File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents

Kid-detective Lemony Snicket treats us to thirteen short mysteries (missing newt, ghostly appearance, series of break-ins) in which he leaves readers poised just before the reveal, with a chance to solve the mystery themselves before they flip to the back of the book. (It's Encyclopedia Brown for Snicket-Hipsters.) The actual puzzles are dandy, and the format is ideal for the author's comic avalanche.

The fictional kid detective known as Lemony Snicket, introduced in "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" (rev. 1/13), is still living in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. In this collection he treats us to thirteen short mysteries (missing newt, ghostly appearance, series of break-ins) in which he leaves readers poised just before the reveal, with a chance to solve the mystery themselves before they flip to the back of the book to be impressed by the workings of Snicket's little gray cells. This is Encyclopedia Brown for Snicket-Hipsters, and Snicket (the writer) pays respectful homage to his tradition by naming the veterinarians in town the Doctors Sobol. The actual puzzles are dandy, and the format is ideal for the author's approach of comic avalanche. (Sometimes ten pages is all one can take at a sitting.) Bonuses include searching for weird details in Seth's illustrations and trying to identify the many sly references to books and movies: "Only a dozen sledders competed in this year's race down Homily Hill for the Ethan Frome Festival. Organizers said attendance at the auction was also a disappointment, despite such distinguished items as an oil painting of Gary Dorian, Stain'd-by-the-Sea's famed cosmetician." A surprisingly lyrical final chapter is steeped in noirish melancholy. sarah ellis