| Title | : | File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1478954892 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781478954897 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Audiobook |
| Number of Pages | : | 4 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 2014 |
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents Reviews
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Some Lemony Snicket humor -
"You do it."
"I don't want to."
"Don't be a baby, Harvey."
"Don't be an infant, Mimi."
"Don't be a fetus."
"Don't be a zygote."
"Don't be a woman and a man ---"
"I just had my chaperone and her wild, enormous hair, which this morning had not one but two hairbrushes stuck in the back. There was a knock on the door [...]. I was very interested in seeing a postman at last, but it was Theodora who opened the door, and her enormous hair blocked my view, so I only saw a white-gloved hand reaching toward me, as if through a wild bush growing hairbrushes."
This book contains 13 mysteries, but 24 "solutions" (and a blank fill-in-the letters type as a 25th), but only 13 actually line up with the mysteries presented (at the end of each mystery, readers are directed to the corresponding solution/page number). This is undoubtedly a mystery we are meant to solve ourselves, but I've only finished reading the book today, and haven't had time to come up with a proper theory.
This book doesn't add to the storyline of "All the Wrong Questions" (in any way that I can see), but it's a delight to spend more time in this world with familiar characters. Overall, this was a great book to tide me over until "Shouldn't You Be in School?" comes out September 30, 2014. -
I've made no secret of my love of Lemony Snicket and this book does nothing to lessen that love.
This book takes place within the larger Lemony Snicket series of "All The Wrong Questions", a prequel series to "Series of Unfortunate Events".
Daniel Handler keeps to the noir tone of the current series in this collection of 13 different mysteries that the reader has to try and figure out based on the short story they've read and then flip to the back to read the answer. Anyone who has ever read Encyclopedia Brown should feel right at home here and I do.
In fact, this book makes my heart swell with so much love and nostalgia!
Not to mention that I just love spending time with Lemony Snicket, one of the best characters in literature!
There I've said it! -
The reason this is three stars instead of four is that I listened to the audiobook instead of reading the hard copy. There's nothing wrong with the audiobook--it's read by a cast of narrators that would top the all star list of any hipster parent (I'm identifying you as a hipster parent if you can immediately recognize the voices of Ira Glass, Sarah Vowell, Rachel Maddow, and Terry Gross). And it's really fun to listen to Vowell, Gross, and the rest, but it would have been nicer to also see the adorable drawings by Seth (just Seth) interspersed throughout the stories.
Another drawback to having only the audiobook is that the conclusion to each of the mysterious incidents are separated from the ends of each story ("for security reasons"), and I would have loved to immediately flip to the end of the book after each story; but I had to wait. And by the time I got to the conclusions, I didn't have each story fresh in my mind.
Now, the terrific word play, Snicket snarkiness, and modern day boy detective genre are a joy to read. But I would recommend that you get the audiobook and the hard copy so that if you're reading it with a child, you and your little one can read along and look at the pictures as the terrific cast of narrators reads the stories. This would be especially beneficial since there are so many vocabulary nuggets that are explained in contextual asides--for young readers it would be great to see the words typed out and hear them out loud. And if you're reading it alone, just as an adult who loves Snicket stories, then you would have the fun of the illustrations and listening to Terry Gross read a story about a kidnapped newt. It's even better than you can imagine. -
I'm such a sucker for puzzle/mystery books. Probably the #1 reason why I love Lemony Snicket so much. But the conundrum I could not crack for the life of me was: WHY ARE THERE 26 SOLUTIONS AND ONLY 13 MYSTERIES?? The extra 13 solutions have slight correlations to the other 13, but they make absolutely no sense without any context. It's driving me crazy. Who would've thunk that I would spend two days incessantly poring over a children's puzzle book to the point of joining a Lemony Snicket fan forum
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I loved this so much! I'm glad that Mr. Snicket decided to write this. :) I will say that I think it would be a good idea to read at least the first book in the All The Wrong Questions series... maybe even the second book too, before reading this. I think you'll enjoy it more, because you'll go into it knowing the characters already and their quirky personalities. The format of this book was so great! It really added to the reading experience.
