The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian

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.

The "burglar" series is a funny, at times hilarious, series by Lawrence Block. Bernie, the star of the books, is a burglar by night and bookseller by day. He abhors violence and doesn't kill. Nevertheless, in the course of burglarizing, he often either stumbles across a body or one is found left behind a place he just burgled or else he can't prove an alibi for where he was because he was busy burglarizing someone else's home. The books are filled with humor, coincidences, and often Bernie being hunted across town while trying to solve a murder that he allegedly didn't commit.
In this particular caper, a cat is kidnapped or is it catnapped and the price for the pussycat's freedom is a Mondrian painting. Luckily, Bernie has just come upon show more one. Unluckily for him, once he slips through the building's defenses, he walks in only to find someone home. Naturally, he has to hide out when a body turns up and somehow he is the prime suspect.
This story is a lot of fun to read. But, you need to know from the start, it is not dark, gritty, or hardboiled. In short, this is not Matthew Scudder or even his cousin. It is more like Block's nod to Agatha Christie and the like, including a scene (typical of the burglar books) where he has all the suspects rounded up and then purports to reveal who the real killer is and why. show less

Aside from the good mystery -- Bernie always gets himself into some kind of scrape that he has to dig himself out of by solving the crime he has been accused of -- the books have great repartee. I burst out loud laughing several times. Bernie has just stumbled into another thief (female) in an apartment he was burgling while attempting to steal a Mondrian. He needed the money to pay ransom for a cat that was stolen from his good friend Carolyn (Did I mention the wacky plots?) So Bernie and this other thief hit it off right away and become intimately acquainted on the carpet. His new paramour explains she was in the apartment to retrieve some intimate letters sent to the owner of the apartment with whom she is having an affair (did I show more mention wacky?) She is describes them to Bernie: "Lust letters is more like it. 'I wish I had your this in my that. I'd like to verb your noun until you verb.' That sort of thing." Now anyone reading this who filled in any kind of impure idea, remind yourself that you're the impure one, not the writer, because the writing is certainly innocuous and certainly couldn't refer to anything more than a lesson in grammar.

Bernie solves the crime in a manner reminiscent of another favorite of mine, Nero Wolfe, the fat Rex Stout detective, by bringing the protagonists together at the end for the final revelations. show less

Bernie's back - not exactly on the hook for murder (after all - the evidence was really circumstantial and would never hold up in the real world. I actually either figured out or remembered how the crime was committed this time around, but Mr. Block does a good job of incorporating all the elements of the "solution" while keeping the reader in the dark until the end. I love the absurdity of Bernie's "gatherings" where he explains the crime and the killer.

This is one of the better Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries. Bernie's a gentleman burglar who tends to get accused of murder pretty regularly, even though he's a sweet soul who can't even bring himself to swat a cockroach. I honestly don't even care about the mysteries in these books (they're a bit convoluted). I read them solely for the witty, sparkly dialogue. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; it reminds me of Nick and Nora Charles in the Thin Man movies. Fun and forgettable, a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

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 show more 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. show less

Block, Lawrence. The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian. 1983. Bernie Rhodenbarr No. 5. HarperTorch, 2005.
Bernie, a bookstore owner and part-time burglar, is hired to appraise a rich man’s library. He becomes a suspect when his client is murdered. To make matters worse, it is all tangled with art theft and forgery. Will Bernie be able to by mother wit and skillful lock-picking be able to make a case for that will get him off the hook and make a little money for his favorite corrupt policemen? By 1983, Lawrence Block had reached full stride with this series. He is a master of his craft. 4 stars.