After losing her parents in the Great War and living as the ward of a kind family friend, Jane Shoringfield is above all, practical. She has done the calculations and decided that she must find a husband and enter into a marriage of convenience in order to maintain her independent lifestyle and continue working as a bookkeeper. She has made a list of the optimum traits she would prefer in a husband, cross referenced this list versus local eligible bachelors and has set her sights on surgeon Dr. Augustine Lawrence. She outlines to him all of the benefits she can bring to the table - free book keeping and office management. Even assistance in medical procedures. She's delighted when he accepts here proposal and the marriage moves forward swiftly. They even find that they enjoy one another's company. But Jane worries that Augustine is hiding something. He spends his nights at his crumbling family manor, Lindridge Hall. He expects for her to stay at the Surgery in town and to never, ever go to Lindridge Hall. What secrets could he be hiding?

This books starts off so promising. Set a dark mirror version of post-war England, the mood is gloomy and dark, an excellent backdrop for some chilling gothic horror. I was on the edge of my seat for the first half or so of the book, my curiosity piqued to learn what Augustine was hiding and what secrets lurked at Lindridge Hall. We get some hints that he may be dabbling in the occult, which is very promising. But then things unraveled for me somewhat after the halfway point. There were long sections that read like a fever dream - I wasn't sure what was happening or if it was imaginary, who was living and who was dead. I think some of that was by design - as the characters struggle to separate reality from nightmare, so do we, the reader. However, it just went too far for me. I was really confused, I struggled to keep up with some of the characters and setting and some of the lies that were told among them. By the end, I was bored and just wanted to be done. I really enjoyed the character of Jane, I loved her logical mind and her great interest in learning and logic. She was smart, brave a maybe a little bit unbalanced. But she just wasn't enough to keep me interested. I was disappointed that the great gothic setting of this book didn't have a stronger, more clear story line.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the gifted ebook and to Macmillian Audio for the audiobook. The audiobook was narrated by Mandy Weston and I thought it was fantastic. She was an excellent narrator, she was pleasant to listen to a kept a good pace. Were it not for the audiobook, I think I would have struggled to finish, so lost I was.

Don’t even really emphasize how excited I was when I got those ARC approved on NetGalley.


This is a wonderful amazing good book you should read it 🤣

I don’t give anything away…. Just know I am very impressed and laundry more everything that this author ever rights

Just know I am very impressed and laundry more everything that this author ever rates so yeah

Also the audiobook is really good the narration is solid

And I like it

A truly Gothic tale!
As the title states that Jane Lawrence dies, I admit to being a bit taken back to begin the story with Jane herself taking the lead to marry a man for her own convenience, with rules and strict expectations. Naturally, all these fall apart as the two actually become attracted to one another. The one rule her new husband still stands by, however is the separate overnight accommodations, with him being alone in his aging family manor house outside of town. Unfortunately, a series of events cause Jane to become stuck in this home and she begins to see there is more darkness in this place than her logical mind can wrap around.

I was a bit unsure of whether this would be a tale too dark for me, but it felt just right. It lingered on the suspenseful eerie edge of magic, paranormal, and psychological, but didn't fall over into the ridiculous or gory. I was ultimately led down the path I was meant to, despite my best efforts to think I had it pegged. When the whir of the final moments came speeding toward me, I was almost holding my breath trying to keep up and hold all the pieces in their rightful places. I found myself at the final chapter wondering if I had understood it all and thought it was a fantastical and fitting ending to the story.

This was a good ghostly tale for this season with just enough of a magic flair. The atmosphere was rich and creepy. I listened to the ALC of this book, thanks to NetGalley, and Mandy Weston did a lovely job with the narration. I felt she really captured all the characters and Jane's tension throughout. I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this story, to be perfectly honest! If you enjoy a bit of magical Gothic horror (not too heavy on horror), please pick this up on October 5th! All opinions and recommendations are my own.

This was an interesting book but it was really only okay for 3/4th of the book. It fell flat in a lot of places and took to long to get to the meat of the story. The half answers and illusions sprinkled throughout didn't enhance the book so much as just make it slow and vastly more confusing than it needed to be.
What saved this book was Jane. She was the golden light at the end of the long dark tunnel. Her character felt to real and genuine that if it wasn't for the magic elements this book would have felt like a piece of history. I felt like Jane was right there walking me through her life. She not only brought this book light she was really its heart and soul. For a book that was really meant to be plot driver she made this book worth every second of reading.
If books was a kickass heroine are something you are into then this is the book for you. Jane feels like a real woman caught in the impossible situation that is this book. This book is worth the read for her alone.

