine and magic and how the two practices appear so similar from the outside. The guilt that Augustine feels towards his deceased patients was heartbreaking. The horror I felt at realizing that Augustine had killed Elodie and then called on magic to save her when medicine failed him was incredible, but also, I could understand his desperation. And watching Jane come to terms with what Augustine had done, what he was capable of, and then watching her fall into the same fever dream of magic and desperation was difficult and unsettling. And the ending! Possibly the most terrifying end to a book I’ve ever read. The Death of Jane Lawrence will haunt me for quite a while.

I would recommend this book for fans of gothic, psychological horrors, who enjoy slow descents into madness. It’s a perfect read for long, dark winter nights. I look forward to whatever Caitlin Starling writes next.

Dark and Gothicly spooky best enjoyed in the late night hours or with a cup of tea. I feel like some scenes I didn't quite understand but overall quite a good read.

Thank you to St. Martins Press & Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of The Death of Jane Lawrence in exchange for an honest review!

I was really excited for a Gothic horror novel, but friends, this was not it for me. I love what you discover about Augustine & Lindridge Hall in the beginning/middle & was really amped about this concept, but then --- it just dragged. The Death of Jane Lawrence was entirely too long and I found myself wanting it to just end. This was a bummer because the semi-exciting climax that should have been a good on-the-edge of my seat time ended up not really hitting right because I was already so burned out on the book.

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is a Gothic horror novel set in England following WWI. It almost seems like the book could be set in the Edwardian era because no one really mentions cars. Cars weren’t in mass production until 1913. The lack of transportation plays a key role in this novel.

Dr. Augustine Lawrence has agreed to marry Jane Shoringfield. His one condition of agreeing to marriage is that Jane can never visit his family manor, Lindridge Hall. It is an odd request but since their marriage is more of a business arrangement, they both agree to the terms.

Unfortunately, an accident has left Jane stranded at Lindridge Hall on their wedding night. Her new husband is acting as if he is hallucinating. He thinks she is a ghost that has come to punish him. She wonders what on earth is going on with him until she sees an apparition for herself.

At another point in the book, Jane believes that the ghost of Dr. Lawrence’s deceased first wife is haunting the manor. She is trying to do whatever she can to stop the hauntings – even if she has to resort to magic.

Jane is a bookkeeper. She believes in numbers, logic and science. However, Jane thinks that she can figure out the hauntings. Then her husband gets stuck behind a wall in the cellar so time is of the essence.

Will she save Dr. Lawrence? Is he even behind the wall? If he reappears will they change the sleeping arrangements?

If you like Gothic horror and historical fiction, then I think you will enjoy The Death of Jane Lawrence. The style is fairly similar to older Gothic horror novels, which is not an easy task. It can be difficult to stay historically accurate.

If you have phasmophobia, also known as the the fear of ghosts, then this book will scare the heck out you.

I received the ebook from NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Obviously.

Wow! This book packs a very-creepy punch. Frankenstein meets Jane Eyre in this wonderfully ghosty tale. I raced through this and couldn't wait to get to the end. I will certainly keep an eye out for Caitlin Starling in the future!

This is a gory, chilly, horror story. I liked it a lot but I'm not entirely sure I like... GOT it. But the atmosphere was good and I liked the universe.

In a world that appears to be a similar but alternate timeline to our own, apparently at a time resembling our own late 19th or early 20th century, and in which magic exists, Jane Shoringfield, an independent-minded young woman who is orphaned and as yet unmarried, decides to take her future into her own hands. After careful research, she makes an offer to Augustine Lawrence, a brilliant surgeon in her town: a marriage of convenience in which she will assist him in his surgery and with his accounts, and he will provide her with the independence that a single woman cannot have. He accepts, but with conditions of his own. He will always spend nights at his family estate, Lindridge Hall, but she must never go there.

As we know will inevitably happen, Jane does end up at the Hall, and after many evasions from her new husband, she eventually discovers his secret. Due to desperate actions he had taken to save his previous wife's life and even to bring her back using magic, the house is now haunted, and he is tormented, by those for whose deaths he feels responsible, and since he is a doctor, there are many of them. Finding that despite their businesslike arrangement she is beginning to care deeply for him, Jane determines to use every ounce of her formidable intellect and courage to save him, which will eventually draw her into a hell of her own.

