The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian (1983)

This was my 5th of Lawrence Bock's Bernie Rhodenbarr and the storyline is pretty much like all the others. Bernie a career burglar who owns bookstore of rare and used books but his true bread and butter comes as he schemes a burglary, someone concede to the burglary gets murdered, Bernie gets accused and sets out to find the real killer and of course does after some elaborate planning that brings all the suspects together at the end with Bernie going through a mind shaking explanation.

Along the way interesting characters are introduced, some are reoccurring from previous books; Carolyn the lesbian dog groomer who is Bernie's behind the scenes partner and whose character is googling over a various number of female characters one of course who is her current fling. There is Ray a cop who is bending the rules of law and order for personal financial gain.

The murder surrounds something rare and of great value in this case it is a painting. Bernie of course has his sexual flings and is always one step ahead of everyone else and in the end has proven himself innocent but not without a a cash profit.

The 'Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian' is neither more or less then the previous four but it is a simple read for simple entertainment for those whose entertainment come from mysteries, I being one.

The closing the book on TBWPLM is it filled in the hours prior to bedtime and those times you got an hour or so to kill and don't want to have a fully engaged my to comprehend and retain what your reading. ( )

http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/2006/06/burglar-who-painted-like-mondrian.h...

Well, it was no Thomas Crown Affair. It was overly complicated and not really that satisfying. Plus the planting evidence and framing suspects was especially pronounced here. Nonetheless, a bad Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery is still more enjoyable to read than the best efforts of lesser detective series. And now I have read all of the books in the series (well until he writes a new one) so that is, in itself, satisfying. If only I had read them in order... ( )

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Clean, crisp writing. Funny scenes/one liners/comments. The mystery is a bit complicated (and difficult to follow even when it's spelled out in the end). There are a lot of "art" details - like, details about classic valuable paintings which... well, maybe it provides some culture for me.

All in all, it's fast and enjoyable and convoluted enough that it's not obvious what is going on, though the mystery is sort of secondary to the humorous way Bernie describes the events occurring in his life. ( )

Bernie takes advantage of being in the Charlemagne for a legtimate reason - the appraisal of Gordon Ordendonk's book collection - to break into the Appling apartment and steal a few stamps. Bernie's lesbian friend, Carolyn, has her cat kidnapped and the ransom price is $250,000. The catnappers know Carolyn can't pay that much but they also know her friend is Bernie and they tell her they want him to steal a Mondrian painting that is hanging at the Hewlitt Museum. Bernie knows he can't get that Mondrian painting but it just so happens there is one in Gordon Onderdonk's apartment. So Bernie goes back in the apartment, illegally this time, and finds the painting already stolen, and that a very sexy woman has already broken into the apartment ahead of him, and is still there in the dark. The next day, Onderdonk's dead body, as well as the the fact that the Mondrian is missing are discovered by the police and Bernie is accused of both crimes. Such is the world of Bernie Rhodenbarr.

This one is overly complicated at the end of the book, but the humor and the dialogue are exceptional. The author, Lawrence Block, spoofs the mystery genre in a very clever, gentle way. Along the way you get to learn a little about Piet Mondrian, the De Stijl abstract art movement, and cat breeds. Lawrence Block's love of New York City comes through again as does his love for books and the written word. A very easy series to read and enjoy. ( )