Final Word (The Winterton Deception #1)
by Janet Sumner Johnson (Author)
In this twisty middle grade mystery for fans of Knives Out, The Inheritance Game, and The Westing Game, thirteen-year-old twins Hope and Gordon enter a spelling bee in a last-ditch effort to save their family from financial ruin, only to find themselves in a cut-throat competition to uncover a fortune and dark secrets about the wealthy relations they've never known.
Hope Smith can't stand rich people--the dictionary magnate family the Wintertons most of all. Not since she and her twin brother, Gordon, learned that their dad was one. So when Gordon enters the family into the Winterton's charity spelling bee, Hope wants nothing to do with it. But with their mom losing her job and the family facing eviction from the motel where they live, they desperately need the money, and it looks like Hope doesn't have much of a choice.
After winning the preliminary round, the Smiths are whisked to Winterton Chalet to compete in the official Winterton Bee against their long-lost relatives. Hope wants to get in and out, beat the snobbish family at their own game, and never see them again. But deceased matriarch Jane Winterton had other plans for this final family showdown. Before her death, she set up a clue hunt throughout the manor--an alternate way for Hope and Gordon to get the money that could change their lives.
Still, others are on the trail, too. With tensions at an all-time high, a fortune at stake, and long-simmering family secrets about to boil to the surface, anything could happen.
A tense, clever clue hunt unafraid to tackle the challenges and secrets often kept behind closed doors, Final Word is a gripping series starter sure to satisfy even the most voracious armchair detectives.
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Kirkus
Intelligent, intricately plotted, and ultimately moving.
ALA/Booklist
A pleasing smash-up of middle-grade mysteries with several meaty loose ends and a surprising final reveal, the true mystery here is how you'll appease readers while they await the sequel.
Publishers Weekly
Thirteen-year-old twins uncover their newfound family's closely guarded secrets in this rousing series launch from Sumner Johnson (the Recess Genius series). Siblings Hope and Gordon Smith share a one-room motel apartment with their mother, who works constantly to make ends meet. The kids learn their late father was the Winterton Dictionary tycoons' youngest son, and they have disparate reactions: Hope, who distrusts rich people after being rejected by a wealthy friend, wants nothing to do with his family. Gordon, however, yearns to join the Winterton clan, despite their not knowing that the twins exist, and he registers himself and Hope to compete for one of two non-Winterton slots in the annual Winterton Family Spelling Bee. Hope reluctantly participates, hoping the prize money will help their mom, but upon making the cut, realizes she underestimated her rivals. Luckily, the siblings learn that the recently deceased Winterton matriarch left behind clues to a literary treasure hidden on the estate. In this nuanced first-person narrative, clever riddles, high-stakes competition, and fraught family drama keep the pages turning, while keenly rendered characters, who cue as white, discover the value of kindness, the harm of preconceived notions, and the folly of equating wealth with happiness. Ages 8-12. Agent: Lauren Galit, LKG Agency. (Oct.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
"I couldn't turn the pages fast enough—The Winterton Deception had me hooked!"—Jennifer A. Nielsen, #1 New York Times bestselling author
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV067000 - Juvenile Fiction | Thrillers & Suspense
Family secrets
Twins
Novels
