# Read the first page of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin Read the opening of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin free, no signup. A quirky heir hunt scatters clues among strange neighbors. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/the-westing-game-ellen-raskin - Genre: Middle grade - Year: 1978 - ISBN: 9781101157459 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9781101157459&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9781101157459 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9781101157459 ## The opening The sun sets in the west (just about everyone knows that), but Sunset Towers faced east. Strange! Sunset Towers faced east and had no towers. This glittery, glassy apartment house stood alone on the Lake Michigan shore five stories high. Five empty stories high. Then one day (it happened to be the Fourth of July), a most uncommon-looking delivery boy rode around town slipping letters under the doors of the chosen tenants-to-be. The letters were signed Barney Northrup. The delivery boy was sixty-two years old, and there was no such person as Barney Northrup. Here it is —the apartment you've always dreamed of, at a rent you can afford, in the newest, most luxurious building on Lake Michigan: SUNSET TOWERS • Picture windows in every room • Uniformed doorman, maid service • Central air conditioning, hi-speed elevator • Exclusive neighborhood, near excellent schools • Etc., etc. You have to see it to believe it. But these unbelievably elegant apartments will be shown by appointment only. So hurry, there are only a few left!!! Call me now at 276-7474 for this once-in-a-lifetime offer. Your servant, Barney Northrup P.s. I am also renting ideal space for: • Doctor’s office in lobby • Coffee shop with entrance from parking lot • Hi-class restaurant on entire top floor Six letters were delivered, just six. Six appointments were made, and one by one, family by family, talk, talk, talk, Barney Northrup led the tours around and about Sunset Towers. “Take a look at all that glass. One-way glass,” Barney Northrup said. “You can see out, nobody can see in.” Looking up, the Wexlers (the first appointment of the day) were blinded by the blast of morning sun that flashed off the face of the building. “See those chandeliers? Crystal!” Barney Northrup said, slicking his black moustache and straightening his hand-painted tie in the lobby’s mirrored wall. “How about this carpeting? Three inches thick!” “Gorgeous,” Mrs. Wexler replied, clutching her husband’s arm as her high heels wobbled in the deep plush pile. She, too, managed an approving glance in the mirror before the elevator door opened. “You’re really in luck,” Barney Northrup said. “There’s only one apartment left, but you’ll love it. It was meant for you.” He flung open the door to 3D. “Now, is that breathtaking, or is that breathtaking?” Mrs. Wexler gasped; it was breathtaking, all right. Two walls of the living room were floor-to-ceiling glass. Following Barney Northrup’s lead, she ooh-ed and aah-ed her joyous way through the entire apartment. Her trailing husband was less enthusiastic. “What’s this, a bedroom or a closet?” Jake Wexler asked, peering into the last room. “It’s a bedroom, of course,” his wife replied. “It looks like a closet.” “Oh Jake, this apartment is perfect for us, just perfect,” Grace Wexler argued in a whining coo. The third bedroom was a trifle small, but it would do just fine for Turtle. “And think what it means having your office in the lobby, Jake; no more driving to and from work, no more mowing the lawn or shoveling snow.” “Let me remind you,” Barney Northrup said, “the rent here is cheaper than what your old house costs in upkeep.” How would he know that, Jake wondered. Grace stood before the front window where, beyond the road, beyond the trees, Lake Michigan lay calm and glistening. A lake view! Just wait until those so-called friends of hers with their classy houses see this place. ## Books with a similar feel - [From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg](https://uncovered.ink/read/from-the-mixed-up-files-of-mrs-basil-e-frankweiler-e-l-konigsburg.md) - [The Citadel of Forgotten Myths by Michael Moorcock](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-citadel-of-forgotten-myths-michael-moorcock.md) - [Anxious People by Fredrik Backman](https://uncovered.ink/read/anxious-people-fredrik-backman.md) - [Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt](https://uncovered.ink/read/remarkably-bright-creatures-shelby-van-pelt.md) - [Wild Justice by Wilbur Smith](https://uncovered.ink/read/wild-justice-wilbur-smith.md) - [Deep Six by Clive Cussler](https://uncovered.ink/read/deep-six-clive-cussler.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.