While The Death of Jane Lawrence obviously owes a lot to classic gothic horror, particularly Jane Eyre and Rebecca, it certainly provides its own original twist to these well-known tropes. Jane Lawrence is strong-minded, compassionate, and loyal as well as intelligent, and the way her rational mind finds its way into magic as a form of mathematics was intriguing to me. I was definitely rooting for her, which I found refreshing since this has been lacking in so many of the “hot new books” I’ve read over the past couple of years. I’m not sure if the tantalizing but somewhat frustrating hints of the differences between this timeline and our own added to the story or detracted from it, but they do add a tinge of unearthliness to the background. I would be interested to know if the author intends to write other books set in this world and flesh it out a bit. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

“The Death of Jane Lawrence”, by Caitlin Starling

THIS BOOK!!, “The Death of Jane Lawrence”, is a highly atmopheric gothic romance filled with darkness, magic and death.

Centered around Jane, who is determined to marry Dr. Augustine Lawrence, which she thinks will be both sensible and practical. Things take a creepy turn when she spends her first night in Lindridge Hall.

Jane is a strong, complex and brilliant character. The relationship between her and Augustine was constantly evolving.

Everything about the house becomes frightening. Starling creates a chilling atmosphere and the medical procedures in this story were fascinating.

“The Death of Jane Lawrence” is a multilayered book that sucks the reader in from the beginning until the end. I would not say this is fast paced book. Parts of it were slower than others. The book flawlessly transitioned from a quick to a slow pace taking the reader on a gothic roller coaster. I really would have liked a more satisfying ending but overall, I really enjoyed it.

Oh noooooo. I waited so long for this book and was _so_ excited after reading The Luminous Dead & Yellow Jessamine and hearing how Crimson Peak-y it was, but this....wasn't great. It was okay, don't get me wrong, and certainly won't stop me from reading everything Caitlin Starling writes, but yeah, oh no. Entirely too much Real Magic™ in my not gothic enough gothic romance. I wanted 100% less real magic, 100% more ghosts, and 100% more spooky house bein' spooky. It wasn't spooky in the least. I slept entirely fine, not even a glance over my shoulder while reading it. The body horror wasn't even that horrifying either? I also hate math so that was not something I was, or ever will be, looking for in my novels. Augustine had a cool name but was too gormless to compel any vested interest in his welfare. Jane ought to have just lit the house on fire and walked away the minute after those basement shenanigans started.

Honestly, it's a 2.5 read rounded up to 3 because I love the author so much.

This was the perfect book to read over the Halloween season. It was such a delightfully creepy gothic story that gave me Crimson Peak vibes, while also putting a completely different spin on the setting, being set in an alternate reality England. Much of the book subverted my expectations, while also fulfilling a lot of tropes that I like. The magic tended to be a little confusing, and I’m not sure if I grasped all of it, so that somewhat hindered my enjoyment of the second half. But the writing was beautiful and I loved the characters. If you don’t mind some grossness and some spooky ghosts, definitely read it.

3.5

The cover of this book drew me in immediately and after I read the synopsis I hit request so fast, but ultimately I was kind of let down.

I absolutely loved the first half. The gothic setting was immaculate and I loved the way the secondary world felt familiar enough to post WWII England while being just different enough to know it was a new world. I loved Jane as a character so much. I found her super relatable and loved being in her head. I also quite liked Augustine and their relationship. As a whole, I was completely invested. And then a magic element was introduced and things began falling apart for me.

I appreciate the attempt at balancing magic and science but for me the magic was introduced too late and while it felt like it was meant to be a rules based magic system, the mechanics were really confusing. Really the whole last half felt almost like a fever dream which given that Jane's ritual means she can't sleep for 7 days might be the point but it was not the most pleasant reading experience.

Overall, it was a mixed reading experience but I did enjoy more parts than I didn't and I'm betting that upon reread I would like it even more.

3.5 stars - This was an interesting book. I picked it up because of the summary and the cover and wasn't really sure what to expect. After finishing the book, I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about it.

There are ghosts, a strange house, magic, and so much more to this story that it is really hard to explain. I do think if you are looking for something unique with a story that will keep you turning the pages just to see what will happen next, you should check this one out. It's definitely not like anything else I've read.

I usually enjoy horror novels but this one unfortunately was not for me. I was drawn to the premise specialty since it was described as a mix of Rebecca and Crimson Peak which I both loved. I found the pacing too slow. I need a story that grips me quickly and keeps me interested. I also found the descriptions of the surgeries a little too graphic. I just couldn't stomach those scenes.

