The Westing Game Characters

The Turtle And The HeirWe're just going to say it: we're 100% #TeamTurtle. This is the girl we all wish we had as a best friend back in elementary school—smart, feisty, and weirdly precocious whe...

Not Just A Pretty FaceWe'll admit it: any time a female character is described in terms of their looks we start rolling our eyes. It seems that a super-pretty lady is either really good (yawn) or r...

Amazing GraceIf you're anything like us, you have a really confusing opinion of great white sharks. On the one hand: yikes. They're terrifying. They're pure evil. On the other hand: aww. They're ju...

Stand Up DudeTheo's the kind of person who gives his half of $10,000 to his parents. Who does that? A really nice guy, that's who.When we first meet Theo, he's a high school senior, and a little bi...

Watching Way More Than Just BirdsGuys, if you finish reading The Westing Game with just one epiphany, let it be: "Don't judge a book by its cover." (Although the cover of The Westing Game is almost...

(Door)Man Of MysteryThe name Sandy evokes a few very different things: a bobby socks-wearing 1950's teen, a shaggy dog in 1930's New York, and a horrible hurricane.And you know what? This associati...

Dear Dr. DeereDr. Deere is kind of a mystery. At first, it seems like he's only included in the game peripherally as Angela's fiancé, the plastic surgeon intern. Grace thinks it makes perfect sens...

P.I. On The PrizeOtis proves that not everyone is who they seem to be in The Westing Game. We intially think that Mr. Amber is a dim-witted delivery boy... "Otis Amber is a stupid man, if not downr...

Scare CrowIf you thought "Wow, crows are pretty much the most ominous bird around," or "Yikes. Crows are pretty much always symbols of death," don't worry—you're not alone. Poor Berthe's last nam...

A Happy AccidentSydelle Pulaski is a mistake. Well, that's not all she is, but that's supposedly her biggest role in this mystery; her part was supposed to be played by someone else. The private in...

Sewing It All TogetherFlora is a divorced seamstress who now lives alone. She's hired to make Angela's wedding dress and once also made one for Violet Westing. She smiles all the time, especially i...

Necessity Is The Father Of InventionMr. Hoo is a frustrated inventor who ends up running a Chinese restaurant. He seems concerned with not appearing authentically Chinese enough, so he adds "Shin"...

Five-Fingered DiscountMadame Hoo spends a lot of the book without a voice. She emigrated from China as Mr. Hoo's second wife—although we never really figure out why she married him—and doesn't...

Go For The GoldDoug's a high school senior who Turtle thinks is pretty cute... even though he teases her and plays dumb jokes. He's an insanely good runner and the star of the local track team. Eve...

Cardinal DirectionsEven though we don't really meet Sam Westing as "Sam Westing" during the course of the book, we do meet several versions of him in the disguises he uses. His four identities corr...

We know from the start that Barney Northrup is not a real person, but we don't find out who's impersonating him until nearly the end of the book. What we do know about him is he's a fast-talking re...

Mr. Eastman is the chairman of the board of Westing Paper Products Corporation. Spoiler: He's not a real person, but the fourth identity of Sam Westing.

Ed Plum is the inexperienced, youthful lawyer Westing chooses to handle his will. Judge Ford is surprised that someone that rough would be chosen for the job. Plum has an annoying habit of clearing...

George isn't actually a player in the Westing Game. He's the former boyfriend of Violet Westing, and his sons, Theo and Chris, are both named heirs in the Westing will. He provides important inform...

Catherine isn't a player in the Westing game. She's the mother of two players, Theo and Chris, and married to George Theodorakis, who is the former boyfriend of Violet Westing.

Dr. Sikes is Westing's friend (and fellow plotter) who's in the car accident with him, and helps him create the physical disguises he assumes as other characters.

Rosalie is the deceased daughter of Flora Baumbach. Rosalie had Down's syndrome and her mother describes her as the "lovingest person there ever was" (11.6).

Violet is the deceased daughter of the Westings, and she looks like Angela and Grace Wexler. She used to go out with George Theodorakis, until her mother started to push her into marriage with a co...

Mr. Schultz is the president of Schultz Sausages, where Sydelle worked as a secretary. He eventually becomes her husband.

Shirley is Chris's college girlfriend (later his wife), and a fellow ornithologist.

Alice is Angela and Dr. Deere's daughter, and the beloved niece of Turtle. She plays chess with her aunt at the end of the book.

Judgement DayWe think that maybe, just maybe, the best possible motivational poster would look like this: a big white rectangle with a picture of Judge Ford's face on it.Too bad she's a fictional c...