A review by november22
Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson

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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