What a clever book! It certainly reminded me a bit of Knives Out, where an unwitting young woman gets dragged into family squabbles after an inheritance isn’t doled out quite as everyone expected.

READ IF YOU…

• Want a fun, “Knives Out” kind of game
• Like puzzles

Title: The Inheritance Games| Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes Rating: 3.5/5

What a clever book! It certainly reminded me a bit of Knives Out, where an unwitting young woman gets dragged into family squabbles after an inheritance isn’t doled out quite as everyone expected. I love stories where inheritances fall into the laps of the unexpected, and the family is angry, and The Inheritance Games certainly delivered.

A perfect book for anyone who likes puzzles and mysteries, and likes old family estates filled with hidden passageways and secret drawers.

Avery is a senior in high school, struggling to make ends meet with her half-sister. Avery is a clever girl, great at math, and on her way to graduating high school and going to college on scholarship.

But then she gets a call: an old man she never knew has left her a huge inheritance. The catch: live on his estate for one year with his angry family who want nothing better than to be rid of her.

Ensue chaos.

Tobias Hawthorne, the old man who left his wealth, loved puzzles, and he’s set up a final, elaborate one for Avery and the Hawthorne family to solve. So now Avery has to figure out who of the Hawthornes to trust, if any, and how to survive the year in Hawthorne house.

I loved the book. I was engrossed the whole time, trying to figure out the secrets, the connections, and what Tobias was really after when he left a stranger all his wealth.

The puzzles are clever, the writing sharp, and the relatives acerbic. I loved it all and it’s one of the better mystery reads. I wish there were more books like this one.