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Bernie Rhodenbarr #9
The Burglar in the Rye
The ninth book in Lawrence Block's award-winning Burglar series finds the lovable, roguish Bernie Rhodenbarr entangled in a murder mystery connected to the secret love affair between a beautiful young woman and a reclusive, aging writer. When Bernie stumbles upon the body of literary agent Anthea Landau--the caretaker of th
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
131 people are currently reading
703 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
767 books2,982 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
August 15, 2021
This is another entertaining entry in Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series. Bernie, of course is a respectable bookseller by day (well, most days anyway), and often a burglar by night. His nocturnal activities almost inevitably land him in trouble and such is the case here.
Bernie agrees to do a favor for a friend and retrieve some letters that were written by a very reclusive author, Gulliver Fairborn, to his agent. The agent is preparing to put the letters up for auction and Bernie's friend, Alice Cottrell, who once had a relationship with Fairborn, wants to protect Fairborn's privacy by destroying the letters before they can become public. First, of course, Bernie will have to steal them from the agent's room in a residence hotel from which the agent has worked for years.
The job sounds simple enough and Bernie will have no trouble getting into the hotel and into the agent's room. Once there, though, everything goes to hell in a handbasket and once again, Bernie is in trouble up to his eyeballs. He'll have to spend the rest of the novel attempting to extricate himself, which will lead him into contact with some very peculiar and interesting people. As always, he'll be able to rely on his best friend, Carolyn Kaiser, for sage advice and, as always, the dialog, particularly between Bernie and Carolyn, is alone worth the price of admission. All in all, The Burglar in the Rye is a very pleasant diversion.
Bernie agrees to do a favor for a friend and retrieve some letters that were written by a very reclusive author, Gulliver Fairborn, to his agent. The agent is preparing to put the letters up for auction and Bernie's friend, Alice Cottrell, who once had a relationship with Fairborn, wants to protect Fairborn's privacy by destroying the letters before they can become public. First, of course, Bernie will have to steal them from the agent's room in a residence hotel from which the agent has worked for years.
The job sounds simple enough and Bernie will have no trouble getting into the hotel and into the agent's room. Once there, though, everything goes to hell in a handbasket and once again, Bernie is in trouble up to his eyeballs. He'll have to spend the rest of the novel attempting to extricate himself, which will lead him into contact with some very peculiar and interesting people. As always, he'll be able to rely on his best friend, Carolyn Kaiser, for sage advice and, as always, the dialog, particularly between Bernie and Carolyn, is alone worth the price of admission. All in all, The Burglar in the Rye is a very pleasant diversion.
July 25, 2022
Bernie Rhodenbarr is a nice guy. He owns an antiquarian bookstore, romances the occasional member of the opposite sex, and will help little old ladies across the street. He is also one of the more talented burglars in the New York area, and he will merrily rob you blind. Bernie is one of the many series characters created by Lawrence Block. The Burglar in the Rye follows the same basic formula as Block’s other books in the Burglar series: Bernie is out to burgle but someone else is out to bludgeon, and he soon finds himself on the hook for a crime he did not commit. (Probably because he was busy committing an entirely different crime.) The only way out of this dilemma is to find the real killer. A Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery is not so much about getting from A to B as it is about how Bernie gets from A to B. It’s fun to match wits with our literate clever and witty burglar as well as his devious opponent de jour. Five stars.
June 21, 2023
Gönülçelen Hırsız'da J. D. Salinger var ama takma bir adla.
J. D. Salinger; hani Çavdar Tarlasındaki Çocuklar'ın yazarı. İlk romanıyla efsaneleşen ama buna rağmen ömrü boyunca gözlerden uzak yaşayan, röportaj vermeyen, fotoğraf çektirmeyen, kendisinden izin almadan yazdıkları anı kitapları nedeniyle öz kızını ve eski sevgilisini hayatından çıkaran J. D. Salinger.
Salinger'in polisiye bir romanda ne işi var diyebilirsiniz. Ben de öyle düşündüm en başta.
Neyse okumayanlar için konudan bahsedeyim de merakları gidereyim. Gündüzleri kitapçılık geceleri hırsızlık yapan Bernie, Alice Cotrell isminde bir kadınla tanışıp yakınlaşıyor. Alice, Salinger'in eski sevgilisi. Salinger'in yayın temsilcisi Landau yazarın kendisine gönderdiği mektupları müzayedede satmak niyetindedir. Salinger gibi bir yazarın mektupları milyonlar edecektir. Ama yazar özel hayatının didiklenmesinden hoşlanmayan biridir, bu yüzden Alice'den mektupları alıp yok etmesini ister. Alice de Bernie'den mektupları çalmasını.