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I love Lemony Snicket. I love everything he writes, and his style of writing. Although this book is formatted differently, I found that it still had the essence of Lemony Snicket in there. 13 Suspicious Incidents is literally just that. A book about 13 incidents that Snicket resolves very quickly. It's enjoyable, and fun, and quirky.
The book reminded me a little bit of those Goosebumps books with alternative endings in the sense that to read the ending and how the mystery was solved Snicket tells you to go to (xx page) to find out what happened, allowing you to take a jab at solving it yourself before reading who the real culprit is.
It's a very quick read, and I thought it was a nice intermission from the series All the Wrong Questions. Sort of like those short Pixar films played before a Disney movie. -
Ok I feel stupid, I have two masters degrees and yet reading the endings of these stories I feel like I was missing something hidden away in this children's book. I have to say I am very fond of this series by Lemony Snickett, I just love all the minor characters in Stained by the Sea, especially their punk librarian. This book has wonderful quotations about librarians and lots of book related humour. The mysteries are all short and some are more obvious than others but as I said, I still feel like I'm missing something. But I did really enjoy this. It's quirky and entertaining in all the right ways.
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It's a good thing I always read books cover to cover.
Lemony Snicket, you're sly, but this volunteer is on to you!
Well, except for the Last Word. I didn't understand that nonsense.
Read this in one sitting. Loved the mini mysteries and the strangeness of Stain'd by the Sea's inhabitants. Loved the one which getting a good night's sleep figured prominently. Loved the hints of the VFD. -
➳ 5 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚
this was so much fun and the way the conclusions are in a separate file in the back is just so snicket i can’t—
but this is just a fun companion to the all the wrong questions series and i enjoy occasionally opening it and rereading one of the mini mysteries 🤭
୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆ -
I LOVE Lemony Snicket. This isn't news. I love his clever wordplay and melancholy noir Jr aesthetic and his wild literary allusions.
13 Suspicious Incidents is great because it's 13 Encyclopedia Brown-style mini-mysteries, so it's mostly just pure, unconcentrated Snicket style without any big sweeping conspiracies. I laughed out loud several times while reading this, and I think I successfully guessed 2 of the 13 mysteries. (I'm not good at mysteries.)
I'm kind of mad that I started reading the print version before learning that the audio is read by a bunch of nerds I love, including Ira Glass, Sarah Vowell, and Rachel Maddow?? What is happening?? I might have to revisit this one on audio at some date in the future. -
Awww I love this book a lot!! It has 13 mysteries/puzzles setting in Stain'd by the Sea, the mysterious town where Lemony Snicket "All The Wrong Questions" series took place. Since I don't follow the series, this book became some sort of introduction for me, and I enjoyed it so much. The mysteries are short, with a short explanation at the back of the book. It reminds me of old mystery books for kids, where we can guess the solutions and check out the answers at the end of the book. This is also a cool intro for kids who would like to delve into mystery genre. I think I will try this with Yofel one day.
Also - now I am curious with the series and will definitely read the books!! -
These 13 short stories are further evidence that Lemony Snicket's All the Wrong Questions series is ever bit as much subversive fun as A Series of Unfortunate Events - if not more so. I'm starting to think the solo adventures of juvenile Snicket in the village of Stain'd-by-the-Sea are my favorite brainchild of Daniel Handler thus far.
That village librarian Dashiell Qwerty has become yet another of my fictional boyfriends does not hurt the case.
The mysteries are fun. Some of them are fairly obvious, but overall they remind me of a junior version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's best work. That they allow us yet another opportunity to interact with Stain'd-by-the-Sea's quirky residents is yet another point in this book's favor.
Yet those who haven't read
Who Could That Be At This Hour? and
When Did You See Her Last? can still enjoy this book as a stand-alone. Any young reader who likes Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the other half-grown sleuths of literature will find this volume delightful, whether or not they've read Snicket before.
