Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Snicket in fine form as a 12-year-old solving noir mystery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Lemony Snicket is just shy of his 13th birthday when he gets in the car of a wild-haired woman who informs him that she'll be his chaperone, and he her apprentice in the shadowy secret organization that readers of Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events will recognize. Together they leave the city and drive to the strange and nearly deserted town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea, where they set about solving the mystery of a stolen statue, encounter all sorts of odd characters, find few they can trust, and realize that evil is in the air.
Is It Any Good?
Fans of the 13-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events will be happy to devour "WHO COULD THAT BE AT THIS HOUR," the first book in a four-part Lemony Snicket series called All the Wrong Questions. Unlike in the previous series, the style of this fictional autobiographical account, narrated by Snicket, isn't gothic but noir -- a word that here means "full of lies, corruption, and almost no one the young protagonist -- or the reader -- can trust." And Snicket isn't a world-weary grown-up but a 12-year-old kid.
The atmospheric, stylized blue-black-and-white illustrations by Canadian illustrator Seth help set the mood and add to the fun. And there's plenty of Snicket's trademark worldplay, Dickensian character names, and literary allusions (including to his own Unfortunate Events series), as well. Readers will enjoy finding out what led Snicket to become the man he did.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes this mystery fun. Is it the spooky noir atmosphere? The oddball characters? Lemony Snicket's voice?
How does "Who Could That Be at This Hour?"" compare with the books in A Series of Unfortunate Events? Do you like it as much?
How is Lemony Snicket different from a typical kid detective?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Seth
- Genre : Mystery
- Topics : Adventures , Book Characters , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Animals ( Ocean Creatures )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
- Publication date : October 23, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 261
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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