Bernie mektupları çalmak için Landau'nun yaşadığı otele yerleşir. Kadının odasına gizlice girer ve bir de bakar ki mektuplar çalınmış, kadın da ölmüştür. Ve az önce koridorda karşılaştığı bir kadın ondan şüphelenip çoktan polisi aramıştır. Bernie, odada bir cesetle baş başayken kapıya vuruluyor ve "Açın, polis!" diye bağırılıyor. Bernie bu durumdan nasıl kurtulacak acaba?
Gerisini merak ederseniz romanı okumalısınız. İşin içine çalınan yakutlar, mektupların peşine düşen koleksiyonerler, kafayı Salinger'e takmış biyografi yazarları giriyor diyeyim de siz anlayın. Ama merak etmeyin, bütün muammalar Bernie sayesinde tereyağından kıl çeker gibi çözülüyor.
Bernie Rhodernbarr serisindeki en sevdiğim romandı diyebilirim. Bunda muammanın Salinger gibi bir yazarla ilişkilendirilmesinin payı büyüktü. Cinayeti kimin işlediği ve diğer muammalar epeyce karmaşıktı ama çözüm de aynı derecede makuldü. Her yönüyle dört dörtlük bir rahat polisiye (cozy mystery).
J. D. Salinger; hani Çavdar Tarlasındaki Çocuklar'ın yazarı. İlk romanıyla efsaneleşen ama buna rağmen ömrü boyunca gözlerden uzak yaşayan, röportaj vermeyen, fotoğraf çektirmeyen, kendisinden izin almadan yazdıkları anı kitapları nedeniyle öz kızını ve eski sevgilisini hayatından çıkaran J. D. Salinger.
Salinger'in polisiye bir romanda ne işi var diyebilirsiniz. Ben de öyle düşündüm en başta.
Neyse okumayanlar için konudan bahsedeyim de merakları gidereyim. Gündüzleri kitapçılık geceleri hırsızlık yapan Bernie, Alice Cotrell isminde bir kadınla tanışıp yakınlaşıyor. Alice, Salinger'in eski sevgilisi. Salinger'in yayın temsilcisi Landau yazarın kendisine gönderdiği mektupları müzayedede satmak niyetindedir. Salinger gibi bir yazarın mektupları milyonlar edecektir. Ama yazar özel hayatının didiklenmesinden hoşlanmayan biridir, bu yüzden Alice'den mektupları alıp yok etmesini ister. Alice de Bernie'den mektupları çalmasını.
Bernie mektupları çalmak için Landau'nun yaşadığı otele yerleşir. Kadının odasına gizlice girer ve bir de bakar ki mektuplar çalınmış, kadın da ölmüştür. Ve az önce koridorda karşılaştığı bir kadın ondan şüphelenip çoktan polisi aramıştır. Bernie, odada bir cesetle baş başayken kapıya vuruluyor ve "Açın, polis!" diye bağırılıyor. Bernie bu durumdan nasıl kurtulacak acaba?
Gerisini merak ederseniz romanı okumalısınız. İşin içine çalınan yakutlar, mektupların peşine düşen koleksiyonerler, kafayı Salinger'e takmış biyografi yazarları giriyor diyeyim de siz anlayın. Ama merak etmeyin, bütün muammalar Bernie sayesinde tereyağından kıl çeker gibi çözülüyor.
Bernie Rhodernbarr serisindeki en sevdiğim romandı diyebilirim. Bunda muammanın Salinger gibi bir yazarla ilişkilendirilmesinin payı büyüktü. Cinayeti kimin işlediği ve diğer muammalar epeyce karmaşıktı ama çözüm de aynı derecede makuldü. Her yönüyle dört dörtlük bir rahat polisiye (cozy mystery).
August 25, 2018
The Bernie Rhodenbarr books are always fun and not too deep. How could I resist a surprisingly honest burglar who has a love of books (and owns a bookshop), lives in New York City, has a lesbian best friend, and solves murders?
This one revolves around the coveted letters of a reclusive author whose iconic book affected Bernie's life, along with generations of others.
This 20 year old book has a funny mix of old days and contemporary esthetics. Grown women are called "girls" or "dames", and one of the gruff characters calls Japanese visitors "Japs". But there is a more modern attitude toward some other things.
