Who Could That Be at This Hour?
Front cover of the U.S. first edition
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| Author | Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler) |
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| Illustrator | Seth |
| Cover artist | Seth |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | All the Wrong Questions |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
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Publication date
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October 23, 2012 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 258 |
| ISBN | |
| Fic 21 | |
| Followed by | When Did You See Her Last? |
Who Could That Be at This Hour? is the first novel of the children's novel series All the Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket, a series set before the events of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The novel tells the story of a young Lemony Snicket, who is apprenticing for the V.F.D. under the worst-ranked agent, S. Theodora Markson. The book was published on October 23, 2012 by Little, Brown and Company and illustrated by Seth.
The novel begins with a cover sheet indicating a recipient named "Walleye", CCed to the V.F.D. headquarters.
The story begins in the Hemlock Tearoom and Stationery Shop, where a thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket escapes his current chaperones, who are masquerading as his parents, to apprentice under S. Theodora Markson, the 52nd ranked V.F.D. member on a list of 52. After learning that his current chaperones were trying to knock him out with tea laced with laudanum, Snicket escapes with Markson in a green roadster. They arrive at the mostly abandoned town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea, a once-great exporter of octopus ink that has fallen on hard times. It is here that they get their assignment: They must steal the Bombinating Beast from the Mallahans.
The Mallahans live in a lighthouse, which also used to be the home of the city's newspaper. Mr. Mallahan loafs about in his bathrobe while his daughter, Moxie Mallahan, continues to record the news of Stain'd-by-the-Sea, in hopes of eventually joining her mother, who works for a newspaper in the city. She shows Snicket the statue, which has been in the family for generations. Snicket is confused by this, as every piece of evidence says that the statue is already in the hands of its rightful owners; however, Markson intends to steal the statue anyway.
In town, Snicket discovers the library, run by the sub-librarian Dashiell Qwerty, a man who wears leather jackets and has an outrageous haircut. It is here that he meets Stew Mitchum, a slingshot-carrying sadistic young boy who mimics what Snicket says in a mocking voice. He is the son of the only two police officers in town. The Mitchums drive a modified station wagon with a red flashlight strapped to the top in place of a siren. It is at the library that Snicket learns of a way to communicate with his sister, Kit Snicket, back in the city by requesting books whose titles contain their intended messages.
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