<P> The Westing Game is a mystery novel written by Ellen Raskin and published by Dutton in 1978 . It won the Newbery Medal recognizing the year's most distinguished contribution to American children's literature . The story involves 16 seemingly unrelated heirs of reclusive businessman Sam Westing and his challenge to figure out the secret of his death . The heirs must figure out who killed Mr. Westing by clues in Mr. Westing's will . </P> <P> The Westing Game was ranked number nine among all - time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal in 2012 . It has been adapted as the 1997 feature film Get a Clue (also distributed as The Westing Game). </P> <P> Sunset Towers is a new apartment building on Lake Michigan, north of Milwaukee and just down the shore from the mansion owned by reclusive self - made millionaire Samuel W. Westing . (Despite the name, Sunset Towers faces east--into the sunrise .) </P> <P> As the story opens, a man named Barney Northrup is selling apartments to a carefully selected group of tenants . It soon emerges that most of the tenants--regardless of age or occupation--are named as heirs in Westing's will . The will is structured as a puzzle, with the 16 heirs challenged to find the solution . Each of the eight pairs, assigned seemingly at random, is given $10,000 cash and a different set of baffling clues . The pair that solves the mystery will inherit Westing's entire $200 million fortune and control of his company . </P>

Where does the book the westing game take place