A review by noitaskcus
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

2.5

I recently have been on a gothic literature kick. I read and greatly enjoyed Rebecca. I also like Jane Eyre.  Recently, I also watched Crimson Peak. When looking for something in that vein,  I found this book mentioned  frequently. It is definitely an homage to those stories.  However, I think this book came apart trying to fit in a ton of common gothic plot elements and themes. In doing so, none of them were really explored with a lot of depth.  There is the haunted house, the norm-defying female protagonist, mysterious love-interest, magic, supernatural, medical horror, cult, and time shenanigans. Moreover, I think some of the themes and tropes the author decided to incorporate weren't consistently applied throughout the story. For instance, the framing of the story seems to establish that the protagonist is unique, but she winds up falling into an identical structure of most gothic heroines. I think I expected the tropes to be inverted or adapted to a more modern interpretation, and in some ways they are but most were just ticked boxes in my mind.   Both Rebecca and Jane Eyre were comments on prevalent narratives and I think I expected this book to be similar. It definitely strays towards a more Crimson Peak style, which is admittedly a fun story but not genre re-defining. Maybe the problem was with my expectations?  As a side note, the second half of the book transitions stylistically and the focus shifts to the unraveling main character and away from the gothic atmosphere. Personally, I did not enjoy this as much as the first half and the final resolution didn't match the tone.