The Burglar on the Prowl (Block, Lawrence) (Hardcover)

The plot was not only thin and far-reaching but Bernie seemed to be keeping so much of the info to himself, that he must have had a gang of invisible pixies doing the work for him. The usual quirky reparty between Bernie and Carolyn had mutated into the sort of slapstick banter that you expect a tap dancing number to follow, complete with waving hands. The story failed to sparkle and seemed to need a lucky dip of subplots to keep any interest alive. I closed the book a little bemused and alot more disappointed.

From now on, I'll be reaching for the back catalogue for some vintage Bernie and leave the new adventures to mature.

Lawrence Block is probably best known for his hardboiled Matt Scudder series, a P.I. series featuring the deeply troubled alcoholic as he fights his way through life. The Burglar series is a much lighter series and this book, THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL is the 10th in the series. The series features Bernie Rhodenbarr, a bookstore owner who moonlights as a professional burglar.

Bernie is asked by a friend to burgle the home of a plastic surgeon as a favour for stealing his girlfriend. He's looking for a form of revenge and the fact that the surgeon has a safe filled with cash sweetens the deal. Springing from this plot come a rather unusual chain of events, murders, robberies and the like, that are unrelated at first glance but closer inspection reveals that the country of Latvia is making a disturbing number of appearances. It seems that no matter which way Bernie moves, he either meets someone from Latvia or Latvia is brought up in conversation. It really becomes a head scratcher that is as amusing as it is perplexing.

Although Bernie outlines the rules that a burglar must adhere to if he wants to stay out of trouble, but while waiting to pull off the plastic surgeon job he can't help but break one of those rules putting it down to restlessness. The rule he breaks states that a burglar must always prepare and study his target thoroughly - I think in burglar-ese it's known as "casing the joint". He defines his breaking of the rule as a need to go out on the prowl. When out on the prowl, he simply wanders the streets in search of a likely house or apartment to burgle without knowing whether anyone is inside, what security is in place or even if there's anything to steal.

Naturally, his little excursion results in the unexpected arrival home by the owner, but Bernie was quick enough to hide to avoid detection. But while he remains hidden, he overhears something taking place that is to later weigh very heavily on his conscience. (Of course, I'm not going to spoil it for you by telling you what it is!) Amazingly, this encounter which was completely random is tied in with the main plot - again using the increasingly astounding Latvian connection. Its place in the story is a very clever piece of plotting

The finale is presented in a rather Hercule Poirot-like manner, using the trick of gathering all the suspects and other sundry characters together in one big room and presenting the facts to everyone in the hopes that the guilty party will blink. Bernie takes the role of Poirot and ties the case together, a role that becomes particularly difficult when police are involved and much of the evidence he gathered was due to his breaking and entering abilities.

There are many amusing moments in the book, particularly when Bernie and his long-time friend Carolyn Kaiser get together. Carolyn is a lesbian and has trouble maintaining a relationship. Her latest solution is to take out a personal ad on the internet and their observations about the results are very funny. Similarly, Block has made it a habit in the series of poking fun at a few fellow authors, making up parody book titles and plotlines. In THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL he does it again, this time taking aim at John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series with hilarious results.

You can tell that Block has delighted in throwing in coincidence upon coincidence, some of them absurdly unlikely. I think it works wonderfully well, adding quirky humour to the story that the quirk inside me appreciated. As with all of the burglar books, Block mixes the humour with more serious themes such as organised crime, murder and date rape. But the overriding tone is light and the mystery is clever and very well constructed.

Although this is the 10th book in the series, it's not really necessary to read the books in order and this one can be read as a stand-alone if you'd prefer not to go back and read the earlier books first. Certainly, I read the books out of order and didn't feel as though I missed any major character developments.

Another series that is a particular favourite of mine that also features a petty thief is Donald Westlake's John Dortmunder series. If you've tried those books and found that you enjoyed them, I think you will also enjoy THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL.

Although it's usually best to start at the beginning of a series (in this case with Burglars Can't Be Choosers), Mr. Block does a good job of providing background in this story so you could begin with this one without losing very much enjoyment.

The Burglar on the Prowl starts off innocently enough. Old friend Marty Gilmartin (the owner of the baseball cards that were stolen in The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams) has a bone to pick with a fellow roué, plastic surgeon Crandall Rountree Mapes, who has seduced and alienated the affections of his girl friend. Never mind that both Gilmartin and Mapes are both married. Gilmartin wants vengeance. Gilmartin tells Bernie that Mapes keeps lots of cash in a wall safe at home and gives Bernie the address. Gilmartin is even willing to give up his usual finder's fee if Bernie will lift the loot.

Bernie dutifully cases the joint, sees a way to pull off the caper, and heads home to watch Law and Order on television. Feeling twitchy, he decides to go out again. That impulse to go on the prowl sets off an incredible set of events that reverberate throughout the novel. After a lot of pondering, he decides he wants to burgle a brownstone . . . and wanders around until he finds one that calls out to him. Without casing the joint or knowing if anyone is at home, he breaks into a top floor apartment and finds some jewels and cash in the freezer. Then he hears two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs. He bolts for the window to the fire escape . . . and cannot open it. What next?

Before the next few days are over, there are dead bodies all over New York and Bernie's been busted as a suspect in these cases. But he doesn't know anything about those bodies.

Shaking off the inconvenience, there's still all of that loot at the Mapes place in Riverdale. Will Bernie glide away with it?

These are just a few of the imponderables in The Burglar on the Prowl. Before he's done, Bernie finds a lot of baddies who need to be bashed . . . and Bernie does his best to be sure that happens.

This book could have been subtitled "Meaningful Coincidences" and have understated the point. The plot creates astonishing connections among the characters that will leave you breathless by the end. Although it's all part of the fun of the book, if you are like me you'll find the plot overly complicated. Sometimes simple is better . . . and comic heist capers at some point lose their beauty with too many twists and turns. I graded the otherwise entertaining book down one star for the excesses in the plot.

And the next time you get an urge to take a late night prowl, think of old Bernie in this book. Perhaps you'll decide to settle for a dish of ice cream at home instead.