A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger--and a possible murderer--to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead...but that won't stop him from playing one last game!

With barely enough mystery to keep me going, and not enough zip on the part of the narrator, this title squeaks by with a 3.

When the book was first published in the lat 1970's, it may have been original in its cast of characters, but what made it unique then is taken for granted — ethnic diversity, clever teens; or totally implausible now — a diverse group of people all moving into the same apartment building on the same day (as none of them like their current homes?). Great books stand the test of time.

The initial clues were too easy to figure out, but the final ah-ha helped to make up for that.

Still enjoyable — a girl of 13 as the heroine. ( )

Meh ( )

I don't know how I missed this as a child. ( )

4.5 ( )