''The Penultimate Peril'' is the twelfth novel in the

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

novel series ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their p ...

'' by

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Handler has published several children's books under the name, most notably ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 million copies and s ...

Plot

The Baudelaire orphans,

Violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

Klaus Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus * Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American baseba ...

and Sunny are travelling with

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

V.F.D. member Kit Snicket to Hotel Denouement, the last safe place for volunteers to gather. She tells them that, prior to V.F.D.’s gathering in two days, they will be disguised as

concierge A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the errands of ...

s to observe the mysterious 'J.S.,’ in order to identify him as a volunteer or a villain of V.F.D. The hotel's managers are identical triplets Frank, Dewey and Ernest - Frank is a volunteer, while Ernest is on the opposing side as a villain, and Dewey is someone of legend who many do not believe exists. He has created a book cataloging all information of the V.F.D. During their first day of disguised employment, the Baudelaires split up to assist the hotel's guests - Violet assists

Esmé Squalor The children's novel series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and its film and television adaptations features a large cast of characters created by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket. The original series follows the turbulent ...

and

Carmelita Spats The children's novel series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and its film and television adaptations features a large cast of characters created by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket. The original series follows the turbulent ...

by bringing them a

harpoon gun A harpoon cannon is a whaling implement developed in the late 19th century and most used in the 20th century. It would be mounted on the bow of a whale catcher, where it could be easily aimed with a wide field of view at the target. Powered by b ...

, Klaus assists

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

(the owners of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill) by escorting them to the

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

while also hanging

flypaper Flypaper (also known as a fly ribbon, fly strip, fly capture tape, or fly catcher) is a fly-killing device made of paper coated with a sweetly fragrant, but extremely sticky and sometimes poisonous substance that traps flies and other flying inse ...

outside a window for one of the managers, and Sunny assists Hal (an employee at Heimlich Hospital), Vice-Principal Nero, Ms. Bass and Mr. Remora (teachers at Prufrock Preparatory School) while locking a V.F.D device onto a door of the laundry room, converting it into a Vernacularly Fastened Door - all the guests discuss the mysterious J.S. and together the siblings discuss who asked for what, as each of them run into a separate manager. Klaus concludes that Carmelita Spats requested the harpoon gun to shoot down a bird carrying the sugar bowl, as Sunny mentioned that Hal and a manager were discussing the sugar bowl (an object both volunteers and villains are seeking for unknown reasons) and the Medusoid Mycelium (a deadly fungus parasite they encounter in the previous book) - the flypaper would retrieve the bird's body, and the sugar bowl would fall into the laundry room, in which the room's door was converted into a Vernacularly Fastened Door. Shortly after his proposal, a man encounters them and reveals himself as Dewey Denouement, the third of the secretly three brothers. He also tells them that a pool reflection of the hotel is the actual safe place, as the hotel's words and structure were designed backward to reflect the actual words onto the pool - beneath the pool is an underwater catalog containing crucial information concerning V.F.D. They are then encountered by

Jerome Squalor The children's literature, children's novel series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and its Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, film and A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV series), television adaptations features a large cast of ch ...

and

Justice Strauss The children's novel series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and its film and television adaptations features a large cast of characters created by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket. The original series follows the turbulent ...

, who have joined V.F.D. after believing messages being sent to J.S were being addressed to them. While the four re-enter the hotel,

Count Olaf The children's novel series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and its film and television adaptations features a large cast of characters created by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket. The original series follows the turbulent ...

intercepts them, and threatens Dewey with a harpoon gun for the code needed to access the door. While the children attempt to prevent the killing, Mr. Poe suddenly enters, causing Olaf to shove the weapon into the Baudelaires' hands — surprised, they drop the gun, causing it to discharge and kill Dewey. As a crowd arrives, the Baudelaires and Olaf are sent to court; however, everyone except for the judges must be blindfolded for it to be legal. The other two judges are later revealed to be The Man with a Beard But No Hair and The Woman With Hair But No Beard. During the hearing, however, the Baudelaires realize that it was a trick for Olaf to kidnap Justice Strauss, pursue the sugar bowl, and burn the hotel and its inhabitants. Klaus, realizing that the sugar bowl was actually underneath the pool, reveals the door code to Olaf. Violet gains access to a boat for all of them to escape the authorities, while Sunny assists in burning the hotel as a signal to V.F.D. that the gathering has been canceled due to the invasion of enemies. The Baudelaires, along with Justice Strauss, attempt to alert everyone about the fire; it is unknown whether anyone escapes. Shortly after the authorities arrive, the orphans, along with Olaf, are about to disembark by sea; however, Justice attempts to intervene. Sunny apologetically bites her hand, and the four sail away from the area, and out to sea.

Foreshadowing

In the last picture of ''The Penultimate Peril'', Count Olaf and the Baudelaire children sail away from the smoking shore aboard a large ship. Unlike the other novels, there are no hints or foreshadowing to the next book.

Translations

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''""'' (''The Penultimate Peril'') *

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: ''""'' (''At the Borders of Solution''), WSOY, 2006, *

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''""'' (''The Penultimate Peril'') *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''””'' (''The Outlandish Hotel'') *

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: ''"終わりから二番目の危機"'' (''The Second-to-Last Crisis''), Soshisha, 2007, *

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

: ''”Den tolvte trussel”'' (''The Twelfth Threat''), Tor Edvin Dahl, Cappelen Damm, 2006, *

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: “''خطر ما قبل اخر"'' (''The Penultimate Risk'') *

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''””'' (''The Penultimate Trap'') *

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: ''""'' (''Penultimate Scrape''), Azbuka, 2007, *

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

: ''"หายนะก่อนปิดฉาก"'', Nanmeebooks Teen, 2006,

Adaptation

The book was adapted into the fifth and sixth episodes of the third season of the television series adaptation produced by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penultimate Peril, The 2005 American novels Books in A Series of Unfortunate Events HarperCollins books Sequel novels 2005 children's books American novels adapted into television shows