Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Death of Jane Lawrence

Overall I really enjoyed the book. However, I can’t give it a 5 because it dragged on toward the later third of the book. Big plot pieces had happened so soon and it seemed as if things weren’t coming together at a comfortable pace. Parts really dragged on and others seemed to skip right over. Perhaps this is to wrap us into the mind of Jane? Even so, I was hoping for either a quicker wrap up or more of a build up until we got to bigger plot points. Lastly, I *know* it’s how the character is, but toward the end I was really on the fence if I cared about Jane or not.

Yes, it’s the madness making her drawn to the magic and wanting to dive back in. But it felt shallow and I wanted more from her and from those around her

8/27/23:
Overall I really loved the book and will probably reread again in the future but I wish the ending wasn’t so slippery and I actually had something concrete to hold onto. Butttttttttt, I do love a messy and weird ending for the sole purpose of making you feel how the world felt so I can’t be too mad about it. 3.5/5

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aformeracceleratedreader's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I liked the gothic horror aesthetics that it brought, but as I read further, the story felt jumbled. There were ghosts, magic, math,

attempted necromancy, a dash of alchemy, and a time paradox thrown in?

I could get down with a lot of the book but parts kind of felt like the author just wanted to throw some things in for the hell of it.
I would kind of agree with people saying this was all vibes and no real substance. Like if you liked Crimson Peak, this book gives a very similar feel. Yes it touches on guilt/shame, PTSD, and grief, but it was kind of sprinkled on top of a lot of nothing and a lot of everything at the same time. A slow read in many parts, where some of it dragged on and on but in the book's timeline it hadn't even been a month. Jane as the mc was interesting at first, like yes brainy independent person!, but devolved quickly into a lovestruck, dependent person in less than a week. With how she was described in some parts of the book though, it made me think she was neurodivergent/neurodiverse (super into a special interest, had difficulty in social gatherings like it mentioned she had trouble with small talk and eye contact "she had taught herself to make eye contact and to handle small talk, and how to smooth over how indelibly odd she was", she was uncomfortable among the crowd at her marriage, etc) which was cool. She had potential but in the end was lacking in a lot of aspects for me.

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aardwyrm's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The secondary world element elevates the thing and frees up the story to play with all kinds of spooky occultist stuff without any concern for history (though some of that constructed history is... questionable, and doesn't serve much purpose; everyone deciding to collectively be atheist after a world war is a jarring note that fades into the background as the story goes on). The gothic mystery and tension building and inevitable descent into chaos are all well handled, though honestly I could never care all that much about Augustine, who comes across as a tedious drip at best. Scary and tight enough to be riveting while you read it, though, and the flaws come clear only on reflection. What more can you ask?

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racl's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Adored the beginning, the introduction of the characters was incredible and had me incredibly invested. The middle was rocky for me, but I was pulled back in on the last third by

the blending of science, mathematics, and magic fueled by faith.

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smitinghedgehog's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lillianreadsalot's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE is slow burn horror of the best kind, built on bridging the gaps between wishes, nightmares, and reality with fevered applications of blood and viscera.

The setting is technically-not-England, which frees it from being beholden to any exact combination of surgical sensibilities with historical accuracy while still conveying a particular feeling by the sum of its details. A surgeon might know the term “ectopic” while still practicing bloodletting and looking down on anyone so backward as to subscribe to miasma theory. Jane is an excellent narrator, highly reliable in how she conveys her thoughts and observations to the reader, but repeatedly stymied as she is less and less able to trust what she learns from other people. I didn’t much like Augustine as a person but he fits his role in the plot very well and is a great character. I love the plot, the pacing is excellent, a great book all around.

Its ending is immensely satisfying, fitting for the characters and in keeping with the horrors which transpire before. If you like surgical horror with magic and madness, don’t miss this one.

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