I purchased this hardcover at Barnes and Noble with my own funds and was not obligated to review it in any way. I'm simply a Lemony Snicket fan. -
"It is better to dive into a shark tank than into a family argument."
I've missed Snicket and his "[...] is a word which means..." LOL! I've enjoyed some of 13 incidents and learned about Bellerophon! ☺ -
Solve mini mysteries along with Lemony Snicket during his stay in Stain'd-By-The-Sea.
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The information contained herein is secret and important, meant only for members of our organization. If you are not a member of our organization, please put this down, as it is neither secret nor important and therefore will not interest you.
Witajcie w V.F.D.! Po lewej stronie znajdziecie przekąski, a po prawej stoi Lemony, który utrzymuje wszystko w sekrecie, tak jakby wasze własne życie od tego zależało. Frustrująca postawa towarzyska, ale może... zależy?
W File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents wracamy do miasteczka Stain'd-by-the-Sea, by, tak, dobrze myślicie, znaleźć rozwiązanie dla 13 podejrzanych zdarzeń. Swoją drogą, liczba 13 jest bardzo znacząca dla twórczości Snicketa, co dostrzeże każde czujne oko.
Ta seria krótkich opowiadań ma o wiele lżejszy klimat niż siostrzane All The Wrong Questions;; zapominając na chwilę o złowrogim Hangfire, wracamy do ukochanych bohaterów i poznajemy kolejne, cały katalog niesamowitych postaci zamieszkujących równie wyjątkowe miasto. Rozwiązujemy zagadki dotyczące zadziwiających zdarzeń; niektóre dałam radę sama rozgryźć, a inne rozwiązania całkowicie mnie zaskoczyły. Wszystkie w ciekawy sposób przedstawiają ludzkie knowania i sposób przetrwania; z pewnością przynoszą czytelnikowi uśmiech. Ostatnia opowiastka Figure in Fog dokonuje refleksji nad wpływem Snicketa na miasteczko, wzajemnym postrzeganiem się Lemony'ego i mieszkańców.
Rzuciło mi się w oczy wątek, którego nie rozwinęłam poprzednio. Oczywiście, wspominałam, że postacie dziecięce w All The Wrong Questions, mierząc się z absurdalnym zachowaniem dorosłych, przejmują na siebie całą odpowiedzialność, również za ratowanie ich małego świata. Jednak nie zwróciłam uwagi na to, że większość dzieci w miasteczku Stain'd-by-the-Sea jest przez rodziców porzucona. Matki i ojcowie albo wyruszają w świat w poszukiwaniu lepszych warunków bytu i obiecują, że jeszcze po dzieci wrócą (na przykładzie Moxie Mallahan dobitnie widzimy, że te słowa nie są spełniane), albo pogrążają się w ponurej rzeczywistości opuszczonego miasta oraz depresji, zaniedbując drastycznie swoje pociechy. Powierzają im odpowiedzialność za dobrobyt materialny i ich własne życie. Nie jestem wielkim znawcą historii, ale potrafię sobie wyobrazić podobne historie na świecie, zwłaszcza podczas kryzysów gospodarczych, i jest to dla mnie bardzo ciekawe, jak Daniel Handler wpisał to w lore. Ten motyw idealnie wpisuje się w to, czego doświadczamy w Serii Niefortunnych Zdarzeń.
A no właśnie. Kolejny rozdział uniwersum Snicketa zamknięty, a ja wracam do serii, która... w najmniej oczekiwany sposób tak wpłynęła na mnie i moje dziecięce lęki.
Whether or not you believe in them, demons are not the only reasonable explanation for anything. By all accounts, demons are not reasonable at all. In fact, in some circumstances "reasonable" is a word which means "not a demon." -
On a lil Lemony Snicket kick. Another fun read that’s full of the typical banter in the authors book, cool illustrations in the chapters, and just outright cool stories to follow along. The book is made up of thirteen different mysteries in the town where Lemony Snicket is living. Each mystery is its own little short story, where it’s included with an illustration and then a note about the answer to the mystery on a seperate page. The short stories range from golden nails, bricks through windows, stolen spoons, joyrides in sports cars, and much more. Each short story is unique and has a fun little twist to it. The book as a whole is just fun to read!
