Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town.
Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man―one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to.
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Dr. Augustine Lawrence's cuffs were stained with blood and his mackintosh had flailed against the persistent drizzle.CHAPTER 1
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(@TitanBooks, 20 September 2022, e-book, 464 pages, #ARC from the publisher via @ NetGalley)
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I really loved The Death of Jane Lawrence. It's got that good old fashion horror story feel to it plus dark gothic overtones. The book starts off innocently enough with Jane's practical proposition to Dr Lawrence. She doesn't know him or his past so has no idea what she's getting into. Things start to take a dark turn when she's forced to spend the night at his family estate, a place he has told her is out of bounds, piquing her curiosity. I was hooked within a few pages and couldn't wait to find out the dark secrets or Dr Lawrence and Lindridge Hall. This is a fantastic read.