Dear Reader,

If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick-witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and the one you are holding may be the worst of them all.

If you haven't got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signaling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair.

I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Another good installment of the doom and gloom that is the lives of the Baudelaire orphans. In this episode, we find the orphans now living with their Aunt Josephine, a woman who is afraid of everything. I mean everything. The doorknob, the telephone, the stove, the lake. If you can think of it, she's probably afraid of it. When the dubious Captain Sham comes into their lives, Violet, Klaus and Sunny immediately recognize him as Count Olaf, but, of course, Aunt Josephine doesn't believe them when they try to warn her. When Aunt Josephine suddenly commits suicide, the children are left in further despair to learn that Aunt Josephine leaves instructions that the children are to be cared for by Captain Sham. The children immediately begin looking for clues to find out the truth about Aunt Josephine's disappearance and to avoid having to go live with Captain Sham.

Looking forward to the next installment of this story.