I love Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, so I was very excited to get my hands on this new picture book that weaves a murder mystery around the different sections of an orchestra. The book starts with a very dead and decomposing Composer, and a murder investigation by the handomely-mustachioed Inspector. No one in the orchestra is beyond suspicion; not the violins, or the clarinets, or the tuba. This is such a clever book because it teaches the reader about the roles of different instruments in an orchestra and gives the instruments very funny (and musically accurate) personalities.

The Composer Is Dead features Lemony Snicket’s trademark black humour and amusing word definitions that are both accurate and nonsensical (you’d never find them in a dictionary). Carson Ellis’ illustrations are bright and whimsical, and the book also comes with a CD featuring Lemony Snicket’s narration, and music played by the San Fransicso Symphony Orchestra.