My favorite part about it is when Lemony Snicket says, “I don’t know why anyone likes sledding in the first place. Life goes downhill enough without speeding the process along.”
The book is based when Lemony is younger, he’s still in VFD training when this book takes place. So it’s a cool read and addition to the Lemony Snicket world. (And yes I know Lemony is a made up person and a pseudonym for the author). But it’s still definitely a fun lil read to check out! -
GAH I LOVE LEMONY SNICKET! This was a 2.5 book, set in between book two and three and it's just a little collection of Lemony adventures in Stain'd. All my favorite characters, all ,y least favorite characters and SPOILER, Lemington at the end. I will go down with this ship. Now tobook has Lemons mystery, all the questions from ATWQ and the enigma, a word which here means something completely mysterious, like eating pancakes without whipped cream, entwined into the city Stain'd-by-the-sea. Our favorite teenage sass king, Lemony is so hilarious in this book, I told my whole family. Sure enough, they didn't care. But that's fine because I have friends! Oh wait- NO ONE I KNOW HAS READ THIS BOOK! CAN SOMEONE READ ALL THE WRING QUESTIONS?? YOU WON'T REGRET IT!
Alright bookworms, that's my review.
Sincerely, me, a slightly obsessive queen who's fallen in love with too many fictional characters -
This book was meh. I didn’t realize this was a book in the middle of the series until halfway through the book, but I’m not gonna read the other books in the series, so I’m not taking points for having an incomplete ending and references to a few things that were probably in other books. One thing I don’t understand is that in Sub File B, there are parts that have nothing to do with this book. They might be in correspondence with the other books, but why is it being included in this book then? That doesn’t make sense!! I was able to figure the answer out to most of the mysteries, and it was kind of predictable. The one with the walkie talkie and the spy got me excited, but of course it had a boring end. This was an overall boring book for me, but I do understand that it was meant for a younger age group. The three stars is just my personal opinion, but if I was younger I might have given it 3.5 stars. Thanks for taking the time to read my review!!
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This book was so much fun to read!
Something I’m confused about is why there was 13 stories but 26 conclusions, also the last story doesn’t get concluded, I think I’m supposed to figure it out some how but I’m very confused.
This book was very good though! 5/5 ⭐️ I love this author and I want to read all his books! -
This is a throwback to kids mystery books where you read a short mystery story, try to figure out what happened for yourself, then flip to the back of the book to read the answer. I loved those when I was a kid, but that format just didn't work as an audiobook.
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AMO esta serie, amo a este autor, amo su forma de escribir, los guiños a los lectores de todas las edades, su visión del mundo de los adultos, todo!
Estos 13 “incidentes sospechosos” tienen sus altos y bajos, no son todos obvios y no son todos complicados. Hay algunos en donde la respuesta la puede deducir el propio lector y comprobarla leyendo las resoluciones en las páginas posteriores, otros son un poco más complicados, y su resolución sorprende, aunque sean sencillas o poco convincentes. Sin embargo, el encanto de este libro, que es parte de una serie infantil (no hay que olvidarlo), son los personajes, tanto los que vienen de la serie principal (como el bibliotecario Qwerty, la periodista Moxie o el cocinero Hix) como los nuevos personajes, que probablemente sólo veamos en estas historias. Muchos de ellos son niños que, por extrañas circunstancias, no tienen a sus padres con ellos y necesitan resolver un misterio. En estos casos se disfruta mucho la visión de los niños sobre los problemas de los adultos, la forma en que los adultos minimizan los problemas de los niños o los engaños con los que los adultos intentan engañar a los pequeños. En otros casos, son adultos los que tienen que resolver misterios, y el encanto está en lo sencillas que son las explicaciones que los adultos no pudieron ver por estar llenos de preconceptos.
