I confess to getting very excited when I saw that Maureen Johnson was putting out a new book, featuring a mysterious house and secrets. Having just finished Death at Morning House I can say I'm very happy to have bought it and am hoping we haven't seen the last of these characters.
Our main character, Marlowe, is self-deprecating and rather tainted by unfortunate events that seem to happen around her. One of the first things we see her do is ask out her co-worker on a date, try to make it romantic by buying a candle that smells of her date's favourite smell...only to have it malfunction, explode and burn the house down! Some memorable date, and definitely part of the reason that Marlowe is more than happy to take the opportunity to leave home and head off to the mysterious Morning House in order to help out an old teacher.
Interspersed with Marlowe's story about her arrival at Morning House are extracts set in the past focusing on the Ralston family who originally owned the home. Tinged by tragedy, ghoulish visitors cannot wait to visit the house where, on one sunny summer day, two members of the family died. The remaining family members did not live happy lives, and everyone is keen to discover exactly what happened on that day.
Unfortunately, someone in the present is keen to stop people getting to the bottom of the mysteries of the House. They'll stop at nothing - including murder - to keep things quiet...and we follow Marlowe as she tries to work out what's going on before it's too late.