The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Death of Jane Lawrence
Author: Caitlin Starling
Publisher: St Martin's
Release Date: 10.5.21

Publisher’s 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.



My Review
I was so excited for this book! A math-loving female protagonist, a marriage of convenience, a crumbling old house in the English countryside...this all sounded like the perfect setup for a smart, spooky, gothic Jane Eyre meets Haunting of Hill House thriller. What I read, however, was a mess. Such a mess that I totally gave up at 75%. That's right, it got so bad that I couldn't even bring myself to finish the story. I hopped over to Goodreads and read some of the "spoiler" reviews, and let's just say I'm not kicking myself for not reading the last 25%. I enjoyed the novel until the magic elements were brought in. Now, I LOVE books with magic, but the magic performed in this story had me questioning if this would be another unreliable female protagonist trope. The timeline is jumpy with overlaps from past and present alongside people coming and going from the house. Also, this book leans much more into the horror genre than I expected--lots of blood and detailed, graphic description of multiple surgical procedures. I'm not going to just keep picking this one apart, but I could go on and on.