First of all, the vibe of the book was impeccable. I was skeptical when I saw it described as Mexican Gothic meets Crimson Peak, but it delivered those vibes hands down.
Jane marries a man more out of necessity than anything, dealing with her own PTSD and trauma while learning to care for another person and dealing with ghosts of sorts and a creepy house,
I think its best to go in knowing little about the plot, but it was a fun read, even if it did go over my head at times with some of the conceptual things, but it was a solid 3.5, rounded up to 4. This was my first experience with Starling's writing and I am looking forward to reading more.

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 Death of Jane Lawerence

This story is gripping and utterly terrifying. It is a slow burn, but it’s very intense. Full of mystery, ghosts, magic, tragedy, and gore, this a classic gothic horror story.

Jane Shoringfield is a young woman who believes in calculations, and who wants a simple life. She wants to marry someone who will allow her to work her numbers and have her own life. She has calculated a list of potential husbands who would be a good match for a “business arrangement”, as she calls it.

The top on her list is Augustine Lawerence, a very handsome and mysterious doctor. At first he is very reluctant to agree to her “business arrangement” marriage. After Jane assists him during an emergency surgery, he changes his mind. He tells her that she is never allowed to go to his home at Lindridge Hall, that she must stay in town at his surgery while he goes home to Lindridge Hall. Jane doesn’t know what to make of this, she’s very confused.

Circumstances force Jane to be at Lindridge Hall for an evening, but Augustine warns that she must gone by dark.

Soon, Jane is caught up in a spooky and horrifying world of magic. This world is full of tragedy, mystery, and horror. Augustine becomes even more mysterious and terrifying. She must leave Lindridge Hall, if the horrific home will let her leave.

This was a brilliantly done story, and had everything one could wish for in a horror story. The audiobook format was excellent, and the narrator does a wonderful job of drawing you in.

This story is perfect for Halloween!

Many thanks to Caitlin Starling, Macmillan Audio, and to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this book in exchange for my honest review.

Well that escalated quickly! This novel reminds me of Crimson Peak w/ a good dose of Rebecca thrown in.
Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations & has decided that since she will no longer live with her guardians, the best path forward is a marriage of convenience. Her first choice is Dr. Augustine Lawrence who agrees to her proposal with one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his family. manor outside of town. But an accident on their wedding night forces Jane back to the manor house where she finds Augustine much changed from the amiable, courageous surgeon she married. He seems wary & paranoid & in the midst of a waking dream. By morning, he is himself again but Jane knows something is deeply unsettling about Lindridge Hall.
There is a crazy struggle going on inside that house & Jane’s mind. I couldn’t tell if Jane was imagining things or descending rapidly into madness. Ghosts, shadows, magic rituals, dead first wives, sleep deprivation, etc. fantastic gothic horror novel.

*Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

So I am DNF-ing this book.
I always hate to give this type of feedback, but life is also too short to be stuck in a book you aren’t enjoyed.

I knew from the first I was going to struggling with this one on audio. The author has a voice I could just easily tune out. I also found the premise quite dull and the pacing of the story slow.
A young girls marries a doctor with an unwritten agreement that their marriage is a transaction rather than a union of love or procreation. She is a smart math savvy young women and wants to learn and assist him. But the story is set in the early 1900s. The property where they live is unquestionably haunted, but Jane is trying to decipher if the ghosts should be feared or her husband.

I just found myself uncompelled to finish this story. I didn’t get invested in the characters and I found the ghosts odd. Then when the idea of magic was introduced it just went a little haywire and I’m putting this one down….

A delightfully creepy locale sets the tone for this gothic horror. The protagonist is complex and deep, and her actions are very easy to relate to.

3.5 rounded up!

Great October spooky read! This book gave me some vibes of Things in Jars mixed with Practical Magic (with added horror elements). I started reading this right after I had finished Frankenstein and the Gothic horror quality is definitely present in The Death of Jane Lawrence.

