This was one of my favorite novels when I was a child. I read it again for the first time in probably a decade and I am still in love. The Westing Game is what first introduced me to the appeal of the murder mystery genre.

Ellen Raskin does an excellent job of creating vivid and memorable characters. One of my favorite things about this novel is that even though it is for children, Raskin writes about people from all walks of life—adults in their sixties and forties and twenties—as well as youth. I felt alienated from adults when I was a little girl, as I’m sure most children do, but I remember being just as fascinated about the fate of Otis Amber or Flora Baumbach as I was about Turtle Wexler. Raskin paints colorful characters that can be beloved by adults and children alike.

The mysteries woven in this novel are so clever. The clues, the names, the setting… every single piece of this story left me in amazement and delight.