ARC Review: A YA Mystery

Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson

Publication Date: August 6, 2024

Summary from NetGalley:

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?

Maybe this job isn’t such a gift after all. Morning House has a horrific secret that’s been buried for decades, and now the person who brought her here is missing.

All it takes is one clue to set off a catastrophic chain of events. One small detail, just like a spark, could burn it all down—if someone doesn’t bury Marlowe first.

ARC provided by HarperCollins Children’s Books via NetGalley for an honest review.

Confession:

If you are a fan of the Truly Devious books, than you will certainly enjoy this standalone mystery. It has the dual timelines with mysteries in both, and some pretty likable characters. I had a few issues with it, but not enough to keep me from enjoying this YA mystery.

Marlowe Wexler is the only narrator for the present day story. It is told in first person narrative which was great. We really got to know Marlowe pretty well. But I never really grew to love her or feel attached to her in any way. She is pretty passive and for the most part just let things happen to her. She doesn’t start to really stand up for herself until the very end of the book, which was a bit annoying. She also never really got into the detective role, but just sort of put a few things together when things started getting dangerous. I also wanted her more involved with the historical mystery and its resolution as well.

The secondary characters in the present day story were never really fully fleshed out, and I kind of kept getting them all confused. Even her love interest on the island, Riki, felt pretty one dimensional. This mostly lead to me not connecting to any of them and not really caring about the two mysteries in the present day part of the book.

The historical part of the story was told from many points of view, which made it a much more interesting read. I felt more invested in that story and the characters than I ever did in Marlowe’s narrative. That part of the story played out pretty predictably, as did the other one, but I just enjoyed this one so much more.

Ms Johnson’s writing style is always top notch, and this story shows just how strong of a mystery writer she is. Her descriptions of Morning House and the island were perfect and really left me feeling like I had been there. The pacing in this book did feel a little off, the story just sort of creeped along until the final twenty percent when it finally took off. The many mysteries were nicely done, and there were a few twists that were unexpected. I was expecting more of a connection between the present and past mysteries, and no one really solved the historical one, and the big reveal for that was a bit of a let down. But the clues for all of the mysteries were smartly woven into the narrative if one pays close attention.

Overall a book that most fans will enjoy. If you are new to Ms Johnson’s works, than this standalone would be a good jumping off point. Especially if you are a fan of dual timelines and very intricate mysteries.