1 dead multimillionaire. 16 heirs. 1 game. 1 killer. 200 million dollars. 1 winner. The twisted yet brilliant mind of the late Sam Westing was able to put together all these odds to create one final game which will determine who inherits his 200 million dollar fortune and his paper products company. Yet is this game really just about who inherits the fortune? In this mystery tale of Ellen Raskin, we will find out that this crazy game of Sam Westing is more than just a tycoon's search for an heir.
- Title: The Westing Game
- Author: Ellen Raskin
- Genre: mystery
- Pages: 182 pages
- Published: 1978
"A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger - and a possible murderer - to inherit his vast fortune, one things' for sure: Sam Westing may be dead... but that won't stop him from playing one last game!"
Woah. I haven't had a read like this for a while. I was absolutely hooked! The story is a Mystery masterpiece. I didn't get bored or anything and the book was impossible to put down. When you have 16 random heirs from heaven-knows-where, and one of them is the killer of a rich yet somewhat bonkers company president, you're in for a really good mystery treat. Nonsensical looking clues: check! A seemingly transparent motive that hides a hidden deeper motive: check! A time limit to solve the puzzle: check! Lives at stake: check! An unexpected suspect: check! And lots of surprises waiting for you when you read The Westing Game: check, check, check!
But to lessen the sweetness to this very sugarcoated review, there were a few things that did not go my way although I still managed to enjoy The Westing Game. One of the few thumbs-down worthy things about The Westing Game is that you'd be going insane at the beginning of the book when you get to be introduced to SIXTEEN characters at once. Who was Chris again? Was the younger sister Angela or Turtle? Was it James Hoo or Doug Hoo? Who the hell's Sandy?! These questions were literally running in my head during the first few chapters. But I managed to get a hold of all these characters and tell them apart. Raskin was able to briefly define each character enough for you to tell who's who. But that was it. Which leads us to thumbs-down quality number 2. The characters were background-ized (I know background-ized isn't a real word, but I get to play god to the vocabulary world of my blog haha) poorly. Sure, it was enough for me to tell them apart, but their pasts and their personalities could use a little more flair or something.
Woah. I haven't had a read like this for a while. I was absolutely hooked! The story is a Mystery masterpiece. I didn't get bored or anything and the book was impossible to put down. When you have 16 random heirs from heaven-knows-where, and one of them is the killer of a rich yet somewhat bonkers company president, you're in for a really good mystery treat. Nonsensical looking clues: check! A seemingly transparent motive that hides a hidden deeper motive: check! A time limit to solve the puzzle: check! Lives at stake: check! An unexpected suspect: check! And lots of surprises waiting for you when you read The Westing Game: check, check, check!
But to lessen the sweetness to this very sugarcoated review, there were a few things that did not go my way although I still managed to enjoy The Westing Game. One of the few thumbs-down worthy things about The Westing Game is that you'd be going insane at the beginning of the book when you get to be introduced to SIXTEEN characters at once. Who was Chris again? Was the younger sister Angela or Turtle? Was it James Hoo or Doug Hoo? Who the hell's Sandy?! These questions were literally running in my head during the first few chapters. But I managed to get a hold of all these characters and tell them apart. Raskin was able to briefly define each character enough for you to tell who's who. But that was it. Which leads us to thumbs-down quality number 2. The characters were background-ized (I know background-ized isn't a real word, but I get to play god to the vocabulary world of my blog haha) poorly. Sure, it was enough for me to tell them apart, but their pasts and their personalities could use a little more flair or something.
THE VERDICT:
5 STARS! This is the first ever 5 star review on my blog! Not only did I enjoy reading this 1978 mystery, but I also thought The Westing Game is very suggestion-worthy. If you are a fan of mysteries, puzzles, and solving riddles, then this book is waiting for your eyes to read every word out of it! If not, you can still read and enjoy it. But I do have one tip before you start reading The Westing Game-patience, my friend. The 16 main characters will all be distinguishable after a few good chapters.
Happy Easter!
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