The Top 10 Everything of 2009

Best-selling author Snicket takes a stab here at a hilarious murder mystery for older readers, in which a bumbling Clouseau-like inspector is called upon to solve an orchestral crime. The story centers on the "suspect" instruments as they present their uproarious alibis. The violins? "Violins are the stars of any orchestra. If we killed the Composer, we would have to find work at square dances or in romantic restaurants." The Tuba? "I'm a confirmed bachelor. I was home all night playing cards with my landlady, the Harp, taking sips of warm milk from a little blue cup." You'd be hard pressed to find a sym-phunnier crime story than this.