Editors Reads Verdict
Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers a propulsive, puzzle-box YA thriller that channels the best of Agatha Christie and escape-room culture. The Inheritance Games hooks immediately and keeps its momentum through an ending that demands the sequel.
What We Loved
- Irresistible premise that executes on its promise throughout
- Well-crafted puzzle sequences that feel fair and clever
- Engaging ensemble of Hawthorne brothers with distinct personalities
- Breezy, fast-paced prose ideal for reluctant readers
Minor Drawbacks
- Romance subplots occasionally distract from the mystery
- Some puzzle solutions require convenient leaps of logic
- Ending prioritizes sequel setup over satisfying resolution
Key Takeaways
- → Great mysteries layer emotional stakes beneath intellectual ones
- → Ensemble casts work best when each member has a distinct function
- → A compelling premise must be matched by structural execution
- → YA can handle genuine moral complexity without condescension
- → Reader investment requires protagonists with clear internal drives
| Author | Jennifer Lynn Barnes |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Pages | 384 |
| Published | September 1, 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
| Best For | YA readers who love mystery, puzzles, and slow-burn romance, as well as adult thriller fans looking for something propulsive and fun. |
A Premise That Earns Its Hype
Avery Grambs has nothing: a difficult home life, uncertain prospects, and no connection to the late billionaire Tobias Hawthorne. So when his will leaves her the entirety of his fortune — to the fury of his actual family — and she finds herself installed in Hawthorne House with four intensely competitive grandsons, the obvious question is: why?
Jennifer Lynn Barnes, a behavioral psychology PhD who writes with deliberate craft, understood exactly what made readers click through to the next chapter of The Inheritance Games. The book is essentially an extended escape room, with Avery and the Hawthorne grandsons decoding clues embedded in wallpaper, chess games, and family history. It’s irresistible in the way that only the best puzzle-box fiction can be.
The Hawthorne Brothers
The four Hawthorne grandsons — Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander — are the book’s great pleasure. Barnes resists the temptation to make them interchangeable brooding love interests. Each has a distinct personality and a distinct relationship to the puzzle of Avery’s inheritance. Jameson, in particular, is a genuinely interesting character: competitive, mercurial, and just unpredictable enough to keep the reader off-balance.
The romance, primarily between Avery and Jameson, is appropriately slow-burn and doesn’t overwhelm the mystery. Barnes knows her audience well enough to give them what they want while keeping the puzzle logic intact.
Mystery Mechanics
The puzzle sequences are the book’s structural backbone, and they mostly work. Barnes is careful to plant clues early enough that solutions feel earned rather than arbitrary, though a few late-game reveals require the reader to extend more charity than the setup warrants. The mystery of why Hawthorne chose Avery is kept genuinely opaque until the end — and the answer, while surprising, opens more questions than it closes.
That’s both the book’s greatest strength and its most frustrating quality: The Inheritance Games is excellent at generating forward momentum but less interested in providing closure.
A Series Launched Right
For a series opener, this is nearly ideal: it establishes the world, the characters, and the central mystery with efficiency and flair, then ends in a place that makes the sequel feel urgent rather than obligatory. Barnes has written a crowd-pleaser with genuine craft underneath the entertainment, and the book’s TikTok-fueled success is entirely deserved.
Our rating: 4.2/5 — A smartly constructed puzzle-box thriller with winning characters and propulsive pacing that earns every bit of its bestseller status.
Ready to Read The Inheritance Games?
Check the current price on Amazon.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Prices and availability are subject to change. See Amazon for current price.
Review last updated: