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.

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:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFh697uP/

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!