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A review by rorikae
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
'The Death of Jane Lawrence' by Caitlin Starling is a gothic novel that dabbles in some really interesting subjects but ends up being too slow at points.
Jane Shoringfield is searching for a husband so that she can stay in her small town. With few prospects, she settles on Dr. Augustine Lawrence, the town's doctor. Augustine accepts but he has a few rules that Jane must follow including that he must spend every night at his family's mansion outside of town while Jane stays in town at his surgery. Jane agrees but after unforeseen circumstances on the night of their wedding, Jane ends up at Augustine's home after dark. She finds her husband a husk of the man that he is during the day and this peaks her interest. As she begins to unravel Augustine's history and his family home, she gets pulled deeper into why the home has such sway over her husband.
There are a number of things that I really like about 'The Death of Jane Lawrence.' Starling does a great job with creating atmosphere, especially in the halls of Augustine's family home, Lindridge Hall. I felt pulled along with Jane as she grows fearful of the house and its affect on Augustine. Starling also presents engaging commentary about trauma, shame, and identity. The ending of this story is really fascinating to unpack and I think it would be a great book club book.
My issue with the story are the characters and the pacing. Jane and Augustine are relatively interesting but I never felt that I got to know them well enough that I cared about them. We see a lot of their own trauma and fear but I didn't see enough of their positive traits to fully care or sympathize with them. I also found this book really dragged in parts. In the last third of the book, the pacing gets very slow, which does match with what is happening in the story but was tedious to get through. This may have been less of a problem if I cared more for the characters.
I really enjoyed Starling's novella 'Yellow Jessamine,' which I would also describe as a gothic horror. Because I enjoyed that novella so much, I think that that heightened my disappointment in this book. It's clear that Starling has real talent, especially when it comes to atmosphere and I had hoped for that to mesh better with plot and pacing. Though this book was a bit of a disappointment, I am still interested in Starling's work though I may stick to her shorter pieces.
Jane Shoringfield is searching for a husband so that she can stay in her small town. With few prospects, she settles on Dr. Augustine Lawrence, the town's doctor. Augustine accepts but he has a few rules that Jane must follow including that he must spend every night at his family's mansion outside of town while Jane stays in town at his surgery. Jane agrees but after unforeseen circumstances on the night of their wedding, Jane ends up at Augustine's home after dark. She finds her husband a husk of the man that he is during the day and this peaks her interest. As she begins to unravel Augustine's history and his family home, she gets pulled deeper into why the home has such sway over her husband.
There are a number of things that I really like about 'The Death of Jane Lawrence.' Starling does a great job with creating atmosphere, especially in the halls of Augustine's family home, Lindridge Hall. I felt pulled along with Jane as she grows fearful of the house and its affect on Augustine. Starling also presents engaging commentary about trauma, shame, and identity. The ending of this story is really fascinating to unpack and I think it would be a great book club book.
My issue with the story are the characters and the pacing. Jane and Augustine are relatively interesting but I never felt that I got to know them well enough that I cared about them. We see a lot of their own trauma and fear but I didn't see enough of their positive traits to fully care or sympathize with them. I also found this book really dragged in parts. In the last third of the book, the pacing gets very slow, which does match with what is happening in the story but was tedious to get through. This may have been less of a problem if I cared more for the characters.
I really enjoyed Starling's novella 'Yellow Jessamine,' which I would also describe as a gothic horror. Because I enjoyed that novella so much, I think that that heightened my disappointment in this book. It's clear that Starling has real talent, especially when it comes to atmosphere and I had hoped for that to mesh better with plot and pacing. Though this book was a bit of a disappointment, I am still interested in Starling's work though I may stick to her shorter pieces.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Drug use, Body horror, Violence, Death, Blood, Gaslighting, and Gore
Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury