THE WESTING GAME AUTHOR: ELLEN RASKIN Ellen Ermingard Raskin (March 13, 1928 – August 8, 1984) was an American children's writer and illustrator. She won the 1979 Newbery Medal for The Westing Game , a mystery novel, and another children's mystery, Figgs & Phantoms , was a Newbery Honor Book in 1975. In 2012 The Westing Game was ranked number nine among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal , a monthly with primarily U.S. audience INITIAL SITUATION u All of the carefully selected tenants move into Sunset Towers . This section does a great job of setting up both the time/place of the action and the many characters that will be living in it and taking part in the mystery, Sixteen characters for the westing game. PLOT u The heirs/players find themselves signed up to play a strange game with a $200 mi...