Almost-thirteen year old Lemony Snicket just graduated from his training at a secret
organization, and for his apprenticeship, planned to steal an artifact from a museum
with his trusted associate. However, things didn't go as planned, and instead he was
taken to a fading town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, where he and his incompetent
chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, have to solve a mystery regarding an allegedly stolen
statue. The problem? The statue may not have been stolen to begin with. Moxie
Mallahan, a young journalist and resident of Stain’d-by-the-Sea, tells him that her
family had owned the statue for generations, and it was still in her home. Together,
Snicket and Moxie become friends, cook pasta, break into basements, and try to solve
the mysteries surrounding the town.
A little over a year ago, I checked out the series from the library, and I sat on my bed,
and I read this whole book in one sitting. I’ve reread the series six or seven times since,
and each time, I’ve noticed something new. I love it so much, imagine I’m writing this
review in all caps. THIS BOOK IS AWESOME AND YOU SHOULD TOTALLY READ IT!!
While every part of this book is wonderful, the best part has to be the characters. They
feel so real and relatable, and you can’t help but love Snicket’s fun relationships. I think
everyone has known an S. Theodora Markson -- a strict authority figure with a grudge
against you, and who has no idea what she’s doing.
“The situation is more complicated than you understand or than I am in a position to
explain to you under the present circumstances.”
“Under the present circumstances,” I repeated. “You mean, right now?”
“Of course that’s what I mean.”
“If we’re in a great hurry, why didn’t you just say ‘right now’?”
She reached across my lap and pushed open the door. “Get out,” she said.
“What?”
“I will not be spoken to this way. Your predecessor, the young man who worked under
me before you, he never spoke to me this way. Never. Get out.”
The witty writing style combined with the characters themselves makes for some very
fun dialogue, and I actually laughed out loud several times while reading it. Snicket’s
internal monologue is also hilarious, and even when the pacing was a little slower, it
more than made up for it.
Another great thing about this book is the atmosphere. You can definitely feel how it
was based off and parodies old noir literature. Snicket would be right at home in a black
and white movie, monologuing in the rain as soft jazz plays in the background.
(Actually, I think there’s a scene just like that in the series!) The dry humor, quips, and
character tropes are very reminiscent of film noirs.
Anyways, I love it, I love it, I love it. The atmosphere, characters, setting, dynamic, and
everything else is all top-notch. Whether you’ve read A Series of Unfortunate Events
or not, this book is a delight from start to finish.