3.5 stars
This one revolves around the coveted letters of a reclusive author whose iconic book affected Bernie's life, along with generations of others.
This 20 year old book has a funny mix of old days and contemporary esthetics. Grown women are called "girls" or "dames", and one of the gruff characters calls Japanese visitors "Japs". But there is a more modern attitude toward some other things.
3.5 stars
May 18, 2018
Another great Bernie book, a complex mix of characters all circling round a portfolio of letters from a famous reclusive author to his long ago agent, who has put them up for auction. Really enjoyed this one, Block is such a good writer.
July 7, 2020
"I don't know how the dictionary defines 'anticlimactic.' I suppose I could look it up, but so could you, if you care. I don't, because I know what it is. It's standing in a bathtub, desperate for a pee, after two people in the next room have finished making love."
90% of Lawrence Block's The Burglar in the Rye (1999) is absolutely delightful! I have been oohing and aahing about the cute prose and giggling loud. Already the third paragraph of the novel, still on the first page, made me burst out laughing:
The witty prose is not the only reason to love this novel! The title offers a clear hint and - if I am allowed to hint at the nature of the author's hint - it is not because many characters in the novel frequently drink rye whisky. This installment of Burglar transcends the conventions of the series and is a high-class meta-literary joke. Something exactly perfect for us here on Goodreads!
With the witty prose and the "meta" who cares about the plot! I certainly did not pay much attention to it. But let's at least explain the setup. As usual in the series, it starts promising. Bernie Rhodenbarr checks into a room at the Paddington Hotel. From his conversation with Carolyn - a delightful conversation that touches such topics as whether gold hoops would go well with a dirndl - we understand that he is in the hotel to do his real job, that is breaking and entering, rather than the daily job of owning a used book shop.
And indeed, Bernie does break into a room in the hotel but... As usual in the series, many complications arise and their complexity only keeps growing throughout the novel. I did not even try to follow what was going on; I just kept enjoying the light touch of Mr. Block's pen. No writer's block for this bloke!
But there is the disappointing business of the remaining 10% of the novel. Well, again as usual in the series, we have a Nero Wolfean ending, with the characters gathered in one place, etc. etc. A horrid convention! (Hey, is it another pun? I should be pun-ished!)
For the Paddington bear, sylvan defecation, dirndl, for both the mother-in-law and the dog, I would really love to rate the novel with four-and-a-half stars. Alas, the cliché ending deflated my enthusiasm.
Four stars.
90% of Lawrence Block's The Burglar in the Rye (1999) is absolutely delightful! I have been oohing and aahing about the cute prose and giggling loud. Already the third paragraph of the novel, still on the first page, made me burst out laughing:
"He was a bear, of course, but not the sort whose predilection for sylvan defecation is as proverbial as the Holy Father's Catholicism."And a few pages later:
"[...] the room was so small you had to go out to the hall to change your mind."Then:
"People say it all the time. 'oh, really? Both the dog and your mother-in-law? That's funny, because you didn't seem drunk at all.'"Enough of that! Let the readers find the sweet nuggets of prose on their own.
The witty prose is not the only reason to love this novel! The title offers a clear hint and - if I am allowed to hint at the nature of the author's hint - it is not because many characters in the novel frequently drink rye whisky. This installment of Burglar transcends the conventions of the series and is a high-class meta-literary joke. Something exactly perfect for us here on Goodreads!
With the witty prose and the "meta" who cares about the plot! I certainly did not pay much attention to it. But let's at least explain the setup. As usual in the series, it starts promising. Bernie Rhodenbarr checks into a room at the Paddington Hotel. From his conversation with Carolyn - a delightful conversation that touches such topics as whether gold hoops would go well with a dirndl - we understand that he is in the hotel to do his real job, that is breaking and entering, rather than the daily job of owning a used book shop.
And indeed, Bernie does break into a room in the hotel but... As usual in the series, many complications arise and their complexity only keeps growing throughout the novel. I did not even try to follow what was going on; I just kept enjoying the light touch of Mr. Block's pen. No writer's block for this bloke!
But there is the disappointing business of the remaining 10% of the novel. Well, again as usual in the series, we have a Nero Wolfean ending, with the characters gathered in one place, etc. etc. A horrid convention! (Hey, is it another pun? I should be pun-ished!)
For the Paddington bear, sylvan defecation, dirndl, for both the mother-in-law and the dog, I would really love to rate the novel with four-and-a-half stars. Alas, the cliché ending deflated my enthusiasm.
Four stars.
