The Burglar on the Prowl

If you are willing to gloss over ethical and character problems in a significant character relationship, it might theoretically be an entertaining read.

Seriously, Block. What's the author of the finely tuned Matt Scudder mysteries thinking? Please tell me this was subbed out to a ghost writer, because your introduction of the Barbara Creely character is awful.

Burglar stared off promising, with a unique voice compared to Block's other works, and with a man who clearly enjoyed his illegal activities, even as he was aware of how problematic they were.

Bernie Rodenbarr is set up to be a somewhat loveable anti-hero, the classic criminal with ethics (he only steals from the rich, etc, etc), and it mostly works, until he's under the bed at a show more woman's house as she is about to get date-raped. And he just hides there and listens, because he's essentially afraid of harm from the rapist. Although I appreciate that Bernie is sharing an honest reason, it had a significant downgrading on my enjoyment level. After the rapist finishes, he tosses the apartment looking for money and valuables. He threatens to degrade the unconscious woman further, but is luckily stopped by circumstance. Bernie feels sorry for the woman and makes an effort to "clean up" the mess the rapist/robber made by putting things back, replacing money in her wallet, flushing the condom, etc. Kind, I suppose. But how fucking obtuse: I know what will solve the problem! Let me erase it for you and we'll pretend it never happened!

Later, Bernie goes back to the neighborhood and hangs out at a bar that seems like the woman's type, hoping to run into her. To see if she's okay? Nice thought, but no. To try and warn her that her she needs to start playing it safer? Wow, you're kind of a Pollyanna, aren't you?
No, he meets her, they have a creepy conversation about how it seems they've been "emotionally intimate" before, he goes home with her that night, and spends the night having sex.

Oh, not so he's a stalker or anything--he's friendly and doesn't use roofies, which makes all the difference.
Then, within a week, he's telling her the truth about his occupation... and how he first met her. And you know what? She's okay with it.

What
the
fuck?

The self-disclosure is literally taken care of in a couple of paragraphs. This is despite Bernie earlier reflecting on a conversation with his friend Carolyn about how merely feeling burgled felt like a violation. He tells Barbara she's been roofied and date-raped, along with being robbed. Her reaction? She swears for a minute and then focuses on which window Bernie was going to use to escape.

I will say it again:

What
the
fuck?

Add in a shitload of coincidences, which Bernie self-references twenty times if he does it once, and the ridiculous Hercule Poirot denouement, and I'm left with the uncomfortable feeling that this is a spoof. In which rape is how you meet your next date.

Need I say it again? show less

Reading Lawrence Block is like coming home for me, and the Burglar books are like coming home to a warm cup of coffee and a snuggly blanket. A stolen coffee and blanket in someone else's home, but that's neither here nor there.

They all have the loveable rascal Bernie getting in some scrape tangentially related to his vocation as a burglar, but convoluted plots aside, it's Block's witty dialogue and setting description that make the books a joy to read. Burglar on the Prowl follows the formula well, with Bernie moving into the modern world somewhat. There are even references to Google and instant messaging, but the story is a classic Bernie Rhodenbarr.

While I prefer Block's Scudder novels (more, please!) and the Keller stories, show more sometimes a Burglar book is perfect, when you need something light and fluffy but still infused with a healthy dose of moral ambiguity. show less

I can never decide which of this series is my favorite, but this one is at or near the top. It goes without saying that Bernie, himself, is one of my favorites. With characteristic sly humor, he tells this tale of seemingly impossible coincidences, ending in a conclusion worthy of Perry Mason or Hercule Poirot. This one is incredibly complex, and despite the bad stuff in it, still keeps you ROFL!

Another slice of Rhodenbarr sponge... drizzled with whisky, probably Laphroaig. Formulaic to a fault with even Block signposting his lazy adherence to the cliche:

... what a less original narrator might characterize as that fateful day...

And, yet, not without its charms. Perhaps more than most, this featherlight book is built on silly coincidences, but Block makes them a feature and brazens his way to another satisfying conclusion.

In a hilariously funny tale of the most striking coincidences, Bernie finds himself trapped under a homeowner's bed when she returns home from a date with her date, finds himself accused of a burglary and multiple murder he didn't do, and rushes out of his bookstore to see a customer gunned down. Much of the book is dialogue and witty thoughts. It is intentionally funnier and lighter than the Matthew Scudder series, but it is not difficult to see the connections between the two series. Both take place in Manhattan. Both involve drinking and crime. A series of odd connections or coincidences ties things together often in both series. Fans of Scudder who read about Bernie will miss the darkness, the grittiness, the gloom of the Scudder show more series. Nevertheless, the Burglar On The Prowl is a captivating book and, once you start reading it, you find yourself curious about who pulled off the heist and murders, why they think Bernie has hidden away, whether there is a Latvian connection, and whether it would be odd for him to date someone whose house he burgled. show less

Bernie Rhodenbarr, gentleman burglar and antiquarian bookseller, returns in the 10th installment of Lawrence Block’s lighthearted mystery series. All the classic elements of a Burglar book are here: witty repartee between Bernie and lesbian dog groomer Carolyn Kaiser, his best friend and occasional henchperson; being falsely accused of a crime by Ray Kirschmann, the best cop money can buy; a string of coincidences long enough to choke a giraffe; and a complicated but satisfying denouement that leaves Bernie both in the clear and with more money than he started. Not the best book in the series, but more than satisfying.

Fast and fun read. Sure, it's quite far-fetched and convoluted, and unrelated things seem related, but aren't, in the end. But I enjoyed it. I haven't had many Block books to read lately, so this was a nice nostalgic read... it kinda sucks when writers you like, a lot, don't write much any more. I liked this story enough that I am going to dig around some bookstores to see if I can find others in the Burglar series that I haven't read yet.