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A review by fictionmajorette
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-death-of-jane-lawrence-caitlin.html
The setting of this book was phenomenal. I love a good rundown estate on the edge of town and book really delivered. I really enjoyed the mythos and mystery surrounding Lindridge Hall and the Lawrence family. I found the descriptions of the home to be perfectly balanced between giving us the information we need and setting a really nice atmosphere. Starling does a great job of laying down the breadcrumbs and little questions that get answered later on as we peel back more and more layers to the story. I think these stories can sometimes rely too heavily on the spooky house aspect and it can come off as a bit cartoonish. In this case, however, I didn't find it to be overdone at all.
I liked the characters of Jane and Augustine and their budding relationship. I found both of them to be really set in their characteristics but still had enough room for growth. They really seemed to be a really good match and I was excited to see how they would work through this situation together. There were some romantic elements but I didn't really find the romance arc of the story to be as well developed as I would have liked. Now, this isn't a romance book and it isn't marketed as one, but in order for certain plot points to advance, Jane and Augustine need to have a certain level of feelings for each other and I just didn't feel like there was enough development for my personal liking.
I did find the third act pacing was slower than I wanted it to be. There's a certain time limit that Jane has and we go through each day of that time limit pretty in depth. The actions Jane takes during this time are pretty repetitive which further add to the pacing dragging. I think if the time frame had been a few days shorter, then it would have helped the pacing along.
The supernatural elements of the story were really well woven into the other plot points and wasn't overpowering. I really liked the way the elements were introduced to the story and how skeptical Jane was at the beginning. She's very mathematically minded and I thought the way she processed the information she was getting from these different sources. I also loved how her logical approach continued even when faced with aspects that she initially found unbelievable. I did think the story was going to be more of Jane and Augustine teaming up together but it was really Jane's journey that we were following.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The setting was exactly what I want in a gothic horror and I found the characters to be well developed. I did find the pacing to drag a bit toward the end, but overall I was really invested in the plot. I thought the supernatural elements were well developed and well integrated into the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for review.
Expected publication date is October 5, 2021.
The setting of this book was phenomenal. I love a good rundown estate on the edge of town and book really delivered. I really enjoyed the mythos and mystery surrounding Lindridge Hall and the Lawrence family. I found the descriptions of the home to be perfectly balanced between giving us the information we need and setting a really nice atmosphere. Starling does a great job of laying down the breadcrumbs and little questions that get answered later on as we peel back more and more layers to the story. I think these stories can sometimes rely too heavily on the spooky house aspect and it can come off as a bit cartoonish. In this case, however, I didn't find it to be overdone at all.
I liked the characters of Jane and Augustine and their budding relationship. I found both of them to be really set in their characteristics but still had enough room for growth. They really seemed to be a really good match and I was excited to see how they would work through this situation together. There were some romantic elements but I didn't really find the romance arc of the story to be as well developed as I would have liked. Now, this isn't a romance book and it isn't marketed as one, but in order for certain plot points to advance, Jane and Augustine need to have a certain level of feelings for each other and I just didn't feel like there was enough development for my personal liking.
I did find the third act pacing was slower than I wanted it to be. There's a certain time limit that Jane has and we go through each day of that time limit pretty in depth. The actions Jane takes during this time are pretty repetitive which further add to the pacing dragging. I think if the time frame had been a few days shorter, then it would have helped the pacing along.
The supernatural elements of the story were really well woven into the other plot points and wasn't overpowering. I really liked the way the elements were introduced to the story and how skeptical Jane was at the beginning. She's very mathematically minded and I thought the way she processed the information she was getting from these different sources. I also loved how her logical approach continued even when faced with aspects that she initially found unbelievable. I did think the story was going to be more of Jane and Augustine teaming up together but it was really Jane's journey that we were following.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The setting was exactly what I want in a gothic horror and I found the characters to be well developed. I did find the pacing to drag a bit toward the end, but overall I was really invested in the plot. I thought the supernatural elements were well developed and well integrated into the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for review.
Expected publication date is October 5, 2021.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma