The Westing Game

The Westing Game is a 1978 mystery novel by American children’s author and illustrator Ellen Raskin. The novel, marketed as children’s literature, won the John Newbery Medal, although it is also considered a work of young adult fiction. The narrative tells the story of a group of strangers brought together to solve the mystery of Samuel Westing’s death and pursue a great fortune. As the mystery unfolds, the story considers themes like Appearances as a (Non)Indication of the Self, Greed and Charity as Motivators, and The Use of Rationality to Explain an Irrational World.

Plot Summary

Near the end of summer, a mysterious letter lands on the doorstep of a special group of individuals. The letters contain an invitation to see a new luxury apartment building called Sunset Towers on the shores of Lake Michigan, just down the bluff from the Westing mansion. There are 16 prospective tenants in total, and by September, all have moved in.

On Halloween night, young Turtle Wexler takes a bet to enter the old Westing mansion. She runs out screaming, believing she’s encountered the corpse of the man who once lived there, the wealthy industrialist Sam Westing. Days later, his obituary appears in the newspaper.

As the residents settle into their new homes, they receive a second letter informing them that they are all heirs to Westing’s fortune. Upon first meeting later that night, they are surprised to learn that a lawyer has summoned all 16 of them to hear the reading of the will.

The will reveals that Westing was murdered. It also groups the heirs into eight seemingly random pairs that are each issued a set of clues, a $10,000 check, and a challenge to solve Westing’s murder. The winning team will win Westing’s $200 million fortune as well as control of his company.

A snowstorm confines the heirs to the building for several days, during which time they get to know each other. Some believe that sharing clues is the only way to solve the puzzle, while others are more territorial, wanting to know more about their opponents.

Judge J.J. Ford is in the latter category and throws a party for all the heirs in her apartment. The next morning, they all convene in the coffee shop on the first floor to strategize, but a bomb goes off, cutting the meeting short. Although the explosion injures no one, paranoia sets in.

Another bomb explodes days later, in the Chinese restaurant on the top floor. This time, a resident goes to the hospital with minor injuries. As the snow finally clears, the heirs are free to resume their uninhibited investigations. Judge Ford and her partner, Sandy McSouthers, discover that Westing’s daughter committed suicide years ago, after being forced to pursue marriage with a man she did not love.

A third explosion sends Turtle’s older sister Angela Wexler to the hospital with facial injuries. A bomb squad investigates the scene only to declare the mishaps accidental.

As the heirs continue playing the Westing game, a crucial element of their findings relates to each heir’s relationship to Westing. They believe the others will punish whoever murdered Westing, so they feel the need to conceal their histories to protect themselves from being labeled guilty.

The heirs arrive at the Westing mansion with their answers, but everyone is wrong. Sandy abruptly dies, and his body removed, but the game continues. Upon combining their clues, the heirs discover the words “Berthe Erica Crow,” the name of Westing’s ex-wife, who is an heir and the cleaning woman of Sunset Towers.

A makeshift court is set up following Crow’s removal to jail. A thorough cross-examination, performed by Turtle and overseen by Judge Ford, pieces together information crucial to discovering that Westing was not killed. He, in fact, had several personalities. He was Sandy, and he was also the man who signed the original tenant letters and welcomed the families to Sunset Towers—Barney Northrup.

Crow returns from jail, and the heirs understand that no one is to win the big fortune. Turtle, however, cracks the puzzle and discovers Westing’s fourth and final identity: Julian Eastman. Sam Westing, Sandy McSouthers, Barney Northrup, Julian Eastman are all the same man.