| Digital List Price: | $6.99 |
| Kindle Price: | $4.99 Save $2.00 (29%) |
| Sold by: | Amazon.com Services LLC |
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (Bernie Rhodenbarr Series Book 11) Kindle Edition
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateDecember 25, 2013
- File size589 KB
-
Next 2 for you in this series
$16.13 -
All 11 for you in this series
$65.09
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Bernie is such a likeable goof, the dialogue so finely crafted and the plot so twisted that one sitting is all it takes on this book.” —Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“All of Block’s Bernie books are outrageously funny.” —Associated Press
“The bookseller-thief remains one of the most endearing characters in the genre, and combined with a stellar supporting cast, remarkably clever premises, and nonstop humor, the series offers terrific entertainment.” —Booklist
“Lawrence Block is a marvel.” —Boulder Planet
“Hilarious…zany…madcap stuff. Perfectly satisfying. The dialogue is crisp, the concept witty, and the pace is more than brisk.” —Buffalo News
“Breezy style, entertaining dialog, and sharp one-liners.” —Charlotte Observer
“Intoxicating writing.” —Chicago Tribune
“Block is a master of witty dialogue, plotting and pace, and the series’ wacky, offbeat characters make great companions.” —Cleveland Plain-Dealer
“Fans will welcome it. New readers will delight in it. A witty, and always affectionate, sendup of the genre.” —Denver Post
“Clever and amusing.” —Detroit Free Press
“Wittily diverting…rather like an Agatha Christie novel narrated by Basil Fawlty, or a game of Clue organized by Monty Python.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Block peoples his mystery with a wacky cast of characters who all happen to have a knack for snappy dialogue, the wackiest and snappiest being Bernie himself, of course.” —Florida Times-Union
“Rhodenbarr is one of the slickest characters in crime, and Block…one of the most talented writers.” —Houston Chronicle
“…you’d rather be stranded on a desert island with [Bernie Rhodenbarr] than with any other detective in fiction.” —Kirkus Reviews
“In his Matthew Scudder books, Block is one of the most serious of crime novelists. When he chronicles Bernie…Block is one of the funniest…[Bernie] is enough to give burglary a good name.” —Los Angeles Times
“Wonderfully funny…Block’s effortless first-person narrative and zippy dialogue is as pleasing as escapist fare ever gets.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Classy. Interesting and fun…no one does Manhattan any better than Lawrence Block with these incredible tales…one of the best satirical mystery series on the market today.” —Midwest Book Review
“The joy…is Bernie’s sharp tongue and wit.” —Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“His canny survival instincts, combined with his irrepressible sense of humor, make Bernie Rhodenbarr one of detective fiction’s most engaging heroes.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Literary entertainment does not get any better than this. If you’ve never tried the Burglar books, you couldn’t ask for a better time to start.” —Mystery News
“Lawrence Block is a master of the art of mystery.” —New Orleans Time-Picayune
“[Block] is one of the great mystery writers of all time. And gets better as he goes. Rhodenbarr is a wonderful New York character with a knack for surrounding himself with colorful eccentrics…bite, wit, and enough stylish attitude to power the Plaza for a week.” —New York Daily New
“A witty series, Bernie is incorrigibly adorable. Between his inquiring mind and his sticky fingers, Bernie is the ideal sleuth. Notre Dame at dusk. Pepy’s account of the great fire of London. A really good cashmere coat. Some treasures are timeless…I feel like putting Bernie Rhodenbarr on that list.” —New York Times Book Review
“As good as it gets. Rhodies will eat it up.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
“Block’s touch is light, his creations literary soufflés that both please and leave you hungry for more.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Clever, witty…Too hip to be Poirot, too gentlemanly to be Philip Marlowe, Rhodenbarr brings his own style to murder mystery fiction.” —Providence Sunday Journal
“[An] addictive series…Block’s effortless mastery of the material, his relaxed ease, are as pleasurable as always. Pure pleasure. Bernie Rhodenbarr…is one of Block’s most stylish creations.” —Publishers Weekly
“Lawrence Block clearly has a great deal of fun writing his Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries, and the sense of whimsy is infectious.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Once again, Block has produced a funny and eminently readable mystery with clever plotting and amusing twists.” —Roanoke Times
“Engaging. Have you read Block’s [Rhodenbarr} mysteries? You should. They are a real kick. Bernie Rhodenbarr is one of the most charming and witty characters in the burglar business.” —Rocky Mountain News
“One of the mystery genre’s favorite characters. Delightful. Good fun.” —San Antonio Express-News
“Bernie Rhodenbarr, lighthearted and light-fingered, is a most ingratiating sleuth. Delightful…good, clean fun…thank goodness for Lawrence Block.” —San Diego Union-Tribune
“Bernie Rhodenbarr is such an outrageous and witty character, you wish he were real.” —San Francisco Examiner
“Block’s Burglar series is one of crime fiction’s best.” —South Bend Tribune
“It’s the mark if an innovative storyteller to turn a normally reprehensible character into a hero—of sorts. Author Lawrence Block’s Bernie the burglar series aren’t just good mysteries, they’re supreme escapism…Bernie is sheer amusement.” —South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Bernie Rhodenbarr is the perfect companion.” —Tampa Tribune
“Wonderfully detailed and inspired writing…Bernie Rhodenbarr doesn’t have to try for hipness, because hip is in the very air he breathes…He is cute without being cuddly, he is witty without looking like he’s striving for it, and he is rakish without possessing a single mean streak in his lithe and sinuous body. His plots are cunning and inventive…and his language—I suppose we should say Lawrence Block’s language—is dry and droll and elegant, like how Dashiell Hammett would write if he were still doing the Thin Man books today.” —The Guardian
“With a writer like Block, a master plotter, trying to figure out the guilty party can definitely keep you turning the pages.” —Toronto Star
“Wonderful…hilarious dialogue and characters you wish you could invite over for supper. Block is a hoot, plain and simple. [Block’s] written dialogue has the honesty of a conversation overheard on a bus…Bernie Rhodenbarr is a lot-of-laughs burglar. Recommended reading…Age has not dimmed Rhodenbarr’s considerable charms. The wit runs fast and plot twists are quick as a cat burglar.” —USA Today
“[Block] always seems to be having the time of his life in this series about a nimble-witted New York City antiquarian book dealer and still once-in-a-while…burglar. If you like Donald Westlake’s capers, you’ll love Bernie. Mystery writers with the comic touch are rare, and Block is one of the best.” —Washington Post Book World
“[Block] is as much a pro at writing mysteries as Rhodenbarr is at stealing. Beyond the mechanics of building a mystery, however, Block hasn’t lost the mischievous gleam in his writing eye that leads readers through the twists and turns of a satisfying plot.” —Wisconsin State Journal
“It’s joyous stuff.” —Ian Rankin“An absolute delight! Bernie has always been one of my favorite heroes and I couldn’t restrain my excitement when I learned he was back. This is classic Block: Clever, original, fast-paced, and populated with characters we completely believe and love spending time with. Retirement be damned! Larry better be at work on the next one in the series. That’s all I can say.” —Jeffery Deaver
“Finding a new Bernie Rhodenbarr Burglar book is like meeting up with an old friend.” —Festivale
“I was hooked from the opening scene and devoured the book in two sittings.” —Dangerous Dan
“If you enjoy consistently erudite, witty, clever writing, and who amongst us does not, you will find much to love here.” —Gloria Feit
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
From Booklist
From the Inside Flap
Book Description
About the Author
Lawrence Block is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and a New York Times bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series and dozens of short stories and articles. He has won multiple Edgar and Shamus awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of America, and many others. Aside from being a mystery writer, he has also written a number of episodes for television, including two episodes of the ESPN series Tilt; he also cowrote the screenplay for the film My Blueberry Nights, starring Norah Jones. Block currently lives in New York City with his wife, Lynne.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.Product details
- ASIN : B00G2K8IPQ
- Publisher : Lawrence Block; 1st edition (December 25, 2013)
- Publication date : December 25, 2013
- Language : English
- File size : 589 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 250 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0991068424
- Best Sellers Rank: #540,668 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #425 in Heist Crime
- #1,347 in Mystery Series
- #1,743 in Heist Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
Videos for this product
About the author

Lawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published more than 100 books, and no end of short stories.
