When I was a kid I worried that someday, in the distant future, I
would run out of good books to read. Seriously. Thinking back, that
probably speaks more to my innocence and ignorance than to my taste in
books at the time. But I did and now, many, many, MANY moons later, I
have yet to hit that tragic moment. And I highly doubt that I
will. This has little to do with Lawrence
Block‘s books except that they are a new discovery for me and
whenever I find a new author to read I experience a slight feeling of
relief. I haven’t run out yet.

Anyway, these were my first two Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries and already I
have figured out Block writes with a formula. Bernie breaks into
someone’s house after some sort of treasure, something goes wrong, like a
murder, and he has to solve the crime himself or get the rap pinned on
him. A formula book is comforting. You can sit back and watch how the
writer varies it without horrid little surprises coming your way. And
Block is funny, an added bonus. The Mondrian book was a little more
developed than the Closet book. Block had developed additional characters
and expanded Bernie’s social life a bit. He has found his sidekick in
Carolyn, the lesbian owner of a dog washing business. And he has
developed Ray Kirschmann, the cop on the take who somehow always ends up
helping Bernie out of the mess he finds himself in.

These are good books. Not great literature and not really even classics
in the mystery genre. Just plain good reads. And there are lots of them
so I don’t have to worry about running out of good books for awhile. Phew.