The Westing Game, Newbery Winner 1979

Oooooh boy. I hadn't expected a mystery, that seems to be the genre least likely to be a winner. In fact, though there had been  mystery elements in some of the other books this is the only one to have been written strictly as a puzzle to be solved. I love a good puzzle and come from a long line of literary sleuths.
I found that the clues were easy enough to decipher and think they're appropriate for school aged children. I also like the relationships that develop between characters, Chris makes a great point in the story. Speaking of characters, there are a ton of them! Their are sixteen heirs to the Westing estate, plus a few secondary characters. Some reviewers seem to think that there are too many characters... HA! I'm sorry but now-a-days you rarely find a series or stand-alone work without a large cast of characters, that's simply the way it is.
If you enjoy mysteries another series I recommend is The Mysterious Benedict Society. I think I've recommended them before but here goes again...

Read them all!

Overall if you are a fan of the mystery genre I think you'll enjoy The Westing Game, and before you write it of as just another kids' book I'll tell you that there are some good plot twists. Most I never saw coming (and one I'm ashamed to say I never saw coming).