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The Burglar in the Rye (Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery)
 
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The Burglar in the Rye (Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery) (Hardcover)

by Lawrence Block (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: No Exit Press (10 Jun 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1901982602
  • ISBN-13: 978-1901982602
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,159,952 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Book Description

Superbly, revamped edition of one of the most popular titles in Block's Burglar series which feature professional burglar turned sleuth Bernie Rhodenbarr. "An incorrigibly adorable thief" - The New York Times "Excellent New York background and unusual characters make Block a detective writer to savour" - The Daily Mirror --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Light Hearted Crime novel from one of the best., 13 May 2001
By A Customer
Lawrence Block is one of the most prolific and consistent authors of modern times having written over 80 novels and created numerous serial characters. The "burglar in the rye" is his 1999 project starring the notorious master burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr in a plot that contains everything from reclusive authors, lipstick lesbians, corrupt coppers, knife wielding maniacs and Paddington Bear.

Bernie checks into a downtown hotel with the intention of "liberating" the private correspondence between his favourite author and his former literary agent who is about to sell them at auction. Half an hour later Bernie is under arrest for murder and the letters are no where to be found.

This book and the ones in the same series are essentially light hearted tales with a few twists and turns on the way. The language is plain and simple with no unnecessary wordiness getting in the way of the deviousness of the characters and spoiling the fun. The only problem is that you get the impression a few of the plot twists are only really there as a contractible obligation.

Overall probably not one of the best in the series but it's still good fun and that is exactly what it is supposed to be. Just keep your eye on the bear.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bernie Bearly Breaks into Burglary, 1 Jul 2004
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
Lawrence Block is one of our most talented mystery authors. In the Bernie Rhodenbarr series he explores how an ordinary, but intelligent, "honest" person might go about pursuing a life of crime as a fastidious and talented burglar who isn't proud of what he does, doesn't like to hang out with criminals, and really gets a big thrill out of breaking and entering . . . and removing nonessential valuables from rich people. As you can see, there's a sitcom set-up to provide lots of humor. But the humor works well in part because Mr. Block is able to put the reader in the Bernie's shoes while he breaks, enters and steals . . . and evades the long arm of the law. To balance the "honest" burglar is an array of "dishonest" and equally easy-money loving cops. As a result, you're in a funny moral never-never land while your stomach tightens and your arm muscles twitch as tension builds. To make matters even more topsy-turvy, Bernie at some point in every story turns into an investigator who must figure out "who-dun-it" for some crime that he personally didn't do. It's almost like one of those "mystery at home" games where the victim comes back as the police investigator, playing two roles. As the series develops, Bernie has a chance to show that he has "ethics" that he follows. Very nice!

So much for explaining the concept of the series. The Burglar in the Rye is the ninth book in the series. I strongly suggest that you begin the series by reading Burglars Can't Be Choosers and follow it up with The Burglar in the Closet, The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian, The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart and The Burglar in the Library. Each story in the series adds information and characters in a way that will reduce your pleasure of the others if read out of order. Despite that admonition, I originally read them out of order and liked them well enough. I'm rereading them now in order, and like it much better this way. This is the last book in the series as of now.

The series, always comical and satirical, continues the new turn begun in The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart. The spoof expands to the detective/thriller genre in general. I found this change to be a welcome and charming one. Anyone who is a fan of The Purloined Letter will appreciate the many references to it. The Purloined Letter has been a favorite mystery short story of mine since I was a boy along with The Red-Headed League, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's deft display of the power of misdirection. Lawrence Block does a fine turn here in showing new ways to redirect attention in this entertaining literary thriller.

So what's it all about? The story is loosely based on the background of one J.D. Salinger, reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye. Here, he's called Gulliver (Gully) Fairborn, and his former agent is planning to sell some of his letters, and destroy Fairborn's privacy. A beautiful woman, Alice Cottrell, asks Bernie to retrieve the letters, and Bernie becomes a hotel guest in the Paddington Hotel (themed to Paddington the bear) to give himself an inside edge. The entry into literary agent Anthea Landau's suite goes well, except Bernie finds her dead there. Right behind him are the police, and Bernie's on the run. While escaping, he manages to pick up an interesting item but soon finds himself under suspicion for the murder. Coincidences begin to pile up, and Bernie breaks and enters his way into our hearts with an outlandish scheme to remedy all the wrongs and bring the killer to justice. The resolution has great literary panache of the sort that will leave you chuckling for some time.

Some of the funniest parts of this book are the on-going references to rye. Bernie starts drinking rye rather than Perrier (when he's planning to do a heist) or Scotch (when he's kicking back). He explains how rye bread is made. He reviews folk songs that mention rye. Pretty soon, lots of others are drinking rye too and discussing its merits. Bernie just can't seem to get away from rye! Does that make him a catcher?

The theme of this book focuses on the importance of (and challenges involved in) maintaining privacy. Remember: It's not just celebrities who have this problem!

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Mrs. Rhoddenbarr's boy Berhnard back again, 19 Jul 2000
By A Customer
This is the most recent of Bernie Rhoddenbarr's outings, with a story of an reclusive writer whose ex love is trying to sell his love letters (who says art doesn't imatate life). The basic plot line is very similar to most of the other burglar books. However if you have read any of the others you will know that what makes these books a great read is not an original plot, but the wonderful dialogue with its recurrent in jokes ( hence the one line review above). Well worth a read for any crime reader, as Mr block is not plotless writer as his wide variety of characters show. From the lovable Bernie to the Alcoholic Matt Scudder. Definately a writer worth getting to know.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Bernie's back for more book-related burgulary
Bernie the bookselling burgular is back again, and Block's writing is as sharp as ever. While the Burgular books are never going to shock you, they also never disappoint. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2000

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