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.

Okay this book was one of my absolute favorite reads of this year! I love Maureen Johnson and her Truly Devious series. So this book helped me with my cravings for the next book in her Truly Devious series. I will always say a YA Thriller is either a hit or miss. But this standalone book was an absolute hit for me! Maureen can take all my money for any of their future work. I will auto read it all and absolutely love every minute.

Marlowe had a series of unfortunate events in one night that led to accidentally arson. All this happened on a date with her forever crush, Akilah. Poor Marlowe is absolutely mortified and knows that she won't be getting a second date after everything that happens. Now she is need of a new summer job after accidentally setting the house she was watching on fire. This leads her to becoming a tour guide for the Morning House. A mansion with a strange and mysterious past that occurred in the 1920s. But the past seems to be catching up with the future. Now the house is riddled with new deaths. Can Marlowe figure out what is happening before she is the next body?

What I enjoyed:
- Marlowe! She was such a relatable and loveable MC. I felt for her through second hand embarrassement. I just wanted to scoop her up for a hug and tell her everything would be okay
- the setting was definitely great to give a spooky and mysterious atmosphere to the read. I mean a mysteriojs mansion that has a past littered with death? Sign me up.
- the mystery of what was going down had me hooked from the beginning. I couldn't put the hook down and stayed up till 4 am just to finish it
-the dash of romance! Plus the LGBTQI+ representation is always a plus in my book
- the twists! I thought I knew how it would end and I was completely wrong. Two sets of mysteries and two sets of twist. But they all somehow tied up together in a pretty bow.


I loved this book so much! I cannot wait to read more from the author in the future. 5 stars out of 5! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

i enjoy all of maureen johnson's half present / half past mysteries featuring a quirky cast of kids in a beautiful historic estate converted to a modern day business, but this one wasn't my favorite — i prefer when my protagonists are more aware they're solving a mystery, and this felt pretty coincidental.

Love this author. My daughter and I devoured the Truly Devious series and I was little worried about a standalone, but it did not disappoint!👏🏼

I LOVED Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series, so I was really looking forward to reading another mystery from her. However, I did not enjoy Death at Morning House. There were too many characters in the past timeline for me to keep straight, and I felt no connection to any of the children. I didn't care about who murdered who because I had not connected with any of them. Regarding the present timeline, the main character had no motivation- short of running away from her old life. She didn't have a goal or something she wanted to accomplish, so nothing could get in the way. I wasn't compelled to care about her either. So sorry. I will definitely try Maureen Johnson again.

I enjoy reading Maureen Johnson. Her YA mysteries are fun- kind of brain candy type mysteries. A bit predictable, but fun! This book was much the same. I enjoyed the plot and the characters and look forward to the next one!

The young adult/teen premise part of this book was iffy and thin but the mystery elements and plot were fun. Very reminiscent of her previous books and very easy to consume in one sitting.

One house….two timelines….two young women….one mystery, can it be solved?
Marlowe Wexler is struggling to find her way in the world. After accidentally setting a house fire while house-setting, Marlowe decides she needs to escape from the embarrassment of her actions. Landing a summer job at Morning House is just the thing she needs. However, there is something sinister going on at Morning House. Marlowe must find out what happened to the eccentric family who suddenly abandoned the home years ago after a tragic accident and an devastating unaliving.
Clara Ralston's family are kept on a tight leash. Her father controls everything from what they eat to their daily workout regime. Struggling with her daily routines and family structure, Clara soon finds release from her father’s clutches. Just not in the way she hopes.
Overall rating 3/5
I am usually drawn to the abandoned and haunted house tropes, but this book fell flat for me. I was expecting this book to be more of a YA horror book however it was more along the lines of a YA drama. The dual POV timelines gave an interesting perspective into each of the young girls lives and how they dealt with the stress and difficulties of becoming young women. If you like reading about the struggles of young adults and family angst then this book is for you.

*Thank you to Maureen Johnson, HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperTeen and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book early for an honest review.

This story is about a girl named Marlowe who goes on a date that goes awry and she ends up working at a historical mansion called Morning House for the summer. She slowly learns about the tragic history of the family that lived there when tragedy strikes again in modern day.

I really loved this book and am excited to read more from Maureen Johnson! Her writing flows so well and makes you not want to put this book down. I really liked the characters, especially the main character Marlowe. I also appreciated that this book is YA without feeling too juvenile.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

• YA mystery
• isolated setting
• dual timeline

I love how descriptive the writing is! Our FMC is hilarious - the author does such a great job getting into her head. She's snarky, quirky, and awkward... I can relate 🤣 The clues and mysteries were so fun - I really kept turning the pages!

🗣 Thank you to netgalley and Harper Teen for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.