Book Review :: Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson

Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson
ISBN: 0063255952
on 6 August 2024
Genres: Mystery, Young Adult
Goodreads

The fire wasn’t Marlowe Wexler’s fault. Dates should be hot, but not hot enough to warrant literal firefighters. Akilah, the girl Marlowe has been in love with for years, will never go out with her again. No one dates an accidental arsonist.

With her house-sitting career up in flames, it seems the universe owes Marlowe a new summer job, and that’s how she ends up at Morning House, a mansion built on an island in the 1920s and abandoned shortly thereafter. It’s easy enough, giving tours. Low risk of fire. High chance of getting bored talking about stained glass and nut cutlets and Prohibition.

Oh, and the deaths. Did anyone mention the deaths?

Last updated on 3 October 2024

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What is Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson about?

Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson is about Marlowe Wexler’s disastrous summer. Sort of. First, her date with Akilah—who she’s been crushing on forever—goes up in literal flames (there’s actual fire), and now she’s stuck with a reputation as an accidental arsonist. Unsurprisingly, house-sitting gigs are off the table, which leaves Marlowe searching for a new job.

That’s how she ends up at Morning House, a creepy, abandoned mansion on the remote Ralston Island, with the job of giving tours to all the tourists who come to see the house that the Ralston family inhabited for years before tragedy struck. A scientist, his sister, his famous wife, and seven adopted children all used to live on the island, living a very obsessively healthy lifestyle. Until little 4-year-old Max was discovered drowned in the lake, and the eldest daughter, Clara, jumped from the roof shortly after.

“I considered it my lucky shirt even though it had never brought me any luck up until this point. Sometimes, you just have to believe in your shirt.”

It’s not quite what she planned, but when Marlowe meets the other workers on the island, starts to hear their stories and the stories of the past, and more recent disasters … this summer will be more interesting than she originally thought.

My thoughts on Death at Morning House

Mauren Johnson has always been a favourite author of mine, ever since reading The Name of the Star back in the day, and then absolutely loving her Truly Devious series, years later. While we’ve had multiple books in the Truly Devious series, Death at Morning House introduces us to new characters, namely our Main Character, Marlowe Wexley.

In the present, Marlowe is trying to get over her serious pyrotechnic blunder with her crush, but also trying to put together some pieces of a recent death with the workers on the island. Alongside the present-day story of Marlowe, we get the story of the Ralston family, and what really happened all those years ago in the mansion.

“The jump from someone who can’t be found to someone who is missing is long and short at the same time, because nothing has changed except your perception of the distance.”

While it wasn’t quite Truly Devious levels of epic, I thoroughly enjoyed Death a Morning House. Just as she does, Johnson weaves the stories and mysteries of the past into the main character’s present life. There’s always intrigue and interesting connections between the past and present, and she presents it in such a fun and engaging way.

Once again, the characters are brilliant (and none that are as annoying as David in Truly Devious – if you know, you know), though Marlowe doesn’t quite engage me as much as Stevie from TD does … however! As a (current) stand-alone story, it was a brilliant way to spend my long bus days while I was travelling, and if you’re a fan of Johnson’s other stories, then definitely pick up this one, too!

Have you read Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!