Death at Morning House

Johnson, Maureen. Death at Morning House
August 6, 2024 by Katherine Tegen Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Marlowe Wexler has a decent summer planned, working at a local ice cream parlor alongside her crush, Akilah. Things go well, until they don't. An excellent date at the Cheesecake Factory ends with some light arson (due to a defective candle), and before she knows it, Akilah has taken another job, and Marlowe is shuttled off to Ralston Island in the St. Lawrence River. A friend of her parents' is doing research on the property, which was owned by a Dr. Phillip Ralston and his wife, former actress Faye, in the 1930s, but has been derelict ever since two of their children died on the same day. The book goes back and forth, telling the story of the Ralstons as well as Marlowe's experiences as a docent at the house. In 1932, there were six children the doctor had adopted in England from mothers who couldn't care for the children and whose fathers had been killed in the Great War. Clara, William, Unity, Victory, Edward, and Benjamin all are fed the Kellogg's sanitarium diet, with whole foods, are expected to swim twice a day, and are encouraged in their academic and creative pursuits. Clara is a swimmer and dancer, and is a favorite of the father, but is having a bad summer and drinking a lot of bootleg hooch that can be found abandoned along the river due to bootleggers. There is also young Max, the couple's son, who is four, and a difficult child given to tantrums. Phillip's sister, Dagmar, has been involved in the children's care. Marlowe knows that Max drowned, Clara found him, and subsequently threw herself off the house in grief, but there are things about the story that don't seem right. Dr. Henson, the family friend, works alone in her office while a variety of local teens and Marlowe run tours of the house. April is super friendly, Ricki is an enigmatic Goth type, and the others were all involved in their own tragedy when one of their friends drowned after prom. Marlowe, who is missing Akilah but afraid to text her, throws herself into work and also investigates the mysteries. When Dr. Henson goes missing, things become dire. As the tensions ramp up, and adult supervision is minimal, a storm and subsequent fire bring hidden secrets from the past and the present to light. (I don't want to ruin either mystery!)

Strengths: This was an interesting mix, sort of like The Durrells in Corfu meets Downtown Abbey. I loved, loved, loved Morning House and was super intrigued by the Ralstons and their lifestyle. The children's "playhouse" that is made of stone and has a turret? Oh, yes, please!!! There could have been a whole book about them, even with the father's disturbing adherance to eugenics. Marlowe's story is a good summer adventure with a little romance thrown in, and I love the idea of teens spending time away from home, even if they haven't burned down a cottage! Both stories work well together, the mysteries are suspenseful, with satisfying conclusions, and the ending is as happy as it can be considering there are several murders. The cover is nicely historic AND creepy. 
Weaknesses: This was more of a Young Adult Novel, with several f-words as well as a complicated, interwoven mystery that my students might find hard to follow. I loved it, since Johnson's writing is always compelling, but will pass on purchase for my school. 
What I really think: I would definitely buy this for a high school library, where it would be very popular with fans of Barnes' The Inheritance Games series.

Also, I'm added the St. Lawrence River area as another place I don't want to live. I always thought the Florida Keys would be the most terrifying place to live, but along the river in New York, if there were flooding, it would be a COLD drowning death. No, thank you!