โ Scribed by Lawrence Block
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the noir classic When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business.
"I hurried uptown and changed into chinos and a short-sleeved shirt that would have been an Alligator except that the embroidered device on the breast was not that reptile but a bird in flight. I guess it was supposed to be a swallow, either winging its way back to Capistrano or not quite making a summer, because the brand name was Swallowtail. It had never quite caught on and I can understand why." That's Bernie Rhodenbarr, used book dealer and gentleman burglar, making a literary fashion statement in this latest return to print of one of Block's best books about him.
As with the other entries in this admirable series--The Burglar in the Closet, The Burglar in the Library, The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, Burglars Can't Be Choosers--Block manages to be very amusing, moderately suspenseful, and impressively erudite all at the same time. The plot is a complicated tangle of double-cross and deceit surrounding the theft of a valuable painting and two murders. Mondrian isn't the only artist being framed here: Bernie has to use all of his skills--as burglar, lover, and art expert--to prove his (relative) innocence. --Dick Adler
"Bernie Rhodenbarr doesn't have to try for hipness, because hip is in the very air he breathes. The Burglar is just adorable. 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. 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 was still doing the Thin Man books today." - The Guardian "For clean close-to-the-bone prose, the line goes from Dashiell Hammett to James M Cain to Lawrence Block. He's that good." - Martin Cruz Smith "Fast, Funny, Terrific" - Ed McBain "Excellent N.Y. background and unusual characters make Block a detective writer to savour" - Daily Mirror "A homage to the golden age of murder mysteries" - Donna Leon, The Sunday Times
๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES
### Amazon.com Review If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the *noir* classic \_\_, then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business. "I hurried uptown and changed into ch
### Amazon.com Review If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the *noir* classic \_\_, then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business. "I hurried uptown and changed into ch
### Amazon.com Review If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the *noir* classic \_\_, then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business. "I hurried uptown and changed into ch
### Amazon.com Review If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the *noir* classic \_\_, then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business. "I hurried uptown and changed into ch
It's not that used bookstore owner and part-time burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr believes the less legal of his two professions is particularly ethical. (It is, however, a rush, and he is very good at it.) He just thinks it's unfair to face a prison term for his legitimate activities. After appraising the
### Amazon.com Review If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the *noir* classic \_\_, then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business. "I hurried uptown and changed into ch