May 6, 2022
This series is always a safe bet. The writing has gotten better with snappier dialogue while the endings have gotten a little predictable. Predictable is not always bad. There are only two more novels in the series and I'll be sad when I read the last one.
June 23, 2014
The Bernie Rhodenbarr Mysteries, as readers of my reviews should know by now, is my my go-to series when I'm not in the mood to be disappointed. Sometimes it's right after I've read something truly awful -which, thank goodness, doesn't happen often. Other times, it's exactly the opposite; I've just finished a super book (such as the most recent one I read, Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King) and I don't want to experience a tremendous letdown.
And as usual, author Lawrence Block filled the bill perfectly with this one. Like the others, it takes readers on a humorous, mystery-filled few days in the life of Bernie as he tries to balance his "legitimate" self as the owner of a Manhattan bookstore and that of a, well, thief.
The pattern is relatively standard: Here, the former lover of reclusive author Gulliver Fairborn, who wrote a book years ago that changed people's lives (including Bernie's) knows of Bernie's side business and asks him to break into downtown hotel room to retrieve some personal letters from the writer's agent - who apparently plans to sell them. Bernie agrees, but (following the pattern), he finds the agent dead and, also part of the pattern, finds himself accused of the murder.
Along the way, Bernie meets up with a somewhat mysterious gentleman who helps out in the bookstore, goes head to head with his sometimes friend sometimes nemesis NYPD officer Ray Kirschmann, becomes a fan of rye whisky and tries to help his good friend and lesbian Carolyn understand why she's so hooked on a new lover that she's started acting and dressing like a (horrors!) female. Of course, Bernie figures everything out by the end, gathering all the suspects in one room so he can share what he's found in ways guaranteed to ferret out the culprit (or culprits).
In short, it's another delightful one down - and the only thing I'm sorry about now is that there are only two left in the series I haven't read!
And as usual, author Lawrence Block filled the bill perfectly with this one. Like the others, it takes readers on a humorous, mystery-filled few days in the life of Bernie as he tries to balance his "legitimate" self as the owner of a Manhattan bookstore and that of a, well, thief.
The pattern is relatively standard: Here, the former lover of reclusive author Gulliver Fairborn, who wrote a book years ago that changed people's lives (including Bernie's) knows of Bernie's side business and asks him to break into downtown hotel room to retrieve some personal letters from the writer's agent - who apparently plans to sell them. Bernie agrees, but (following the pattern), he finds the agent dead and, also part of the pattern, finds himself accused of the murder.
Along the way, Bernie meets up with a somewhat mysterious gentleman who helps out in the bookstore, goes head to head with his sometimes friend sometimes nemesis NYPD officer Ray Kirschmann, becomes a fan of rye whisky and tries to help his good friend and lesbian Carolyn understand why she's so hooked on a new lover that she's started acting and dressing like a (horrors!) female. Of course, Bernie figures everything out by the end, gathering all the suspects in one room so he can share what he's found in ways guaranteed to ferret out the culprit (or culprits).
In short, it's another delightful one down - and the only thing I'm sorry about now is that there are only two left in the series I haven't read!
March 7, 2016
In this entry in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series, Bernie breaks into a venerable hotel to retrieve some letters to a privacy obsessed writer obviously based on J.D. Salinger. this leads to the usual misunderstandings and murder.
Pretty good for the most part, although I've read that Salinger was really an unpleasant jerk, rather than the slightly curmudgeonly character shown here. Obviously set in the pre-facebook era.
Pretty good for the most part, although I've read that Salinger was really an unpleasant jerk, rather than the slightly curmudgeonly character shown here. Obviously set in the pre-facebook era.
September 13, 2015
Very enjoyable and entertaining book in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series.
May 3, 2021
Another enjoyable outing with my favorite thief.
November 13, 2018
Should also be known as "Bernie meets J.D.". Another good entry into the Rhodenbarr series as Bernie tries to recover some rare letters from an author (guess who) and finds a body. As usual, quite witty with Bernie coming up roses. Recommended.
March 26, 2022
The humor, skills and cleverness of Bernie were very evident in this novel. Bernie is hired to steal letters for a woman from a literary agent. It goes horribly wrong and murders follow. It tends to be somewhat slow at times but picks up at the end amidst a lot of complicated confusion as to who did what.
May 20, 2018
One of my favorite kinds of books has likable characters, a plot that pulls me in and keeps me reading, solid writing, and enough quirkiness or humor to keep me smiling. It's not easy to find a steady supply of these stories, though, so I'm glad that Block wrote about a dozen Bernie Rhodenbarr books. Over the years I've read and reread many of them but somehow I missed this one until now.
