On the HahaFiction shelf
Burglars Can't Be Choosers
Bernie Rhodenbarr · Book 1 · 1977
Bernie Rhodenbarr steals for a living in New York. A stranger’s commission puts him in an apartment with a corpse and the police, leaving him with a crime he didn’t commit to solve while staying out of custody.
From the author’s blurb
“Bernie occasionally makes mistakes.”Read the full description at Lawrence Block’s website
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What makes it funny?
Bernie treats trouble with a burglar’s practical eye. In the opening episode described by critic Patrick T. Reardon, cash seems sufficient to deal with the officers who catch him, until one discovers a body and faints. His dry quips continue even under suspicion of murder.
The comedy at work
The narrator has no guilty conscience about stealing, and the officers confronting him are open to bribes. Bernie’s matter-of-fact voice makes the respectable authorities look little more principled than the thief they’re pursuing.
Try this if…
An unrepentant narrator and a leisurely mystery are the attractions here. Readers in book groups recommend the Bernie Rhodenbarr series for its burglar who keeps having to solve crimes to clear himself.
Good to know
Expect murder and sexual wisecracks. Reardon enjoyed Bernie’s quips but found the plot slow and the solution overcomplicated, useful reservations if a tightly paced puzzle matters more to you than the narrator’s company.
More funny amateur sleuth
Sources & further reading
- Author
Author commentary
- Kirkus review
Review
- Patrick T. Reardon review
Review
- Reader discussion
Reader discussion
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