Book Review: Who Could That Be at This Hour?

When I was a young cog-ling, I had a borderline-creepy-obsessive love for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. In fact, it was in withdrawal after the end of the series that I found steampunk as a whole--looking for something similar to read. Even as I outgrew the books, some repressed part of my mind has always wished that Mr. Snicket/Daniel Handler would write something for my own age group.

Why We Broke Up came out around a year ago, and I eagerly devoured the elegant, poetry-like writing, only to turn the final page with a sense of disappointment  Sure, it was a very good work of ultra-realism, but I couldn't help but wonder a few things: Where are the mysterious fires? Where are the secret organisations? Where's the freaking plot? Isn't there supposed to be something more interesting than an egotistical jock cheating on his girlfriend? And for that matter, what are hippies doing in the twenty-first century?

 Thus, when I first saw Who Could That be at This Hour? I actually passed it by, figuring I'd just wait for it to come out in libraries. Sure, it looked like it had a plot, but it also looked like a book to childish for I, a self-conscious teenager, to be purchasing in public. If not for the generosity of a friend's Christmas gifts, I wouldn't have discovered this little pile of awesomeness. I warn you now that this review will be very much biased, as I read it in a joyous state of nostalgia.

The Plot:
Lemony Snicket, a twelve year old boy in training for a rather mysterious organisation, is dispatched to a small seaside town to investigate the apparent theft of a small statue, which, by the way, is described as resembling a rather vicious seahorse. But, he soon comes to wonder, is it really a theft? If not, why would such an incident be faked, and who, in such a secretive little town, can be trusted? *cue dramatic music*

The Good Stuff:
Not only did it turn out to be a book by my favorite childhood author, but an actually prequel to my favorite childhood book series. The quirky writing and glorious historical anachronisms are indeed left in place, with the overall mood being changed to more of a film-noir-esque mystery. One will discover such small details as gramophones, typewriters, and emo librarians all in one book.

For those who where left wondering at the end of ASOUE, some of the dangling questions left over from that do seem to be moving towards answers. Even so, just about every page left me guessing about some new mystery or another. By no means was this plot even remotely predictable.

The Bad Stuff:
There wasn't really anything I found unbearably annoying about this book, but, once again, I'm most definitely biased.

The readers of this book will be required to create their own suspension of disbelief--it isn't really science fiction or fantasy, but there are plenty of outrageous and silly details that could detract from the realism, and may, to readers who are uncreative and/or not raised on Snicket's work may find them distracting.

If I may nit-pick, I will say that I would have liked to see more of the characters from A Series of Unfortunate Events. The book will stand just fine on its own, but as an avid reader of its companion series, I kept wishing more more of the old characters I know and love to come popping up, only to find, for the most part, passing mentions of a few familiar names.

On a bigger note, the ending was just plain strange. The plot built up tremendously, but, after looking forward to an epic confrontation with the mysterious villain, I found myself finishing the book without really encountering anything that seemed like a marked climax. Maybe there was one and I just didn't notice--which is entirely possible, knowing myself--but I felt a little cheated at its absence.

The Verdict:
Yes, it did, in fact, turn out to be a kids' book--but a damn good one. Reading it brought back plenty of good memories for me, but even if you haven't read ASOUE, I think it's worthwhile to give it a read, since, on the whole, it's a fun and exciting mystery story. There is, of course, a chance that the latter books of this series will eventually jump the shark into the zombie-like state of repetition that seems to happen when authors do the same thing for too long.  As of right now, however, it doesn't seem to be heading in that direction, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel.