Burglars Can't Be Choosers (Bernie Rhodenbarr) [Kindle Edition]

Lawrence Block (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The latest in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series by multiple-award winner Block has Bernie underestimating the difficulty of breaking into a posh East Side apartment to steal a blue leather-covered box. No box, dead body, bum murder rap. Not so easy. The New York Times Book Review has called the Rhodenbarr books, "A witty series. Bernie is incorrigibly adorable. Between his inquiring mind and his sticky fingers, Bernie is the ideal sleuth."

Review

Bernie is a burglar who likes to work alone, facing a work-for-hire job which involves stealing a mysterious box and delivering it. The simple operation turns complicated when the box vanishes and his capers attract the police. Fans of Block’s prior burglar titles will find this engrossing. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 331 KB
• Print Length: 320 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0060582553
• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books (October 13, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FC1PJ8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,733 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Lawrence Block (b. 1938) is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and an internationally renowned bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series as well as dozens of short stories, articles, and books on writing. He has won four Edgar and Shamus Awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of the United Kingdom. In France, he has been awarded the title Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice received the Societe 813 trophy.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Block attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Leaving school before graduation, he moved to New York City, a locale that features prominently in most of his works. His earliest published writing appeared in the 1950s, frequently under pseudonyms, and many of these novels are now considered classics of the pulp fiction genre. During his early writing years, Block also worked in the mailroom of a publishing house and reviewed the submission slush pile for a literary agency. He has cited the latter experience as a valuable lesson for a beginning writer.

Block's first short story, "You Can't Lose," was published in 1957 in Manhunt, the first of dozens of short stories and articles that he would publish over the years in publications including American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and the New York Times. His short fiction has been featured and reprinted in over eleven collections including Enough Rope (2002), which is comprised of eighty-four of his short stories.

In 1966, Block introduced the insomniac protagonist Evan Tanner in the novel The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep. Block's diverse heroes also include the urbane and witty bookseller--and thief-on-the-side--Bernie Rhodenbarr; the gritty recovering alcoholic and private investigator Matthew Scudder; and Chip Harrison, the comical assistant to a private investigator with a Nero Wolfe fixation who appears in No Score, Chip Harrison Scores Again, Make Out with Murder, and The Topless Tulip Caper. Block has also written several short stories and novels featuring Keller, a professional hit man. Block's work is praised for his richly imagined and varied characters and frequent use of humor.

A father of three daughters, Block lives in New York City with his second wife, Lynne. When he isn't touring or attending mystery conventions, he and Lynne are frequent travelers, as members of the Travelers' Century Club for nearly a decade now, and have visited about 150 countries.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Start To An Intriguing Series, July 28, 2001

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burglars Can't be Choosers (Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery) (Audio Cassette)

This is an intriguing concept that I've only just stumbled across: A protagonist of a mystery book who's a professional burglar. Bernie Rhodenbarr is hard at work one night knocking over a house in which, he's assured, he'll find a leather-bound box. Problem 1, the box isn't there. Problem 2, the police catch him in the act. Problem 3, there's a dead body in the house, which is found by the police. Was he set up or was his luck just really bad on this job? In order to prove his innocence Bernie has to find out who committed the murder while staying ahead of the law.

This is a great idea for a different slant on mystery protagonists. It's not every story that you find yourself on the side of the burglar, so I found this book very refreshing indeed. Bernie commits crimes as a living does essentially a reprehensible job, but you can't help but like the guy. And as an investigator he's not too bad either. This is a very good mystery that has certainly prompted me to read other books in the series.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Satirical Look at Cops and Robbers, May 1, 2003

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Burglars Can't Be Choosers: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery (Paperback)

Lawrence Block is one of our most talented mystery authors. In the Bernie Rhodenbarr series he explores out an ordinary, but intelligent, "honest" person might go about pursuing a life of crime as a fastidious and talented burglar who isn't proud of what he does, doesn't like to hang out with criminals, and really gets a big thrill out of breaking and entering . . . and removing valuables. As you can see, there's a sitcom set-up to provide lots of humor. But the humor works well in part because Mr. Block is able to put the reader in the Bernie's shoes while he breaks, enters and steals . . . and arranges to evade the long arm of the law. To balance the "honest" burglar is an array of "dishonest" and equally easy-money-loving cops. As a result, you're in a funny moral never-never land while your stomach tightens and your arm muscles twitch as tension builds. To make matters even more topsy-turvy, Bernie at some point in every story turns into an investigator who must figure out "who-dun-it" for some crime that he personally didn't do. It's almost like one of those "mystery at home" games where the victim comes back as the police investigator, playing two roles. Very nice!

So much for explaining the concept of the series. Burglars Can't Be Choosers is the first book in the series. I strongly suggest that you begin the series by reading this one. Each story in the series adds information and characters in a way that will reduce your pleasure of the others if read out of order. Although, I originally read them out of order and liked them well enough. I'm rereading them now in order, and like it much better this way.

As Stephen King likes to point out, a great way to start a book is to put a character in an unusual situation and then let things happen from there. Burglars Can't Be Choosers certainly follows that route in a successful manner with what reads and feels like a very realistic burglary experience.

The characterizations, plot development, and dialogue are wonderful in the book. The only flaw from my perspective relates to the solution to the mystery. I thought it wasn't nearly interesting enough while it was being finally unraveled. As a result, the book is at its best in the beginning and middle, and weakens towards the end. Otherwise, I would have awarded five stars.

It would be a mistake to leave even a mystery "page turner" without thinking through the moral implications of the book. How many times do "honest" people self-justify what they do because it's easy money and they can pull it off? Certainly, the current rash of corporate fraud seems to suggest that it's pretty common. Maybe part of the appeal of this book and the series is that Mr. Block is exposing our own foibles to ourselves a little as we walk in Bernie's shoes.

Do what's right, not what's irresistible.

Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it! The book you'd not regret buying!, June 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Burglars Can't Be Choosers: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery (Paperback)

Maybe it is an exaggeration, but I believe that Lawrence Block and his debut series Burglars Can't Be Choosers is power packed with lots of wit, lots of plot and dialogue, and interlaced with the kind of interesting material you want to curl up in bed and read by your bedlight. This is such a good book that people seeking to improve their standard of English should look here! The pace is fast and furious, and by reading it, you really feel like you're instantly transported to living, breathing New York City!

Buy the rest too. All nine Bernie Rhodenbarr series (including the newly-released Burglar in Library novel). Lawrence Block is at his greatest and most humorous here. You'll not regret it. Makes for a perfect companion gift too!