I thoroughly enjoy Maureen Johnson’s books. Death at Morning House was a good read. I didn’t connect as much with this main character compared to the Truly Devious series.

How would you escape after your date goes up in flames… literally? Marlowe in Death at Morning House escapes to a mansion on an island to be a tour guide for that mansion. The mansion where two kids from the family that lived there died in the 1930s. But that was back then and can’t have any impact on Marlowe now, right?
As a Maureen Johnson superfan, I was thrilled to get this ARC and even more thrilled when it was amazing. I love how she blends historical mystery with what is happening today. I’m not a fan of books that take place in the past but with Maureen’s books, it feels right and I adore the present day mystery and the past mystery.
The setting is so rich and detailed, I could picture Morning House like I had been there a thousand times. I loved feeling everything with Marlowe and it reminded me of being a teenager again. Also, gay. So gay, so unapologetically gay. Thank you!!!!
A few of the characters felt a little one note but that’s really my only complaint (also I want to see Marlowe and all of her new friends again, I don’t want to let them go). I get to attend an event with Maureen a few days after publishing and I’m so excited to hear her talk about this book!
Death at Morning House got 4.25 ⭐️ from me! It publishes August 6th and I need everyone to love this book like I do! Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books/HarperTeen for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really, really hope this isn’t a standalone because these characters are perfectly quirky. “Death at Morning House” has similar vibes as Maureen Johnson’s other bestselling series, “Truly Devious,” (one of my all-time FAVORITES). This book, through its dual POVs that flip from present to past, provide suspense and have you constantly needing to know what happens next with these teenage crime-solvers and the quintessential whodunnit. Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

If you are a fan of the Truly Devious books, than you will certainly enjoy this standalone mystery. It has the dual timelines with mysteries in both, and some pretty likable characters. I had a few issues with it, but not enough to keep me from enjoying this YA mystery.

Marlowe Wexler is the only narrator for the present day story. It is told in first person narrative which was great. We really got to know Marlowe pretty well. But I never really grew to love her or feel attached to her in any way. She is pretty passive and for the most part just let things happen to her. She doesn’t start to really stand up for herself until the very end of the book, which was a bit annoying. She also never really got into the detective role, but just sort of put a few things together when things started getting dangerous. I also wanted her more involved with the historical mystery and its resolution as well.

The secondary characters in the present day story were never really fully fleshed out, and I kind of kept getting them all confused. Even her love interest on the island, Riki, felt pretty one dimensional. This mostly lead to me not connecting to any of them and not really caring about the two mysteries in the present day part of the book.

The historical part of the story was told from many points of view, which made it a much more interesting read. I felt more invested in that story and the characters than I ever did in Marlowe’s narrative. That part of the story played out pretty predictably, as did the other one, but I just enjoyed this one so much more.

Ms Johnson’s writing style is always top notch, and this story shows just how strong of a mystery writer she is. Her descriptions of Morning House and the island were perfect and really left me feeling like I had been there. The pacing in this book did feel a little off, the story just sort of creeped along until the final twenty percent when it finally took off. The many mysteries were nicely done, and there were a few twists that were unexpected. I was expecting more of a connection between the present and past mysteries, and no one really solved the historical one, and the big reveal for that was a bit of a let down. But the clues for all of the mysteries were smartly woven into the narrative if one pays close attention.

Overall a book that most fans will enjoy. If you are new to Ms Johnson’s works, than this standalone would be a good jumping off point. Especially if you are a fan of dual timelines and very intricate mysteries.

Death at Morning House is another phenomenal mystery from a maestro in the genre.

Maureen Johnson just knows how to write the kind of stories that keep you reading until the early hours. They are incredibly well paced, with stellar characterisation and terrifyingly good twists. Many of us have fallen in love with Stevie Bell across the Truly Devious series and while we await the next thrilling instalment, Johnson has concocted something to whet your mystery loving appetite in the meantime. This is a great standalone mystery from Johnson—pivoting across two timelines to create two compelling and complex cases.

In the present day, we follow our protagonist Marlowe who is smart, driven and passionate—following her heart and her head in equal measure. I loved her sometimes sardonic sense of humour and the asides Johnson includes in her thoughts are hilarious. Marlowe is outcast within her own community after gaining a bit of a pyromaniac reputation due to an unfortunate accident. This injects a touch of humour into the narrative initially and we all recognise that drawn out teenage longing and angst. She is the type of person that puts their all into something, consequences be damned. I liked the relationship throughline in the novel, particularly because of the sapphic representation. It added some levity and hope, but also stayed messy and authentically flawed as teenage relationships often are. There are a few different dynamics to keep track of here and the sort of web that came from friendships and relationships and flirtations was enjoyable. Marlowe works as our outsider looking into this close knit group and trying to work out precisely what happened last summer.

