The Lesbians Are Messy
TW: mentions of murder, suicide
Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson is certainly an interesting read if one finds themself with truly nothing better to do. Johnson is making a name for herself as a prominent mystery writer with Truly Devious, her hit YA mystery trilogy, and its two spin-offs, The Box in the Woods and Nine Liars. Death at Morning House seems to continue the theme of stories about teen girls finding themselves in complicated mysteries. However, unlike Johnson's previous work, this stand-alone novel does not center around a self-proclaimed detective and the narrator does not attempt to solve any sort of mystery until about two hundred pages in, despite strange circumstances driving her story up to that point.
The story centers around Marlowe Wexler, a chaotic lesbian and accidental arsonist whose bad attempts at a love life end in a house fire. After setting a house on fire, Marlowe is inexplicably offered a job at Morning House, an abandoned mansion on an island with a complicated and mysterious history. Told in chapters alternating between the present day and early 1930s, Johnson tells the story of the Ralston family and the misfortune that befell them when their youngest son drowned and their oldest daughter died, throwing herself from the balcony of the house. The story also follows the complicated relationships of the teens working on the island in the present day, who give tours of the cursed island after the death of their close friend. When the woman who brought these teens to the island suddenly disappears, Marlowe finds herself thrust headfirst into historic and current murders, as well as hectic relationship drama as she begins working with the other tour guides.
Beyond its lackluster attempts to be a mystery novel, this book also contains one of the messiest love triangles (if you can call it that) that I have read. While any love triangle is, by its nature, chaotic, this one truly takes the cake. The reader is introduced to Marlowe and her love interest Akilah in the first few chapters, before Akilah disappears entirely. This love interest manages to play an important role during the exposition, but almost never again. Despite not playing any significant role in the bulk of the novel, Akilah is still referenced in Marlowe’s internal monologue for no reason throughout the rest of the novel. Finally, at the end, despite zero chemistry, minimal interactions, and a serious lack of plot involvement, Marlowe realizes that Akilah is the one for her, ignoring Riki, the other love interest. Riki is the classic “bad boy” love interest. She seems to be a loner, despite the fact that she’s known many of the other characters since childhood. As the story unfolds, the reader learns the reason for Riki’s social ostracization as she works with Marlowe to solve the mystery and redeem herself with the group. Riki is a much better-written character than Akilah, with a sense of development throughout the novel, and provides a helpful second hand in solving the mysteries that face our protagonist. However, Riki still doesn’t manage to get the girl, and instead remains content to continue working at her family business indefinitely.
For readers looking for thrilling, edge-of-your-seat mysteries, this book fits the bill for roughly a hundred pages. If you’re looking for something with a competent protagonist, though, I suggest any other mystery novel. If you’re looking for juicy, swoony romance, this is also not the perfect book for that. In total, I give this book three stars for at least being entertaining and not riddled with grammatical errors.