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!
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.
What do You think about The Burglar In The Rye (2001)?
Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar/antiquarian book shop owner, sets his sights on a collection of unpublished letters written by reclusive author "Gully Fairborn" (think J. D. Salinger), author of "Nobody's Baby" (think Catcher in the Rye). Unfortunately instead of the letters he finds a body and, as is often the case with Bernie, is accused of murder. Nevertheless, a number of obsessed collectors and bibliophiles including Fairborn's one-time teen age mistress "Alice Cottrell" (think Joyce Maynard) emerge seeking the letters, as well as some valuable rubies Bernie happened to pocket while making his get away. In a plot that has more twists and turns than a snake slithering through an asparagus patch, Bernie finally sorts out all the complex details, assembles the vast cast in hotel room, and, in a classic but too-lengthy denouement scene, identifies the killer and deals with the letters.
—Megargee
A friend left this here one weekend. He liked it and thought I might, too. Well he was right. This was an entertaining read. This is one of a series of mysteries involving a burglar with a side business of selling books (or is it the other way around...). Either way, it was a fun book written light-heartedly and doesn't take anything too seriously. Some places may be confusing for some readers since the story jumps the timeline a little. There are plenty of twists and the story keeps you guessing. If I see another of the series (especially on the clearance rack at halfprice books) I'll pick it up.
—Tom
This is the first book I have read by Lawrence Block and I found it to be a campy, easy read. The main charater is a burglar who does more good than bad with his trade. Don't let the term, Rye, in the title fool you in that there is no comparison between this book and the Catcher in the Rye. Rye in this case refers to Rye whiskey, which the main character and his friends drink a ton of in this book. This is the first book I have read on my new Kindle, Paperwhite, and I am very pleased with the ability to easily read, even in poor lighting.
—Caroline
