Jane Steele (Faye) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Jane Steele, an orphan turned governess, is a "murderess five times over." Perhaps more unforgivable, her crimes are wonderfully entertaining.... How can a serial killer also be a heroine? The answer lies in [Charlotte Bronte's words in the second edition of Jane Eyre:]...Conventionality is not morality....” Jane Steele adopts these words as her moral compass, slaying seemingly respectable villains who actually commit heinous deeds.
Abigail Meisel - New York Times


An entertaining riff on Jane Eyre.... [S]heer mayhem meets Victorian propriety.
USA Today


Jane Eyre gets a dose of Dexter. In a story that's equal parts romance, thriller, and satire, the Bronte heroine is made over into a fighter with a shadowy past.
Cosmopolitan


Set in Victorian England, this intriguing tribute to Jane Eyre from Edgar-finalist Faye reimagines Charlotte Brontë’s heroine as a killer.... The arresting narrative voice is coupled with a plot that Wilkie Collins fans will relish.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Young Jane Steele's favorite book, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, mirrors her life both too little and too much....In an arresting tale of dark humor and sometimes gory imagination, Faye has produced a heroine worthy of the gothic literature canon but reminiscent of detective fiction. —Jennifer Funk, McKendree Univ. Lib., Lebanon, IL
Library Journal


(Starred review.) Faye’s skill at historical mystery was evident in her nineteenth-century New York trilogy, but this slyly satiric stand-alone takes her prowess to new levels. A must for Bronte devotees; wickedly entertaining for all.
Booklist


Each chapter begins with a short excerpt from Charlotte Bronte's work, and Jane's interpretation of the classic novel lifts her story out of standard romance and into conversations about identity, guilt, and truth.... A novel that explores great torment and small mercies.
Kirkus Reviews