Maureen Johnson is always full of magic. The latest from her is no different. It would appeal to fans of the Hawthorne books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes as well as those who enjoy quirky voice driven characters.

I'm a long time fan of Maureen Johnson. I loved her older Shades of London series and really enjoyed what I've read of her Truly Devious series. She does a great job with snarky, sometimes self-deprecating, yet earnest and lovable main characters, and multilayered mysteries to boot. This one's not set at a boarding school, as the previous two series I mentioned are, but it might as well be, as this one also features a slew of teens on an old estate with not a lot of adult supervision.

Marlowe Wexler has just joined the staff of Morning House, an old mansion set on its own island on a river separating the U.S.-Canada border. No one has lived at Morning House in generations, ever since it was the site of the deaths of two of the children who summered there on one fateful day in the 1920s. But now the property has finally sold, following the death of the last remaining ancestor, and a group of teens has been hired to conduct tours while a history professor researches the family for a book she's writing. Marlowe feels a bit of an outsider, as all the other tour guides are locals who have known each other forever. And there seem to be some secrets they'd rather remain buried, secrets about a death and about who might have been the cause of it. But nothing can remain buried forever.

I loved the duality of the mysteries here. Johnson weaves the 1920s story -- which is truly bananas -- between the chapters from Marlowe's point of view, flipping between them at key moments that make you desperate to keep reading. This whole thing is a bit of a romp, and I really, really enjoyed every spine-tingling turn. This one releases today, and I haven't heard a thing about it! If you're looking for a fun YA mystery to round out your summer reading, this is the one! Go grab your copy!

A heart pounding YA mystery thriller. Marlowe embodied the quirky awkwardness of the average teenager. After her first date debacle she takes a new summer job as a tour guide at Morning House, famous for the deaths that occurred there in 1932. She soon finds the reason they had an opening was because of another recent death on the property. The storyline switches between the event leading up to the deaths in 1932 & present day occurrences at Morning House. It was a fun journey with an exciting twist near the end. Highly recommend to anyone who loves murder mysteries.

Maureen Johnson does it again.

What I liked:

Johnson’s writing is truly addictive. I had a hard time putting this one down.

We have two mysteries in one. One in the present and one in the past. I really enjoyed the dual timelines.

This is a standalone, and I liked how everything was wrapped up. I wasn’t wanting more out of the plot when I was done.

What didn’t work for me:

I wish that there was a little more character development with the core group of characters.

Can a murder mystery, by its nature, be fun? Well, this one was. A creepy house on a dangerous river, dual timeline murder mysteries, a cast of teenage characters, and a female MC with a penchant for accidental arson? Sign me up. The banter was fun, the setting was fascinating and the mysteries kept me engaged. Four entertaining stars!

Pub Date: 8/6/24
Review Published: 8/5/24
eARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this novel! Death at Morning House releases August 6, 2024.

Death at Morning House follows Marlowe Wexler, a young teen who finds herself working at a new summer job in the aftermath of a house fire. This job, located on an island outside of where she lives, is in the acclaimed Morning House, a summer home mansion built in the 1920s, and a site of tragedy for the owners. Once there, Marlowe finds that things aren't quite what they seem. Mysteries ensue.

This is a totally fine book for its demographic. I think it's a good young adult mystery for younger readers. It does read very young. Marlowe's voice was a little exhausting for me, at times, because she just goes on diatribes that take the reader out of what's happening for no reason. It read like it wanted to come off as quirky, but they really slowed down the narrative.

I also had a really hard time understanding character motivations for basically every character. The work done to try and authenticate Marlowe's voice took away from time that was needed to build characterization -- and that's including Marlowe. I did not get the sense that Marlowe was an astute observer for most of the book, and then there is some backstory that tries to explain how and why she's able to deduce things at the end of the book. I didn't really buy it. I also didn't really buy the motivation that went into the historical POV following the Ralston family. While I thought that ending was well done, I also don't think it was necessarily earned in terms of the actual structure of the story and the information we had been given as readers.

Ultimately, this isn't a book that's for me, as I am far older than the target demographic. I do think I probably would have enjoyed it more as a younger reader, and I would recommend it to younger readers who like mysteries.

