Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the Truly Devious series, but this stand alone fell flat for me. The story moves extremely slowly in the beginning. I do not believe that my students will stay with it long enough to get to the suspenseful parts.

I love a good mystery by miss Maureen Johnson and this one did not disappoint! It’s so refreshing to see different takes an author can drive a story and characters and Johnson always seems to do it for me!

When Dr Ralson adopted his six children, he decided it was a brilliant idea to build them a mansion on their own private island. The Morning House was the subject of many newspapers and lifestyle magazines. But then the deaths happened. Right after the tragic deaths occurred, the family abandons the Morning House. It sits empty until one summer, decades later, the new owners open the Morning House for tours.

Marlowe, our main character, becomes a tour guide after her bad luck kicks her butt and ruins her chance at love. It was supposed to be an escape from her embarrassment and guilt, but things quickly turn deadly. Can Marlowe solve the mysteries that surround the Morning House before it’s too late?

I was quick to select this on Netgalley because I love Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson and I found this plot to be interesting. But, it ended up being the characters that I found the most interesting, relatable and well developed, especially Marlowe. I got a kick out of learning about Marlowe, her personality and what (and who) she loved.

Then there was the romance side plot where we learn that Marlowe loves hard and will lose herself in a person. It was quite a wholesome and cozy read, except for the deaths.
I was also pulled into the mysteries. I found myself eagerly trying to figure out how Marlowe’s skills were going to help solve the mystery of the Morning House. Speaking of which, the book did a great job of tying everything up.

Yet, the book was too slow pace for me. It was too heavy on the details and some of the Marlowe’s inner dialogue was repetitive. It took until a third of the book before the book finally picked up speed. Then because the book had a pacing problem, by the time it gets to the reveal, it felt anti-climatic.

I loved the characters, the history of the Morning House, and the romance. However, the slow pacing is why I gave Death at Morning House 3.75 stars out of 5 stars. I will definitely continue reading about Marlowe if there is a series.
Video review:
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I'll be rating this book 3.5 Stars. It had really great pace and an interesting storyline. My only issue was the pacing. It felt a little slow. Granted when I reached the end I understood why but it didn't help with my reading style. Nonetheless, the story was really good and mysterious. A nice game of clue for YA readers.

Thank you Netgalley, author and Harper Collins Children's Publication for the ARC.
Synopsis
Marlow Wexler got into some serious and deep trouble when she was on a sort of "date" with her girlfriend, it was all honestly an accident . Now she's found herself far away from her hometown away and potentially forever away from her love Akhila, working as a guide in the infamous Mourning House for the summer. In 1920's this mansion became notoriously known for the deaths of 2 children on the same day, such tragedy it was. What exactly did happen then ? And why does it seem like the tragedy is following modern days and something is happening now , what has Marlow gotten herself into?
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My Thoughts
Although I have not read any book from the Truly Devious series from this author and this is the first book for me I was keen on reading a YA murder mystery after long time.
Marlow accidently ends up making big mistake and she ends up in her new summer job at the Morning Mansion. Mainly narrated from Marlow's perspective, we see the whole narrative through her teen lenses. Quirky , queer , overly imaginative , hormonal , trying to make new friends ,Marlow is quite an interesting character and she navigates her life and new job while wondering about her future. Alternate chapters are narrated from the past at the Morning House where we are introduced to the family and children that lived there and slowly moves towards the tragedy that struck them , I loved this past timeline that has ominous and mysterious quality in narrative.
Meanwhile in current timeline tragedy strikes again and we have our teenage sleuths trying to get to bottom of the mystery .
The writing as very YA feeling the whole time in present timeline and could easily look like modern version of Nancy Drew, with Marlow donning her detective hat and cruising through solving the mystery in the latter half of the book.
Overall nothing overly impressed me nor does this make it bad read, I can certainly see this appealing more to much younger audience. Hey it's YA for a reason !
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It's a 3/5 🌟 read for me.

I struggled with this quite a bit. At <40-50% I almost wanted to DNF but that goes against everything I believe in. The beginning was where I really struggled and it felt like I couldn’t not get into it at all. It felt like it didn’t have a flow. I didn’t feel like I could connect with the MC at all and I struggled with getting a grip on the storyline. I typically enjoy books with alternating timelines but this didn’t work for me until well into the story. There were so many characters and names that I couldn’t keep straight. With that being said the second half of this book flew by and I really enjoyed the suspense. I found myself liking and understating the MC and the plot a bit more and it almost made up for the beginning. I have never had a book take me quite so long to get through but I would probably do it again to pick up the subtleties I missed the first time.

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.