The Burglar in the Rye

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Author: Lawrence Block

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Humor

Subject: Murder

Rating: ***** (5 Stars)

Summary:

The Burglar in the Rye is one of Lawrence Block’s many “Bernie Rhodenbarr” novels, which are set in Manhattan. Bernie is a burglar. Not just any burglar, he is a highly skilled burglar, who prides himself on never leaving any sign of his presence in a home, except for the absence of valuable items of course. In fact, he has nothing but contempt for smash and grab artists who clumsily force their way in, and leave messes in their wake.

Bernie also owns a used bookstore, which he runs during the day. He rarely makes much of a profit, but that’s all right with him. It provides good cover for his real source of income.

The only problem with this nice little arrangement is that Bernie consistently gets caught up in murder investigations when he commits burglary. He will frequently discover that someone has been there before him and killed the occupant of the house. In The Burglar in the Rye, Bernie has been hired to visit a specific room in New York’s Paddington Hotel, and steal some letters written by an author, Gulliver Fairborn, to his agent. Of course, when Bernie shows up, the agent is dead and the letters are already gone. Bernie ends up on the run while he tries to find the real killer. Meanwhile, he is contacted by several people who want the letters which he does not have.

In addition to the lighthearted Burglar series, Block has also written a number of other books, including the Matt Scudder private investigator series, which are longer and more serious.

My Thoughts:

Lawrence Block does a superb job of humanizing his characters through clever dialogue and vivid descriptions. All of the Burglar series books are entertaining, but The Burglar in the Rye is, I think, better than most. I don’t have any profound reason for thinking that; I just enjoyed it.

Potentially Offensive Content:

Mild sexual content, innuendo, descriptions of crimes being committed.

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