Marlowe's summer job at an old mansion with a tragic past turns into a dual timeline mystery in this new standalone novel from Maureen Johnson. I enjoyed how the author wove together the two timelines. This is very much a young adult novel, so there is a fair amount of teenage angst and antics. But make no mistake, the mystery is still engaging.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsChildrensBooks and #HarperTeen for a free copy of #DeathAtMorningHouse by Maureen Johnson. All opinions are my own.

Death At Morning House had a lot of potential with its atmospheric setting and promise of a suspenseful mystery, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations. The author did a fantastic job with descriptions, really capturing the eerie ambiance of the house and surrounding landscape, which I appreciated. However, the pacing felt a bit uneven—sometimes the story dragged, while other moments felt too rushed, leaving little room for the characters to develop fully.

The main character was intriguing but a bit too predictable in her reactions, which lessened the tension for me. I was hoping for a bit more depth in the mystery itself, but some of the twists felt overly convenient or underdeveloped, which took me out of the suspense at times. It’s still an enjoyable read, especially if you’re looking for something with a creepy atmosphere, but it didn’t leave me with that “wow” factor I crave in a good mystery.

The cover appealed to me first and foremost. The details, colors and meaning behind it. I'm not one to usually pick up a YA novel, but then again if I see a cover that I love, I tend to change my mind quickly. This book was a creepy, yet cozy mystery. There are two timelines and the author does a great job at intertwining the current mystery with the older mystery. I was pleasantly surprised with how I enjoyed the story. I will read more from this author!

Marlowe was such a fun character to follow! This was such a surprise read as someone not that familiar with Maureen’s other works and it worked well as a murder mystery.

Great Young Adult mystery/thriller. This is one that will be added to my library.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity for an eARC.

In Death at Morning House, Marlowe is invited to work for the summer at an old house on an island. The house was once owned by an eccentric man and his family, almost all of whom died under tragic circumstances.

But then Dr.Henson who invited Marlowe for the summer disappears. Marlowe and the other summer workers must race against a storm and keeping their own lives to find out what happened.

Maureen Johnson is the author of the Truly Devious series which I really enjoyed. This is another fun YA mystery. If you’re a fan of locked room/people trapped with a potential murderer this is the book for you.

Thank you to @harperteen and @netgalley for a review copy.

Compelling and cozy. I opted for the audiobook version, as I didn't get around to reading my ARC prior to publication, and I'm glad I still gave it a chance! The narrator is great and the story kept me interested and wanting to keep listening until the very end.

I like YA thrillers are like cozy mysteries for me. But this one I didn't get into until about 60% in and it was dragging a bit. A tad predictable but it was good in the end.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

I was so excited for this one. It was top of my most anticipated reads for 2024 and unfortunately it just didn't do it for me. I liked the dual timelines but the murder mystery in the present day just didn't do it for me. I felt very much like another version of Truly Devious and not a fresh new storyline. I'm sad about it. I will of course read all Maureen's books. This one just fell a bit flat for me.

Although I would really love another Truly Devious book, Maureen… I really had a fun time with this standalone mystery centering Marlowe, a teen looking for a new start by taking a summer job as a tour guide for a mysterious island mansion in New York. A house shrouded in mystery following the death of two children in the 1920s, Morning House hides plenty of secrets. Marlowe went to Morning House to try and escape drama in her life, but she was going to be sucked into a way darker mystery. I would say if you’re familiar with the Truly Devious series and you liked those books, especially the original trilogy, you’ll love this book. I feel like Maureen Johnson has a really skilled way of crafting memorable teen characters that are complicated and messy but so compelling and likable. Marlowe is really smart, but she is falling in love and figuring herself out, and I really love how real she feels- and so do all the other teen characters. The mystery was really well crafted, the pacing was perfect, and I really loved all the characters. This was a really fun summer mystery that I can’t recommend enough.

When I first started this book, it was dragging, and I kept finding myself not fully paying attention and having to go back to figure out what was happening! By 60% through the book, I was finally hooked! Marlowe was talking about being good at solving logic riddles, and I became invested solving the logic riddle of the book myself just a couple steps ahead of the book itself. Although that does mean the story was a tad predictable when it came towards the end I was fully invested for the last 40% of the book and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Maureen Johnson is a great writer and I'm excited to dig into a couple more books by her that I have on my bookshelf at home!

