Handler signed with Egmont Publishing (UK) in August 2009 and Little, Brown and Company (U.S.) in November 2009 to begin working on the series.

[1][2] Although the author switched from his former publisher, HarperCollins, to Little, Brown and Company, he continued to work with his longtime editor Susan Rich.

As Lemony and his chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, investigate crimes, Snicket makes both friends and enemies, including Hangfire.

The series runs alongside the story of Lemony's sister Kit as she completes a similar mission for V.F.D.

Lemony's main mission is to protect a statue called the Bombinating Beast from various people who desire it, including Hangfire.

[9] The only hint to the story's plot provided by Handler was that the series will "approach that question mark from a different angle".

[4] The title of the first book had earlier been hinted at in a message to fansite 667 Dark Avenue, where it was apparently designated as "The First Question".