The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling

Lawrence Block

Oct 2009 · Bernie Rhodenbarr Book 3 · Sold by Zondervan

About this ebook

Bernie Rhodenbarr has gone legit -- almost -- as the new owner of a used bookstore in New York's Greenwich Village. Of course, dusty old tomes don't always turn a profit, so to make ends meet, Bernie's forced, on occasion, to indulge in his previous occupation: burglary. Besides which, he likes it.

Now a collector is offering Bernie an opportunity to combine his twin passions by stealing a very rare and very bad book-length poem from a rich man's library.

The heist goes off without a hitch. The delivery of the ill-gotten volume, however, is a different story. Drugged by the client's female go-between, Bernie wakes up in her apartment to find the book gone, the lady dead, a smoking gun in his hand, and the cops at the door. And suddenly he's got to extricate himself from a rather sticky real-life murder mystery and find a killer -- before he's booked for Murder One.

Ratings and reviews

I don't think that I have read this one before, but I'm glad that I caught up with it now. It is somewhat more convoluted than some of the others. I often find it worth a giggle or two to see how far communications and inflation have come since the book was written. The story involves double crossing, double dealing, some godawful poetry, and a mink coat. Richard Ferrone continues to be marvelous as Bernie Rhodenbarr.

About the author

Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.