In The Death of Jane Lawrence, Caitlin Starling (The Luminous Dead) skillfully blends medical and magical horrors in a deeply unsettling historical gothic fantasy. As the story begins, Jane approaches small-town doctor Augustine Lawrence with a proposal: a literal marriage of convenience in which she will manage his practice and he will provide her with the security she needs as a mathematically gifted young woman with limited prospects. Augustine spends his evenings at his family's abandoned home, Lindridge Hall, so Jane will sleep above his clinic and their relationship will be amicable but strictly professional.
Unfortunately, they quickly come to care for each other, bonding one day over the glistening, twisted intestines of a dying patient. And then, despite Augustine's prohibition, Jane has to spend the night at Lindridge Hall, kicking off a series of disturbing revelations and terrifying encounters. As it turns out, her new husband has a dead wife--and she's not a peaceful sort.
As with so many gothic novels, the house in The Death of Jane Lawrence is a forbidding setting, possibly full of malevolent spirits, possibly just dark corners and spiderwebs. The magic system Starling builds is gruesome, brimming with visceral descriptions, macabre rituals and disturbing situations; this balance of horrors both real and fantastical makes for a truly chilling read. The reality of early 1900s medical treatment--including bleeding and risky internal surgeries--are presented alongside and often entwined with the unknowable terrors of playing with magic and death. The Death of Jane Lawrence is a grisly, repulsive, compelling read for anyone looking to be properly frightened. --Suzanne Krohn, editor, Love in Panels