Secret Upcoming YA Mystery Series
Barnes reveals that she is launching a brand-new young adult mystery series the following summer. She notes that the new project shares narrative DNA with both The Inheritance Games and The Naturals.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
American
Jennifer "Jen" Lynn Barnes was born on October 19, 1984, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Yale University, studying cognitive science, and received her PhD from Yale in 2012. A Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, she is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty young adult novels, including the Inheritance Games series and The Naturals series.
Biographical details sourced from Wikipedia.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed 3 of Jennifer Lynn Barnes's books, including The Final Gambit, The Hawthorne Legacy, and The Inheritance Games.
3
Books ReviewedIn Jennifer Lynn Barnes' own words
Jennifer Lynn Barnes discusses the inspiration, psychological craft, and character development behind 'The Inheritance Games' series at the Library of Congress National Book Festival.
Uploaded by Library of Congress, 2026 · Watch on YouTube ·
Hacking the Brain's Pleasure Buttons
Barnes explains that storytelling functions like cognitive cheesecake by clustering together hardwired evolutionary pleasures: wealth, competition, beauty, power, safe danger, and touch. She structured The Inheritance Games around wealth and competition, even aligning specific cover motifs and character traits with those cognitive buttons.
Love Triangles as Intersecting Character Arcs
Barnes avoids treating love triangles as superficial contests over who is more attractive, focusing instead on how characters' individual developmental arcs synchronize over time. In The Hawthorne Legacy, discovering the truth about her mother accelerates Avery's emotional growth, opening the door for romantic timing with one brother while the other develops far more slowly.
Also in this interview
The Final Gambit
4.5/5
reader rating · 26,338 ratingsThe Final Gambit is the third book in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Inheritance Games series, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, in which protagonist Avery Kylie Grambs must survive the final weeks in Hawthorne House to claim a billion-dollar inheritance — while a kidnapping and mounting dangers raise the stakes higher than ever before. YA Books Central calls it "a thrilling and compelling conclusion" that leaves readers "equally satisfied and reeling."
Reviewed Oct 6, 2026
The Hawthorne Legacy
4.5/5
reader rating · 33,227 ratingsThe Hawthorne Legacy is the second installment in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's New York Times bestselling Inheritance Games series, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. It picks up where its predecessor left off, plunging heiress Avery Grambs deeper into the mysteries surrounding eccentric billionaire Tobias Hawthorne's baffling decision to leave his fortune to a virtual stranger. With Knives Out-style family intrigue, high-stakes romance, and relentless plot momentum, it is designed for readers aged 12 and up who want a propulsive, puzzle-driven YA thriller.
Reviewed Aug 28, 2026
The Inheritance Games
4.4/5
reader rating · 50,903 ratingsThe Inheritance Games is a young adult mystery/thriller by Jennifer Lynn Barnes in which a teenage girl named Avery Kylie Grambs unexpectedly inherits a vast fortune from a billionaire she barely knows — and must unravel the secrets behind why. Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the novel has garnered widespread acclaim for its intricate plot and engaging characters, and it serves as the first entry in a series that has grown to span multiple sequels, companions, and a spinoff.
Reviewed Jul 28, 2026
Ask LuvemBooks about Jennifer Lynn Barnes
We've reviewed 3 books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, all from her Inheritance Games series of young adult mysteries built around riddles, coded puzzles, and the fallout of a billionaire's bizarre will. The Inheritance Games — where teenager Avery Grambs inherits a fortune from a man she barely knows — has earned a 4.4/5 reader rating from over 50,000 Amazon ratings, with its two successors scoring 4.5/5 each. Across all three, Barnes's background in cognitive science shows in plots that hinge on how the Hawthorne brothers and Avery reason their way through each new clue.
- Where should I start?
- Start with The Inheritance Games, the first book in the series and the natural entry point to Avery Grambs's story. It introduces the premise everything else builds on — a teenage girl unexpectedly inheriting a vast fortune from a billionaire she barely knows — so the sequels make far more sense in order. It also holds a 4.4/5 reader rating from over 50,000 Amazon ratings, the largest sample of any Barnes book we've reviewed.
- What's their writing style?
- Across the three books we've reviewed, Barnes writes YA mystery/thrillers structured like puzzles — the plot of The Inheritance Games turns on decoding the secrets behind a billionaire's will, and the sequels keep layering on new mysteries and dangers. Their voice is propulsive and plot-forward, with short-hook momentum that reviewers have called thrilling. That puzzle-box construction fits an author with a PhD in cognitive science: the fun lies in watching characters reason their way through clues.
- Books we've reviewed
- We've reviewed 3 Jennifer Lynn Barnes books, all from the Inheritance Games series. The Inheritance Games (4.4/5 reader rating) launches the story of Avery Grambs's surprise inheritance; The Hawthorne Legacy (4.5/5) digs deeper into Tobias Hawthorne's baffling decision; and The Final Gambit (4.5/5) follows Avery through the final weeks in Hawthorne House as a kidnapping raises the stakes. All reader ratings are Amazon aggregates.
- How do their books compare?
- The Inheritance Games sets up the core mystery — why a billionaire left his fortune to stranger Avery Grambs — while The Hawthorne Legacy plunges Avery deeper into the unanswered questions around Tobias Hawthorne's decision. The Final Gambit shifts into survival mode, with Avery needing to last the final weeks in Hawthorne House amid a kidnapping and mounting dangers. Reader ratings tick slightly upward across the series: 4.4/5 for the first book versus 4.5/5 for both sequels, all Amazon aggregates.
- What genre do they write?
- Barnes writes young adult fiction, and all three books we've reviewed are YA mystery/thrillers. The Inheritance Games in particular is described as a young adult mystery/thriller built around an intricate plot of secrets and inheritance. Their body of work overall spans more than twenty young adult novels, including The Naturals series.
- What should I read after The Inheritance Games?
- Go straight to The Hawthorne Legacy, which picks up where the first book left off and pulls Avery deeper into the mysteries behind Tobias Hawthorne's will. From there, The Final Gambit follows Avery through the final weeks she must survive in Hawthorne House to claim the inheritance, with a kidnapping raising the stakes. The three books we've reviewed form one continuous storyline, so publication order is the only sensible path.
Who is Jennifer Lynn Barnes?
Where should I start?
What's their writing style?
Books we've reviewed
How do their books compare?
What genre do they write?
What should I read after The Inheritance Games?
Who is Jennifer Lynn Barnes?
Jennifer Lynn Barnes is an American author born on October 19, 1984, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, best known for the Inheritance Games series and The Naturals series. They studied cognitive science at Yale University and earned a PhD there in 2012, working as a Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Barnes has written more than twenty young adult novels.
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