Otro punto fuerte de estos libros son los guiños al lector. Como lo expliqué antes, la visión del mundo de los adultos es un guiño constante entre autor y lector. Pero también hay otros guiños que se disfrutan mucho, como las referencias a libros infantiles que, sin mencionar nunca el nombre del libro, son fáciles de reconocer y son analizados brutalmente, por ejemplo, voy a poner un par de frases que, espero, sepan reconocer (y con las cuales estoy totalmente de acuerdo y cuando las leí me quedé encantada de encontrar exactamente lo que pienso de estos libros….)
I was in my favorite seat in the library, but it wasn’t helping me like the book any better. It was a book people kept putting in my hands and telling me I was going to love, the way the doctor tells you the needle won’t hurt a bit. The book began the way it always began before I gave up on it: with a man carrying around a drawing of a snake that had just eaten, and asking people what they thought of it. I thought it was no way to start up a conversation.
“I hope your demon hunt went better than my reading,” he said. “This book was just spoiled by the arrival of Santa Claus.”
Si captaron las referencias, y si piensan lo mismo, por favor compartan sus pensamientos en los comentarios. Por lo menos gracias a Lemony he descubierto que no soy la única que piensa eso de estos dos libros clásicos.
Otra cosa que amo de estos libros, es la forma de escribir del autor, tengo los libros de esta serie llenos de post-it. Yo creo que cuando relea la serie anterior voy a tener que hacer lo mismo (en ese entonces no marcaba las frases…). Estas son algunas de mis favoritas:
The sky was dark blue twilight, pretty to look at but lonely to walk under.
If you look someone in the eyes, really look at them, you are much less likely to hit them.
- “What kind of funny?” I asked her. “Funny like a clown onstage? Or funny like a clown hanging around the entrance to a bank?”
- “The bank one.”
It’s an important skill to know when not to say anything. It’s not a skill came naturally to me then, nor does it come naturally now, nor do I expect it to come naturally to me until I am dead, when I will very, very good at it.
En resúmen, es un libro genial, tanto como para los que siguen la serie como para los que no. Incluso hasta me animo a decir que pueden leer este libro sin pasar por la serie principal, ya que se van conociendo los personajes con el paso de las páginas, aunque tienen su encanto si hemos conocido el pueblo y sus misterios antes. A mi me encanta este autor y espero que la conclusión de esta serie, que llega en septiembre, esté a la altura de la genialidad que he leído en todos los libros de esta serie. -
The first time I laughed out loud was sometime before we even got out of South Carolina. The introduction to this book is pretty similar to this preview on the back: "Please find herein thirteen (13) cases investigated by Lemony Snicket during his apprenticeship in the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Every detail of his inquiries into local kidnappings, supernatural occurences, violent vandalism, and food theft has been described and catalogued in this recording. For security reasons, the conclusions to these suspicious incidents have been carefully hidden. You can find them easily on the last CD. If you are not a member of our secret organization, hello there. This is a blank audiobook which you shouldn't listen to."
Just the sort of humor my family loves. We all four laughed through North Carolina and on into Tennessee. For sure, lots went over my 7-year-old's head. And I know my 12-year-old probably missed some here and there, too. But to me, that makes the writing even richer, the layers that offer something for every reader (listener).
These 13 short stories are sort of like the old Encyclopedia Brown adventures: read the story, try to figure it out on your own, then go to the end for the solution. But I almost hate to even make the comparison, because the writing here is so much better.
Snicket employs some of his classic methods from Series of Unfortunate Events, such as the wry, interwoven definitions. If you've read that whole series, you'll catch all sorts of overlap in characters, locations, and themes. (My son has, and alerted us every time he heard one.)
Snicket also references the real world with compact gems such as a grocery store called Partial Foods, a cat being treated for narcissism and this asessment of polka music: "There's nothing wrong with being peppy, but polka insists that everyone around you is peppy, too."
