The Ralston family were the picture of American exceptionalism. Dr. Philip Ralston and his family summered on a private paradise renamed after the eminent physician in the Thousand Islands region of New York. Morning House was designed to foster good health and creativity for his six children, born within six months of each other, whom he adopted while working in England during the war. When he finally married a stage actress his young song Max increased his brood to seven. At Morning House the children lived in a playhouse worthy of the Brothers Grimm and followed a regimen of nutrition and exercise. But their perfect lives were shattered forever on July 27th, 1932. Four year old Max was found drowned in the waters of the St. Lawrence River. Later that night, overcome by grief, his eldest sibling, Clara, jumped off the roof of Morning House, ending her life at only sixteen. From that point on death stalked the family and Morning House was shuttered. Only one child, Benjamin, survived, returning just the once in 2002 to that ill-fated island. Marlowe Wexler is about to learn all about Morning House. At first, her summer seemed to be looking up. She got a job at the local ice cream parlor, Guffy's, with the girl of her dreams as her coworker and then everything went to hell because of petrichor. She was trying to impress Akilah and got a scented candle. There was a fire. The fallout wasn't good. She needed to put the town in her rear view mirror for the summer and her history teacher, Ms. Gibson, came to the rescue. A friend of hers is a professor of history at Syracuse and is working on a history of Morning House. Abandoned by the Ralstons in the 1930s and empty ever since it's about to be redeveloped and is open to tourists for the summer with a group of local teenagers that live and work there acting as guides and she's down one teen. Marlowe is one teen. But maybe she should have asked what happened to the teen she's replacing? The group at the house have known each other forever and have history. She's walked right into a fairy tale land that looks like it should be fictional and she has no idea what dynamics she's disrupting. Because she's there to replace a dead person. Sure, they say it was an accident, but could this house be cursed? Or is there something more at play? At least she has a clean slate if no one finds out about the fire... Or as long as there isn't another one...

I know some people complained when this book was announced because it is a standalone and not the sixth Truly Devious mystery. I would counter this complaint with the fact that this is the most Maureen Johnson book Maureen has ever Johnsoned. Mysteries in two time periods, check. Teen relationship angst, check. Cute LGBTQIA+ relationships, check. Snark and jokes aplenty, a thousand checks just for that dressing alone. What's more is that it's self-contained. While I love the Truly Devious series the fact that the first mystery doesn't resolve for three books came as a bit of a shock to me and then my wallet as I couldn't wait another six months to get to the head of the queue on OverDrive and had to buy the series. I just had to. So here, it's one and done. You get the mysteries solved, you get the love triangles worked out, and you aren't sitting here for over two years stewing about how David treated Stevie! I mean, how could he!?! Can they ever recover!?! Do I even want them to!?! But those are worries for another day, not today Satan! What really drew me into this book wasn't the teen angst, much like the Truly Devious series, it was the historical crime, and here, the Ralston family. Damn. They are a hot mess. And they're Nazis. So, hot messy Nazis. In this day and age it is more important than ever to stand up and say that Nazis are bad. Because, honestly, Nazis are all around us and it's terrifying. But saying nothing makes you complicit. And I will not be counted as one of those people who said nothing. And Maureen Johnson, oh, she has a conscience and a platform and she uses it for all she's worth. Really, if you do not follow her on her socials you are missing out. Yes, they are sometimes weird, but only in the best possible way, but more importantly, she is politically informed and helps out with valuable information about what is happening and even more pressing, what you can do about it. That's why I love Death at Morning House. A human connection to horror. Through a compelling story she shows why Nazis are evil. She shows how one person without a conscious and interest in eugenics can destroy an entire family. Of course, on person without a conscious and an interest in eugenics almost destroyed the world, but this shows it on a more human level. We connect with Clara and her siblings. We see their lives. We become a part of their lives and then their lives are snuffed out because of Nazis. Two of the siblings more literally because of a bomb during WWII. And the extra creepy eugenics twist? Well, I'll leave that for you to discover because this is a must read book. Though naming one of the kids Unity was chef's kiss brilliant.

The story based in the past was amazing, but the story based in the present was blah, so that averages out to 3 stars.

Thank you so much HarperCollins Children’s Books, Maureen Johnson, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and honestly review this book

A great YA thriller with a fun atmosphere and lots of quirky characters. I've loved Johnson's books in the past and enjoyed this stand-alone mystery.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot never seemed to stand still for too long and there was always something new to learn. I enjoyed the tiny clues hidden throughout and being able to solve multiple murders and cases throughout the book. Definitely a must read (and great for the summer too)!

Sapphic romance gone awry, secluded island setting, and a mysterious death! What else could go wrong?

Ask teen Marlow Wexler, who is having a hot mess of a year. She finally gets the courage to ask her crush, Akilah, out, who she goes to school and work with. But the date ends with burning a house down. Embarrassed and convinced Akilah wants nothing to do with her, she accepts a job as a tour guide at the infamous Morning House mansion on Ralston Island. That's when things start to get weird and dangerous.

I've been taking a break from YA (mainly fantasy) but wanted to get into mysteries and thrillers. This has the perfect thriller setting: an old house with secrets. Throw an awkward teenager into a close-knit group of friends that have their own secrets, well you have the perfect tension to build the setting. The story flowed well. It never dragged or felt rushed. Every character was intriguing and essential to the plot. There was strong character development and the ending was satisfying.

If you love dark settings, whodunits, and finding yourself stories, this one is for you.
For the mood reader, I recommend this Spotify playlist by Morgan the Organ, Death at Morning House playlist, to set the tone.

