"When Did You See Her Last?"

All the Wrong Questions #2

by Lemony Snicket

Before the Baudelaires became orphans, before he encountered A Series of Unfortunate Events, even before the invention of Netflix, Lemony Snicket was a boy discovering the mysteries of the world. I should have asked the question "How could someone who was missing be in two places at once?" Instead, I asked the wrong question -- four wrong questions, more or less. This is the account of the second. In the fading town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea, young apprentice Lemony Snicket has a new case to solve when he and his chaperone are hired to find a missing girl. Is the girl a runaway? Or was she kidnapped? Was she seen last at the grocery store? Or could she have stopped at the diner? Is it really any of your business? These are All The Wrong Questions.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Audiobook, Humor

285 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2013

About the author

Lemony Snicket had an unusual education and a perplexing youth and now endures a despondent adulthood. His previous published works include the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Composer is Dead, and 13 Words. His new series is All The Wrong Questions.

For A Series of Unfortunate Events:
www.lemonysnicket.com

For All The Wrong Questions:
www.lemonysnicketlibrary.com

Reviews

[Bryan Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Of course you can trust me - we read the same books."

I can never get enough of the Snicket world and perspective. He captures so perfectly the child's view of adults as know-nothings who just get in the way, and his characters achieve the right mixture of innocence and world-weariness that define gifted children.

Aside from the trademark Snicket tone, I preferred the plotting of this book to the first in this series, and I enjoyed some added allusions to A Series of Unfortunate Events. This one didn't quite overcome my main criticism of the last book, that it doesn't settle into the noir genre as completely as I think was intended; the genre of Children's Book comes on a little too strong at times, leaving the hardboiled trappings behind more than I'd like. But that's only a concern when looking back -- I certainly didn't want to put it down at any point while I was reading it.

[Leah Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

‪I am 26 years old, and just now realizing that my sense of humor was very largely developed at age 10 from Lemony Snicket novels

[Brooke Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Follow-up to the fun and funny Who Could That Be at This Hour? , I expected to love this just as much as its five-star predecessor. However, I sadly ended up very, very disappointed.

This book reads more like someone trying to impersonate Lemony Snicket's writing style, which takes away mostly everything that makes his books so enjoyable. Rather than quick quips to make you laugh, this book drags you on what feels like a never-ending ride of unfunny repetition.

I hate to review a child's book poorly, because that's what it is, after all: a kid's story. But as somebody who enjoys these books, I was highly disappointed in the quality of this one. I don't think I'll be finishing the series.

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[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate the fact that I read these books right when they come out and then have to wait an ENTIRE YEAR for the next one. *pouts* How can you leave me hanging like that, Snicket?

The only unpleasant thing about this book is that I must wait another whole year to find out what happens next. The writing is witty, the characters are the sort of people that I want to be friends with, and the plot is interesting, in a convoluted way. I love this series because it answers so many questions about 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.' However, it brings up just as many new ones as it answers, so perhaps that is not such bonus.

One question, whether it is the right one or the wrong one: How did this Lemony Snicket, a clever, optimistic boy, grow up to be the depressed, hopeless man we see in ASOUE? I'm not sure I want to find out.


Reread: 11/10/15 Still awesome.

[Jesse (JesseTheReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is turning out to be super fun! The characters are hilarious and quirky and the plot is mysterious and exciting. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. :)

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lemony Snicket writes himself as a kid investigator looking into a series of mysteries involving a sinister secret society. The banter is sharp and it involves a lot of word play. The tone is dark but not overbearing. You never feel that the kids are in mortal danger. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience.

[Emily Letras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this series is certainly more obtuse than A Series of Unfortunate Events, I'm going to keep reading, because I just love Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket's writing style. And I must admit, I enjoyed this book more than Who Could That Be At This Hour. I'm hoping that this series ends up being the prequel series to A Series of Unfortunate Events or that they otherwise dovetail in some way. Here are some of my favorite quotations from this book: "We were more like jigsaw pieces, each of us parts of the same big picture. There are people like this wherever you go. They are part of the same mystery as you are, but you can't quite tell how you fit together. The world is a puzzle, and we cannot solve it alone" (pg. 142). "A laugh is harder to swallow whole than a honeydew melon. Her mouth twisted every which way, and her eyes flitted madly as she looked everywhere but at me...We waited until it was safe to open up the laugh, and then we shared it" (pg. 194). "Being curious is the most important part of being a journalist. It might be the most important part of being anything" (pg. 262).