LB is best known for his series characters, including Matthew Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, Evan Tanner, and Keller. LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years and led to a series of books for writers. He has also written television and film screenplays. Several of LB’s books have been filmed, including A Walk Among the Tombstones.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America. He has won multiple Edgar and Shamus awards, the Japanese Maltese Falcon award, 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 of the UK, been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir, and has been awarded the Société 813 trophy.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
In all of these activities he enjoys the companionship of his lesbian friend Carolyn Kaiser and their times at the comfortably-sleazy Bum Rap bar. He also has the distant (except at mealtime) companionship of his cat Raffles, who keeps his bookshop free of vermin.
When Bernie thinks of Raffles he thinks of Kit Smart’s poem, “Jubilate Agno,” and of Smart’s cat Geoffrey and of Smart’s mental challenges and of Samuel Johnson’s support for him, and . . . and so on. Discussions with Carolyn and quiet moments at Barnegat Books lead to endless and delightful considerations of books, thought, culture, history and, well, life, which is to say that a great deal of The Burglar Who Counted The Spoons (which, of course, involves a reference to one of Johnson’s ruminations on trust and the individuals who do not enjoy it) consists of texture.
Cozies (as opposed to the John Keller/Matt Scudder crime fiction/romances) often include a great deal of texture and the Bernie Rhodenbarr books are not only not an exception, but, in fact, true exemplars of the mode and genre.
That is to say that Lawrence Block is always in total control of a book’s ‘voice’. Matt Scudder’s New York is a vastly different place than Bernie Rhodenbarr’s, even though they are equally plausible and equally authentic, given the quite different literary forms in which they serve as the setting.
Lawrence Block thinks long and hard about such things, about his craft and his instruments and it is a delight to see him at work. He always does these things with the lightest of touch and the greatest of skill. Bottom line: this is the mystery and crime writer who, quintessentially, makes it look easy.
The result is that reading a top Bernie/Burglar book is a great comfort. Put on the oldest slippers, don the warm robe, stoke the fire and keep your favorite beverage close at hand. It’s time to luxuriate.
This particular Bernie outing is one of the best. Bernie is at the top of his game, both in evading the gendarmes and the burgled and in determining the perp (perps?) responsible for the murder that is (almost always) encountered en route. The book feels as if it is mostly texture, with a relatively spare plot, until the end, when Bernie explains the who/what/when/where/ and why. The end is very complex. Not impenetrable and not implausible, but very complex. And (as would only be fitting) it involves a bit of homage to Agatha Christie.
It has been nine years since Block last allowed us to visit with Bernie. Not much has changed in his world since then. His cover profession may be more precarious than ever before, but he still owns the building where his bookstore is located, he and his best friend Carolyn, a dog groomer to whom he can explain the plot, still spend most of their free time together, he's still mostly a lone wolf, and he still breaks into people's places and steals things. A Mondrian painting adorns his apartment walls and, by the end of this book, he has another valuable item hanging beside it.
In most of the previous ten books in the "burglar" series, Bernie finds himself in a tight spot when one of his break-in gigs goes wrong, usually when he stumbles across a body. This book is somewhat different. He isn't fighting for his liberty; in fact, he's working with Ray to figure out why and how an elderly woman died during an apparent burglary. Did she stumble upon the thief when she came home early and suffer a heart attack? Or did the burglar enter her apartment and find her already dead?
