Bernie Rhodenbarr books are always good for a couple hours of good, light
fun. They follow a basic formula that every book about him I’ve read so
far hasn’t deviated from at all. Bernie burgles an apartment. Someone
gets murdered. Bernie gets blamed. Bernie has to figure out who did the
murder so he doesn’t end up in prison. Bernie does and all is well. It’s
comforting. Block elaborates a little with Bernie’s friend, Carolyn, the
lesbian owner of a dog washing service just down the road from his
bookstore. And there is the woman painter, Denise, and her genius son.
And Bernie’s “cop on the take”, Ray, who’s always there to make the final
arrest after Bernie figures out who did it. This one is no different,
really. Perhaps a little more thoughtful than the others when the fence,
Abel Crowe, dies. What I haven’t quite figured out is why I like Bernie
so much. He’s a thief, for goodness sake, albeit an ethical one. He could
make a go of his bookstore if he wanted but he likes to steal. And I
like reading about him doing it. I have more on the shelf waiting for
when I need a good, light read.