Publishers Weekly
12/23/2019
MWA Grandmaster Block collects 15 tightly crafted and amusing short stories and articles concerning burglar and bookseller Bernie Rhodenbarr, hero of The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling and other novels. In “Mr. Rhodenbarr, Bookseller, Advises a Young Customer on Seeking a Vocation,” Bernie schools a hapless shoplifter who comes with sticky fingers into his bookstore. In “The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke,” a clever roman à clef inspired by the famous mystery book collection of publisher and bookstore owner Otto Penzler, an original solution is presented for a locked room puzzle, with a Penzler avatar providing the corpse. Among other high points is an article detailing how the 1987 movie Burglar inexplicably went from hiring a pre–Die Hard Bruce Willis as Bernie and instead cast Whoopi Goldberg in the title role. A foreword, “A Burglar’s Origins,” and an afterword, “A Burglar’s Future,” are original to this volume. The author’s legion of fans won’t want to miss this one. Agent: Danny Baror, Baror International. (Feb.)
Library Journal
01/01/2020
In 1977, Block introduced Bernie Rhodenbarr in Burglars Can't Be Choosers. By day Bernie runs a used bookstore with his cat Raffles, but by night his adventures as a burglar often land him in the path of a murder that he must solve in order to clear his good name. A charming thief who likes Scotch and women, Bernie is a beloved character with a devoted following. This collection includes all of the short stories and pieces Bernie has appeared in over his lifetime in various publications, as well as two new pieces. The first is the author's own story of Bernie's origins and evolution, and a clever afterword has Bernie confronting his maker, voicing his complaint that while the world around him changes, he stays the same year after year, frozen in time. VERDICT Enthusiasts of the "Burglar" series will delight in revisiting Bernie's beginnings, his bookshop, and his introduction to Raffles. Readers new to the series will enjoy this introduction to a charming character.—Melissa Stoeger, Deerfield P.L., IL
Kirkus Reviews
2019-11-24
Bittersweet news for fans who've missed Bernie Rhodenbarr even since The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (2013): Everyone's favorite bookseller/burglar is back for a 12th, and presumably final, volume, which is not a novel but a collection of short pieces.
The valedictory tone of Block's Foreword and Afterword, the first a chatty narrative overview of the backstories behind each of the 13 reprints sandwiched in between, the second a playful dialogue between author and character, isn't the only reason that this good news isn't great news. Five of the items here are bite-sized monologues or dialogues in which Bernie and his pals hold forth on the Flat Earth Society, fictional New York murder sites, five books or series (Richard Stark, John Sandford, Agatha Christie) Bernie's really liked, how stealing keeps Bernie honest, or why burgling isn't what it used to be. Another is Block's longer but equally one-note reflection on the bizarre casting of Whoopi Goldberg as Bernie in the 1987 film Burglar, based on The Burglar in the Closet (1978). Three more are chapters excerpted from The Burglar Who Liked To Quote Kipling (1979) and The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (1994). That leaves exactly four short stories. In "A Bad Night for Burglars" (1977), Block auditions an anonymous precursor of Bernie. "Like a Thief in the Night" (1983) introduces Bernie to a female counterpart robbing the same office. A tabloid reporter hires Bernie to photograph the off-limits bedroom in Graceland in "The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis" (1989). "The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke" (1997) is a locked-library murder co-authored with Lynne Wood Block that's as obvious as it is ingenious. Since all four of these stories have already appeared in Block's comprehensive collection Enough Rope (2002), virtually all the reading material here is actually rereading material.
Fences pay burglars pennies on the dollar. Hungry fans will devour this skimpy opus despite the absence of new material.
