This was another really great read from Maureen Johnson. It is definitely in the same vain as Truly Devious and I saw a lot of similarities between Stevie and Marlowe. I also really enjoyed the flashbacks that were present throughout the novel. It made the house and the mystery seem more alive and like it was a character on its own. Would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys complex mysteries.

Death at Morning House takes the concept of the first Stevie Bell mystery and multiplies it in a single book. There are deaths new and old. There are deaths in the middle of the book. There are deaths we hear about and deaths that hardly make a mention. But all of it is important. It’s a book written about Marlowe, who through some unfortunate happenstance comes to Ralston Island, a place where a lot of death has occurred. All are believed to be accidents, but nothing quite adds up. While Marlowe gets good at her job and becomes friends with the group of kids who are employed on the island, Marlowe’s mind gets stuck on the puzzles. It’s a wonderful and confusing story about what it means to be brave. It takes a journey that we’ve seen from Johnson and transforms it with the cruel sadness of circumstance. It also allows us a beautiful and winding journey in what it means to be in love as a new adult. How love can be hard and lead us to paths we’d never thought we’d end up taking. Overall, the book reaches its intended audiences of teens and young adults and nails the complicated nature of that time period in a young person’s life.

Marlowe is not having any streaks of good luck, and things get worse when she accidentally burns a house down while on a date with her dream girl! Down and depressed, one of her teachers reaches out offering a change of scenery when her friend, a Doctor, who is researching The Morning house and the Ralston Family, is in need of an extra hand at giving tours. Marlowe has a great memory and is the perfect candidate for the job. When she packs up and moves for the summer, she starts hearing all the towns rumors and stories about The Ralston Family & The Morning House. What happened at The Morning House and why is the whole town so obsessed with it? Marlowe gets more than she asked for, but her and her fantastic memory are going to figure it all out!

This was my first book by Maureen Johnson, although I own several of her books, I have not got around to reading any, so this one was my first! Overall, I thought that this book was decent, it was an easy and fast read, I think this author does a great job with words, and I especially loved the dual timelines. It took me a few chapters to really get into it. I’m glad that I stuck it out though because those chapters are important to tie the story together. I do also feel that the ending was kind of just rushed and wrapped up and came together rather quickly in more of a tell-all type of story. I did expect more (I’m not sure what I expected more of and this falls on me lol) based on the reviews on her other books. Overall I give a solid 3.5 stars!!

Thank you NetGalley & Harper Teen for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"Death at Morning House" is a YA mystery thriller by author Maureen Johnson, who wrote the popular "Truly Devious" series. Similar in some ways to "Truly Devious," the protagonist, Marlowe, finds herself at the site of two long-ago deaths. Were they murders? Marlowe has her own problems, trying to fit in as a tour guide at Morning House, the former home of a "cursed" family whose luck turned bad after the death of their youngest child. The novel switches viewpoints between the past and the present, but keeps you guessing as to who might be a murderer. A must-buy for YA collections where mysteries are popular.

This book started a little slowly for me but once it picked up I was hooked. I love a good historical thriller and the way the author blended with past and present was so interesting! There was a lot of suspense and some chilling moments that had me gripping my kindle. I give this 4.0/4.5 and would recommend it to my reading friends.

I enjoyed the pretty cover on this book and I liked the author's Truly Devious series, but this one fell flat for me.

It felt slow, convoluted, and I never found myself really connecting with the characters.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a solid, fun YA mystery. It’s back and forth between present day and 1932 summers on Ralston Island. Present day, Marlowe has been “banished” there for work and in 1932, the unique Ralston family spends their summers there. During each timeline there is something a little off and creepy going on and Marlowe finds herself in the middle of it. If you liked Johnson’s Truly Devious series, particularly the first few, you will like Death at Morning House. Each time line could have been a stand alone story as they overlap in the smallest of ways. The 1932 storyline was actually more interesting to me, but Marlowe’s character makes up for any lost interest in the present day timeline. I could see Marlowe driving her Smart Car at a quick 21 miles per hour into her own series, but this is perfect as a stand alone. I liked the characters, the representation, and the fact that these kids were capable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

I have really enjoyed other books of Maureen Johnson, and this is a great one to add to that list! It by far isn't my favorite, but it still hooked me and kept me in the story until the very end.

