Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights?

Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights? represents the concluding fourth installment in Lemony Snicket's children's series All the Wrong Questions. The narrative follows the young apprentice Snicket as he pursues the villain Hangfire in the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Released on September 29, 2015, by Little, Brown and Company, this volume includes illustrations created by Seth.

Plot

During the night, S. Theodora Markson slips away from the Lost Arms, with Lemony Snicket trailing behind her. She pilfers a costume from Dicey's Department Store and makes her way to Stain'd Station. Snicket attempts to board a train transporting prisoners Dashiell Qwerty and Ellington Feint but is denied entry due to lacking a ticket. At the station, he crosses paths with Polly Partial and Dame Sally Murphy—who aids an enigmatic passenger boarding—and later receives assistance from Pip and Squeak to sneak onto the train. Onboard, Moxie Mallahan reveals a counterfeit Bombinating Beast statue made by Ornette Lost intended to mislead Hangfire.

Dashiell Qwerty is discovered dead within his cell, prompting Officers Mitchum to suspect Theodora of murder. Snicket remains unconvinced and searches for witnesses aboard the train, encountering librarians Pocket, Walleye, and Eratosthenes, alongside allies Moxie Mallahan, Kellar Haines, Cleo Knight, Jake Hix, and Ornette Lost. He finds Ellington Feint; during their conversation, Hangfire arrives and fires a dart at Ellington, who collapses. Snicket covers her with her jacket to hide her state and negotiates with Hangfire to exchange the fake statue under specific terms. After Hangfire departs, Ellington reveals she pretended to be incapacitated—the dart missed its mark—and Snicket conceals her tied up outside the prisoner compartment window.

Snicket uncovers that both Moxie and Kellar attempted to deceive Hangfire using identical fake statues crafted by Ornette, which Hangfire saw through. Following discussions involving Hangfire and the Mitchums, Snicket gathers everyone—including Moxie, Kellar, Cleo, Jake, Stew Mitchum, Sally Murphy, Sharon Haines, and the librarians—inside Qwerty’s jail cell. It becomes apparent that Lizzy Haines, Kellar’s sister who had been held hostage but escaped with Sally Murphy’s assistance, was the disguised passenger at the station. The Haines family is reunited.

Snicket exposes Stew Mitchum as Qwerty’s murderer; Officers Mitchum framed Theodora to shield their son Stew, who was working for Hangfire. By using the Bombinating Beast statue to summon the actual creature, Hangfire’s true identity is revealed as Armstrong Feint—Ellington’s father. Snicket forces him toward the beast, which kills him. The other passengers recoil from Snicket—including his friends and Ellington Feint—who is arrested for past offenses and confined in a cell alongside Kit Snicket, Lemony's sister traveling on the train.

A member of V.F.D. privately reprimands Snicket for jeopardizing their plan to capture Hangfire alive. The series ends with Lemony venturing alone into Clusterous Forest, uncertain about what lies ahead.

Title allegory

This volume continues to incorporate Jewish motifs present throughout Snicket's works. Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights? references the Jewish Passover Seder tradition where the youngest participant asks the Ma Nishtana, or Four Questions—paralleled in this series by four books each titled as a question—beginning with "Why is this night different from all other nights?".

External links

• All the Wrong Questions official site