Blaine's Reviews > The Westing Game

Who were these people, these specially selected tenants? They were mothers and fathers and children. A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge. And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake.
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Each pair in attendance will now receive an envelope containing a set of clues. No two sets of clues are alike. It is not what you have, it’s what you don’t have that counts.
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“I remember the will said, ‘May God thy gold refine.’ That must be from the Bible.”
“Shakespeare,” Turtle replied. All quotations were either from the Bible or Shakespeare.

Sunset Towers is a new apartment building on the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan. A mysterious man named Barney Northrup convinces a series of seemingly random people to move in. A few months later, on Halloween, Turtle Wexler sees smoke coming from the Westing mansion and the world soon learns that the reclusive millionaire Samuel W. Westing has died. More shocking, a few days later, the tenants of Sunset Towers are brought together for the reading of Mr. Westing’s will. The sixteen heirs are told that one of them took Mr. Westing’s life, and that whoever can use the clues they’ve been given to solve the puzzle will inherit Mr. Westing’s entire $200 million fortune and the Westing Paper Products Corporation.

I read The Westing Game for the 52 Book Club’s challenge to read a Newbery Medal Winner. I’m pretty sure I read it in grade school, but 40+ years later I can’t be sure. But that is the perfect audience for this novel. Turtle is a fun character to root for as the story unfolds. Many of the characters are not who or what they first seem to be. And it’s a good mystery, with endlessly vague clues that lead to constant reinterpretation, but do make sense in the final reveal. In fact, with different window dressing and some darker turns, this book could probably find an audience today as a mystery for adults. A solid read for the young at heart, and a great read for grade school kids ready for a fun, challenging read. Recommended.