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A Murder at Morlock: A St. Clair Mystery
The gloomy Morlock estate is on the cusp of a sale--but the house inspection goes far from smoothly. As more and more visitors, planned and unplanned, arrive, it becomes increasingly everyone is hiding something. And one of those secrets is deadly.
***
Widower Daniel Bauer has a secret--one that he won't need to keep much longer, if only he can get through the house inspection that day.
Real estate agent Suzy Chung is desperate to manage her unruly client Daniel. He refuses to leave the house for the inspection, for reasons she can't identify. Daniel is her first client--if the listing falls through, her fresh start in the well-to-do town of St. Clair will be compromised...and Suzy cannot afford to let that happen.
Antonia and George Butters are an irascible middle-aged married couple set on buying Daniel's house. But the arrival of a second family, the Haynes, claiming they set up a showing that day through Suzy, sets them on edge. It doesn't help that the Butters' real estate agent, Jack Randall, has been acting fishy ever since he arrived, or that the young house inspector named Teddy grows jumpier the more people show up. Not to mention the sudden arrival of two contractors, claiming they're supposed to give Antonia Butters a quote, even though a quote seems like the last thing on their minds.
A tornado warning sends the group fleeing to the basement. When the lights go off, tensions grow high and trees tumble down, trapping the group inside.
And when the lights come on, someone among them has been murdered.
A MURDER AT MORLOCK is a standalone St. Clair mystery novel. Other St. Clair mysteries
A DEATH AT EASTWICK
A SCANDAL AT EASTWICK
A BETRAYAL AT EASTWICK
A DISCOVERY AT VONVILLE
***
Widower Daniel Bauer has a secret--one that he won't need to keep much longer, if only he can get through the house inspection that day.
Real estate agent Suzy Chung is desperate to manage her unruly client Daniel. He refuses to leave the house for the inspection, for reasons she can't identify. Daniel is her first client--if the listing falls through, her fresh start in the well-to-do town of St. Clair will be compromised...and Suzy cannot afford to let that happen.
Antonia and George Butters are an irascible middle-aged married couple set on buying Daniel's house. But the arrival of a second family, the Haynes, claiming they set up a showing that day through Suzy, sets them on edge. It doesn't help that the Butters' real estate agent, Jack Randall, has been acting fishy ever since he arrived, or that the young house inspector named Teddy grows jumpier the more people show up. Not to mention the sudden arrival of two contractors, claiming they're supposed to give Antonia Butters a quote, even though a quote seems like the last thing on their minds.
A tornado warning sends the group fleeing to the basement. When the lights go off, tensions grow high and trees tumble down, trapping the group inside.
And when the lights come on, someone among them has been murdered.
A MURDER AT MORLOCK is a standalone St. Clair mystery novel. Other St. Clair mysteries
A DEATH AT EASTWICK
A SCANDAL AT EASTWICK
A BETRAYAL AT EASTWICK
A DISCOVERY AT VONVILLE
242 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2020
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
L.C. Warman
14 books21 followersL.C. Warman is the author of the St. Clair mystery series. She grew up in New England, in a town where real estate contracts stipulated that you couldn’t back out if you discovered your new place was haunted. She currently lives in a Michigan lakeside town with her husband and two dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 10, 2021
Think clue meets a dinner murder mystery play. Daniel is selling his home and for some reason he decides he is gonna stay for the buyer's inspection. Then things take a turn and more people show up on this day and what starts out as a simple day turns into a tornado warning and a murder. Now they must wait for the police, learn about each other and try to figure whodunit. This is definitely a nice book to listen to on a stormy winter day. The author gave enough details about the characters without over kill. I will say I was surprised because I had totally guessed wrong on who the murderer was and I give the author props for totally leading me to think who I thought was the one but wasn't. It made the ending not predictable. I would recommend this story to others who like a good whodunit. I received a ARC of this story for an honest review.
January 3, 2021
Murder at Morlock, by L.C. Warman, is a ‘whodunit’ murder mystery. Usually, the only people present at a residential home inspection are the inspector, the buyers, and their real estate agent. This day is definitely not going as planned as more and more people show up with valid, if not surprising, reasons to be there.
Tornado sirens send them all running for the basement. When the power goes out, someone is murdered in the dark. Because the storm has knocked down trees and flooded roads, our cast of characters is stuck in the house. The police can’t even get to them.
This book reads like a live-action version of the board game Clue. I needed more character development to become invested in the story. For example, I knew one of them would die, but I never cared which one did. As the threads of the mystery unravel, we learn more and more about each of the characters, but it just wasn’t enough.
Tom Fria narrated this book. I thought he did a good job. I didn’t really notice the narrator while I was listening to the book. I could easily see past him into the story. There is background noise at the beginning of Track 3. Otherwise, I didn’t notice any other production mistakes.
Plot problems that really bothered me (no spoilers): 1) The ‘final walkthrough’ is followed immediately by the closing and is obviously what the seller thinks is happening in this book. In real life, there is no inspector present at this walkthrough. 2) The home inspection happens well before closing so that all test results have time to come back. This is what actually happens in the book. 3) The characters in this book are very pushy about solving the crime on their own since the police are delayed. I cannot imagine modern-day Americans going along with such behavior. What is the next logical step after you expose a trapped murderer? Get murdered yourself?
