With characteristic cleverness and sly wit, author Lemony Snicket examines the instruments in the orchestra in an informative and investigative way. This musical murder mystery offers a symphony of satire and pitch-perfect humor. From the opening page, readers learn that the Composer is dead. “He was not humming. He was not moving, or even breathing.” A pen and watercolor illustration shows a fancy-dressed, white-curly wig-wearing man face-down in a stack of scores while flies buzz overhead. Wry and outrageous observations abound as a finger-pointing Inspector interrogates the instruments about the Composer’s murder. Questioning the Cellos and Basses, he surmises their anger over playing boring compositions. “ 'On the contrary,’ the Cellos and Basses said. 'We don’t feel the need to show off like certain stringed instruments we could mention.’ ” Amusing personifications provide a façade for an introductory lesson on who’s who (and whodunit) in the orchestra. An accompanying CD features Lemony Snicket narrating the tale with full musical accompaniment. (Ages 8–15)