As to be expected from Johnson, the mysteries are top class. The modern plot line is gripping and so well executed. It builds gradually, feeling that hair raise on your arms like when you know a storm is incoming. The isolated setting, like a classic Golden Age mystery, really adds to the atmosphere and the foreboding feeling in your body. I loved how it meshed the historical into the present—you have Marlowe essentially trying to solve two mysteries simultaneously. That research and unpicking at long buried secrets clashes with the more recent events and the way those are manipulated. The two collide and intersect in really interesting ways as well.

The 1920s storyline instantly has that kind of uncanny feeling to it—easy to create when you already know it will end in tragedy. There is something so off about the forced routines and the strange feeling of this entire family. You can recognise hints and clues that feed into the wider picture. Johnson just has this knack for pulling the rug from underneath you every single time. You are led on a merry dance but it all pays off in the end. With this, it helped that our 1920s perspective shifted occasionally so we saw a new angle on previously established events. All of it feels predestined because we know the ending, but we do not know the details and therefore do we truly know the ending at all?

It also adds this meta layer of exploring the impact of true crime upon a place and its community. The mysteries we are captivated by involve real people with genuine feelings and consequences for their actions. This book does a great job at encapsulating the way that ricochets throughout the community and stretches out for years beyond. We all love a good story and often the bloodier, the better. It also does a good job at exploring that tension between locals and visitors, particularly driven by a tourism around tragedy.

Death at Morning House is the YA mystery of the summer, potentially the year. Miss it at your peril.

I binged the Truly Devious series a couple of months ago and was thrilled to get my hands on Maureen Johnson's newest standalone. Unfortunately, this one didn't hit the same for me as Truly Devious did. The story started off similar to TD in that a billionaire builds a mansion in a secluded place and a mystery unfolds. I think the biggest difference for me was our main character Marlowe. I didn't find her very likable at all. Most of her character development was just that she was madly in love with a girl back home. The story was a bit all over the place and I also found the ending a bit underwhelming. Overall, I think this will still hit with its target YA audience and I'll still be reading what Johnson puts out next, but I won't be buying myself a copy of this one.

4.5 rounded up. I really liked this book a lot. The main character is quirky and awkward, which I love. I also really liked how it was written just like she was telling it- rambling thoughts and weird side comments.

There’s two timelines, a whole lot of murder mystery, and a group of teens on an island playing tour guide at a murder mansion. What could go wrong?

The story follows Marlowe, a teen who accidentally does something real bad and is offered the opportunity to spend summer at Morning House with five other teens giving tours. The house is on an island and was abandoned in the 1930s after a family suffered two child deaths. We have a stories unfolding in the present and the past and both are not what you would expect.


Thank you so much HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for letting me read the unedited copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Anyone who has ever asked me for a YA recommendation has probably heard me rave about one of my favorite books of all time – Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. It may just be a perfect book IMHO. It’s got murder, mystery, teen angst, and some historical fiction mixed in. Not to mention that it’s super well written. This book had all those things, just in a new setting, with different characters.

Marlowe has a summer job at an ice cream shop (free scoop at every shift!) and is working with her long-time crush, Akilah. Towards the end of a great first date, a defective candle is responsible for burning down the house that they are hanging out in, and Marlowe happens to be house-sitting. This starts a chain of events that brings Marlowe to Morning House, a huge mansion on a private island, where she is going to be a tour guide for the summer. There are unsolved murders that took place there almost a hundred years ago, and a potential murderer is living and working with Marlowe on the island.

This is an awesome whodunit with twists and turns. It reminded me in the best way of Truly Devious, and I hope Maureen Johnson just keeps coming out with more and more of these. I think this is honestly for anyone that likes these genres, including adults, 8th grade and up.

I’ve long been a fan of Maureen Johnson’s work, and I enjoyed this book, though I think there are some things I would have suggested editorially—there’s a bit of an imbalance between front and back story, and having two mysteries the narrator isn’t really connected to puts a pressure on the present narrative that it can’t quite withstand. It was fun to read, though, and I’d still recommend it to others.

Get ready for an exhilarating new YA murder mystery from Maureen Johnson, Death At Morning House. This novel has it all: an accidental house fire, a job on a faraway island, an old historical house, and a thrilling murder mystery waiting to be solved. With murder, drama, lies, and secrets, plus a touch of romance, this gripping story features a strong female lead and is a brilliantly written sapphic novel. If you’re a fan of murder mysteries, this one’s a must-read.

Maureen has a great way of putting wordplay and puzzles in a story. She also has a great way of creating a found family with various characters. Each character is diverse and interesting and unique and can be relatable to so many different people. Putting these characters together to create a family is what I think people want in the real world.

I love that her mysteries always have a past and present. She knows how to play up different mystery tropes that exist throughout the history of literature and film in a way that makes them fun and new and exciting. I will read anything she writes!!!

Island, a giant house, what I imagine to be very Gothic with overgrown greenery, a history of deaths for the previous owners. What more could you want in the mystery?

