Guy Friday- Lemony Guys

Snicket, Lemony. Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions #1)
24 October 2012, Little, Brown

A young Lemony Snicket leaves his caretakers and runs off with S. Theodora Markson, even though she is the lowest rated of all the chaperones he could have chosen. They drive off to Stain'd-by-the-Sea to do a job-- the wealthy Mrs. Murphy Sallis wants them to get back her valuable statue of The Bombinating Beast, which Snicket just happens to find in the home of Moxie Mallahan, who thinks the statue is a piece of junk. Nothing seems right in this weird, seaside town, but Snicket, aided by librarian Qwerty, Ellington Feint (who also wants the statue) and Moxie, tries to figure out what part he and Theodora are supposed to play in the matter of the statue... and in finding Snicket's parents.
Strengths: The Series of Unfortunate Events books are still fairly popular, so I can see this new series (four books, I think), doing very well. I like the new style of illustrations, done by Seth.
Weaknesses: Every time I read "which in this case means", I want to scream. I disliked the other books, and this is more of the same. Did like these better than the other series. Perhaps a little less weird and condescending, so that will make it easier to get through all the books. The mysteries are always so off beat that I find myself not caring.