[Helen Praspro · Rating 4 out of 5]

""-فکر می کردم جنگ چیز ساده ایه. یه طرف آدمهای خوبن یه طرف آدمهای بد. اما هرچی بیشتر میخونم گیج تر میشم
+فکر کنم حقیقت تمام جنگ ها همینه.""
از این طوری که لمونی اسنیکت همه حرفا رو میزنه خیلی خوشم میاد
= )
تا آخر کتاب صبر کنید، تا یه سورپرایزِ "ماجراهای ناگوار" گونه ببینید!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Lemony goodness. I’m really enjoying this series.

[Ilenia Zodiaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancora meglio del primo.
"Non c'è realtà che abbia il potere di dissipare un sogno"

[Kon R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I flew through this thing in only a couple of hours and then did some research in order to prep for this review. In my first review, I asked whether this is a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events and, in fact, it is. That makes sense, with the author being a character in both series. Well, what other connections does this have? Seems the secret organization Lemony works for is the infamous V.F.D. we have heard so much about, but we still don't know the first thing about it.

It's obvious that mysteries get the reader interested and good ol' Snicket wants us to be interested until the last page of the last book because we never get the answers we so desperately want. He answers small questions and leaves the large ones to our imagination as usual. I don't know why I keep reading these books, but I will continue like the good boy I am.

[Emrys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Lemony Snicket book so far. In which Lemony shows us himself what he's always hinted at before. Children have to stand up, use their curiosity, find their strength, stop listening to arbitrary adults. If they work smarter and work together children can save the day and fix the world.

Quotes
p.176 "My father would never do terrible things."
I did not answer. I did not know the man. It seemed to me that every adult did something terrible sooner or later. And every child, I thought, sooner or later becomes an adult. I did not like to think this, so I listened instead to the sounds of the player piano tangling with the sounds of Armstrong Feint's music box.

p.184 I blinked at him and saw him in a new light, a phrase which here means that I no longer thought he was harmless. We are all told to ignore bullies. It's something they teach you, and they can teach you anything. It doesn't mean you learn it. It doesn't mean you believe it.One should never ignore bullies. One should stop them.

I read this as an arc.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book series is sooooo good so far. I'm reading this series with my younger brother and sometimes I read ahead of him because throughout the book there's so many things that make you have even more questions than before. Especially when Ellington was pretending to be Cleo Knight. I had so many questions and I was reading so quickly and coming up with my own theories and stuff.

Also, I like ALL of the characters. But, I think Moxie is one of my favorites. And *sigh* Lemony Snicket how could you do this to her?! She's so nice and loyal and she never gets mad at him. And he always ditches her!! Aaahahdejfu

Anyways... yeah this book was pretty good. I still want to know what the S stands for. Oh, also I want to know more about his sister and she got arrested. What?!

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've finally finished one, guys!!!!! Review to come eventually...

Some time later...

"It's good to know who are the bad guys and who are the good guys," Moxie continued, but I shook my head. "It is often said that people do things because they are goo or evil, but in my experience that is not always the case. . . As far as I could tell, people didn't do things because they were good or evil. They did things because they could not think of what else to do . . ."

I read the first book in this series at the beginning of last year because we had been doing a mystery unit in one of my grad classes. I found these while browsing the shelves at my library and thought to myself, "Well Arielle, you loved Series of Unfortunate Events so why not give these a try?" And I did. I am so glad I did. Like his other series, these are books that have enough mysterious things going on that you don't get all the answers to to keep you slightly frustrated but interested enough to obviously keep wanting each new book.

"Serendipity?"
"Serendipity is a happy accident," Qwerty said. In a library, that could mean finding something you didn't know you were looking for." <----as a librarian I FULLY enjoyed that quote (bc it's so true!)

The town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea is a mystery all on its own--even without taking into account it's eccentric residents. I mean a town that flourished because of ink??? And is not pretty much destitute because it has run out and all of the squid have gone away?! Pretty creative premise if you ask me. So between that and the actual mystery of this weird statue that's being stolen, and a father who's gone missing.

She was using the same smile, too. It was a smile I liked. It was a smile that might have meant anything.

