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89th out of 299 books
—
1,002 voters
Burglars Can't Be Choosers (Rhodenbarr #1)
by
Lawrence Block (Goodreads Author)
Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing w...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
February 24th 2004
by HarperTorch
(first published 1977)
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I almost gave this two stars. But it wasn't bad like most of the books I give two stars. It just wasn't a very good Lawrence Block book.
I can easily imagine, and I'm sure I've really enjoyed some books in this genre. But my last two forays into it have been less than satisfying, and both times by writers that I expect a whole lot of satisfaction from.
I guess I should say what the genre is. An 'innocent' man is wrongly suspected of a crime and he has to remedy the situation. Or maybe the sub-ge...more
I can easily imagine, and I'm sure I've really enjoyed some books in this genre. But my last two forays into it have been less than satisfying, and both times by writers that I expect a whole lot of satisfaction from.
I guess I should say what the genre is. An 'innocent' man is wrongly suspected of a crime and he has to remedy the situation. Or maybe the sub-ge...more
17 likes · like · see review
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Block's dialogue crackles like an overheard conversation in a New York bar in this lighthearted debut outing for gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr.
Lawrence Block has been a revelation to me this year, his work have been some of the highlights of my reading experience in 2012 but nothing prepared me for Bernie Rhodenbarr. I've become accustomed to the darker side of Block through Matt Scudder and the incredibly bleak Grifter's Game but Bernie lets his lighter side shine, always ready with a wit...more
Lawrence Block has been a revelation to me this year, his work have been some of the highlights of my reading experience in 2012 but nothing prepared me for Bernie Rhodenbarr. I've become accustomed to the darker side of Block through Matt Scudder and the incredibly bleak Grifter's Game but Bernie lets his lighter side shine, always ready with a wit...more
13 likes · like · see review
There are many a variant of detective fiction that any bibliophile will come across in their journeys across the landscapes of mystery and thrills. There is the much adored closed room mystery of the Brits, the police procedural of the Americans, the haunted detective of the...of the...hmm...of the somewhere ! and so on and so forth. Some of the ones that I have read have tended to put me off reading these genre for repeated use makes them stale. I think there are some which tend to dilute the c...more
7 likes · like · see review
Bernie Rhodenbarr breaks into an apartment while the owner is out to steal a blue leather box and make a quick five large. Only the apartment owner is home and quite dead, and the cops burst in while Bernie is there. Bernie goes on the run and sets out to clear his name with the help of an oddly helpful girl named Ruth. Can Bernie clear his name before he is apprehended for murder?
Lawrence Block put together an interesting mystery in this one, one involving actors, actresses, blackmail, and dirt...more
Lawrence Block put together an interesting mystery in this one, one involving actors, actresses, blackmail, and dirt...more
6 likes · like · see review
Bernie Rhodenbarr, a dapper and skilled burglar with a taste for fine things and no propensity for violence, is found by the police in a Manhattan apartment which is not his own, with the legal occupant in the next room bludgeoned to death. He flees the scene and hides out in a friend’s building, where he meets a suspiciously helpful girl who urges him to find the real killer. Tracking down the man who apparently framed him, Bernie gets caught up in a scheme involving blackmail, kinky sex, and l...more
4 likes · like · see review
I first read this book when I was in junior high, afew decades ago.I enjoyed it now as much as I did then.
This is the first Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery.While it doesn't have several of the elements that end up making the series so good, it is a nice introduction to Bernie and his methods of solving a crime.Of course, Bernie as usual has to solve the murder to prove his own innocence.Ray Kirschman, the honest but always willing to take a bribe cop, is in the novel,but he hasn't made detective yet....more
This is the first Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery.While it doesn't have several of the elements that end up making the series so good, it is a nice introduction to Bernie and his methods of solving a crime.Of course, Bernie as usual has to solve the murder to prove his own innocence.Ray Kirschman, the honest but always willing to take a bribe cop, is in the novel,but he hasn't made detective yet....more
I bought this book while it was on sale at Amazon; I'd never read it and it was Block's introduction to Bernie Rhodenbarr -- burglar extraordinaire. There it sat, on my Kindle, until I was in NYC and had finished reading the e-books I borrowed from the library. Not wanting to venture out into the heat to buy a hard-copy book, I reached onto my virtual shelf to see what Bernie had to say.