His books are packed with literary allusions, too. I think my favorite here was a man named Gary Dorian who was in a mystery connected to a portrait. But I also laughed out loud at an argument between the town's two police officers: "He only *thought* he heard the heart beating."
My husband and I looked at each other, startled, when an old woman began to describe her concerns about her daughter: "There are words for a woman who walks the street late at night. Words like ... insomniac!" We couldn't stop laughing.
And then there's the plain funny stuff, that requires no particular age or experience to enjoy. Lemony goes in to take a bath when his chaperone won't give him privacy to read a secret letter. "Threatening nudity is a powerful way to be left alone."
There's a store that only sells rocking chairs. It's going under because the owner can't think of anything else that would be appropriate to sell at a store called Cozies. Her children suggest blankets, pajamas, bubble bath, photographs of kittens - to no avail.
Lemony's chaperone leaves him alone and promises him a tea cup if he's good while she's gone. Before she leaves, he asks something she doesn't like.
"You sounds like a person who doesn't want a brand-new tea cup," she said to him.
"Most people sound like that," he answered.
With books like this in the world, I can look forward to the hundreds of miles ahead on the road this summer.
Audiobook bonus: thirteen excellent readers are employed here. One of them is Ira Glass! -
If Lemony Snicket & Encyclopedia Brown had a baby, and hopefully they wouldn’t that would be creepy, but anyway if they had an unholy creature that was birthed from that unimaginable mating ritual the product of that sick act would be this book. This is in between books 2 and 3 of the All The Wrong Questions series in chronology, but as far as I can tell nothing here is continuing the story arc. It’s just a short, fun & very funny book full of 13 little mysteries that aren’t that hard to solve (it is a kids book so that’s to be expected).
Compared to his similar books, I kind of have to give it 3 stars. Snicket usually can write a companion book and make it important. The Unauthorized Autobiography and The Beatrice Letters are both interesting reads and offer insight into the ASOUE mysteries. This...well it’s just funny. I probably could have read it in a day if I didn’t watch 6 hours of TV a night. The latter two books I had to reread. You needed to take notes & connect clues back to the main series. I didn’t get that feeling from this one. What was really anticlimactic was that while there are 13 mysteries, there are 26 answers in the back of the book. I didn’t realize this till I was halfway through & when I finished I reread those extra answers expecting some spicy revelations. Something like in Beatrice Letters, when you realize there are actually two Beatrice’s & you have to figure out which one is mentioned in each letter. But that didn’t happen here. Some answers mentioned things that have happened either about the Bombinating Beast, those cryptic drawings of Kit Snicket that show up in the previous two books, some VFD codes & some jokes. But nothing nearly as interesting or complex. Even the last answer, called The Last Word, where you have to fill in the blanks to discover the answer wasn’t that interesting. Or maybe I’m just old, & can’t recall all the little references as easily as I used to. Should I have been keeping another Commonplace Book for this series like I did with ASOUE?
That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable. One thing I’ve noticed about this book (and the series overall) is that Lemony is sarcastic A LOT. I love it, and in this book it’s practically in every other thought or dialogue he has. Sarcastic preteens fit perfectly into a noir-ish world like Stain’d-by-the-Sea, and it balances out the incompetent adults. We seem to be getting less of them as the series goes on, which I am happy about. Their bickering gets a little repetitive. I actually liked the Mitchums this time around because they were used scarcely. Their appearances felt more special and the humor of this twisted family didn’t get nearly as tedious. This book was mostly about the kids who are left behind to basically run the town. It’s like Children of the Corn or something. Except no human sacrifices.
I wouldn’t recommend this unless you just like the Snicket style & want to be a completest, which is why I do this to myself. But if you’re keeping up with All The Wrong Questions it doesn’t hurt to read it just maybe wait until the series is over. It can be a nice surprise for people that don’t want it to end. I kind of wish I did that now actually. Then my nostalgia would have given it 4 stars. -
I loved this so much, I cant wait to read the main series!
