On the 4th of July, seven apartments were rented to tenants who thought they were lucky to live in this lovely apartment building, called Sunset Towers, in a quaint little town in Wisconsin.  Little did they know that this lovely, quaint scene would turn into a spooky, mysterious, exciting place that they just happen to live in.  Sunset Towers turned spooky in a matter of minutes with it being near the creepy old Westing house, and also being involved with it and all of it's odd happenings.  The sixteen heirs were also sixteen of the tenants at Sunset Towers which is kind of creepy.  Also, Sunset towers faces the east, where the sun rises, not sets, and it doesn't have any towers.  Yet it is very exciting for them having to solve a mystery to win 200 million dollars.   They all happen to get snowed in together, meaning stuck with the murderer. In between all this madness, four bombs go off with some tenants getting injured. Turtle Wexler keeps her head on straight and has every thing under control.

       Tabitha-Ruth Wexler, a.k.a. Turtle, is 13 and in Junior High School. With her trademark: a long, brown, single braid on the back of her head.  Her cleverness helps her in the game, but she adds her moodiness in on the side.  Turtle is very clever and bright.  During the Westing Game she  played the stock market and came out successful.  She was also the one who figured out the truth of Sam Westing, and she held her own court to prove her assumption.  Her moodiness, in an odd, accidental way, helps her in the game, too.  She started crying when she got her hair singed from the fireworks that she set off. When the police and firemen found out it was hers she said, "I want a lawyer!". Also, many heirs got bruises from Turtle and her precious braid.  She kicked anyone who touched her braid, in the shins.  Barney Northrup got the hardest kick of all, but he didn't touch her braid. He did something much worse.  Even with her moods, she still solved the confusing, impossible, Westing mystery. 

       Sam Westing out did himself on setting up such a treacherous game with the heirs astonishment for the majority of the game, not knowing odds or ends of their clues, playing just for the money.  It all started out the day the heirs were read the will and were put into this intense game with bombings and other distractions to lead them off the path. It took them a while to figure out the bomber was who you least expected or the murderer was, . . well . . . you'll find that out when you read the book..  You may think you've found the murder, so the mystery's over, but it isn't, because, "Mr. Westing has to make his final move."  The heirs found that out about Mr. Westing, that the game isn't over till it's over. Or everything isn't as it seems, yep everything is DEFINITELY not as it seems. J.J. Ford and Turtle were the two that seemed to find that very true.

      This book is one that you can read over and over, because it really makes you think.  even though it was kind of confusing and hard to follow, that is what I think made it so good.  I've never read a book like it before.  Ellen Raskin did a good job of turning the story around every time you thought you knew "who dunnit".  She wrote the book making it kind of confusing, but almost in a good way, making you read back to check your assumption.  This book could be recommended to a variety of readers, not just mystery fanatics.  Makes sure, if you read this, you don't fall off the edge of your seat, and remember . . . read at your own risk!