I ADORED this book!

I've never read any of Maureen Johnson's book before even though I know her Truly Devious series is super popular and everyone seems to be recommending it - rest assured, I will be picking it up after working through a couple other books I have in process. But boy howdy, I am SO glad I took the plunge and read this book.

One, the book is hilarious - and that's not easy to do. From the very premise itself to Marlowe's inner dialogue throughout the whole thing, it's fantastic and is such a good contrast to the very serious conflicts and mysteries going on.

Two, I adored the interweaving of the current-day mystery and the historical one surrounding the spooky house Marlowe flees her town to go work at for the summer. There were such good parallels and they supplemented each other very well as a way to build a bigger picture about what was going on, but to keep the reader on their toes.

Three, the characters were so much fun! I loved the reclusive professor who "oversaw" the house doing research - I think she was such a good background character to both start dropping some clues, while leaning hard into the vibe of creepy house. The main characters were all so unique and life-like, it was so great to read and get to know them better. They written like people I've met in real life, and that really made the story work. Every single one of them had their own motives, and secrets, and flaws - and that's what made them so cool.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

Like most dual timeline mysteries, I preferred the historic sections of the book to the modern sections. I found the connection between the two time lines to be precarious at best.

The 1932 timeline deals with the Ralstons, a wealthy man and his adopted and biological children. While they are known as paragons of health and fitness, Dr. Ralston has started to delve into Eugenics and all that implies in the 1930s. I wish that this aspect of the story as well as the modern views of the Ralsons were explored in more detail.

A fantastic standalone mystery from the bestselling maven of dual timeline mysteries, Maureen Johnson!

This was just ok. I feel like I wasn't ever really immersed in the story - either one. But I was probably more interested in the story from the past and the Ralstons. That could have made for a more interesting story and I could have done without the present day and the entire other murder mystery that didn't even connect to the other one.

and I'm just kinda tired of mystery books ending with or including a character creating a podcast. It's just overdone by now

Also - cw - child death. not graphic but it's a major plot point and it's slightly described.

DNF unfortunately i could not get into the story and found the plot too slow. i still think this could be enjoyable for those who like YA horror/mystery.

Great inclusivity. I love Maureen Johnson. She has a certain style that just lets you know it’s a Johnson book. These characters feel real and relatable. I can’t wait to find out what’s next.

This was a wonderful book to take my mind off the fact that I still have to wait so long for the next Stevie Bell mystery. I had a great time reading and trying to figure out bits and pieces of the story. It was also wonderful to meet Maureen on her book tour!

To me, everything Maureen Johnson writes is perfect. I was so excited when she announced a standalone book! I adored her Truly Devious series, and I am always a big fan of standalones. She did not disappoint!

3.5 stars

This book is broken into three different times lines: past, Benjamin’s and the present. I found I really enjoyed the past and Benjamin’s small part. They were very intriguing and I really like the characters. However, the present was very slow and the characters were pretty unlikeable.

This book took a while to get going, so it felt like I was trudging through it, but once the mystery took off, I had a hard time putting it down!

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed this a lot! The mystery was very interesting and the characters were too. I liked how it was not only a mystery, it was also kind of a horror and a thriller.

3.75/5 Student Marlowe Wexler finally gets a date with her crush, only for a candle mishap to burn down the house she is supposed to be watching. Now in need of a new summer job, Marlowe ends up on an island at a 1920s mansion called Morning House giving tours. The only problem is that the person who brought her there suddenly disappears, things aren’t adding up, and the house has a history of deaths.

I love a good creepy haunted mansion setting, and this one provided a great atmosphere for this story. I enjoyed the cast of characters on the island, as well as Marlowe’s inner dialogue, which I found very relatable. The layering of the mansion’s original family’s story throughout was well done and helped keep me interested in the book’s progression. It dragged a bit in the middle for me, but overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you to Maureen Johnson, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have always adored Maureen Johnson's writing so this book was something I knew I was going to love: the mystery and the dual timelines. I wish Clara was around for another book :( If you've loved Maureen Johnson's other books, you will enjoy this one. I'm so happy I read it and can't wait to see what the author will do with this new world she built.

