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.

It's 3:30 AM and I got out of bed to read this book. Now I may want to start over.

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.