The Burglar in the Rye

Lawrence Block

Oct 2009 · Bernie Rhodenbarr Book 9 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

Gulliver Fairborn's novel, Nobody's Baby, changed Bernie Rhodenbarr's life. And now pretty Alice Cottrell, Fairborn's one-time paramour, wants the bookselling, book-loving burglar to break into a room in New York's teeth-achingly charming Paddington Hotel and purloin some of the writer's very personal letters before an unscrupulous agent can sell them. Here's an opportunity to use his unique talents in the service of the revered, famously reclusive author. But when Bernie gets there, the agent is dead . . . and Bernie's wanted for murder. (He really hates when that happens!)

Perhaps it's karmic payback; Bernie did help himself to a ruby necklace on his way out. (But it was lying there. And he is a burglar.) Now he's in even hotter water. And he'll need to use every trick in the book—maybe going so far as to entice the hermitic Fairborn himself out of seclusion—to bring this increasingly twisted plot to a satisfying denouement.

Ratings and reviews

NYC, humor, mystery, law-enforcement, burglar, murder Another fun murder mystery with Bernie Rhodenbarr stuck in the middle. This one is as twisty as the rest, and still manages to have a red herring or two. Carolyn is his best friend and foil as usual, and Det. Ray Kirschman's mangling of names will truly make you spew your caffeine! The rest of the characters really are that as well. This is a reread for me as I wanted to read them in order for once.

About the author

Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.