Which author wrote 'The Westing Game'?

Ellen Raskin wrote The Westing Game.

First published by E. P. Dutton in 1978, The Westing Game is a children’s mystery novel built around a complicated inheritance puzzle. Sixteen strangers are invited to live in Sunset Towers, a new apartment building near the mansion of wealthy businessman Samuel Westing. After Westing is apparently murdered, his will challenges the heirs to identify the killer and solve a set of clues.

The novel’s central appeal is its ensemble cast. The heirs have contrasting backgrounds, hidden motives, and unexpected connections, while the puzzle repeatedly changes the reader’s assumptions about identity and guilt. The story rewards careful attention to wordplay, disguises, and seemingly minor details.

Raskin’s book won the 1979 Newbery Medal, recognizing it as the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature published the previous year. A frequent mistake is to classify it as a straightforward adult detective novel; it is more precisely a children’s mystery and puzzle story, though its intricate structure has made it popular with readers of all ages.