Every single one of her books creates an entire ambience along side the believable and lovable characters. Her characters are diverse and representative. Reading this book like all her books I wanted to jump in it and be a part of the mystery and travel to the locations. I loved it!

Two mysteries involving suspicious deaths, one in the past, one in the present. Both taking place at Morning House.

I thoroughly enjoyed the chapters in the past. The writing and storytelling is very good. A doctor obsessed with eugenics lives at Morning House with his six adopted children and one child of his own. Their story was fascinating, intriguing, and I couldn't get enough of it.

The chapters taking place in the present paled in comparison. It almost felt like it was written by someone else. Led by an immature and annoying girl, Marlowe, it circled around a group of teens working at Morning House for the summer. She is preoccupied with ogling cute girls and moping about losing her first girlfriend, and pretty much nothing else. The other teens on the island are marginally better; they all know each other well, having grown up near the island Morning House sits on. Their back-and-forth banter felt real, there just wasn't much of it. There is tension between them all however, due to the loss of a friend at the beginning of summer. We slowly learn what tragedies haunt Morning House, at the same time nefarious doings start happening in the present.

The 'who done it and why' for both the present and the past are interesting and attention keeping, but it took way too long for the present to get to their ending. Five stars for the story in the past, three for the one in the present.

"Death in the Morning House" by Maureen Johnson presents an intriguing premise that keeps you interested, yet it didn't quite grab me like her other novels. The story unfolds well, but I found myself needing more time to connect with the characters and fully immerse myself in their world. Despite this initial hurdle, the plot eventually picks up, delivering a satisfying read with Johnson's trademark wit and suspense. While it may not top my list of her works, fans of mysteries will likely find it worth diving into for its clever twists and engaging storytelling.

MAUREEN JOHNSON THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE!

I'll be honest. I, like the rest of the world, was not excited to learn that we would have to wait another year to find out what happens with Stevie Bell, BUT little did I know that Death at Morning House would quickly become one of my favorite of Johnson's books. My favorite things about Johnson's writing are the flashbacks and the cadence of the mystery solving. I think it can be easy when writing about the past, and especially about rich people as eccentric as the Ralstons, to leave the best details in the past, lost to time. I think that the flashbacks award the reader with clear glimpses into the lives of each of the children, which also helps them to feel sympathetic to each of the children in turn.

I really really hope that this becomes a series, akin to the Stevie Bell mysteries, which I DEVOURED within a month last year. I love Marlowe and Akilah. That is actually something I'll say as well! We get queer side characters all the time! And that's great! But to get a mystery novel with a Sapphic romance from the MAIN CHARACTER? Sign me up!

Maureen, if you're reading this, I would read anything you write. I would read your grocery list. Thank you for the care you put into your writing, and for creating mysteries that I cannot predict the endings of even at the ripe old age of 25. I appreciate you, mean it!

This was a good mystery. The story touched on many unconnected issues: eugenics, lgbtq in different time periods, mental illness, tourism areas, and the kinds of secrets that can exist in all these situations. The characters were mostly likable - because there were "bad seeds" ;), and the writing was tight.

I really liked this one! It kept me interested and needing to know what’s next! I did find some parts were a bit derivative of Truly, Devious, namely the eccentric rich man, his unusual family, and the story taking place on the property they lived on. The protagonists, however, were what truly separated this story from that one; the unique voices definitely shown through. I definitely appreciated the queer representation, even though — along with the attempts at Gen Z slang — it did make me cringe at times. I’ll definitely be recommending this to anyone looking for a YA thriller!

This was so much fun! I love when there are multiple perspectives in a mystery, and for that POV to be in the past just kept me enthralled from beginning to end. The characters were cute, a little immature with some of the FMC inner dialogue but that aside I really enjoyed this. I adore this author.

I loved this book so much! The mix of historical fiction and modern day mystery/thriller. It was the perfect summer read for me. I will be recommending this one alot and am so appreciative to have been able to read it.

This standalone mystery introduces intriguing characters like Marlowe Wexler, Riki, and Van in a haunted mansion setting with dual timelines of past tragedies and present-day mysteries. Contrasted with the Truly Devious series, Marlowe stands out for her endearing qualities and sharp intellect, offering a fresh take on amateur sleuthing. The narrative weaves a compelling tale filled with twists, tension, and unexpected turns, making it a captivating read for fans of YA mysteries. The story unfolds at Morning House and Ralston Island, revealing dark secrets and dangerous encounters that keep readers on edge. With a mix of suspense and ghostly elements, this fast-paced mystery is recommended for those seeking an engaging and well-executed plot. Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children Books/HarperTeen for the opportunity to explore Maureen Johnson's latest creation in exchange for an honest review.

Maureen Johnson is unparalleled. Her mysteries are clever, funny, and full of a rich cast of characters, and I this installment made me laugh out loud several times.