I really enjoyed this whodunnit!! The story involves two murders across two different timelines at the Morning House! While some twists I saw coming, there were others I did not!!! 🙌

This was my first read by this author and it certainly won’t be my last!! Highly recommend to mystery and YA lovers!! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children’s, and Maureen Johnson for allowing me the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

After the release of the first Truly Devious book in 2018, Maureen Johnson quickly became one of my favorite YA authors. I always look forward to a new book in the Truly Devious series, and though we’re eagerly awaiting the 6th book, I was so excited to read a brand new story from Johnson.

I loved how different this felt to Truly Devious. Yes, there are similarities — a young female protagonist and a historical mystery that she solves, but that’s where the similarities end. The thing that caught my attention right away was how different our protagonist, Marlowe, was to the protagonist of Truly Devious, Stevie. Marlowe, God bless her, is a little bit of a mess and I loved her for it. She could be very self-deprecating, but not overly so that it annoyed me, and I found her very real.

I loved the comedy in this book. Johnson is really great at subtle and sarcastic humor, which is very much up my alley and the kind of humor that I enjoy in general, so there were a lot of moments during this book that made me chuckle and say “mood” throughout the book. There was a great balance of mystery and humor to keep the reader engaged as the story goes on.

Though the house wasn’t actually haunted, the way that people spoke about Morning House made it seem like it was; it felt like it had real personality and like it was a character rather than a location, and I loved that. There was so much history in that house and mystery surrounding it, I found it absolutely fascinating. I loved the isolated atmosphere — we know I love a locked room mystery, so I was really glad to see that involved in this story. There was such an uneasiness within Morning House that, aside from the deaths that took place there in the 30s, was definitely influenced by the home being isolated on an island. I just loved the vibe.

Something that Johnson does so well is compelling dual timelines. I’ve always loved how she flows between the present and the past — I would actually love a historical mystery novel from her, as I think she comes up with super interesting plots for the historical cases in her books. Both timelines are interesting with compelling characters and she’s so good at weaving together the reveals and twists of both timelines, and drawing parallels between the past and the present.

The Ralston family was so incredibly interesting to me, and while I loved the back and forth timeline, I couldn’t read a whole book about them. The dynamics of that family were absolutely fascinating, and you just knew something wasn’t right there. I loved reading the chapters from the POVs of the Ralston Children and the way that the story of the family unfolded.

Something I found interesting is that I had lots more theories and curiosity regarding the mystery around the Ralston family than I did the current timeline’s mystery. That’s not to say that I didn’t have my theories for what Marlowe and the other teens at Morning House were going through, but I had super strong theories regarding the deaths of the Ralston children. While the culprits changed a few times throughout the book (that I did end up being wrong about), the motive didn’t change, and that was the thing I was right about. Johnson did such a great job of giving subtle clues to the reader throughout the story; I found myself guessing the motive and saying to myself “No, no, that’s so horrible” and although I saw it coming, the reveal was not any less heartbreaking.

Johnson once again delivered on a fast-paced, well executed and smart YA mystery. If you’ve enjoyed her previous works, I think you’ll definitely enjoy this one as well!

Summer vacation, eugenics & nut cutlets

I love how Maureen Johnson writes young adults. Her characters always have such an authentic balance of confidence and inexperience, naïveté and cynicism, emotion and composure - the kind of teen attitude that comes with thinking you know everything, but not really knowing anything 😉

Similar to the first book in the Truly Devious series, this had one plot line in the present and one in the past. I was much more invested in the past story (the one that dealt with eugenics and nut cutlets) as the present seemed a bit unrealistic to me. However, the overall story was engaging and clever and just as great as Truly Devious.

Synopsis:
With her house-sitting career up in flames (literally), it seems the universe owes Marlowe a new summer job. That’s how she ends up at Morning House, a mansion built on an island in the 1920s and abandoned shortly thereafter. It’s easy enough, giving tours. Low risk of fire. High chance of getting bored talking about stained glass and nut cutlets and Prohibition.

Oh, and the deaths. Did anyone mention the deaths?

