2015 book 18

Kate Kae Myers' Inherit Midnight
I feel like this is a plot that's been done before--a bunch of spoiled, ungrateful relatives competing in a crazy world-wide contest to be the main heir of the family and get control of their diamond business--but it works pretty well here. I mean, the protagonist is way too much of a poor-little-rich-girl (she's the illegitimate daughter of one of the family sons and the nanny), and the dialogue is often awkward, but Myers keeps a fast pace going and the challenges are pretty intriguing. I will say that the inevitable romance totally gets in the way of the family drama and intriguing plot, and the story would have been MUCH stronger without it, but that seems to be the way of YA these days. I just kept wanting to shout, "stop making out and get your head in the game!" I think I need to reread The Westing Game as a palate cleanser. B/B+.

__
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in February.