The Winterton Deception 1: Final Word -- Janet Sumner Johnson, Hardcover

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.

Author: Janet Sumner Johnson
Publisher: Pixel+ink
Published: 10/31/2023
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781645951964
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2023
Publishers Weekly 09/04/2023
Booklist 10/15/2023 pg. 54
School Library Journal 11/01/2023 pg. 57

About the Author
Janet Sumner Johnson is the author of picture books The Recess Genius 1: Open for Business, Braver Than Brave, and Help Wanted: Must Love Books, which was the winner of the 2021 CLEL BELL Read Award and was nominated for the Colorado and Washington Children's Choice Book Awards, as well as middle grade novel The Last Great Adventures of the PB&J Society. She bakes a mean cinnamon twist and eats way more cookies than are good for her, which explains her running habit. Though her full-time occupation as evil tyrant/benevolent dictator (aka Mom) takes most of her time, she sneaks in writing at night when her inner funny bone is fully unleashed. She lives in Utah with her husband and three kids.