Review: Who Could That Be At This Hour? (All The Wrong Questions, #1)

OH MY SNICKET. 

The first in a new 'All The Wrong Questions' Series, "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" follows the account of a young Lemony to a town called Stain'd-by-the-Sea which is surrounded by a waterless sea and a treeless forest.
We are treated to an adventure surrounding the reclaiming of a not-actually-stolen, priceless (as in, it is worth nothing) object.

Lemony, who is a 13 year old apprentice to the last-in-the-ranks spy S. Theodora Markson, must figure out the mystery of this nothing town while mysteriously trying to contact his ever mysterious, er, contact.
I don't think there is a simple way to explain, the only way I can sufficiently describe this book is to turn a noun into an adjective;
Snickety. A word which here means, to be a lot like Snicket.

I was both a little worried and ridiculously excited when I found out Snicket was releasing a four part series autobiography. I always am when it comes to an author I have such a deep love for, I was only a little worried when I discovered it is a sort of prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events.
I say sort of because there are a few references to the Baudelaire stories; the continual appearance of things that look like question marks and of course, the organisation Lemony and Markson work for is conveniently unnamed. One can only assume it is the ever elusive VFD.

In a true Snicket fashion, there is mystery shrouded in confusion, wrapped in mystery and topped with a grim setting- and just for good measure, sprinkled with a generous helping of mystery. There are laugh out loud moments, the usual wonderful writing and wordplay; and a plot so topsy turvy it will probably give you a touch of motion sickness. Not to mention the plethora of bizarre and wonderful characters.
It really is, wonderfully, torturously; ridiculously... Snickety.
I absolutely cannot wait for the next in the series to arrive and if it's anything like ASOUE it can only get better from here. I'd ask when it's set to arrive, but I fear that might be the wrong question; so until then, I'll resist the urge to overturn a table and cry helplessly out of frustration.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

If you're not well versed in the world of Lemony Snicket, I suggest you become so. Immediately. There are very few authors out there who can entertain and infuriate you so well. You won't be disappointed,  I promise.  Luckily, (or should I say unluckily) 'The Bad Beginning', the first in A Series of Unfortunate Events is available online and absolutely free! You can find it here.

Happy Reading!