An eclectic group of apartment dwellers are brought together for the reading of the will of Samuel Westing, a 65-year-old millionaire who went missing thirteen years ago.  All of them are eager to get their hands on a piece of his fortune, even if they're not sure exactly why the wealthy eccentric would leave it to them.  They're shocked when they hear the terms of the will—whoever solves the elaborate puzzle Samuel left behind first gets the cash.  The participants are paired off and given clues to follow.  What ensues is a competitive race to be the first to find the million-dollar answer and win the game.  Of course, there's more to the contest than meets the eye.  Samuel Westing may be deceased, but he's still got some tricks up his sleeve!

I've always loved mysteries and The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is one I remember enjoying as a child.  Published in 1978, the novel is clever and fun with likable characters and an engaging story.  While I figured out what the word clues meant right away, there were a few plot surprises I didn't see coming.  Overall, this is just a light, entertaining read that I enjoyed as much as an adult as I did as a child.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and a little of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library books by Chris Grabenstein)

Grade:  

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

"Lies—and again lies—it amazes me, the amount of lies we had told to us this morning" (231).

By now, everyone probably knows the plot to Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie's classic mysteries.  It's so simple, though, that I'll give you a refresher:

In the middle of a cold, winter's night, the Orient Express is forced to halt in its tracks because of a snowdrift in its path.  The train is full, with a variety of people from a number of different countries on board.  By morning, one of them—an American man named Mr. Ratchett—is dead.  He's been stabbed to death in his sleeping compartment, which was locked from within.  Although a window has been left open, that's the only apparent clue to the mystery.  Hercule Poirot, the famed Belgian detective, happens to be on the train and immediately begins an investigation.  As he interviews each person on the Orient Express, he comes up with more than one solution to the puzzling murder.  

Although Murder on the Orient Express is actually the tenth Poirot mystery, it's the only one I've read.  In fact, I've read only one other Christie novel—And Then There Were None—and that was a long time ago.  So, in a way, this is kind of my first introduction to her work.  For being such a reputed writer, I found her prose more business-like than beautiful.  It's very spare, very efficient.  She doesn't waste time on unnecessary details.  Because of this, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters.  They tended to blend together.  Plot-wise, the novel takes some turns I didn't expect (as well as some I did).  Overall, it's an entertaining story that I liked, didn't love.  I've yet to see the film, but I'll definitely be interested to see how Hollywood's newest interpretation of the book plays out.

(Readalikes:  Probably other books by Christie?)

Grade:

If this were a movie (and it is—several times over), it would be rated:

for violence; brief, mild language (no F-bombs), and mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Murder on the Orient Express from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.