Death at Morning House – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Murder-mystery, thriller, romance, relationships, family dynamics.
YA book title: Death at Morning House.
YA author: Maureen Johnson.
Genre: Mystery.
Published by: Harper 360.
ISBN: 9780063414099.
Recommended for children aged: 14+ year-olds.
First published: Hardback August 2024.
This children’s book is ideal for: KS4 mystery fans.
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Our review:
It is the present day, and Marlowe Wexler is besotted with Akiliah, who she shares some of her sophomore classes with, but she never gets the chance to spend time with her. She is therefore overjoyed when she discovers they will be working together over the summer break at Guffy’s, the local ice cream parlour. In Marlowe’s mind, Akiliah is confident, perfect, and beautiful, compared to her own social and physical awkwardness. Here, their relationship starts to blossom, but this is short-lived as a fire-related accident, caused by Marlowe’s desire to impress Akiliah with a romantic gesture, forces her into social isolation.
Following her social retreat, and belief that her relationship with Akiliah is doomed, Marlowe eventually leaves her hometown. Seeing her struggle, Marlowe’s history teacher recommends her for a summer job at Morning House on Ralston Island, situated on the St Lawrence River that separates the US and Canada. Employed as a tour guide at this impressive mansion in a bid to help her forget the tragedy of her own life, the infamous and mysterious Ralston family history unravels into a fast-paced action thriller and murder mystery, as Marlowe fights for her life after uncovering the secrets that lurk not far from the surface with her newly found friends and fellow local tour guides.
Flash back to 1932. It’s the year before the US Prohibition is repealed. Whilst other affluent families on the stretch of St Lawrence River, known as the Thousand Islands, are partying and entertaining in true style, ignoring the laws and purchasing bootleg alcohol to fuel their fun, the Ralston family are living a life of self-discipline in their impressive 1920s-built mansion, following the diet and lifestyle prescribed by Dr John Harvey Kellogg, abstaining from eating meat, wheat, alcohol, caffeine, or sugar. Instead, they eat a restricted diet, undertake a strict exercise routine, and follow a highly structured existence that, to the outside world, has created a picture-perfect family. It sounds like Dr Ralston has his family’s best interests at heart, but things couldn’t be further from the truth.
The twist: the Ralston family are not your average family, and there are deep secrets hidden behind the stunning façade of Morning House. A tragedy in 1932 forces the Ralston family to leave, shrouding them and the property in mystery, causing the present-day Dr Belinda Henson, a local historian, to investigate what really happened all those years ago. However, the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she brings to all those who work there.
Death at Morning House alternates between the present day and 1932, the year when the tragedies that made Morning House and the Ralston family infamous. As the stories from the past unravel, the different centuries become increasingly entwined. The setting of the novel is one reminiscent of The Great Gatsby, harking back to a time of American opulence and grandeur, eventually brought to the ground by the secrets that lay at its foundations.
Death at Morning House is a real page-turner, depicting modern and past teenage relationships with great accuracy and honesty.
Many thanks to Harper 360 for the review copy.
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If you like Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson you might also like our reviews of All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri, The Last Thing You’ll Hear by Jan Dunning, The Virtue Season by L.M. Nathan, Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley and our Crime Fiction for Teens book list.
Browse our Year 10 book list.