By now I've thought long and hard about who exactly I would recommend this to and honestly I think the answer is anyone. Obviously if you love his writing you're going to love these books. The only tricky thing here is age. Mind you these are middle grade books. They're easy to read and use big random words--but always explain them (not that middle grade kids don't know big words but you get what I mean). There definitely were some literary jokes though, that I felt like I appreciated way more as a 25-year-old than I ever would have as a younger person (if I would have caught the sarcasm at all). Either way, a person of any age can get something out of these books and appreciate them for what they are! I'll definitely be picking up the next one soon.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the author, Lemony Snicket, may be a villain.

I'm not 98% sure. He says things like "the world is a puzzle and none of us can solve it alone." (I may not have the quote quite right. I listened to it in audiobook, so instead of writing in the book's margins, I was required to repeat aloud what I wanted to remember. Those audible notes turn out to be particularly difficult to access at a later time, such as now, when I'm writing a review of the villainous (possibly) author, Lemony Snicket. I mean a review of his book, though, in fact, much of this review shall be about the author himself, because I do not want to spoil anything from the book.) He says that as an apprentice, he encouraged other apprentices to find new ways of doing things in an attempt to make the world a better place. As a responsible adult (I assume I am responsible for something at this point, having lived multiple decades), I know that "find new ways of doing things," when said by an apprentice, is a code for "turn to villainy." If there were a better way of doing things, surely adults would have already thought of it (therefore this must be the best of all possible worlds).

The world Mr. Snicket so politely describes from his days down in Stained by the Sea, is full of melancholy (which here means a type of sadness, though depending on your age and musical habits, it may make you think of babies). The world he describes is not right, which is not right because adults have already made this the best of all possible worlds (see a sentence in some previous paragraph).

In conclusion, this Mr. Snicket is clearly a possible villain. That's on the one hand. On another hand, he writes stories full of biting fish and mystery and surprises and clever characters and a good deal of wisdom (though possibly villainous wisdom). On the last and final hand, he is not an actual detective, for he is just poking things to see what happens and then trying to understand the puzzles he finds. Despite the fact that this is the way things end up being understood, we should not be talking that way and so his book should be censored, as should all previous and future books of his (after I have read the future ones, I mean). In fact, all writings about this book series -- all reviews, advertisements, and private conversations -- should also be censored so that all of the impressionable and the unimpressionable public should not be exposed to these thoughts that I delight to read.

Yes, possibly a villain.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is almost as good as the first book in the series. Almost. It still has the trademark Snicket manipulation of language, the overall pessimism, and the generally useless if (sometimes) well-meaning adults. But the middle section of the book feels stretched out. This is a 370 page book that probably could have been 300 pages. And since the Big Bad of the series was revealed in the previous book, there's no real suspense. Of course he's involved in this mystery! However, there are mysteries within mysteries, the small, strange questions that made me love and get addicted to A Series of Unfortunate Events.

[Lucas Fogaça · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essa série é uma das mais divertidas, Snicket é sarcástico e inteligente o tempo todo. Não sei porque demorei 2 anos e meio pra continuar, mas certamente não vou levar o mesmo tempo pra pegar o próximo.

[مسیح بی شفا · Rating 3 out of 5]

نسبت به کتاب قبلی، خیلی خیلی بهتر بود. اشارات به جهان لمونی اسنیکت بیش‌تر شده و کتاب تونسته لمونی اسنیکتی‌تر پیش بره. هرچند هنوز هم در برابر بچه‌های بدشانس، جذابیت خیلی کمتری داره.

[Lea Sprenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish someone had told me how hooked I was going to be with this books. Well... I guess is too late now.

Goodbye sleep, welcome Speed.

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

➳ 5 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

╰┈➤ ”anyone who thinks the pen is mightier than the sword has not been stabbed with both.”

i’m enjoying this series so much! cleo was such an interesting addition and the story really starts to pick up while still feeling very mysterious and snicket-like

and i live for the subtle appearances of asoue characters but i’m also really enjoying these new characters 👌 and i need to do a reread soon because it’s been too long

overall i just love this series so much and these books just keep getting better and better 🎀


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[filming.pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything I say about Snicket's writing won't be enough to completely articulate how much I enjoy his work. I love the way he uses words, I love his quirky and interesting characters and I just wish he had written double the amount of books, so I could read more of him!

