Review Detail

DEATH AT MORNING HOUSE is a riveting YA mystery/suspense that kept me hooked from the start. The story follows Marlowe, a teen whose life seemed to rapidly spiral after her date with her dream girl ended up going up in flames - literally. Horribly ashamed and planning to do plenty of sulking, she takes the lifeline offered to her by a close family friend to go to a remote island and be a tour guide at Morning House.

Morning House is the notorious summer home of a wealthy family that was a leader in the eugenics movement in the early 1900s. The family seemed to have a curse that began when the youngest child drowned and then the oldest fell off the balcony to her death. Most of the rest of the family followed in the coming years - with one of the boys Benjamin making it to old age. He was rumored to have buried a treasure on the island home before his death. Now, some wealthy investors have bought it as some kind of retreat but are allowing the locals to show the house as a historical site for a year before taking over.

Marlowe is the outsider on the island, and she has always had a good memory and a knack for figuring out puzzles. As she spends time with the other teens at Morning House, she begins to realize that the past reflects the present - and she may be in danger.

What I loved: The story is told primarily from Marlowe's point-of-view with interludes from the past, following the different children in that summer leading up to first two deaths. While Marlowe is not interested in playing detective, she ends up with her own case in the present to be solved - while the one in the past is somewhat solved on its own. Both the present and the past were riveting, and the reader couldn't help but get into Marlowe's life and story.

Marlowe is shy, awkward, and smart in her own way. She is not looking for any cases to solve and really just wants to spend the summer away from the town and the memories of the fire (which was really only caused by a faulty candle and a total accident). Her reputation follows her, but she finds a rhythm and camaraderie among the other teens working on the island. Her love life seems a bit hopeless, but she finds herself with a small crush on one of the others that could potentially lead her into trouble. It was easy to fall into her story and care about her personal development. The pace was quick and kept the reader hooked.

The interludes from the past were endlessly interesting. This family was unique for so many reasons with the father having adopted the six older kids in relatively quick succession and raising them to be the best at everything. He later married and had a child with his wife, who seemed to be quite different than the others. The past story brings up some really intriguing themes around parenthood, wealth, prejudice and problematic beliefs, lies, individuality vs conformity, and nature vs nurture.

In the present, there is a case that begins to build more as the story continues with little hints and tidbits along the way. It was one of those mysteries that makes you want to immediately go back and reread the book to see what you may have missed along the way. It is very clever, intricately woven, and thoroughly plotted. While these elements and atmosphere will heavily appeal to fans of TRULY DEVIOUS, this story does feel a bit different as the main character does not intend to solve any crimes (though somehow does along the way).

Final verdict: Whip-smart and thoroughly riveting, DEATH AT MORNING HOUSE is a compulsive YA mystery/suspense that will keep readers hooked until the shocking end. Highly recommend picking this one up!