It’s a Madhouse! by Todd Wallinger

Get ready for a laugh-out-loud mystery farce that’s packed with quirky characters, outrageous situations, and nonstop twists!  Byron Pembroke, a best-selling mystery author with a reputation for shocking twists, has died. His funeral turns into a weird gathering when, at the reading of his will on a dark and stormy night, his highly dysfunctional family learns that they won’t be inheriting his millions in the usual way. Instead, Byron has converted his entire fortune into a single mysterious object, hidden somewhere in his mansion — and has left a four-line verse as a clue to its whereabouts. 

As the family reels from learning they must search for their inheritance, things get even more chaotic: the mansion becomes flooded with strangers who’ve sought refuge from the storm. These unexpected guests — including ghost hunters, a nosy news team, a busload of tourists, and folks of many other backgrounds — soon join the hunt for the hidden treasure, once they catch wind of what’s at stake. 

A series of comedic vignettes and absurd situations unfold as characters collide, cooperate, compete, and betray one another in pursuit of the secret prize. Old resentments, rivalries, and eccentricities among Byron’s family (and among the intruders) are amplified by the madness of the situation. False leads, mistaken identities, frantic searches, and physical farce all play a part. 

In the end, the question isn’t just who will find the treasure first — it’s who deserves to, and whether the object is more than just money. The search forces characters to confront their own greed, their relationships, and the legacy Byron left behind.