Death at Morning House Review

If there are any authors that I have set to auto-buy, Maureen Johnson is at the top of that list. She’s the author of one of my favorite series (Truly, Devious), and I’ll truly read anything she writes. She crafts mysteries that are full of suspense, humor, and complex characters. Nothing marks a good mystery novel like the inability to figure out the plot before the final chapter. Every Maureen Johnson mystery follows this path, and Death at Morning House was no exception. Here is my Death at Morning House review.

The Plot

Marlowe Wexler’s summer is off to a rough start. After a first date gone wrong leads to a house fire and social exile, Marlowe is ready to disappear into the ether. When a friend of a friend offers her a summer job at the infamous and historic Morning House, it seems like the perfect summer escape. But Morning House is full of secrets. Secrets that long to remain buried, not matter the cost.

Review

What to write about Death at Morning House? Honestly, when I picked up this novel, I expected to write a glowing review. I love Maureen Johnson’s mysteries. So it stands to reason that I also loved this one, right? Tragically dear reader, that was not the case. This is not to say that I hated it, it just felt very meh. Maybe that’s worse. They do say that the opposite of love isn’t hate, but indifference. But I digress.

The novel started out strong. I love a mystery that periodically jumps back and forth between past and present. It’s one of Maureen Johnson’s trade marks, and the time jumps make the story all the more compelling. It’s like she is handing out little crumbs from the past every few pages, and we as readers are left constantly questioning what really happened. This novel followed that similar formula which, as usual, was my favorite part of the book.

On paper, this novel has all the makings of an excellent mystery. Old historic manor house with unsolved murders, stormy weather, time jumps between past and present. But somehow, this story fell flat. One of the reasons for this was the lack of time. A lot of time was spent on build up and relationship drama, which wouldn’t be a problem in a longer format novel. Truthfully, I would have loved to see this story written over the course of multiple books à la Truly, Devious. More time to flesh out the mystery and character dynamics would have prevented the ending from feeling so rushed.

I think another reason I didn’t love this is because I kept expecting Marlowe to be Stevie Bell. Which, of course, is unfair. Marlowe is not a prodigy detective, which I had to remind myself repeatedly over the course of the novel. However, when Maureen Johnson has such a strong detective in Stevie, it’s hard to adjust to a character without that amazing sleuthing ability.

Overall, this is a good mystery. Nothing too remarkable, nothing too terrible. I wasn’t able to solve the mystery before I got to the end, so bonus points for that. However, I’ve given it three stars because I found it so underwhelming compared to the Truly, Devious series. If this is your first experience with Maureen Johnson, you may enjoy it more than I did. Just be sure to follow it up with Truly, Devious!

You May Also Like

Truly, Devious by Maureen Johnson

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Overall Rating:

★★★

Ps. Looking for more thoughts on Maureen Johnson reads? Find my review of Nine Liars here.

Xx, M