On the cusp of being a spinster, Jane makes a business arrangement with Doctor Lawrence for a marriage. He is not keen to marry, but agrees to the nuptials since Jane will help as the bookkeeper for his surgery and she is not requiring any romantic relationship as part of the deal. His one stipulation, however, is that she may never spend the night at his home Lindridge Hall…dun dun dun.

The spooky Lindridge Hall is a character within itself and the author created a wonderful magical creepy world for this thriller! Despite my desire that the book would have a good section of the first half shaved off, the book really picked up in speed and excitement during the last third. I don’t read a ton of horror, but I felt this book had some great spooky moments!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for granting me a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Read this if you like:
▪️ Marriages of convenience ▪️ world-building Gothic fiction ▪️ horror ▪️ creepy & dilapidated estates ▪️ stomach-churning depictions of surgical procedures ▪️ blood & gore ▪️ witchcraft ▪️ hopelessness ▪️ nightmares ▪️ trippy storylines ▪️ Frankenstein ▪️ American Horror Story ▪️ Slenderman

This creepy, unsettling book will be out just in time for Halloween! Pick this up if you like slow-building, spine-tingling suspense with plenty of blood, guts, and a bleak and sordid atmosphere.

Thank you to Library Journal and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5
Enjoyment: 10
Practical Jane decides that to remain independent and focus on her work, the path of least resistance is a marriage of convenience. She puts her offer on Dr. Lawrence's table, and he accepts it, as long as she promises never to visit his crumbling family manor, Lindridge Hall.

She accepts the condition, but at their wedding, an accident brings her to his door. But what she finds is not her groom but a paranoid version of himself who can't tell reality from a nightmare. To make things even weirder, she is back to his usual self in the morning. Jane knows something is very wrong with Lindridge hall and with her groom. Will she find out exactly what is going on before it's too late?

The Death of Jane Lawrence was the perfect book to start spooky season. Starling delivered a modern book with a solid Gothic atmosphere and a compelling narrative that reminded me of Sibelius' Fifth Symphony in tone. It starts slow and gets more intense as the story goes, culminating in a delicious mind freaking third act. This book is set in sort of an alternate universe with enough real-life similarities to draw you in and want for more simultaneously, which I appreciate so much. I wish Jane's world had been more fleshed out, this book is supposed to be a stand-alone, but I hope the author changes her mind and continues to build on what she created here.

I am a sucker for math and logic and order; to see these concepts so clearly inferred in a gothic novel made the whole experience for me. Jane, a logical person, was the perfect heroine as we follow her journey as she is presented with facts that challenge her core belief. In my opinion, she was the ideal proxy for the reader.

I listened to The Death of Jane Lawrence as an audiobook produced by Macmillan Audio for St. Martin's Press and narrated by Mandy Weston. Weston did a phenomenal job bringing this book to life with a narrative that captures the horror and gothic atmosphere, respects the romance, embodies the fantastical world, and intensifies the gore. Her pacing was dynamic and in tune with the narrative – slow, tense, intense where it needed to be. She also did a phenomenal job giving each character a distinct voice. With that said, as a preference for books like this, I would have liked to have at least one more narrator. Chemistry is an essential part of the plot, and even though Weston did an outstanding job, one more narrator would have taken the tension up a notch!

I am definitely interested in continuing to read Starling books.

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, Caitlin Starling, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Death of Jane Lawrence.

Pragmatic Jane Shoringfield has decided that a marriage serving more as a business arrangement is her ideal path and Dr. Lawrence is the candidate she’s fixated on. He agrees to her proposal with one small contingency: She is not to visit him at his family home. Unfortunately, a treacherous storm brings her to his doorstep one evening and she finds that the good doctor is not all that he appears to be in the daylight.

This began in such a clever, compelling fashion - so much so that I was determined not to let the logical minded Jane’s insta-love persuade me that I wouldn’t love this. The gothic tone was phenomenally captured and the descriptive writing painted such vivid imagery, sometimes horrifyingly so. While the build may have been slow, the mysterious Dr. Lawrence was an intriguing character and I wanted to know more about all that he was hiding.

Starling certainly never deviated from her dark, detailed writing, but the story dragged on for me as time went on. The second half of the audiobook felt like a chore to get through. I found it chaotic and it failed to live up to the chilling ghost story I thought I’d invested myself in.

Additionally, there was so much repetitiveness, as well superfluous usage of descriptive words, meaning the author used one word and then a short string of similar words, like a thesaurus entry, to emphasize her point. While this may have been prevalent in the first half, it wasn’t until the story lost its powerful hold on me that my awareness and annoyance heightened.

