The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
BOOK SUMMARY
Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him.
By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to. Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England, Starling crafts a new kind of gothic horror from the bones of the beloved canon. This Crimson Peak-inspired story assembles, then upends, every expectation set in place by Shirley Jackson and Rebecca, and will leave readers shaken, desperate to begin again as soon as they are finished.
BOOK DETAILS
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
Published October 5th 2021 by St. Martin's Press
Adult Fiction /Mystery/ Gothic Lit
Hardcover, 368 pages
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is a gothic fantasy horror that reads like a feverish dream, with an atmosphere dripping in dark tones. There’s romance, magic, gore, and an unsettling feeling that builds until you turn the last page.
The moment Jane steps into the forbidden landscape of Lindridge Hall, Caitlin Starling begins to tightly weave a story that will have you questioning just how much is real and how much is from Jane’s possible unreliable perspective.
Readers will cheer for Jane and her independent nature as she tries to stay one step ahead while taking charge of her destiny. The terror Augustine Lawrence exhibits once Jane enters his abode becomes an increasingly dark tunnel the reader must navigate with Jane.
I was impressed with all the gothic elements, the occult and ceremonial magic, the grisly surgical moments, and the questionable reliability of the characters.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy dark gothic reads and don’t mind a bit of gruesome horror balanced out by a touch of romance and terrific atmosphere.
