Outsmart

The Wessex Papers #3

by Daniel Parker

October 23
Headmaster Olsen
Pearson Ellis
Winslow Ellis Dear Mr. As you know, I've always held your son in the highest esteem. It pains me to have to inform you of his involvement in various illegal and immoral money-making schemes on the Wessex campus. Details attached. Winslow is at a critical juncture in his education and can not afford any blemishes on his record. Toward that end, I am offering to overlook his transgressions in exchange for a donation of $300,000 to the enclosed account number. I trust you will take care of this matter in a timely fashion. Phillip Olsen
Headmaster In the satisfying conclusion Sunday and Fred pull off the scam of the century -- and beat the blackmailers at their own game.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Boarding School, School, Teen

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Daniel Parker is a pseudonym of Daniel Ehrenhaft.

Reviews

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Pretty good, although there were a couple of moments that were a bit cringy.

* Sunday and Fred go to Sunday's summer house in the Hamptons only to discover that Noah is already there. Noah explains that he couldn't go home and face his parents after getting expelled because he thought they'd disown him.
* Allison also turns up at the house because she figures that if Sunday has run away, that's where she'd go.
* Salvator also turns up with a gun and tells them he wants $200,000 ASAP.
* Everyone else goes back to school.
* Everything is discussed and Noah ends up going to the Cayman Islands to empty one of Winnie's accounts to get the money to pay Sal.
* Fred, Sunday and their friends hatch a plan to try to turn Winnie and Olsen against each other.
* Fred and Sunday take a fake letter to Winnie supposedly from Olsen saying that he's being expelled. Allison goes to see Olsen and tells him that Winnie has been saying weird things about him and that Olsen needed to re-admit the pupils he'd expelled for Winnie to not go to the cops. (This was cringy though because it sounded so fake!)
* Hobson and Mackenzie broke into Olsen's house and took some random statues which turned out not to be so random after all - they had computer discs hidden inside them.
* Winnie went to Olsen's house to try to take the statues and Olsen pulled a gun on him.
* Noah got the money from the Caymen Islands and then went straight to Sal hoping that he'd accept $187,404 and give him time to get the rest.
* Sal it seems isn't really part of the mafia, it was all just an act, and he explains that he isn't really evil, in fact he's got Mr Burwell and Miss Burke hiding at his house, and not dead after all.
* After looking at the computer discs the gang all know the story - that Olsen was making money by blackmailing students' parents over bad behaviour (such as dealing drugs). He'd gotten the information from the anonymous, sealed time capsule letters that he wasn't supposed to have looked at.
* Olsen had also been doing some illegal betting against his own basketball team.
* Sunday contacts the alumni parents and has them come to Olsen's house. There they find Winnie and Olsen burning papers in the cellar, amid Olsen's odd decorations, trophies, and posters proclaiming him the world's sexiest bachelor.
* Sal turns up with Noah, Tony, Mr Burwell and Miss Burke (giving them a bit of a shock as they were thought dead).
* The cops then turn up, and between them all they explain what has been happening, and Olsen and Winnie are arrested.

[teddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE MAFIA WAS PRANKING THEM THE WHOLE TIME.

Guys I’ve been too pretentious. I thought the writing style was overly chill and ironic because it didn’t want to be caught expressing an uncool amount of emotion, but in reality it was silly goofy satire.

Three stars. I’d give it three and a half if I could. Obviously the best part of this series was watching Noah Percy digivolve from John Turturro’s role as Barton Fink to his role as Jesus.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love noah

[Cheryl Sitmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in order.