Bernie owns a used book store in New York City, and he's a well read, friendly guy. He's kind to strangers, takes good care of his cat and is a loyal friend. He's also a burglar. In the course of his burglaries he discovers dead bodies, overhears plots to do other people in, and generally finds a lot of trouble for himself. In the process the reader will be treated to just the right amount of information about podiatry, baseball cards, copyright laws or whatever details fit the story. All of this happens in solidly written stories with plenty of sly humor.
In this particular story Bernie decides to do an author a favor by stealing the writer's personal letters from his agent before the agent can sell them against the author's will. This altruistic act leads to plenty of complications for Bernie as he pops in and out of hotel rooms and encounters an interesting group of characters lingering in hallways. Add a cameo by Paddington Bear and lots of sly references to Salinger and "Catcher in the Rye", and you have a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. (It's OK if you haven't read CitR, though. You don't need to know it to enjoy the story.) Good old Bernie - he's guaranteed to brighten my day.
Bernie owns a used book store in New York City, and he's a well read, friendly guy. He's kind to strangers, takes good care of his cat and is a loyal friend. He's also a burglar. In the course of his burglaries he discovers dead bodies, overhears plots to do other people in, and generally finds a lot of trouble for himself. In the process the reader will be treated to just the right amount of information about podiatry, baseball cards, copyright laws or whatever details fit the story. All of this happens in solidly written stories with plenty of sly humor.
In this particular story Bernie decides to do an author a favor by stealing the writer's personal letters from his agent before the agent can sell them against the author's will. This altruistic act leads to plenty of complications for Bernie as he pops in and out of hotel rooms and encounters an interesting group of characters lingering in hallways. Add a cameo by Paddington Bear and lots of sly references to Salinger and "Catcher in the Rye", and you have a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. (It's OK if you haven't read CitR, though. You don't need to know it to enjoy the story.) Good old Bernie - he's guaranteed to brighten my day.
March 13, 2017
Another fun murder mystery with Bernie Rhodenbarr stuck in the middle. This one is as twisty as the rest, and still manages to have a red herring or two. Carolyn is his best friend and foil as usual, and Det. Ray Kirschman's mangling of names will truly make you spew your caffeine! The rest of the characters really are that as well. This is a reread for me as I wanted to read them in order for once.
Richard Ferrone did a great interpretation once again.
Richard Ferrone did a great interpretation once again.
February 16, 2018
A typically well-crafted Block mystery. 2 things stand out. First, Bernie is a great character—a burglar who’s charming, ethical, clever, and kind. A very likeable man. Second, the book is full of literary references and jokes and is gently intellectual in a back-hand manner that adds seasoning to the story to make it more than just another crime novel.
June 29, 2010
Another delightful read from Block. Rodenbarr finds himself helping an acquaintance and being arrested for a murder he didn't commit. Block's droll digressions, witty wordplay and a wonderful ear for dialogue make this twisted plot even more enjoyable.
August 7, 2014
Another cracker featuring Bernie Rhodenbarr - the usual excellent descriptions and characterisation (including that of the Hotel Paddington, which is a key location).
Smart and funny
Smart and funny
Read
January 10, 2018Nope, not my favorite character imagined by a favorite author. Done with Bernie after this one though I did think the first entry was better.
January 19, 2018
Before I started reading this book, it sounded like there might be some similarities between this berni character and McNally from Lawrence Saunders books.
There are some similarities between the two, but yet they are very different and both very enjoyable to read.
I’m so glad I discovered a new author and character that I enjoyed reading as much as my Lawrence Saunders books.
Since I can no longer get any new books from Lawrence Saunders about my beloved character McNally and can read more of this berni guy, I look forward to reading more of him.
There are some similarities between the two, but yet they are very different and both very enjoyable to read.
I’m so glad I discovered a new author and character that I enjoyed reading as much as my Lawrence Saunders books.
Since I can no longer get any new books from Lawrence Saunders about my beloved character McNally and can read more of this berni guy, I look forward to reading more of him.
September 24, 2019
Lawrence Block once again provides a good mystery involving the book world. This time Bernie gets involved with trying to retrieve letters written by an iconic reclusive author to the author's first literary agent, which letters the agent is in the process of submitting to Sotheby's for auction against the author's wishes. The identity of the murderer took me completely by surprise!