I started to read this book and immediately told my teenager she would love this book. She read it and as told a few of her friends to read it as well. Needless to say, the book is good and worth the read for a YA book.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't really get into it as much as I did the Truly Devious series. It felt slow in the beginning. The last few chapters had all the action and I read through them so quickly. I didn't connect with the characters a lot, but if this was a series and had room to grow, I'm sure I would have been more into everyone. All in all, I love a good mystery!

Author Maureen Johnson wrote the Truly Devious series and I was completely obsessed with it, so when Johnson released Death at Morning House, I knew I had to read it.

The story had a really interesting plotline and I was intrigued. I knew we were looking at a really good wanna-be teen detective solving and crime and I knew Johnson could write that well. I felt the mysteries moving along and smoothly enough to keep you wanting to know what is happening.

My only issue with the story was that I found the main character to be extremely annoying. She was not relatable in any way. She was quite a bit obnoxious and obsessive over things and I found her obsession over a girl she went on one date with to be a bit extreme. Now I know teenagers can be that way, but this just seemed a bit much and made her unlikeable. I was happy when she moved on a bit from her feelings for the first girl, but then her inner monologue about obsessing over the new girl was just as obsessive. In real life, I'd recommend therapy.

The fact that I did not like the main character at all made me enjoy this story less. I want to have someone to cheer for or root against and I couldn't do either. She landed somewhere in the middle and I didn't know how to feel about the important stuff because the unimportant stuff was in my way. With that, I did find the twists at the end redeemable and was quite surprised with the ending. I did not really see it coming.

As I said, I love Maureen Johnson, but this book was not my favorite. The ending brought it back to a three stars and this could easily be a five star review with some of what I would consider unnecessary removed. Will I check out the next book from Johnson? Absolutely. She writes unique YA Fiction thrillers that are thouroughly enjoyable and I encourage you to try Death at Morning House yourself and let me know what you think.

I loved reading Johnson's "Death at Morning House." The main character, Marlowe, is relatable—nerdy and shy (the house fire wasn’t her fault!) The story's vibe is similar to the "Truly Devious" but skips the annoying characters. It uses alternative time periods between the present and 1932. Over all I really enjoyed this book.

Very much in the vein of the Truly Devious series but with a new MC and a standalone (for now?). Given my intense dislike of the love interest in the Truly Devious books (and his stubborn persistence in the series) it was nice to have a snappy mystery with a new cast.

A solid but underwhelming read, this standalone mystery features Maureen Johnson’s signature blend of historic and present-day crimes, a boarding school setting, and a creepy old estate. However, unlike her usual teen detectives, the protagonist doesn’t actively investigate, leading to a slow-moving first half with little mystery-solving. With less focus on quirky friendships and more on tragic backstory, the story lacks the engaging detective work that makes her other books so fun. While there were enjoyable moments and familiar tropes, the overall execution fell a bit flat, making this a decent but not standout read.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the dual timelines and the banter like writing style. The last half of the book had me hooked and I couldn’t put it down, and I definitely didn’t see the twist coming at all. I would highly recommend

I love a book that is taut with suspense and keeps you at holding on by the edge of your seat - the twists and sharp turns in this one were great. Was definitely engaged throughout!

Death at Morning House is a chilling and atmospheric mystery that showcases Maureen Johnson’s signature blend of suspense and sharp storytelling. The eerie setting and slow-building tension kept me hooked, and the twists were well-executed. While the pacing lagged in a few spots, the intriguing characters and unsettling mood made up for it. It’s not my favorite of her works, but it’s still an engaging read with plenty of eerie charm. Fans of Johnson’s mysteries will find plenty to enjoy!

After Marlowe experiences an unfortunate fire while house-sitting, she goes on search of a summer job. Morning House is full of mysteries and interesting characters. It's an old 1920s mansion on an island and they give tours. The back story is pretty interesting dealing with the family who lived there and their mysterious deaths. When people start cooking up missing and dead, Marlowe knows she signed up for way more than she bargained.

This book was insane. The amount of times I thought I knew what was going on baffled me. I'd be like, "ohh, okay, yeah" and then the next chapter starts and I immediately was like "oh, no, I don't understand what's happening." I will definitely be looking forward to more of the authors work.

This is a fun standalone mystery from a great YA mystery writer. I loved the setting of the old, beautiful but creepy house, and the slow reveal of what happened in the past as well as in the future worked well. The writing is sharp too; it made me laugh out loud a couple of times. All the characters are fun and the main character in particular is really relatable to anyone who is a teen or who remembers their teenage years.

I love a good Maureen Johnson book! This one did not disappoint! It was suspenseful and had all the twists and turns!

I flew through this one in just a couple of days, which is a rarity for me—especially when the book is nearly 400 pages long! I really enjoyed Marlowe’s perspective, the mix of present and past timeline’s were well done, the mysteries were satisfying and the thought process the characters went through trying to solve them was believable. I also really liked Johnson’s descriptions, there were a lot of unusual metaphors and her humor really landed with me. The driving mystery in the present timeline doesn’t kick off until the 50% mark. From that point the pace just skyrockets, each chapter is faster than the last.

After the Devious series and its wonderful characters I was unsure if this new group would be as good. Maureen did it and now there are two great groups of young detectives out there for us all to follow. This book was a wonderful read.

This book was told past and present. Present is a house with a mysterious past and the present is a group of young people working as tour guides. The main character is Marlowe Wexler and I'm sure given the opportunity Marlowe could give Stevie Bell a run for her money on solving anything.

I loved all the characters both past and present and the story held my interest from the first page to the last. Maureen again has constructed a strong and diverse cast that I look forward to reading more of in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Teen for the advanced E-copy in exchange for my honest reviews.