The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on September 1, 2020
ISBN: 1368052401
Pages: 384
Genres: Mystery
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Avery Grambs is a girl with a plan. She will graduate from high school and get a degree in actuarial science from a state college (the most practical and employable degree) and make enough money to live comfortably. Avery is a junior and is a chess whiz and a decent poker player. She lives with her half-sister, who took Avery in when her mom died, though there are nights when she sleeps in her car and showers in the gym at school. When Grayson Hawthorne shows up and announces that Avery must attend the will reading of Tobias Hawthorne, she is perplexed, to say the least. Tobias was the 6th richest man in America, the richest man in Texas, and has plenty of heirs to whom to leave his money. Avery does attend the will reading where she learns that Tobias Hawthorne has left quite a lot to her; this from a man Avery is sure she has never met. Tobias also happened to be a lover (and creator) of puzzles, and he has four accomplished, deserving, competitive, competent, not to mention good-looking, grandsons who are equally perplexed by the inheritance to this random girl. The premise is fantastic, but it gets bogged down by its own cleverness. One of the characters says “traps upon traps” and this is apt for the plot. The will, the house, the family, plus Avery and puzzles could have been enough. The second half of the book takes a left-turn with the addition of a plot involving a girl who dies and instead of feeling like a worthy mystery, feels like an unnecessary distraction. However, there are puzzles to solve in the book,  a murder attempt, and lots of tension between Avery and a few of those handsome, brooding Hawthorne boys, so this one will be gobbled up by readers. With some language, mentions of domestic abuse, and a steamy kissing scene, this one is recommended for readers in grades 7 and up.  A second book is planned for 2021.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth