From the very start of The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the reader is enraptured by the great and page-turning mystery of why a billionaire, Tobias Hawthorne, left all his inheritance of 48 billion dollars to a random girl Avery Kylie Grambs, and not his own family, which he left merely pocket money to them. Avery does not come from a wealthy family, since her mother whom she lived with died so she is only living with her sister and occasionally, her sister’s abusive boyfriend Drake. There is only one condition that Avery must abide by, and it’s to live in the Hawthorne House for a year without kicking any of the Hawthornes out to receive the great fortune of 48 billion dollars.

Not a single soul in the Hawthorne household, especially any of the Hawthornes, has any rhyme or reason as to why Tobias Hawthorne left all his fortunes to Avery and not his own family before he passed away. This mystery book kept me turning every page wanting to solve the mystery along with Avery and every other Hawthorne in the book since Avery finds many clues left throughout the house by Tobias Hawthorne for her to figure out since he so dearly loved to play games and puzzles explained by his family. However, also jealous of Avery and where she fits in this elaborate puzzle, the two Hawthorne brothers conceal alluring mysteries themselves to Avery, Jameson, and Grayson. Avery becomes enraptured by these two brothers and the secrets they also inhibit about what has gone down in the past in the Hawthorne House that may have led up to this very event.            

The ending of this book, and all leading up to it, was quite unexpected as it was a complete twist and this is the mark of a true mystery book with a compelling plot and plethora of secretive characters that left me wanting more. If I were to rate this book on a scale from 1-10, I would certainly give it a 10 and recommend it to any other mystery book lovers like myself.