Maybe this job isn’t such a gift after all. Morning House has a horrific secret that’s been buried for decades, and now the person who brought her here is missing.

All it takes is one clue to set off a catastrophic chain of events. One small detail, just like a spark, could burn it all down—if someone doesn’t bury Marlowe first.

Marlowe is living her best teenage life during the summer. She has a cool job and the girl of her dreams is into her. But all that literally goes up in flames when she accidentally sets a fire. To save face she accepts another summer job that brings her to the historic Morning House. Morning House was built on a small island in the 1920’s for an infamous family that was shortly abandoned after 2 tragic deaths. Now Marlowe will join a group of teens, who are a close group of friends, to give tours and live in the house. The close group of friends have also experienced a tragic loss and as Marlowe starts to investigate what is going on, secrets from the present and the past start to surface.

I love Maureen Johnson’s YA books and was thrilled to stumble upon this stand alone. The switching from the past and future POV’s were fantastic and I loved how everything came together at the end.

This one was...interesting. I suspected one of the two killers from the start, but maybe that is just because I read too many thrillers? I will say, and maybe this is just me, but the names of the Ralston children were hard to keep track of. There were a lot of them and I could not keep victory and unity straight for the life of me! Overall though, this was a pretty good YA thriller. The whole candle storyline was a bit much though.

Maureen Johnson is a new to me author, and Death At Morning House has cemented the fact they I need to read her backlist.

I really enjoy YA mysteries and Death At Morning House nailed it. The characters are fantastic and this book captivated me from the first page and never let go.

This is the perfect new mystery for fans of the Truly Devious series. Between the writing style and them both having dual storylines with different mysteries unfolding throughout the story, the vibes are similar.

While our new female main character, Marlowe, isn’t the dedicated detective Stevie Bell is, Marlowe is a great MC all on her own. She is smart, observant, and quirky. I enjoyed being inside her POV. I totally wasn’t expecting a sapphic MC but was pleasantly surprised.

Overall, I liked this stand-alone, and would love to see this cast of characters again.

If you're looking for an interesting, mysterious story with not a lot of profanity, sex, etc. Then this is the story for you. It was thoroughly intriguing and I loved the back and forth points of view from past to present. I thought I had it figured out but the last few chapters shook me. Lol. Definitely a good read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc of this book!!

Marlowe Wexler is pretty much having the worst summer of her life, when it was initially looking like it would be the best. Marlowe is working at the ice cream place in town and gets put on a few shifts with her crush, ultimately leading to them going on a date together. Afterward, Marlowe brings her to a really nice house on the lake that she cleans. While the two girls are hanging out, Marlowe lights a candle, which ends up burning pretty much the whole house down. While the owners don’t blame Marlowe, accepting that it was an accident, it’s clear that members of her town think she did it on purpose. Dealing with stares and whispers, Marlowe retreats into a lonely, depressive state at home- until one of her old teachers brings her the opportunity of working as a tour guide at an infamous house converted mansion on an island in the Thousand Islands region.

Marlowe jumps at the chance to go to the island and get out of her town for the summer. She’s excited to meet people who don’t know about the fire, only to arrive and realize they have already been told. Still, her new coworkers seem friendly enough and it’s still better than being at home. Everything seems pretty normal at first, until Marlowe finds out that she has come to the island to replace Chris, a worker who died mere weeks before. The death was ruled an accident, but as more weird and sinister things come to light throughout the summer, Marlowe begins to wonder if she is stuck on the island with a killer.

At the same time, the mysterious circumstances of the family who lived in the house is also unfolding throughout the summer. Everyone knows that the family was a bit odd, but no one can pinpoint what happened on the day that the youngest son and oldest daughter both passed away, resulting in the family completely abandoning the house.

I really enjoyed this novel! It definitely kept me guessing and had the same fun spirit as the Truly Devious series, also by Maureen Johnson. I think that fans of that series and the Inheritance Game series by Jennifer L Barnes will want to pick this one up!

