Do you smell smoke? Young apprentice Lemony Snicket is investigating a case of arson but soon finds himself enveloped in the ever-increasing mystery that haunts the town of Stain’d-by-the-Sea.
Who is setting the fires? What secrets are hidden in the Department of Education? Why are so many schoolchildren in danger? Is it all the work of the notorious villain Hangfire? How could you even ask that? What kind of education have you had?
Maybe you should be in school...
I read the first two instalments of All The Wrong Questions perhaps over a year ago and I was excited to finally sink my teeth into the third novel. However, whilst I still enjoyed the book, it was disappointing in comparison to the earlier two.
The characters have always been difficult for me with this series. Whilst Lemony is just about verging on relatable, he talks in a way that is very mature and I find it easy to think that he is thirty as opposed to his true meagre age of thirteen. This can lead to him becoming easily alienated from the reader. The other characters however do not fare nearly as well. S. Theodora Markson, for starters, is an incredibly irritating character. She's irrevocably stupid and acts more like a child than Lemony does. All of the others are complete throwaways and I can barely tell the difference between them, let alone form some sort of connection.
The plot, however, does have a lot more merit than those who drive it. Whilst relatively chaotic, thanks to the odd narration, it was at least interesting and there were plenty of exciting twists and turns.
If anything this book certainly makes for a good mystery novel, although the lack of resolution is becoming increasingly frustrating, and it's a certain shame that the characters haven't been better developed.
Finally, as always, I'd love to hear all your opinions. Have you read this book? If so, what do you think? Do you have any suggestions for other good books? Don't be a stranger!
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