I would like to note that the audiobook narrator was spectacular! Her voice carried the story well and her ability to do another accent immaculately was impressive. However, because of the convoluted nature of the second half, I think I may have had an easier time processing this story in text form.

Ultimately, The Death of Jane Lawrence strayed from what I’d expected and wanted, which doesn’t mean there is something wrong with the story. It simply indicates that I was not the right reader for it. I’d absolutely encourage anyone interested in this book to give it a try.

I am immensely grateful to Macmillan Audio for my audio review copy through NetGalley. All opinions of my own.

The Death of Jane Lawrence will be out on October 5, 2021.

The Death of Jane Lawrence
A Novel
by Caitlin Starling
Narrated by Mandy Weston

I received and audiobook arc from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

This is a little outside of my usual listens but the cover intrigued me and when I read the description and the comparison to Crimson Peak I was moved to check it out. I do enjoy a haunted house story from time to time.

This is a gothic romance set in an alternate universe similar but not entirely like our own in a time comparative to the Victorian era in a place comparative to rural England. Themes - horror, ghosts, insanity, PTSD, suspense, psychological thriller.

This story starts as a marriage of convenience type set up. I’m generally a romance reader and the romance between the leads was endearing. Things get intense quickly with the male leads work as a doctor and mystery and questions quickly ensue after they are married.

The events that follow made me question my own sanity as well as that of everyone in the book. It is impossible to know what is truly real and what isn’t. The cover is very apt as there are so many threads to this story that are tangled upon each other and must be kept track of to make sense of it all.

This book is a page turner that spurs one on to the end to discover what is really going on and once finished stays with you for reflection and thinking through. Some things are resolved, for me personally I truly enjoy an ending where everything is neatly tied up and explained. This one didn’t quite do that but it doesn’t leave you hanging, there is just room for conjectures to remain which is something my husband and I’m sure many other people also enjoy.

The narration and sound quality of the recording were excellent. 5/5

Jane Shoringfield selects a husband as she would a business partner, and when Dr. Augustine Lawrence accepts her proposal things look settled to their mutual agreement. She will be his accountant and medical assistant, living in rooms above his small town office, and he will continue living in his family home, the formidable Lindridge Hall where the staff leaves at sundown, and no one sleeps but Augustine. The wedding celebration, however, interrupts the arrangement, and Jane sleeps over in the mansion, finding things her mathematical mind cannot explain. And her relationship with Dr. Lawrence might not be as platonic as anticipated. All of the Gothic elements one might hope for--creepy house in an alternative post WWI environment, good ancillary characters, life threatening situations, a little romance, plus ghosts that are far from benign. Fine narration from Mandy Weston keeps the story moving right along, and there are no lulls in the action. An excellent listen.

Pros: This book has a lot of elements that I like—specifically that it is a gothic novel where the house is a character. Similarly, I was drawn to the comparisons in the official description to Rebecca and Shirley Jackson.

Cons: Although I was encouraged by the premise of this book, the story itself was not for me. It felt convoluted and overly long. I likely would have DNFed this book if I weren’t reading it for NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book.

I’ve shared this review on Goodreads and StoryGraph.

2.5 stars

The Death of Jane Lawrence sounded like an intriguing premise that promised gothic horror vibes. I couldn’t wait. Unfortunately, this book was confusing and downright boring at times. The audiobook narrator was actually pretty good, but even that could not keep me engaged. This one was definitely not for me. I do not recommend.

I absolutely adored this one, a big thank you to the author, the publisher and netgalley for the chance to listen to this audio arc.

It was such a fresh gothic novel and really blended together elements from of my favorites (crimson peak, Strange and Norrell, Poe, Jackson and Rebecca) the fact that we got ritual on page and not just "they preformed and archaic ritual" and over was so fresh. The blending of Maths, Science and Magic, 👌🏻👌🏻. Our main character being one I could actually enjoy following along with was another win. This ticked boxes I didn't know I was wanting ticked. Also there is a chapter that blew my little mind but I still fully comprehend it ha. All around a great read it might become one of those favored re-reads after I get my hands on a copy October 5th

This book isn’t for the squeamish. Part gothic, part horror, this gives off ghostly, witchy vibes. The narrator was great.