Death at the Morning House by Maureen Johnson is a thrilling YA mystery that will keep readers guessing until the very end. The story follows Marlowe, a teen who lands a summer job as a tour guide at Morning House, a historic island estate with a tragic past. When Dr. Benson, the historian overseeing the tours, goes missing, Marlowe and her fellow teen guides find themselves caught up in a century-old mystery.

Johnson expertly weaves together two timelines – the present-day investigation and the events leading up to the deaths of two Ralston siblings decades ago. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and the setting, with its eerie mansion and the island's isolated atmosphere, adds to the suspense. The twists and turns in the plot are expertly executed, making for a thrilling and satisfying read.

Two timelines and a fast-paced mystery with great characters that will have you flipping pages as fast as you can read them. Maureen Johnson does it again with this stand-alone novel where a young girl discovers a mystery at Morning House where she is working as a tour guide for the summer.

This was a fun YA thriller with a relatably awkward protagonist. I'm not always a fan of dual timeline stories, but this one kept my interest.

My deep and abiding first love in this book was our lead character, Marlowe. She is a queer teenage girl who normally and that normally wouldn’t necessarily draw me in. Teenage girls are tough for me.

But, Marlowe is hilarious. She is smart and sensitive but she is so so funny. I loved every single minute of this book because the present timeline is completely in her voice and she just was exactly who I wanted to be spending my time with.

I also fell in love with the story in the 1932 timeline of this creepy family with their six adopted kids and then the very very interesting story of the youngest kid, four-year-old Max. I was fascinated by the day-to-day life of this very strange family from the beginning.

And the house and the island where this book takes place are equally fascinating. We have pristine waters to swim in, we have a beautiful house to explore and dank basements to find creepy things in. Every setting was delicious.

Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson was published August 6th 2024 by HarperTeen.
Maureen Johnson is the author of the truly devious series which I absolutely loved! This one was no different I loved every second of this book!

YA mystery book for the win again! Marlowe was the best character. I absolutely adored her! This book was about old history of the Ralston Family and reading about how one of the children, Max was found dead by drowning and not soon after, his sister Clara jumps off a balcony and soon dies after. Now why did they do this?
What caused this to happen?
Then the story is told in the future with Marlowe Wexler who is sent to this island where the Ralston's used to live and help give tours of the house. Strange things start to happen at the house, someone goes missing and Marlowe is determined to find out what is going on and figure out what happened in the past to maybe have caused these problems and a missing person.

I highly recommend if you love a good YA !!

Death at Morning House is a delightful YA mystery with a quirky and lovable heroine, Marlowe Wexler. Her mix of photographic memory and endearing clumsiness makes her stand out from other detective leads, offering a fresh twist on the genre. The story's blend of past and present mysteries set in a haunted mansion keeps the suspense gripping, and the setting is perfectly eerie. While it echoes some elements of the Truly Devious series, Marlowe's charm and the book's fast-paced plot give it a unique spin. Overall, it’s a fun, smart read that makes me excited to see what Marlowe gets up to next. If you’re into clever mysteries with a touch of character, this one’s a winner!

The truly devious series drew me to this newest release. And like that series, this one had a wide range of eclectic characters, an old mystery tying into a modern one, and a unique setting. I did feel as though the story took a little too long to get into the mystery in the present day, but I did still enjoy it and would recommend the book

This book was kind of a miss for me. After discovering (and devouring) the Truly Devious series, I had pretty high expectations. Death at Morning House is similar in the fact that it has a dual timeline, takes place in an old mansion, and a mysterious, strange love interest. I actually really enjoyed the timeline that featured the Ralston family. Their story was unique and fascinating, as well as well-developed. However, the present day storyline is where the book fell flat to me. I felt that Marlowe, Akilah, and the supporting cast of characters were half-baked compared to the Ralston's. I mean. I honestly couldn't tell you the names of the people Marlowe stayed in the mansion with, besides a vague description of their personality traits. I also, unfortunately, found the 'twist' toward the end of the book to be rather unsurprising and formulaic. Let me be clear. This was not a bad book by any means, and I will happily recommend it to my friends. It has an engaging plot and mystery to keep you entertained. I just probably won't go out of my way to pick up a copy, which I'm very sad about. And on a positive note, Death at Morning House has better representation than Truly Devious does, which was great to see.