November 11, 2018
Oh Bernie how I’ve missed you! Can’t believe that I didn’t know Block had written more Burglar books but I’m hit in the trail now. This is a wonderful, fun series which always manages to surprise me at the end. High recommended.
May 3, 2024
The weakest of this series so far. Bernie is still Bernie, but has developed the ability to pull solutions out of his hiney.
November 20, 2025
[3.5] Good fun as always! Chuckling makes the long commute less painful 😁
October 27, 2018
I am a fan of all Lawrence Block’s characters. The ending of this was a little far fetched but the story was entertaining.
August 11, 2011
Bernie Rhodenbar is a nice and charming new yorker guy, with a common routine. He owns a boookstore, where he works in the company of his Manx cat, Raffles. He has a best friend, with whom he shares lunch everyday and some drinks almost everynight. The only thing that makes Bernie a little bit uncommon is his hobby. He is a burglar. A polite one, a must say. You never risk being burglarized by Bernie and found your house a mess. He is very careful with other people's stuff. He just picks what he needs. Even if he bumps in a corpse, what is very common in fact, he always let it there. Unfortunatelly, sometimes Bernie is accused of murder and has to use all his charm and abilities to solve the crime. Otherwise, he, the good guy, can be put in jail, what would be a big injustice. In this book, everything starts with a book that has changed every reader's life. I can´t say that Bernie changed mine but he is really a good company. I'm really sad because this was my last one from Bernie's serie, but I still have hopes. His author is so unpredictable (he's writing under, well, no exactly under, a pen name even being so famous) that althought he says he is done with Bernie I believe he can just decide, out of the blue, to give us another Bernie's adventures ... with Lawrence Block, we never know ...nothing.
March 5, 2016
#9 in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series. Another in the very enjoyable series about the Greenwich Village bookseller/burglar.
Burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr series - Bookseller/burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr invades the hotel suite of an aged literary agent in search of a cache of letters, by a respected and reclusive writer, that are wanted by people both legitimate and not. Bernie finds a corpse on the other side of the locked door he so neatly opens and is immediately suspected of murder by his nemesis, sticky-fingered Ray Kirschmann of the NYPD. More murder ensues before Bernie, with the help of his lesbian buddy Carolyn, can get a handle on the proceedings. But when he does he hits on a solution that fingers a most unlikely suspect, satisfies all the claimants to the letters and leaves him (and Ray) richer.
Burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr series - Bookseller/burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr invades the hotel suite of an aged literary agent in search of a cache of letters, by a respected and reclusive writer, that are wanted by people both legitimate and not. Bernie finds a corpse on the other side of the locked door he so neatly opens and is immediately suspected of murder by his nemesis, sticky-fingered Ray Kirschmann of the NYPD. More murder ensues before Bernie, with the help of his lesbian buddy Carolyn, can get a handle on the proceedings. But when he does he hits on a solution that fingers a most unlikely suspect, satisfies all the claimants to the letters and leaves him (and Ray) richer.
January 22, 2018
How can you resist a burglar who is an antiquarian book dealer on the side, or an author who can turn a phrase like "He was a bear, of course, but not the sort whose predilection for sylvan defecation is as proverbial as the Holy Father's Catholicism." Bernie attempts to steal some valuable letters from an old woman's hotel room. He believes her to be sleeping, but she's actually been murdered -- and there he is. The ending is classic, as he pulls together all the people who wanted the letters and potentially murdered her into one room and walks through the events and nails the murderer. The ending beyond THAT, however, is even more clever.
September 5, 2017
A fun romp through the used bookstore world and burglary on the side. The usual characters with a few additions. Bernie is tasked with retrieving letters written by an author whose book changed many lives. He is offered money for these letters from many sources but he doesn't have them. Who is his mysterious customer who helps in the store? Can he avoid a murder charge and stay out of prison?
This series can be read out of order. There are few references to an earlier story.
This series can be read out of order. There are few references to an earlier story.
September 27, 2017
Bu kitabı "Çavdar Tarlasında Çocuklar'a göndermeler içerdiği için uzun yıllardır okumak istiyordum. Doğrusu Lawrence Block'un 10 kitaplık serisinin bir parçası olduğundan bile haberim yoktu. Çok sofistike bir polisiye değil bence (favorim Michael Connelly'nin Harry Bosch serisidir). Yine de hem polisiye okumayı özlediğimden hem de Bernie Rhodenbarr şeker mi şeker, iyi kalpli bir hırsız olduğundan serinin tamamını vakit buldukça okumaya karar verdim.
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