I liked the idea of this one, but I struggled with the voice/tone of the modern day segments. I preferred the style/tone of the historical chapters, which surprised me because I'm usually not the biggest fan of historical stories. Unfortunately I just wasn't very invested in this mystery.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.

Death at Morning House is a standalone story from Maureen Johnson, the author of the Truly Devious novels.

"Marlowe didn't mean to burn the house down. It was the candle's fault. I mean, what kind of candle explodes?!? Her parents send her to the Morning House for the summer to work with the teens doing tours. The house was the site of the Ralston family tragedy back in the 30's when two children died the same day. Marlowe finds out she is replacing a kid who died and wonders what she's gotten into."

Johnson writes characters that are a little bit on the fringe. Marlowe is awkward, but has the same feelings as most teenagers. The group at Morning House is full of personality. It may seem like there's some stereotypes but Johnson adds just a little more. There is a dual timeline where we find out what really happened on the long ago day to the Ralston family. Johnson gives an important clue so if there's a word you don't recognize, look it up. You probably won't guess either killer. Nice ending from Johnson, too.

Great standalone, entertaining story from Johnson.

I loved this dual-timeline YA mystery from one of my favorite YA authors, Maureen Johnson. After a date goes disastrously wrong, Marlowe needs to get out of town and starts working at Morning House, a historical home and site of a family tragedy. As time goes on, we learn what really happened at Morning House that fateful day, and see those events mirrored in the present.

If you are a fan of the author's Truly Devious series, you will find a lot to like here: funny, quirky characters, an atmospheric setting in the form of a creepy, isolated house, and a locked room mystery (times 2!) that unravels. The pace was fast, and kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved Marlowe, and the side characters in the form of her coworkers were also a treat. The sense of unease throughout the whole book kept me on the edge of my seat. I read this book in 2 days, because I truly could not put it down without finding out what would happen next.

I have been reading Maureen Johnson books for about 15 years and books like this ensure her as a must-buy author for me.

Marlowe Wexler has the worst luck. All she wanted was a romantic date with her crush, Akilah, but when things went up in flames (literally), and thinking Akilah wouldn't have anything to do with her after that, she took a summer job at Morning House, a mansion built on an island in the 1920s and abandoned shortly thereafter when the family staying there suffered unthinkable tragedy. Now, for the first time since that happened, they are opening the island up for tours, and Marlowe gets a job there as a tour guide. What she discovers while staying there is the mystery of why the previous occupants left, and why history seems to be repeating itself.

I really liked this book. The mystery was fresh, and the characters were many, varied, and unique. Watching Marlowe enter the group and try to find her place in it was interesting, but the best part was, of course, the mysteries themselves. The dual timeline and POV kept things hopping, and the ending tied things up nicely.

I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books/HarperTeen, and Maureen Johnson for the opportunity to read and review Death at Morning House.

Death at Morning House

By: Maureen Johnson

Publish Date: August 6, 2024

Publisher: Harpercollins children’s Books/Harper Teen

Mystery and Thrillers/Teens and YA

#DeathatMorningHouse#NetGalley

200 Book Reviews Professional Reader

I would like to thank both Harpercollins and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Book Review:

I gave this book 4 stars. It was a little slow at the beginning, but it started to pick up around 60% of the way through. It is a dual timeline. Present time and July of 1932. On July 27, 1932, two children died. One from drowning and the other from a fall. The family left the next day. The house has remained empty since. Present day the home has been bought and renovated and is open for the summer for touring before it is closed to the public for private use. There is an historian who is doing research on the house and the family who used to own it. She is also the boss of the 6 teenagers who are working there for the summer. Three of them are in charge of the tours, one is a lifeguard for the lagoon pool, 1 is in charge of the water equipment such as the boat and jet ski and the last one is in charge of the gift shop. 5 of the teenagers are from the local area and the 6th one is from out of town who was just recently brought in to fill an empty spot. Why was she brought in instead of using another local teen? You will have to read the book. There are actually several mysteries in this book, and you really need to pay attention to get the clues. I was surprised at one of them and barely figured out the other ones just before the reveal.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the friendship; even though some of the friends weren’t perfect but that is how life is. I liked how they worked together even though they didn’t think they could trust each other.