{"id":28665,"date":"2016-07-01T22:50:32","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T02:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28665"},"modified":"2016-07-01T22:50:32","modified_gmt":"2016-07-02T02:50:32","slug":"review-of-file-under-13-suspicious-incidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28665","title":{"rendered":"Review of File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"file_under_13_suspicious_incidents_large\"<\/a>File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents<\/em><\/p>\n

by Lemony Snicket
\nwith various readers<\/p>\n

Hachette Audio, 2014. 3 hours on 3 CDs.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This audiobook continues Lemony Snicket\u2019s series All the Wrong Questions<\/em> set in the strange deserted town of Stain\u2019d-by-the-Sea. However, this is a side file to the case in the main series. Here are thirteen short mystery tales, some more bizarre than others. You don\u2019t at all need to have read the original books \u2013 many of the characters are new. Some we\u2019ve seen before, but knowing them ahead of time is not crucial to any of the short cases.<\/p>\n

The audiobook has two flaws. The first is that there are 13 wonderful narrators, but it isn\u2019t announced on the audiobook who is reading at any given time. I should have read the label on the CD before inserting it, but I wasn\u2019t going to do that while driving in the car. All the narrators did a great job, but it would have been fun to know when I was listening to Jon Scieszka, Terry Gross, Sarah Vowell, Libba Bray, Ira Glass, Sophie Blackall, Jon Klassen, Chris Kluwe, Holly Black, Sook-Yin Lee, Rachel Maddow, Stephin Merritt, or Wesley Stace.<\/p>\n

The other annoying thing is that the conclusions to each short mystery were all given at the end of the third audiobook. But before the conclusions are three stories. So there\u2019s no way to check on the answer to a mystery right after finishing that mystery. If the conclusions had their own CD, I could have popped that in and listened to some conclusions before continuing on. Of course, in the print book, one could just check the back of the book after each mystery. As it turned out, the entire book wasn\u2019t very long, so I found I could mostly remember what was involved in the story once I heard the conclusion. Honestly, there probably isn\u2019t a good way to do this on audio CDs. I would have liked a separate CD for the conclusions \u2013 but that would add to the cost.<\/p>\n

Other than that, these were totally fun mystery stories. They reminded me of Encyclopedia Brown \u2013 with a lot more variety, and a touch of silliness here and there. This would be a great one to suggest to kids who like mysteries, and they don\u2019t need to read the longer 4-volume series, but I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if they turn to that next.<\/p>\n

LemonySnicketLibrary.com <\/a>
\nHachetteAudio.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/file_under_13_suspicious_incidents.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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