Bernie said a lot. ;)
I fell in love with Bernie by the end of the first page, if not the first paragraph. He h...more
Bernie said a lot. ;)
I fell in love with Bernie by the end of the first page, if not the first paragraph. He h...more
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I’m a big fan of Lawrence Block, and have read many of his books and short stories. Burglars Can't Be Choosers is the first in a series about professional burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. I decided to give it a shot after reading a couple of Rhodenbarr short stories in the anthology Enough Rope, and figured I should start at the beginning.
Bernie is the archetypical burglar-with-a-heart-of-gold, sort of a sideways Robin Hood, robbing from those who deserve to (or can afford to) be robbed from, and givi...more
Bernie is the archetypical burglar-with-a-heart-of-gold, sort of a sideways Robin Hood, robbing from those who deserve to (or can afford to) be robbed from, and givi...more
A fun lighthearted mystery with a bit of an edge. This is the first book in Lawrence Block's Burglar series which feature the criminal activities and subsequent misadventures of gentleman burglar Bernard G. Rhodenbarr - Bernie the Burglar.
It all starts when Bernie's hired by an odd little man he doesn't know - but who knows him - to retrieve an item from someone's apartment while they aren't home. Simple enough task for someone with Bernie's skills. Except when the police catch him in the act......more
It all starts when Bernie's hired by an odd little man he doesn't know - but who knows him - to retrieve an item from someone's apartment while they aren't home. Simple enough task for someone with Bernie's skills. Except when the police catch him in the act......more
Picked this out after downloading the Kindle first chapter preview. Didn't know it was the first book in the series -- that was a lucky coincidence. I'd enjoyed Block's Hit Man series, but hadn't pursued his other lines or characters.
Written in 1977, BCBC is a little quaint in the attitude it takes towards the character of a gentleman thief, and a little dated in terms of the lucky, hapless way in which character Bernie Rhodenbarr falls in and out of bed with the women he encounters. It is eith...more
Written in 1977, BCBC is a little quaint in the attitude it takes towards the character of a gentleman thief, and a little dated in terms of the lucky, hapless way in which character Bernie Rhodenbarr falls in and out of bed with the women he encounters. It is eith...more
Professional burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr gets hired to steal a blue box from an apartment, but the police bust in and catch him just after he breaks in. The good news is that one of the cops is crooked, and it looks like he’ll be able to buy his way out of the arrest. The bad news is that the cops find the apartment owner’s body in the bedroom so the bribing option just went bye-bye. Bernie flees and manages to hide out in the apartment of a friend he knows is out of town, but he’s a wanted man wi...more
14 likes · like · see review
Bernie is a burglar, and he doesn’t hide the fact, although he doesn’t advertise it either. In this novel, he tells his story with close attention to details, dry humor, and panache worthy of the best of mystery writers.
Usually, Bernie works alone, but this time he took a job offered by a vaguely menacing, pear-shaped stranger. Stealing a blue box out of an empty apartment for 5K seemed like easy money, especially for an experienced thief, but when Bernie gets into the apartment, all his plans...more
Usually, Bernie works alone, but this time he took a job offered by a vaguely menacing, pear-shaped stranger. Stealing a blue box out of an empty apartment for 5K seemed like easy money, especially for an experienced thief, but when Bernie gets into the apartment, all his plans...more
So I heard Lawrence Block's book on writing, Telling Lies For Fun and Profit was good (it is) and picked it up and started reading. Almost at the same time, my school library had withdrawn THREE of the Bernie Rhodenbarr books so I thought, why not read some of the fiction written by this man? And I have.
This is Bernie #1 (a nice place to start, though the others I have are #3 and #5) and we are introduced to the nice, young man as he is in the process of robbing someone. Of course the police int...more
This is Bernie #1 (a nice place to start, though the others I have are #3 and #5) and we are introduced to the nice, young man as he is in the process of robbing someone. Of course the police int...more
Block has a very low-key voice in his books & this audio was well done by Adams Morgan - the voice fits Bernie Rhodenbarr perfectly. Bernie is a nice guy who is just trying to get by in NYC like everyone else. His profession is as a burglar & he's a pretty good one, well liked by his neighbors ("Who cares if you take from the rich east side? You don't steal around here.") & the cops, who know he is reasonable about splitting profits.