This book is part of a mystery series, which is something very intriguing because the way Snicket writes mysteries has you guessing all the time what's going to happen next! Of course, this is a middle grade novel, but I believe it's done masterfully and that why I had no problem reading it, even though I'm not in that age group anymore.

As far as the characters go, I love that fact that the author makes them as interesting and as authentic as possible. The characters are easily distinguishable, their different personalities are very well shaped and you can root and like or dislike even the minor characters! This is one of my favorite things in books, because I believe that minor characters shouldn't just be there to drive the plot and assist the main character, they should be there to exist in their own accord.

Lastly, I think it's clear how much I enjoyed the book and I'm hoping to continue with the series, to find out what will happen next!!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery continues as Lemony Snicket has another case to solve in spite of his curiously uncurious chaperone, S. Theodora Markson -- after all he is only an apprentice. He is constantly worried about his sister but mostly he is worried about the role Hangfire is playing not only in this town but in Lemony's troubles.
And, of course, will Snicket finally ask the right questions?

I really love these books for the odd humor and characters -- and all the snicket-isms.

“No matter how many slow and complicated mysteries I encounters in my life, I still hope that one day a slow and complicated mystery will be solved quickly and simply. An associate of mine calls this feeling “the triumph of hope over experience”, which simply means that it’s never going to happen, and that is what happened then.”
― Lemony Snicket, When Did You See Her Last?

“We were more like jigsaw pieces, each of us parts of the same big picture. There are people like this wherever you go. They are part of the same mystery as you are, but you can’t quite tell how you fit together. The world is a puzzle, and we cannot solve it alone.”
― Lemony Snicket, When Did You See Her Last?

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎉🎉My 175th book for the year, and the one I've completed my Reading Challenge with!🎉🎉

I've written three reviews for this and they have all vanished, so this is my last crack at it. If you're reading this, yay!!! At this point, the effort I'm putting into this is fairly minimal, but I did want to note that I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

My other reviews were better, (I even included a quote!) but I just can't be bothered to type it all out again (on my phone which takes me longer). I'm not going to edit this either, since the last attempt disappeared after I did a test, then expanded on it, only for it to be gone! 😤
I don't actually mind that much -- a minor annoyance! We'll see what happens with this one!😉

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This continues following snicker as he goes through his apprenticeship to yet another of snickets strange and bizarre places to sole crimes and become part of the VFD.

Not giving anything away in the plot characters from pervious novels come up at unexpected occasions as usual in these novels which kept my highly amused and snickets descriptions of characters almost feel like they belong in slices wonderland at times but this did not subtract from the story on the contrary it upped it !

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I may be more confused about this town and case than I was in the first book. There are so many things going on at once and they all seem connected, but I can't understand how. The narrator is also keeping a lot of secrets from the reader, including what his sister is up to and what theories he has for Hangfire's motives. It makes the books interesting, but I'd like some answers soon please!

[Diletta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Lemony. Anche questa volta hai vinto mi sa. La mia testa è già andata, di nuovo, e il mio cuore, anche quello lo stai strapazzando di nuovo.

[TraceyL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. I liked the two bickering police officers. There are a few nods to the Series of Unfortunate Events books. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Moniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a lonely feeling when someone you care about becomes a stranger.

Pisanie recenzji środkowych części frustruje mnie okrutnie, ale dla was zrobię wszystko, co w mojej mocy.

Kości zostały rzucone, a stawka niebezpiecznie wzrasta w Stain'd-by-the-Sea, kiedy miasteczko ogarnia wieść o zaginięciu nastoletniej Cleo Knight. Lemony podejrzewa, że za sprawą stoi złowieszczy Hangfire.

We were more like jigsaw pieces, each of us parts of the same big picture. There are people like this wherever you go. They are part of the same mystery as you are, but you can't quite tell how you fit together. The world is a puzzle, and we cannot solve it alone.

Nie lubię recenzować środkowych części, ponieważ czuję, że się powtarzam. Jeśli historia nie zalicza regresu albo autor nie traci zmysłów (obojętne, czy pozytywnie czy na gorsze), to zazwyczaj odnajduję podobne mocne strony w całej historii. Tak pewnie będzie to wyglądać też u Snicketa, dlatego przy każdej części spróbuję po prostu wyróżnić jeden czy dwa szczególne wątki i na nich oprzeć moją ocenę.

