The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

I have just finished reading The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin without knowing that this is a children’s book as the plot transcends all age-bracket genres.  I find it a bit humorous that at age 64, I am reading a book meant for children. On the other hand, I think children would need to be good in English to read this book.

Sunset Towers is a new apartment building on Lake Michigan, north of Milwaukee and just down the shore from the mansion owned by reclusive self-made millionaire Samuel W. Westing.  Sam Westing was a tycoon who made his fortune in paper products.

As the story opens, Barney Northrup is selling apartments in Sunset Towers to a carefully selected group of tenants. After Sam Westing dies, at the beginning of the book, it emerges that 16 of the tenants are named as heirs in Westing’s will which has been structured like a puzzle, with the 16 heirs randomly divided into 8 pairs to play a game. In his will Sam discloses that one of his heirs has taken his life. Each of the eight pairs is given a $10,000 cheque and a different set of baffling clues. The pair that solves the mystery of his death will inherit Westing’s entire $200 million fortune and control of his company.

This is a  clever and engaging mystery  sprinkled with humour. I  recommend this one for a quick and entertaining read as it is just over 200 pages in length.