He has a good thing going until his job is connect...more
He has a good thing going until his job is connect...more
5 likes · like · see review
Crime usually pays for protagonist, Bernie Rhodenbarr; he's an accomplished burglar who operates in New York city. However, contrary to his usual tendencies, he agrees to burgle a blue leather box from an expensive apartment for a third party. Unfortunately, for Bernie, the police show up, and the occupant is home, and he's just been murdered. Bernie escapes and then as a fugitive works to clear his name, by finding out who the real murderer is.
I really enjoyed the character of Bernie. Lawrence...more
I really enjoyed the character of Bernie. Lawrence...more
I haven't read much mystery, but the end seemed a little messy with all of its complicated plans to reveal every single person involved in the murder.
Aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Bernie's wit is entertaining, and his morals as a career burglar are intriguing. Block keeps making me forget the characters I'm rooting for are thieves and corrupt officers.
(the consensus on the characters' part was that it was all right so long as wealthy people were the ones losing out.)
Block seems...more
Aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Bernie's wit is entertaining, and his morals as a career burglar are intriguing. Block keeps making me forget the characters I'm rooting for are thieves and corrupt officers.
(the consensus on the characters' part was that it was all right so long as wealthy people were the ones losing out.)
Block seems...more
When I picked up this Kindle version on sale at Amazon, I couldn't recall whether this was one I had already read. Within the first few pages, I realized this is the first Bernie Rhodenbarr book, making it, as far as I remember, the first Lawrence Block book I ever read. Ages ago. I'll respect Mr Block (and myself) enough not to specify exactly how many ages that might be.
I highly enjoyed revisiting this old friend. I had largely forgotten the easy grace with which Mr Block turns a phrase, makin...more
I highly enjoyed revisiting this old friend. I had largely forgotten the easy grace with which Mr Block turns a phrase, makin...more
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This was the first Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery, written the year I was born. Boy, both the character and the author have really evolved since then! It's good, but it's full of popular 1970's words, like "mufti." At least I assume that's a '70's word. Maybe Block just likes to be obscure. Hmm...that does sound like him.
Overall it was good. I like the series better with his trusty girl Friday and used book store. He's more of a gentleman cat burglar in the lat...more
This was the first Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery, written the year I was born. Boy, both the character and the author have really evolved since then! It's good, but it's full of popular 1970's words, like "mufti." At least I assume that's a '70's word. Maybe Block just likes to be obscure. Hmm...that does sound like him.
Overall it was good. I like the series better with his trusty girl Friday and used book store. He's more of a gentleman cat burglar in the lat...more
I've read three of Block's Scudder series and have found myself disappointed that I didn't discover his wonderful writing sooner after reading each one. The Burglar series kicks off as something a little less my taste, but one thing for sure can be said about its protagonist--he's memorable.
Block tells you in the afterword that he didn't think Bernie would come off as funny as he did. I wasn't in stitches, but he sure is one amusing burglar. The plot got so twisted up at one point I wasn't sure...more
Block tells you in the afterword that he didn't think Bernie would come off as funny as he did. I wasn't in stitches, but he sure is one amusing burglar. The plot got so twisted up at one point I wasn't sure...more
Reading a crime novel that's almost as old as me is a strange thing to do, given that I've grown up on DNA evidence, the internet and everyone having a mobile phone. It seemed much older than it was, but even with the dated methods of investigation, this was a fun little read. Bernie the burglar is someone you can't help but like and there are flashes of humour all the way through that make it worth your time.
It is of course horribly sexist, being a product of the '70s (it's rather like BBC seri...more
It is of course horribly sexist, being a product of the '70s (it's rather like BBC seri...more
Re-reading the first of the Bernie Rhodenbarr series was like spending the evening with an old friend. And if you haven't met my friend Bernie, you should -- he's a wickedly funny gentleman burglar who always gets a little more than he bargained for (like a dead man in the back bedroom and the police at the front door) when he nips into an apartment to pick up something which, legally speaking, isn't his.