Marlowe has finally got the nerve to ask Akilah for a date. Marlowe decides to take her to the home that she is house sitting. She has gotten a special candle that has the scent that Akilah likes. Unfortunately the candle causes a fire at the home. After this, happens Akilah leaves their part time job to work at another place. Marlowe is devastated — losing the home to fire and Akilah leaving the part-time job. She’s sure Akilah will never go out with her again. So when Marlowe is offer the chance to leave town for anothe summer job. She says yes with no hesitation. Marlowe will be a toug guide at an manor built on an abandoned island between the United States and Canada. At the manor, there was a tragic story that happened several years ago. Life is different on the island. Marlowe’s boss works all day away in a high point of the manor. The boss is working on a project about the Ralston family that lived in the house. Her coworkers are locals (Marlowe’s age) that have known each other forever. When she finds out that she has gotten the job because the former tour guide had died. It makes her feel in comfortable living in a home that feels haunted. Then a person is missing and the past seems to be repeating itself. Marlowe ends up bonding with Riki (an independent worker in the gift shop) to solve the mystery beside another mystery that happened in the past (for the Ralston family). Will Marlowe be able to solve the mystery?

The author wrote this novel with two timelines and a fast-paced mystery with characters that had me reading the pages as fast as possible. The author has written a novel that was an engaging mystery with its unpredictability.

I used to be obsessed with MJ books and she always hit. Now I feel as though I’ve aged out of them. They keep falling so flat for me and I’m not as invested as I could have been.

I loved the toggle between the current day and the original owners of the home. Just when you think you've figured out the whodoneit on both ends of the story, you're thrown for a loop. This story kept me hooked from start to finish and I truly did not want to put it down. I felt refreshed reading this as I personally hadn't read anything with a concept such as this!

Excellent mystery. I loved the premise and the surprises throughout. Great character building and plot development. Always love Johnson!

I like YA thrillers, because they read like cozy mysteries to me. This one was about a museum tour guide who uncovers a mystery, and it’s up to her to solve it. The writing was great, and it kept me engaged the whole time!

Marlowe is a teenager who uncovers a mystery while working as a tour guide on an island...and she must solve it before history repeats itself.

Unfortunately, I was absolutely bored with this story, but thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Harper Teen for an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion.

Death at Morning House was my sixth Maureen Johnson book and it kept my interest SO WELL just like the others. There's something magical mixed into her writing with the back and forth of timelines, quirky characters, and dark academia-type settings. I really enjoyed following Marlowe in this story. Teenaged me would have related heavily to her social awkwardness (I still do) and love crazed brain. I found myself cracking up many times, as I always do with Johnson's books. She's got such a great wit that hits home every time.

I read this book in I believe 3 days, which for me is FAST. Lightening fast. So, clearly, as I said earlier, it kept my interest very well. I really wanted, no, NEEDED, to know "whodunit" in both the mysteries. That being said, and while I very much adore the characters in the modern world, I felt there was so much more to explore with the Ralston family and wish we had more of them. Clearly there was so much more to them, to their history and family dynamics and we only scratched the surface. While I understand it would have been impossible to dive too deeply into them with the modern day mystery happening along side, I still wished we got a little bit more. Especially in how the murderer was revealed from the 1932 mystery-- it was jarring and it felt a tad rushed. Even though I wanted more time to piece together and solve the 1932 mystery, it made sense overall. It had a streamline progression and the motivation was definitely there. The modern day mystery felt a little more fleshed out and had some good clues mixed in to prompt the reader to solve it.

Overall, I'd still recommend this book- Maureen Johnson is one of my favorite authors and if this is a new series, I will definitely be picking up the next book. It was a fun read with some dark themes that explore the bad side of humans and had such a good balance of the two.

As a fan of Johnson, I was excited when netgalley approved me for an arc. There is just something fun about YA mysteries and teen detectives and Johnson writes them so well. With a slower start, it may not be for everyone but I adored it!

A quick interesting read. The stories in both the past and present held my attention. The mystery of it all was so intriguing. It kept me guessing. I thought everything came together nicely in the end. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good YA murder mystery with dual timelines and LGBTQ representation.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.