After an accidental fire ruins her first date, Marlowe finds herself in a depressive slump. A summer job far away may be just the thing to take her mind off the disaster of her life. But when she arrives at Morning House, she finds that things may be just a little off there. All of the other summer employees are locals and know each other from school and they all just lost a friend a few months ago, leaving a void in their group and a lot of questions for Marlowe. Did someone push Chris? Or did he have a horrible accident? And what happened almost 100 years before with the original residents of Morning House? How did two children die on the same day? Was the family cursed?

As Marlowe searches for clues to the historical mystery, she may just stumble across the information that leads to a modern-day killer. But will she put the clues together fast enough to escape with her life?

This is a fun new series very similar to Truly Devious. Part modern-day, part historical, the clues are slowly revealed as the story progresses. Relationships between characters and conversations they have felt realistic and read true to life, and the inner turmoil of the MC also felt authentic.

A great new read for fans of the mystery genre, especially Johnson's Truly Devious series and Jennifer Lynn Barnes Inheritance Games.

You had me from “petrichor”!
I don’t know what Maureen puts in her books but I just can’t get enough!
The characters have depth and the story kept me on the edge of my seat. I fell victim to all the obvious red herrings and never knew what would happen next!
Great read!!

“Death at Morning House" by Maureen Johnson is standalone YA thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Set in a mysterious island mansion with a dark past, the story follows Marlowe Wexler as she tries to repair her reputation and rediscover herself, but the secrets of Morning House, past and present, leave Marlow with even more questions.

When her boss goes missing and dark secrets about the island and her coworkers come to light, Marlowe must confront her own fears in order to unravel the mystery and save herself.

The dual timeline narration paces the plot nicely and keeps the reader guessing as secrets of the past and present are uncovered. The characters are likable and relatable to young readers, and fans of the Truly Devious series will love this book!

“Death at Morning House" is a must-read for fans of suspenseful YA thrillers & mysteries.

A big thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins Publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had recognized the author from the truly devious series (which I still haven’t read, I feel like they’ll be good fall books) and thought this would be a fun read. It was a little slow to start but once they started getting into the mystery it really picked up! Normally I’m not a big fan of dual time lines but it didn’t bug me with this one. I will mention that the culprit was a little predictable but I expect that from YA. The characters were fun and endearing. And the mysteries did catch my attention. I really thought it was clever how both the mysteries paralleled each other

Oooohhhh… this book was delicious! It’s told from alternating timelines. The story of the family who lived in the house in the 1930’s and what happened to them to make them abandon it and a teen girl from the city (present time) who is asked to be a summer tour guide along with some local teens. I couldn’t resist reading the book in 2 parts: the 1930’s family first, then the modern story.

The 1930’a story was fascinating and had a shocking twist to the end I didn’t see coming. It’s a shame other people in the family didn’t; maybe someone could have been able to prevent the tragedies that happened. But then the story wouldn’t be as dark and dramatic as it is.

The modern half of the story was equally fascinating. Trying to figure who was the destructive force in the group was a bit of a challenge but I did and wasn’t surprised. I did enjoy the ending and how it all tied together nicely. Looking forward to reading more by the is author especially anything similar to this book. It was a really fun and intriguing read!

This author is always brilliant about suspense and I have loved every single book of hers.
Excellent writing style that draws in and can make every part of the story that much more interesting. This book has Igbt representation in it. More and more of that is coming in YA and this is the first time I have seen it in her books. The actual house has so much going on with it. I also love settings on islands so this was a fun summer read. This one keeps the mystery rolling until the very end and was overwhelming with how the story would conclude. It is a long read and will make you think about what is going on. Any book that achieves speculation and thought process makes me feel like I am solving the mystery myself. Those are the best kind and Maureen
Johnson delivers them.

