STRANGE UNEARTHLY THINGS

Three teen psychics attempt to uncover the supernatural mystery of Elias Thornfield and Fairfax Hall in this modern reimagining of Jane Eyre.

Jane Reye is utterly and effectively alone. Without anything—or anyone—in her life to keep her in Indiana, she accepts a job investigating the strange happenings at Fairfax Hall in Derbyshire, England. Jane is no stranger to the supernatural given her ability to use her art to see spirits. Alongside hunky telepath Giovanni and tarot reader Ingrid, Jane attempts to deal with the strange entity that Elias is desperate to be rid of. Her relationship with Elias continues to develop, and she soon realizes his entanglement with the malicious being is more complicated than he first let on. More truths are revealed even as time is running out, and as the stakes get more serious, Jane becomes willing to do anything to save Elias. Though the premise promises something new, the execution doesn’t deliver. The story starts slowly and never takes off, always seemingly at the precipice of action that just fizzles into the next plot point. The pop-culture one-liners seem intended to inject a humorous undertone, but they don’t ring true. Readers will long for deeper development of the relationships to make the closeness by the end feel earned. Characters are cued White.

A disappointing attempt to breathe new life into a classic.