Rating: 
Summary: A well-plotted and fun mystery
Review: After reading this Bernie Rhodenbarr novel, I look forward to reading others. The characters are entertaining and the dialogue between them is engrossing. The meandering conversations almost threaten to overshadow the central storyline, but they're still engaging enough to keep you glued to the page. The solution to the mystery is everything it should be: unpredictable, credible, and satisfying. If you're looking for a mystery with quirky characters, a smudge of suspense, and a good sense of humor, THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE is a perfect choice.
Rating: 
Summary: Among the Best of Bernie
Review: Being a mystery writer with my first book in initial publication, I have always been impressed by the diversity of Lawrence Block's talents. He does it all within (and occasionally without)the mystery genre, and THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE is among Block's best Bernie Rhodenbarr books. As always in a Bernie book, Block's tone is light and the mystery is fun. For those who are not yet familiar with Bernie, he is a used book dealer who is known to moonlight as a burglar. In this adventure, he's hired to steal letters written by a literary recluse before the letters are auctioned. We all know the literary figure is based on a certain real-life author the moment we see the title of Block's novel. We also know Bernie will become a murder suspect during the course of the caper. We know too that the best cop money can buy will be investigating the crimes. While these elements are obvious from the start, the book remains a fun and light read. It's a good book, and I recommend it heartily.
Rating:
Summary: Among the Best of Bernie
Review: Being a mystery writer with my first book in initial publication, I have always been impressed by the diversity of Lawrence Block's talents. He does it all within (and occasionally without)the mystery genre, and THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE is among Block's best Bernie Rhodenbarr books. As always in a Bernie book, Block's tone is light and the mystery is fun. For those who are not yet familiar with Bernie, he is a used book dealer who is known to moonlight as a burglar. In this adventure, he's hired to steal letters written by a literary recluse before the letters are auctioned. We all know the literary figure is based on a certain real-life author the moment we see the title of Block's novel. We also know Bernie will become a murder suspect during the course of the caper. We know too that the best cop money can buy will be investigating the crimes. While these elements are obvious from the start, the book remains a fun and light read. It's a good book, and I recommend it heartily.
Rating:
Summary: Burglary Was Never So Much Fun
Review: Bernie Rhodenbarr runs an antiquarian bookstore in Manhattan. He’s also a burglar, and just about everybody knows it, which has its good and bad points. (People always know who to go to for a quick breaking and entering…but the cops also suspect you every time one occurs. Oh well, life’s a two-sided coin.)A woman named Alice walks into Bernie’s bookstore and hires him to steal some letters that a reclusive writer named Gulliver Fairborn sent to his agent. No problem. Except that Bernie breaks into the agent’s apartment and finds the letters gone and the agent dead. Did I mention the police knocking on the apartment door at that very moment? Lawrence Block’s protagonist is a completely likable criminal with a quick mind and a heart of gold…uh, for a burglar. Block masterfully moves the reader along through a series of wild, yet believable occurrences that make for very entertaining reading. The dialogue is snappy, the characters are well-drawn, and the writing is sharp. What more could you ask for? Be prepared for loads of fun. 308 pages
Rating: 
Summary: Starting To Get Repetitive
Review: Bernie Rhodenbarr, used bookstore owner who sidelines as a professional burglar, is recruited by a beautiful woman to recover some letters for her, illegally of course. The letters are correspondence between a reclusive author and his agent. The agent wants to sell the letters, given their highly collectable appeal; the author desperately wants to stop her. The farce begins when Bernie breaks into the agent's room, but can't locate the letters. Instead, he locates her dead body that is lying in bed after she has been stabbed in the heart. Bernie is arrested but soon released and is back in his bookstore, only to be visited by a series of people determined to get their hands on the letters and believe Bernie can help them. Although filled with the trademark Lawrence Block humour and snappy dialogue, this book doesn't quite contain the edginess of previous Burglar books. The scenario of Bernie illegally entering a room that later proves to contain a corpse has been played in the earlier books. A new concept would have been refreshing. If you haven't read any of the Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries, you will probably find the story quite amusing and entertaining - and it is. If, however you have read a number of the books in the series, you'll find that it's all getting a bit repetitive.
Rating:
Summary: Salute Mr Block - You've done it!
Review: Kudos to Lawrence Block for creating a witty series in the burglar mysteries, and a special kudo for this entry -- the best of the bunch (so far). The characters are appealing, the dialog is pithy, and the plot is intriguing. As usual, burglary is mixed in with murder, and our hero must find the killer to clear his own name. I loved the way Bernie confronts the suspects in the dramatic scene in the apartment. Such an intellect hasn't seen the pages of fiction since Nero Wolfe. I highly recommend this well written book. I suspect Mr Block would make for a most interesting dinner party.
Rating:
Summary: Bernie Bearly Breaks into Burglary
Review: 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! Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
Rating:
Summary: Bernie Bearly Breaks into Burglary
Review: 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! Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
Rating:
Summary: Decent fun for an afternoon or two
Review: No, it's not the next "Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven", but "Burglar in the Rye" is worth a couple days' reading. This book has gotten a lot poor ratings, and the only reason I can think that they gave him 1s and 2s is that they were expecting more. Why? This is Lawrence Block, not J.D. Salinger. Anyway, the much-maligned dialogue is a staple of Block; either you love it or hate it. The Bernie Rhodenbarr series is intended to be light-hearted, so don't expect major issues to be confronted. Block likes to end the novels in this series with a Nero Wolfe-style group interrogation, and this one is no different. Again, it's fun if you're not expecting high literary merit. If you're looking for something a little more hard-boiled, I highly recommend Block's Matt Scudder series, which read so differently that you'd swear another author wrote them.
Rating:
Summary: Ending not up to par.
Review: Reclusive author, Gulliver Fairborn, wants his correspondence back. His ex-agent, Anthea Landau, is selling his letters to Sothbys so they can be auctioned off. However, attractive Alice Cottrel hires Bernie Rhodenbarr to burgle Landau's apartment and retrieve the letters before they can go on the auction block. Of course, when Bernie gets into Landau's apartment the letters are gone and the lady is stone-cold dead. I've read most of the Burglar series, and as many other reviewers have stated, they are meant to be light reading. I've never enjoyed them as much as Block's Matthew Scudder series but they're not bad. The dialog is sometimes a little too cute but I can live with that. What really bothered me about this one is the identity of the killer. Came right out of left field. This, I feel, is very unfair to the reader. I personally feel at the end of the book you should be able to go back and see where it was logical for the person to be the killer. There should have been clues or something that could have pointed to this person. I didn't find that in this book and I felt let down. Block always writes well and his characters are predictably quirky. As I mentioned before, the dialog is too cutesy at times but on the whole it's not too bad. The plot up until the end is really pretty good however I got the feeling that Mr. Block painted himself into a corner and wasn't sure how to bring this to a conclusion and thus the lame ending. Oh well. I'll most likely keep reading the Burglar books but I hope this isn't the start of a trend.
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