I'm looking forward to catching up with Bernie this summer and reading his two latest adve...more
Picked this up in the Phoenix airport when i realized there was no way i had enough reading material for the return flights. Good thing too, since i came within 3 pages of finishing it before we pulled up to the gate in Boston. :) brasher had recommended the author mere days before; now i am in his debt [which is never a good thing] since this was the book i had been expecting when i picked up the Westlake book. It's a comic murder mystery told from the point of view of (surprise) a burglar. lov...more
I'm glad I read Block's Burglar in the Library, an adventure of Bernie Rhodenbarr's that happens later in the series, first. If I had read this book, which is the first in the series, first, I likely never would have picked up any others in it. So now I'm torn, because this book was okay at best, but I really liked the later other one. Guess I'll have to read the second in the series and see if it is the more refined Rhodenbarr that I met later in the series, instead of this rough-around-the-edg...more
3 likes · like · see review
Bernie Rhodenbarr, gentleman thief, gets framed for a murder while pulling what should have been a relatively easy job. With no friends to call on for help, he uses his skills to break into empty apartment to hide out. To clear his name, he turns sleuth.
Richard Ferrone performance had me wondering just when the noire cliches would start (e.g. gorgeous dames with fantastic gams), but since this story is based quite a bit later, they never materialise, and the whole story avoids becoming a silly...more
Richard Ferrone performance had me wondering just when the noire cliches would start (e.g. gorgeous dames with fantastic gams), but since this story is based quite a bit later, they never materialise, and the whole story avoids becoming a silly...more
In this story, we are introduced to Bernie, the type of guy who works alone because he finds the profits to be higher, and the risks a whole lot lower, but neither is he the type who is beyond a rare work-for-hire job. This one’s simple, really. Break into a posh East Side apartment, grab a blue leather box, deliver it to his mysterious employer, and collect an easy fee.
But – nothing is ever that easy.
As soon as Bernie gets to the apartment, things begin to go wrong; First, there IS no blue box....more
But – nothing is ever that easy.
As soon as Bernie gets to the apartment, things begin to go wrong; First, there IS no blue box....more
I think I was biased against this book when I got half-way through it and realized I’d read most of it at an earlier time. That probably should have been a big clue right there. The ending is so convoluted that I have no idea who the “bad guy” is. The cops are crooked, but only insofar as they’ll take bribes to break the law that turns out to be beneficial to the law. Don’t understand that? Me neither. I’ve never read Block before, and if this is a typical offering, I don’t know if I’ll read ano...more
Previously, I read this in library and paperback formats. I just reread it in e-version. Still laugh-out-loud funny after all these years (published in 1977).
This is the first "book" outing for burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, featured in a couple of previous short stories. In this, Bernie looks to make a quick 5K (if not a bit more!) from a client seeking his services to steal a small blue box.
Things don't go so well when he's discovered by his cop friend and his partner. Just as Bernie's paying them...more
This is the first "book" outing for burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, featured in a couple of previous short stories. In this, Bernie looks to make a quick 5K (if not a bit more!) from a client seeking his services to steal a small blue box.
Things don't go so well when he's discovered by his cop friend and his partner. Just as Bernie's paying them...more
This was the first Block book I didn't love. The likeable burglar is kinda cute -- which I guess is the problem I'm having. I'm pretty set in my ways of thinking of criminals as hard men, men who put a lot on the line and understand death or hard time will result if there is just one mistake on a job. This guy, he doesn't seem to understand the risk even when bodies pop up. Plus, Block spent sooo much time explaining the mechanism of locks that this just turned me off.
I really wish there was a way to rate something as a half, cause I really wanted to give this one a 2.5 rating, but I rounded up.
It's not that it was a bad book, and maybe the series gets better as time goes on, but it wasn't really that interesting to me. It was interesting that there were a few gay references in the book, and without the typical negative tilt to it, especially considering that is book was published in the 70's. Maybe that is why I rounded up!
It's not that it was a bad book, and maybe the series gets better as time goes on, but it wasn't really that interesting to me. It was interesting that there were a few gay references in the book, and without the typical negative tilt to it, especially considering that is book was published in the 70's. Maybe that is why I rounded up!
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Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2002.
From his web site:
I'm told every good author website needs a bio, so here's mine:
"Lawrence Block's novels range from the urban noir of Matthew Scudder (A Drop of the Hard Stuff) to the urbane effervescence of Bernie Rhodenbarr (The Burglar on the Prowl), while other characters include the globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanne...more
More about Lawrence Block...
From his web site:
I'm told every good author website needs a bio, so here's mine:
"Lawrence Block's novels range from the urban noir of Matthew Scudder (A Drop of the Hard Stuff) to the urbane effervescence of Bernie Rhodenbarr (The Burglar on the Prowl), while other characters include the globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanne...more
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