The Name of the Game Was Murder
by Joan Lowery Nixon
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When she visits her great-uncle, a successful and self-centered author, at his fortress-like home on Catalina Island, fifteen-year-old Samantha becomes involved in his manipulative game that leads to murder.Tags
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One of my favorites from Joan Lowery Nixon. This was a great mystery and I had a ton of fun reading it; you would too, especially if you enjoy solving puzzles and riddles. It's got a great plot, great characters, and a great ending. I read this book ten years ago, and I can remember it vividly.
Typical mystery story. It was well written and fun to read. Altough nothing that would make me read it again.
This was a very werid book. You would not even think that some of the things logically could happen. I think that if you are into a scary mystery this is the book for you. This book is a quick read so I think that you should read it.
Janice Del Negro (Booklist, Mar. 1, 1993 (Vol. 89, No. 13))
A would-be writer, teenage Samantha is attending a house party at the island mansion of her uncle, Augustus Trevor. A famous author, Trevor has written a book revealing some deep, dark secret from the past of each of his now famous houseguests. The guest who finds the hidden manuscript--using clues provided by Trevor--will have his or her "secret" removed. Everyone, except Samantha, has something to hide, even Sam's Aunt Thea, Trevor's wife. But Trevor can't control his own game, and someone bludgeons him to death in an effort to find the damning manuscript. Trapped on the island by a storm and without phone contact to the mainland, Samantha and the others grudgingly work show more together to find the manuscript and uncover the killer. The derivative plot is helped along by the quick pacing and melodramatic setting, and the stock players (the movie star, the senator, the fashion designer) perform their roles as expected. While the ending is startlingly abrupt and somewhat anticlimactic, the mystery will still be popular with genre fans. Category: Older Readers. 1993, Delacorte, $15. Gr. 6-8. show less
A would-be writer, teenage Samantha is attending a house party at the island mansion of her uncle, Augustus Trevor. A famous author, Trevor has written a book revealing some deep, dark secret from the past of each of his now famous houseguests. The guest who finds the hidden manuscript--using clues provided by Trevor--will have his or her "secret" removed. Everyone, except Samantha, has something to hide, even Sam's Aunt Thea, Trevor's wife. But Trevor can't control his own game, and someone bludgeons him to death in an effort to find the damning manuscript. Trapped on the island by a storm and without phone contact to the mainland, Samantha and the others grudgingly work show more together to find the manuscript and uncover the killer. The derivative plot is helped along by the quick pacing and melodramatic setting, and the stock players (the movie star, the senator, the fashion designer) perform their roles as expected. While the ending is startlingly abrupt and somewhat anticlimactic, the mystery will still be popular with genre fans. Category: Older Readers. 1993, Delacorte, $15. Gr. 6-8. show less
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Found: Kids' mystery with blackmail and murder - similar to Westing Game but not in Name that Book (March 2025)
Author Information

149+ Works 11,609 Members
Joan Lowery Nixon was born in Los Angeles, California. She attended the University of Southern California where she received a B.A. in journalism and later an education certificate from California State. She has written over 100 mystery books for young adults. She is known for her Orphan Train Adventure Series and other titles including A Family show more Apart, The Seance and Other Side of the Dark. Her works have earned her the honor of being the only writer to win four Edgar Allen Poe awards and in addition, two Spurs from Western Writers of America. She was a past President of the Mystery Writers of America. She died from complications of pancreatic cancer on June 28, 2003, in Houston, Texas. She was 76. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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