I also absolutely LOVE A Series of Unfortunate Events so much, and I loved the Easter eggs from ASOUE in this one! Seeing little Lemony is honestly one of the best things ever. Sorry this review is kind of all over the place but I'm really excited. -
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents follows thirteen short stories that take place in Stain'd-by-the-Sea sometime after/during the events of Book #2 in this series: "When Did You See Her Last?" At first glance, none of them are connected, but I know Lemony Snicket's writing. And I know that having the conclusions to each mystery at the back of the book is no accident. I also know that there is a code hidden in this book - involving the five or so extra endings that don't match any of the stories. And it makes me so sad, because I no longer have the time I used to have to delve totally into the world of Snicket and crack the code. :-(
That being said, this is a very entertaining, quick read for those waiting for Book #3: "Shouldn't You Be in School?" It has Snicket's classic humor, and more weirdness that makes Stain'd-by-the-Sea so much fun, and lots more new - and familiar - characters! I had a lot of fun reading these strange mysteries and trying to solve them before flipping to the back of the book for the solution. The mysteries vary in interest level. Some of them are a little bleh, but most of them are intriguing - and even the bleh ones have a good dose of humor.
I have no doubt that Snicket will tie this book into the others. He has a tendency of doing that. And long-time Snicketeers, you will want to read this because we get to meet some old characters from A Series of Unfortunate Events, like a certain person with a cloud of smoke obscuring his features!!
This is a must for any Snicketeer. -
These cases were really fun! Some were really interesting and hard to guess, others were a bit more obvious, but in all of them we got to see Snicket acting like a true detective now, solving cases here and there and helping everyone out. I also kinda like that there are more endings than cases, it felt very confusing at first, thinking there might be something more to them, but I think they are there just to confuse readers in case you want to skip to see the endings. That way, you won't know if you're reading the correct one or not, which I find rather clever on Snicket part.
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This isn't actually the next installment in the All The Wrong Questions series, but it does take place in the same town and with the same characters. This consists of 13 short stories that allow you to guess the answer. I pretty much buy anything that has Lemony Snicket's name attached to it, because I love everything he writes. I wasn't totally sure what exactly I was in for with this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by it.
I enjoyed the book. It was fun to try and solve the mysteries and I enjoyed seeing the characters that are in All The Wrong Questions and get a little more insight into them. It was the usual brand of Snicket wittiness and humor and I really liked reading it. I enjoyed each of the mysteries and I thought they were all clever and well done. Some of the mysteries were more obvious than others, but I thought they were all fun. It was nice to see some of the old characters (Moxie, Jake Hix, Pip and Squeak, even Stew and his parents), and there were some characters that were new.
This is definitely a good book to read while you wait for the next installment of ATWQ, and it's made me want the third book even more. -
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents: Or, A Study in Stalling and Wandering
There's not much to say about this "insert" into the All the Wrong Questions Series. It's quite pointless and doesn't further any of the story that has been created in the first two volumes. The same charm is there, yes, but so is the same frustration. The "mysteries" are easily (and stupidly) solved. Like COME ON! These incidents are no Agatha Christie capers, that is for sure.
Ultimately, I just felt this was a waste of time to further stall from answering the questions we all want answered. .
The schtick is definitely wearing thin and that's sad because I do love the whimsical Lemony Snicket. Let's just hope he is actually taking us somewhere in these next two volumes.
I doubt it though! -
Remember
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective? (Would he now be called Wikipedia Brown?)
With the solutions to its mysteries to be found at the back of the book (and because this is Snicket, 'misfiled' solutions with no corresponding suspicious incident are also included), this installment in the "All the Wrong Questions" series reminded me of the old series I read as a child, though with the
Dashiell Hammett-tinge of its first two books still intact.
My favorite part was the musing upon communities that disappear: Snicket always has at least one pearl of wisdom for the reader within his silly, snarky oyster shell (or is it a virus?).