Świat Lemony'ego się rozrasta. Pojedynek z tajemniczym złoczyńcą jest bardziej ryzykowny, cena zwycięstwa się zwiększa, gdy w grę wchodzi ludzkie życie. Zagrożeni są zarówno ojciec Ellington, jak i zaginiona Cleo. Lemony odkrywa głęboko zakopane sekrety Stain'd-by-the-Sea, odkrywa przed nami, co to oznacza być wolontariuszem oraz... martwi się o siostrę, błąkającą się gdzieś boleśnie daleko, w podziemnych tunelach. Chłopiec podejmuje większą odpowiedzialność za innych, zderza się z rzeczywistością, zarówno szarego miasteczka, jak i organizacji, w którą tak wierzy. Stawia własne życie na szali, po raz pierwszy, ale odnajduje również wsparcie i dzieli się swoją historią z innymi, otwiera im drzwi.

Jest coś wyjątkowego w twórczości Daniela Handlera (ups, przepraszam, Lemony'ego Snicketa); autor odważnie mówi o tym, że dzieciom może zdarzyć się krzywda i ona się dzieje. Bohaterowie są ofiarami gróźb, ścigają ich złoczyńcy zabójcy i kryją dzieci w swoich szponach; są porywani i czasami nigdy nie wracają. Tracą rodziców w pożarach. Nie jest to pożądane, nie jest to chwalebne; to wątki smutne, a wręcz tragiczne, a odratunek postaci nie jest żadnym cudem. Jednak to wszystko jest bardzo realne i autor nie boi się umieszczać swoich dziecięcych postaci w takich sytuacjach. Oswaja nas z zagrożeniem i uświadamia, że jest prawdziwe, nawet jeśli Hangfire czy Hrabia Olaf to w większości postacie groteskowe. Wątek Cleo i zapomnienia o niej przez te najbliższe osoby, uderza w szczególne miejsce w moim sercu.

Mówię o literaturze dziecięcej i krzywdzie nastoletnich bohaterów, a przecież to wszystko dzieje się również w naszym niefikcyjnym świecie, szczególnie teraz. Ilość dziecięcych ofiar w wyniku konfliktu izraelsko-palestyńskiego stale wzrasta, a obrazy pojawiające się w sieci są druzgocące i są porażką dla człowieczeństwa. Proszę, miejcie te wydarzenia na uwadze i nie pozwólcie, by ludzkie życia zostały zapomniane; zwłaszcza te, przeciw którym obrócił się ostatnio świat zachodni, chwaląc się swoją niską umiejętnością czytania ze zrozumieniem. Wojna nie jest wyborem ludzi, którzy ponoszą ofiarę.

I wondered if there was another world someplace, less ridiculous and less sad. But I never knew the answer to the question. Perhaps I had been in another world before I was born, and did not remember it, or perhaps I would see another world when I died, which I was in no hurry to do. In the meantime I was stuck in this police station, doing something so ridiculous it felt sad, and feeling so sad that it was ridiculous. The world of the police station, the world of Stain'd-by-the-Sea and all of the wrong questions I was asking, was the only world I could see.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another funny and entertaining read. I love the writing style of Lemony Snicket, even if he gives more questions than answers! I read some other reviews which mentioned that this book (the second in a 4 part series about Lemony Snicket's youth) reveals or at least hints at answers from A Series of Unfortunate Events. Those were lost on me, because I read ASOUE so long ago I can't remember my questions. I'm watching the Netflix series now, so hopefully that will refresh my memory. I recognized a few allusions to ASOUE in this book (for example, the librarian is about to say "The World Is Quiet Here" but gets cut short) but those were just fun connections.

Anyways, 13 year old Lemony is a delight. I love the friends he makes and how he makes them ("You can trust me--we like the same books." A sentiment appreciated here!) and he also makes really funny, yet insightful observations about the world from a kid's perspective. Some not so funny, but very important, insights are also given--his observation about bullies is really good, and I think important for kids to consider because it's more complex than the standard "No bullying" message at schools.

You can read this book in a day easily. It's a page turner and has some great twists!

[Dani Dányi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, to start a series of books not with part one! (But I'll get back to that.)
Very amusing situations, characters, musings on vocabulary, and allusions to other books entirely. Plenty of lolz. Also mystery-solving, complete with villain.
Well it's not like grown-ups can't be compelled to keep wandering around a Lemony Snicket labyrinth, asking all the wrong questions.