I know that most of us only go through the house buying process a few times in our lives. A real estate agent beta reader, an informational interview with a real estate agent, or a simple google search could have resolved the discrepancies in the book that come from some characters in the book thinking that this is the ‘final walkthrough’ and others that this is a ‘home inspection’.
While this book was okay, it would not inspire me to search out other books by the same author. This book does not compare to other books in the genre like those by Agatha Christie or Sue Grafton.
Tornado sirens send them all running for the basement. When the power goes out, someone is murdered in the dark. Because the storm has knocked down trees and flooded roads, our cast of characters is stuck in the house. The police can’t even get to them.
This book reads like a live-action version of the board game Clue. I needed more character development to become invested in the story. For example, I knew one of them would die, but I never cared which one did. As the threads of the mystery unravel, we learn more and more about each of the characters, but it just wasn’t enough.
Tom Fria narrated this book. I thought he did a good job. I didn’t really notice the narrator while I was listening to the book. I could easily see past him into the story. There is background noise at the beginning of Track 3. Otherwise, I didn’t notice any other production mistakes.
Plot problems that really bothered me (no spoilers): 1) The ‘final walkthrough’ is followed immediately by the closing and is obviously what the seller thinks is happening in this book. In real life, there is no inspector present at this walkthrough. 2) The home inspection happens well before closing so that all test results have time to come back. This is what actually happens in the book. 3) The characters in this book are very pushy about solving the crime on their own since the police are delayed. I cannot imagine modern-day Americans going along with such behavior. What is the next logical step after you expose a trapped murderer? Get murdered yourself?
I know that most of us only go through the house buying process a few times in our lives. A real estate agent beta reader, an informational interview with a real estate agent, or a simple google search could have resolved the discrepancies in the book that come from some characters in the book thinking that this is the ‘final walkthrough’ and others that this is a ‘home inspection’.
While this book was okay, it would not inspire me to search out other books by the same author. This book does not compare to other books in the genre like those by Agatha Christie or Sue Grafton.
September 23, 2020
Think Agatha Christie but not as well written and character development. I don’t know if this is the author’s first novel, but I think over time the person’s writing might get better. The plot is interesting but the story needs to be fleshed out more.
September 21, 2020
They tried. They really tried.
January 9, 2025
62 chapters in a 130 page book the story was quite enjoyable at the start. During a house viewing/inspection a Murder takes place. The emotions and frustrations of those affected were captured by the author in word that I could relate too and were understandable. Due to a storm the police couldn't arrive immediately. In the intervening period accusations and arguments were in abundance, the story became depressing, unenjoyable and frustrating.
May 31, 2021
It’s like you’re in the game of clue and everyone is figuring out “who dunnit.”
12 people show up and a buyer’s inspection of a house. During a tornado watch, they are thrown in a dark basement. When the electricity comes on, one of them is dead. As they dig deep into everyone’s past, they start to learn of connections between everyone and one of them is a murderer.
12 people show up and a buyer’s inspection of a house. During a tornado watch, they are thrown in a dark basement. When the electricity comes on, one of them is dead. As they dig deep into everyone’s past, they start to learn of connections between everyone and one of them is a murderer.
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January 26, 2021This book reads like an Agatha Christie type mystery, where a seemingly random group of people are thrust together, in a situation where they can't escape, but without a detective to tie the suspects together and solve the mystery, the group must put their own pieces together to solve the crime.
January 30, 2021
It was an interesting concept. Would probably read more by this author
February 7, 2021
I loved it! When I saw someone compare this book to Clue I was in and it didn't disappoint.
March 11, 2021
A Murder Mystery that tried to be Murder On The Orient Express. It wasn't
September 2, 2021
I enjoyed this. It's a quick, fun mystery with a funny, interesting cast of suspects. It's not too over the top so you might guess the story, but it's still a fun ride getting to the end.
September 20, 2022
CHIRP AUDIOBOOK
It’s like a dinner murder mystery at a real estate house closing…. It’s an entertaining mystery that will keep you guessing who-done-it until the very end. RECOMMENDED.
It’s like a dinner murder mystery at a real estate house closing…. It’s an entertaining mystery that will keep you guessing who-done-it until the very end. RECOMMENDED.
November 19, 2020
I listened to this book audibly! This book reminds me of the game Clue. Through out the story the reader is trying to figure out Who with What. The story is a older gentleman who's wife has passed is selling the family home. The buyers are coming for the home inspection when a Severe Storm hits and they are basically trapped there until roads are cleared and help can get there. I personally did not care for the Narrator on this book, just seemed to be lacking.
November 20, 2020
Excellent contemporary whodunit. This was original and very interesting. It kept you guessing until the end of the story. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 15, 2024
Nope ! I kept with it till the end because that is who I am. But it made me sad. Even the sort of happy ending(?) wasnt. I listened to the audio thru Chirp--I hope it wasnt more than 99cents
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews