Snicket interrupts the story and suggests that the reader stop at a certain point when it appears that Olaf is going to jail and the Baudelaire children will live happily ever after with Justice Strauss who would make a wonderful adoptive parent. He does this because that wonderful ending isn't what's going to happen.

Book the Second: The Reptile Room

The Baudelaire children are sent to live with their next nearest relative, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, a herpetologist, which is someone who studies reptiles and amphibians. As soon as we read about Dr. Montgomery, Snicket lets us know that he will be dying soon. He does this repeatedly throughout the novel, which is a great device for building suspense.

Snicket's presence is felt more throughout this book. He ends one chapter with a suspenseful event, involving Sunny and The Incredibly Deadly Viper, and then apologizes for where he ended the previous chapter because he had to leave for a prior engagement. He explains what dramatic irony is and then when dramatic irony takes place, he points out its use.

He doesn't treat the readers like children by shielding them from bad things. Characters die and he discusses how sometimes it is good and necessary to lie. While that might cause some parents concern, he is safety-minded and includes a page-long warning about "never, ever, ever..." fiddling around with electric devices the way Violet does.

Dr. Montgomery is a wonderful man who is very happy to have the children stay with him. He has a plan to go on an expedition to Peru and wants them to come along. Also accompanying them will be his new assistant, Stephano, who the children recognize as Count Olaf. He's shaved off his eyebrows and grown a beard but the eye tattoo on his ankle gives him away. The children confront him, but he threatens to kill them if they tell.

As foreshadowed, Montgomery turns up dead and Stephano plans to take the children to Peru where the laws aren't as strict, so he can get away with killing them. On their way to the ship they get into a car accident with Mr. Poe. The children try to tell Mr. Poe that Stephano is Count Olaf, but when they all look at his ankle, the eye tattoo is gone. The children need to prove that Stephano is Olaf and also prove that he murdered Montgomery or else they will no doubt be the victims of foul play in Peru at the hands of Count Olaf.