The Westing Game
Author	Ellen Raskin
Country	United States
Genre	Mystery Fiction
Publisher	E. P. Dutton
Publication date	1978
Pages	216 pg
ISBN	0-525-47137-5
OCLC	53292898
LC Class	PZ7.R1817 We 2003

Sam Westing, the son of immigrants who was born as Samuel “Windy” Windkloppel, is the eccentric and reclusive owner and operator of the Westing Paper Products Corporation, a conglomerate based in the eponymous Westingtown just off the shores of Lake Michigan. Further clues of Sam Westing's disguises surface in this chapter: the visit to Sandy McSouthers' dentist points to the use of false teeth as a disguise, while Turtle kicking Barney Northrup provides another important clue to unraveling the identity shell game Westing has been playing. Sandy McSouthers Description Looks: Slim trim, uses the name 'Alexander', a friend of Turtle, plays hearts, called the 'Shooter' (maybe in hearts), has a 'chipped-tooth' and a bunch of scars on his face,age:65, Born in Edinburgh,Scotland,immigrated when 3 years old,married has or had six children and 2 grandchildren,and education is at 8th.

The Westing Game is a mystery book written by Ellen Raskin and published by Dutton in 1978. It won the Newbery Medal recognizing the year's most distinguished contribution to American children's literature.^[1]

The Westing Game was ranked number one among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal in 2012.^[2] It has been adapted as the 1997 feature film Get a Clue (also distributed as The Westing Game).^[3]

Sam Westwing (sandy Mcsouthers)the Westwing Game Of Thrones

Plot Summary[edit]

Sunset Towers is a new apartment building on Lake Michigan, north of Milwaukee and just down the shore from the mansion owned by reclusive self-made millionaire Samuel W. Westing. (Despite its name, Sunset Towers faces east – into the sunrise.) Sam Westing was a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in paper products. He was very patriotic and never smoked, drank, or gambled.

As the story opens, Barney Northrup is selling apartments to a carefully selected group of tenants. He claims that chess is not allowed in the building. After Sam Westing dies, at the beginning of the book, it emerges that most of the tenants are named as heirs in Westing's will. The will is structured like a puzzle, with the 16 heirs challenged to find the solution. Each of the eight pairs, assigned seemingly at random, is given $10,000 cash and a different set of baffling clues. The pair that solves the mystery will inherit Westing's entire $200 million fortune and control of his company.

Sam Westing (sandy Mcsouthers)the Westing Game

Characters[edit]

Pair One[edit]

Jake Wexler is a podiatrist, and a bookie on the side. He is 45 years old and he is married to Grace Wexler, whom he loves, but he also knows that she might never be happy with their life or financial situation. Jake is the father of Angela Wexler and Tabitha-Ruth Wexler.
Madame Sun Lin Hoo is the second and much-younger Chinese immigrant wife of James Shin Hoo. She is 28 years old. She barely knows how to speak English. She can usually be found cooking in her husband's restaurant. There is a rumor going around Mr. Hoo married her because of her 100-year-old sauce recipe. Although she is an heir, she doesn't contribute to the game.

Pair Two[edit]

Tabitha-Ruth Wexler, known as Turtle or 'Alice' to Flora Baumbach, is a highly intelligent 13-year-old girl. She is very protective of her long, dark braid of hair and anyone who touches it gets a kick to the shin. She excels at playing the stock market. She is very fond of both Sandy McSouthers and her partner Flora Baumbach. She has a sister named Angela Wexler, a mother named Grace Windkloppel Wexler and a father named Jake Wexler. Unknown to all else, she secretly wins the game by discovering the fourth identity of Windy Windkloppel/Sam Westing and is given control of his company. She visits him for chess every Sunday from then until his death at 85. It is discovered that she later marries Theo in the epilogue when Julian Eastman asks about her husband. After she turns 18, she requests that everyone call her 'T.R. Wexler'. She falsely admits to being the bomber after the fourth bomb explodes to protect her good-natured sister, Angela, who is the actual bomber.
Flora Baumbach is a shy 60-year-old dressmaker who becomes a maternal figure to her partner, Turtle. Her daughter, Rosalie, had Down syndrome and died of pneumonia at age 19. Her husband disappeared, and it is unknown whether he died or if there was a divorce. Flora is kind to everyone and prefers to see the best in people. Turtle refers to her as 'Baba,' while she refers to Turtle as 'Alice.' Flora discovers that she is exceptional at braiding hair when she starts braiding Turtle's hair.

Sam Westwing (sandy Mcsouthers)the Westwing Games

Pair Three[edit]

Christos 'Chris' Theodorakis is a 15-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair due to degenerative muscle disease. He is intelligent and enjoys birdwatching. His brother, Theo, is very protective of him. Chris's disease causes muscle spasms and affects his speech, but he is much more observant than he lets on – in part because he is often dismissed by others. Chris also develops a temporary friendship with Sydelle Pulaski. In the epilogue, Denton Deere discovers a medication for Chris that helps with his condition.
Dr. Denton Deere is a 25-year-old medical intern. He is engaged to Angela. He has an obsession with diagnosing those he meets. He is very stuck up, and Turtle calls him a “know-it-all stuck up marshmallow face”. He is usually kicked by Turtle. However, he gets better as the book progresses.

Pair Four[edit]

Judge J.J. Ford is an intelligent and serious African-American woman in her forties. She is 42 years old. She is suspicious of the game created by Sam Westing. Unlike the other heirs, who want to win the game and the fortune, her goal is to discover the past of every heir. She prefers to work on her own, but uses her partner's ear for gossip to her advantage. Her connection to Westing is that she is the daughter of his former servants and he financed her education. Growing up, Westing would play chess with Ford and funded her education. As Sandy, Westing suggests that he did so as he saw her potential instead of pity as she believes.
Alexander 'Sandy' McSouthers was a 65-year-old doorman but is also Sam Westing, Barney Northup, Julian R. Eastman, Windy Windkloppel (as discovered at the end of the story) in Sunset Towers. His description says that he previously worked at Westing Paper Products Corporation and claims to have been fired by Sam Westing himself for attempting to organize the workers. McSouthers is notable for his knowledge of Sunset Towers' gossip. He is exceptionally close to Turtle Wexler.

Pair Five[edit]

Grace Windsor Wexler, married to Jake Wexler and mother of Angela and Turtle, is a self-centered woman who is obsessed with her own image. She is 42 years old.She favors Angela while largely ignoring Turtle. She claims to be Mr. Westing's niece; her name is actually Gracie Windkloppel Wexler. Grace wants to be an interior designer. However, as the game goes on, she develops a growing interest in her partner's restaurant and the restaurant business in general.
James Shin Hoo is a middle-aged man, owner of Shin Hoo's restaurant and former entrepreneur, as well as Madame Hoo's husband and Doug's father. He claims Mr. Westing stole his patent for the disposable diaper and appears bitter and moody for this reason. He suffers from ulcers, and he can often be seen yelling at his son to study. He also often complains about how Doug is a 'dumb jock' and incredibly lazy.

Sam Westing (sandy Mcsouthers)the Westing Game