Things are not going well for Marlowe, and it only gets worse when she accidentally burns down a house while on a date with her dream girl. A change of scenery is in order, and soon she finds herself moving away to take a summer job giving tours at the historic Morning House. There are quite a few mysteries to unravel, both in the past and present. Why was the Morning House left abandoned and what happened to the family that used to live there? Who's job did Marlowe take over and why was she brought to this island?

If you're a fan of the Truly Devious series (which why wouldn't you be? those books are great) then you will love this standalone novel. Marlowe is a great narrator and her snarky tone brings a lot of humor to an otherwise dour and creepy story. It was hard to put this one down and I loved that there were multiple mysteries to solve along the way.

Death at Morning House started off a bit slow for me. Told in a duel time line format the mystery of the Ralston family curse and the current life experiences of Marlow, who has taken a job as a tour guide on Ralston Island after a very embarrassing first date with the girl of her dreams goes awry.

Upon arriving Marlow soon realizes that she is in an outsider in a group of teens who have grown up together. All struggling with a shared experience. They all seem to be left to their own devices as the Professor who is doing research on the island has made it clear that she is not a babysitter. Marlow tries to make friends with the group but finds herself drawn to Riki who has a rebel air about her. Marlow doesn’t know who to trust when she hears people sneaking around in the dark, the other teens are hot and cold towards her and then professor goes missing.

I enjoyed this book. It’s geared towards teens more than adults, but I feel anyone with a love of mysteries would enjoy it. I did not get an overly anxty teen vibe from the story. I was a bit disappointed as I was intrigued by the story line thinking it would be more of a ghost story or a haunted mansion rather than a look into the past and present double mystery sort of thing. The story started slow but once the pieces started to fall into place with both timelines it was a struggle to put down.

This was a fun, fast-paced murder mystery (that also had its funny moments, Marueen Johnson knows how to combine the perfect amount of humor with mystery). Similar to her Stevie Bell series, Death at Morning House is split into two time periods, each with its respective mystery. Marlowe was a really fun main character and I loved all of the queer representation in this book!

Maureen never fails. She has a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat! This book did just that. I couldn’t put it down.

Marlowe Wexler takes a job offer after an unfortunate encounter with a candle ruins her relationship with her dream girl.

Morning House is an eerie tourist attraction that was once home to the unfortunate Ralston family. Here, Marlowe meets a cast of unique characters and becomes a part of her own mystery.

Told in dual timeline, Death at Morning House is a quick-paced and entertaining read that covers mysteries past and present. Johnson has such a unique voice and I found myself laughing while also on the edge of my seat.

My favorite portion was the Ralstons. The twists were well-done and once the book was finished, I was hungry for more!

Definitely recommend!

This was decent. I will say I’m a huge fan of Maureen Johnson’s Stevie Bell books so I had super high expectations for this one. I love the way Maureen writes mystery thrillers. For some reason Death at Morning House just fell a bit flat for me. I liked how it started with a brief summary of the dark history of Morning House and the tragedies that plagued the Ralston family. The dual timelines were done well and I never felt like it was too jarring or took me out of the story when it would switch. After an unfortunate date goes awry Marlowe joins a group of local teens at Morning House to be a tour guides for the summer. The characters were fun and quirky. I liked Marlowe. She’s a shy, good hearted queer character who also has a photographic memory that comes in real handy with connecting pieces of the mystery together. I do think the mystery felt less of a mystery and more of a kind of tell us type story. It didn’t feel so much like the Stevie books where we had to piece the puzzle together. We are sort of just shown events as the story goes on so the ending felt a bit underwhelming. I did like the mystery but I think personally I just wanted more. But overall it was a cute coming of age story with some sapphic summer romance vibes. I think it’ll be great for fans of stories with quirky YA characters that have a lot of heart but that are also looking for something with a bit of a darker background mystery.