Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Death at Morning House

Not my favorite of Maureen Johnson's books, but not a bad mystery! It's a little slow moving until about halfway through the book, as that's when the mystery on the island with Marlowe really picks up. There are some interesting twists included, and the layering of the two stories does increase the intrigue. The last fourth definitely had me hooked, as I had to see how it all unraveled!

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kelsea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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booksanddachshunds's review against another edition

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4.5

I was flabbergasted by both twist within the story, one for each present and past. The story was structured in a way where I was in agreeance of thinking it was X character.. that when later when the truth revealed itself to us, I wasn’t prepared!

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minimicropup's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I loved this! Having spent a few summers in the area this book was set in as a kid, it was so nostalgic. The way the author captured the atmosphere felt so real.

Energy: Endearing. Real. Mystifying.

🐕 Howls

The action/escape scenes briefly knocked me out of the story because they seemed to require superhuman strength and it was hard to visualize.

🐩 Tail Wags

Including a map of the island 🫶. Sympathetic, genuine-feeling main character. Story was engaging even when not much was happening. How present and past chapters were woven together and equally captivating. The intrigue and subtle tension. Past chapters had eerie almost voyeuristic feel where something is ‘off’. Pacing.

Scene: 🇺🇸🇨🇦 Set in Thousand Islands archipelago on a private island open for historic summer tours between the US and Canada.

Perspective: A high schooler who messes up after scoring a first date with their crush so takes on a summer job to get away from the embarassment. Adopted teens in a family living on the island in the 1930s whose lives are disrupted after the birth of their youngest sibling.

Timeline: Summer. Current (2010s/2020s) and 1930s.

🔥 Fuel: Interlocking mysteries. Adventure, intrigue, twists and turns across time. Inferring and learning of the dynamics in the past. Watching the modern-day characters figure out what happened in both timelines.

📖 Cred: Blend of historical & modern semi-realism

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Petrichor. Cheesecake Factory. Rain. Yogurt. Walkie talkies. Lipstick. Domed ceiling. Musty rooms. Basement passage. Smoke. Cold rain.

Fleeing the scene of an embarrassment
Summer job challenges and friendship dynamics
Pressured-to-be-perfect historical family study with dark secrets
Same place, different times
Truth is stranger than fiction pseudoscience
Isolated island, dark and stormy night
Closed circle murder mystery, gathering the suspects
Tragic accident…or was it
Exploration of parental bias and expectations, nature vs nurture, dangers of pseudoscience and misunderstanding scientific processes, morality and making things right
Flip the script reveals
Books where you feel like you’re tagging along with the MC, getting their thoughts as an aside
Ghost in the room observing the past chapters
Coming-of-age seasonal and who-to-choose romantic conflict

Content Heads-Up: Sexual content (consenting; making out). Fire (building, trapped). Shame spiral. Adoption (at birth). Vomit. Alcohol (underage, intoxication). Suicide (historical; described, off page). Loss of child (toddler, teen). Racism, classism, eugenics (historical character opinions). War (very brief discussion; fatalities). Death. Drowning. Drugging. Cannabis (edibles, vaping; high). Corpse (discovery, storage). Murder.

Rep: American. Cis. Non-binary. Lesbian. Adopted. Gay. Bi. Pale, freckled, and ambiguous skin tones.

📚 Format: Library Digital and Everand Audio

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

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november22's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so much fun. Reading it felt like I was sitting in a room, with Marlowe, and she was telling about everything that happened. The dual time-line combined with a dual-mystery was a nice touch. I adored the chapters from the Ralston's perspectives. (I wish there was a way to get more chapters or info about them. There are some things that I'd love to see from another Ralston's perspective. Or one of the people working for them.) Those chapters were so intriguing and well-written. The chapters set in the present were good too. There is a distinctive switch between the writing styles of the timelines so it was easy to distinguish between them. I will say that the present chapters felt and read more as a summer re-cap story for a good chunk of the book. It made me almost forget that there was a mystery attached to it. The mysteries made me put on my imaginary detective hat. I love when books make me want to solve a mystery alongside the characters. This book made me do it twice (present and past)! It kept me on the edge of my seat. I really didn't want to put the book down. When I hit page 360 I couldn't believe that there were only handful of pages left. I enjoyed this book so much. I think it'd be a good introduction to mysteries/thrillers for people who aren't sure if they're into those genres. Some dark things are discussed in the book (examples:

eugenics, murder, loss/dead of a child, racism, suicide

) but it does have an overall lighthearded vibe to it. There is a good mix between sad, funny, feel-good, detective scened. It's easy to read because of the mixed pacing - some chapters have a medium pace and others a fast pace - and the characters are great. I could see myself in some of them.

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callidoralblack's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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