The Death of Jane Lawrence sounded like a book that was right up my alley. I had an obsession with Crimson Peak when it came out, and I highly recommend it to everyone who loves gothic vibes.

Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a letdown for me. It started great, and I was really captivated, but about halfway through, I hit a giant wall. It was hard to understand what was happening. I love the idea of confusing the reader by manipulating perception, but hallucinations, dreams, ghosts, visions, magic, and reality made it a confusing read.

Not only that, but it was a big goal to introduce magic so late in the book, and that left the mechanics and details of magic use unclear and unstable. I loved the book at the beginning, and I wished that I loved it more. I skimmed the end.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I saw this book and read the synopsis, I immediately requested an arc from NetGalley. It sounded amazing and like the kind of books I read and enjoy a lot.

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling was pitched as having similar vibes to Crimson Peak, Rebecca, and Shirley Jackson. The story follows Jane Shoringfield, a practical and unassuming woman, who has decided that the most secure path she can follow is a marriage of convenience. This leads her to Augustine Lawrence, a talented and reclusive doctor. He agrees to her proposition with one condition: Jane must never visit his family estate, Lindridge Hall. She sees no problem with this condition until a storm and accident leaves her stranded at Lindridge on their wedding night. Jane finds Augustine changed, but he is suddenly back to his usual self by morning. However, she soon learns that something is very wrong at Lindridge Hall.

I wanted to give this author a try before jumping into this arc, so I read The Luminous Dead first. I thought I would like that book too, but overall, it did not live up to my expectations. This made me incredibly hesitant to read Jane Lawrence even though I genuinely was super interested in it. Once I started reading it, I was immediately hooked! It took me a little longer to get into because I am pretty busy with some college stuff, but once I made time for it I was so invested.

Starling’s writing is so beautiful and atmospheric. She expertly crafts her tale to build upon the gothic horror style. The writing contributed to me being more invested in the story as well. Starling had wonderful pacing throughout that helped the story flow and feel like it was naturally developing from one point to the next. I loved Jane as a character too.

The ending portion of this book really picked up. I am not sure I can accurately describe what happened, but I think that was just part of the reading experience for me. I love when books are weird and do not always make sense with clear answers at the end, but there is still a part of me that will always want the answer. This book is what I mean though when I say I love strange, spooky books that kind of mess me up a bit by the end.

The Death of Jane Lawrence definitely exceeded my expectations. Caitlin Starling crafted a story that will stick with readers long after the last page. It is haunting, horrifying, and beautiful all at the same time.

*Content warnings from the author: gore/blood and body horror, descriptions of period-appropriate (Victorian Era) medical procedures and practices - sometimes without consent, drug abuse of period medical drugs, descriptions of PTSD and panic attacks, manipulation and gaslighting, self-harm in ritual context, ambiguous hallucinations/descriptions of uncertain reality or sanity, mild references to threat/risk of institutionalization, graphic accidental miscarriage/stillbirth, with surgical intervention, minor character child death (of natural causes)*

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

4.5/5

The crumbling manor at Lindridge Hall hides a deadly secret, one that will be unearthed when its new mistress steps over the threshold. Jane Shoringfield is nothing short of practical, and having reached the end of her living period with her guardians, decides that the most logical way forward will be to secure herself a husband. The chosen candidate for this transaction is the reclusive, yet handsome, doctor Augustine, whose profession may provide her with the very independence that she requires. Augustine agrees to this marriage of convenience, on the agreement that Jane never set foot in Lindridge Hall, his family estate just outside of town. Nonetheless, on the night of their wedding, a chance storm leaves her stranded and Jane is forced to return to the manor. When she arrives, she finds the demeanor of her husband gone, and in its place a frightened and paranoid man unable to discern reality from fiction. Morning comes, and Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows deep within her bones that something is horribly wrong with her husband and the house she now occupies. A profound fear only magnified by her continued stay within the manor's walls.