At the same time, Bernie is conducting forays on behalf of a man he knows as Mr. Smith. His first job involves stealing the original manuscript to the F. Scott Fitzgerald story that will ultimately be published as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." As he does other work for the man, he detects a theme. Mr. Smith has a thing for buttons, in just about any possible form. Real buttons, pin-back buttons, campaign buttons, autographs and signatures by people named Button, and so on. He is willing to pay handsomely to feed his obsession, and Bernie is ready to oblige. Some of the objects, though, are in difficult-to-access places, which forces Bernie to use some creative strategies to obtain them.
Unlike some of Block's other characters, Bernie is unburdened by a dark past or addictions. He's been to prison, but he doesn't dwell on it. He can drink heavily at times and be a teetotaler at others without it being an issue. He isn't a monk, either. He encounters a number of attractive women over the course of this book, has a memorable evening with one who rejects him as "husband material," and, by the end of the book, begins a tentative relationship with another woman who he has known superficially for a while. Coincidence brings her into his bookstore and they are delighted to learn that they have much to discover about each other.
Coincidence also ties his work for the mysterious Mr. Smith and his consulting gig with Ray together, leading to a classic detective novel finale in which the suspects are all assembled at the bookstore so Bernie can explain the solution to the mystery to him. Block even references Nero Wolfe as the model for this scenario. In fact, Block mentions a lot of other crime authors over the course of the book, most of them favorably, and even name-checks an infamously prolific Amazon reviewer.
Bernie is still a lovable rogue. As with his more modern analog, Keller, the hit man, readers have little trouble rooting for a career criminal as he plies his illicit trade. Block is an engaging writer, effortlessly carrying readers along with him as he puts his characters through their paces. He can even perform info dumps with a wink and a nod that make them more tolerable than normal. Better still, once Bernie explains what happened in the burgled apartment, many of the subtle clues he left early in the book make sense, even if there is a sense that one particular detail feels a little too coincidental for fiction. The resolution, though, may not satisfy all readers as everyone isn't made to account for their sins, at least not in the socially acceptable fashion. But then again, Bernie isn't exactly the best advocate for the straight and true lifestyle.
Top reviews from other countries
Thank you, Mr Block, for a joyous caper which wears its light heart on its sleeve.
The first book I read by LB was "The burgler in the closet" back in the mid-90s and ever since I am a big fan of his books.
When Bernie is involved the dialoges are always fun, sometimes bizarre and some details are interesting to learn (Roda Roda, Myer Myers ...).
The plot is OK, though I do have the feeling that similar endings have been written before. Nevermind, I enjoyed this book and will always recommend the books of this series.
This may or may not make you laugh, and I guess it made me laugh so either the line is funny, or it proves that I am a lunatic. Anyway, moving on, taken from chapter seven (location 483) is an epiphany about reading, which to be honest, should come early to anyone who claims to be a super keen reader:
“... The last thing I wanted now was to have my reading interrupted, and yet at the same time I welcomed the interruption, because that way the book would last longer.”
Having said that, the plot is about to take shape. A repeating customer of Bernie is seen to be handing out piles upon piles of hundred dollar bills in a pre-arranged transaction and one would assume, based on their conversation stretching over most of chapter seven, that “Mr Smith” is about to offer the world’s favourite Burglar some more casual employment. The Bernie books gave always been funny, educational and strangely compelling. Long term fans of Mr Block have known for years that they are reading the works of one of the greats of the twentieth century, and on close analysis of the stories published by Mr Block throughout his career will see their strength and quality in a variety of genres and sub-genres, some of which he created himself. The Bernie books stand tall as equal to anything the great man has ever penned. Read this book, live it, and love it. Once you have stopped laughing, you will have the time to analyse the experience yourself. And you will see the truth.
BFN Greggorio!