Placed within the realm of Crimson Peak, Rebecca, and Shirley Jackson, The Death of Jane Lawrence is an impressive gothic horror novel that fucked with my mind in the best way possible. Set in a dark version of Post-War England, packed full of supernatural and spooky vibes, this is one of the most brilliant and unnerving books that I have read all year. Part of the journey with this novel is in just how much it upends what is understood at any given moment. I started this off scared of the Crimson Peak comparison, and that feeling really never went away because of how often the book turned all of my expectations on their head. The first section is ominous, hung over with impending dread that is drawn out like poison from a wound upon the first occurrence with Jane and Augustine at the manor. This was reminiscent of so many Gothic novels of the past, that sudden shift in tone from an incident, that traverses through to the end of the narrative. There was an unsteady ground between Jane and Augustine present in the first half, as both characters were hiding secrets from the other. Altogether, I loved not really knowing who to put trust in, as I fell into the book's rhythm to be entirely unpredictable. Past the first half of the novel is where the atmosphere twists into something slightly enigmatic. This is where I puzzled with the text a bit more and was left completely shattered by the end results. A tangled web that I endeavored to take apart in order to make sense of it all. While I will say this section could have been pared down, at that point, it was like the top of a rollercoaster and I was just along for the rest of the ride. In every respect, Caitlin Starling has created a haunting tale, charged with iconic callbacks to gothic fiction of the past while achieving something quite ingenious. The Death of Jane Lawrence is an eerily brilliant novel that bends reality and twists the mind towards its breaking point.

Trigger Warnings: blood, violence, death, animal death, medical procedures

As a single woman, Jane had to find a suitor and approached the search as a business transaction. In making her offer to Dr. Augustine Lawrence, she believed the marriage could be balanced and boundaries respected, but certain omissions cannot be ignored. Amid oddities and unexplained phenomena, the logic Jane always found comforting doesn’t have its place and she must explore the unknown.

“You wanted a chance to atone for your failures, you wanted freedom, you wanted to know there was more left for you.”

Narrated in third person, this story begins two intriguingly vulnerable characters and measured temptation. The gothic setting and eerie atmosphere add to this intricately weaved plot as well. From the outset, Jane and Augustine are complicated and what ensues is a journey that cannot be contained or logically explained. I enjoyed the demands placed upon Jane and Augustine, especially how Jane took risks. That said, I would have liked a bit more explanation to the events and one certain character.

The Death of Jane Lawrence is about breaking self-imposed boundaries. This book would appeal to those seeking a peculiarly atmospheric gothic romance in a speculative world.

When I started this book, I had so many conflicting feelings!

In the beginning, I loved Jane. She was so...wrong, yet so perfect. I loved her outlook on things. But all too soon, Jane turned into a moon-eyed romantic, sighing over her tall, dark, handsome, brooding guy and I was, like...no? Please no?

But then - oh, but then! We get to the Gruesome Gothic portion of things and I was back in. The book becomes both chilling and suspenseful and I didn't want to stop reading.

If you're looking for Gothic atmosphere, it's here in spades. Just know that it's does get edgier and darker than you might expect.

Overall, a very good read!

The Death of Jane Lawrence was easily one of my most anticipated books of 2021. We are introduced to our most incredible and intelligent main character, Jane, as she is determined to marry Augustine Lawrence out of sheer convenience - a business arrangement, so she can remain as she is with her life as she knows it. All too quickly, Jane learns that the man she married is not the same one that she had calculated this perfect life with. I mean seriously, she can’t stay at his family home ever. Red flag much? We follow Jane as she works to uncover the mysteries her new husband has, and furthermore, how she solves them.

Overall, I give this book a 4/5 stars. I’m sad it wasn’t 5/5, but it was pretty close.

I loved everything about the setting and the ambience this book gives. Magic and horrifying surgeries and historical England. It was done beautifully. The story was so well written and extremely thought provoking as well. I also adored every single character, which is super unlike me.

The reason this book isn’t a 5/5 for me is for the following:
- about halfway through, my mind was made up in exactly the direction I wanted it to go. And I wanted some really dark awful twisted secret. I wanted more from Augustine. Now, with that being said, I really did enjoy the direction the book went with overall. I think it was done incredibly well. It’s just so hard to completely change my expectations, when I was getting built up for a different vibe..
- the ending chapter really confused me. I’m not talking about the last two chapters (that are more epilogue style), but like the one before that where we get this whole sideline story. It makes sense, I get it now after finishing the book, but while I was reading I was SO confused. I think that really big chapter could have been a little more thought out because it really took me away from the story as I was reading.

Jane Shoringfield is an intelligent woman bearing “spinsterhood”. She makes a “business”/marriage proposal to Dr. Lawrence, a seemingly eligible bachelor. Dr. Lawrence hesitantly accepts, given the one condition that Jane never visit his family manor at night. However, Jane breaks that’s one condition on night one and learns of horrors she never knew she existed.

Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of this book. It ended up being extremely repetitive for me. Some of the pros include Jane’s character, atmosphere, and general premise. However, the pacing and writing style made this novel difficult to follow.