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    The Burglar in the Library
    The Burglar in the Library
    The Burglar in the Library
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Burglar in the Library

    Written by Lawrence Block

    Narrated by Richard Ferrone

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Lawrence Block's talent for creating colorful characters, sophisticated dialog, and engaging atmosphere has earned him many awards: the title of Grand Master, three Edgar Awards, four Shamus Awards, and a Nero Wolfe Award. One of his most popular series follows the adventures of the suave bookseller and crook, Bernie Rhodenbarr. Bernie's sweetheart has dumped him. But although his heart is broken, he hasn't lost his love for fine books-or for an occasional discrete burglary. So Bernie takes off for a snowy winter weekend at a country inn that just happens to have a rare, signed first edition of The Big Sleep in its library. It's not long, however, before Bernie's ex-girlfriend arrives with her new husband, a body is found in the library, and the book disappears. Bernie must sort out a tricky tangle of clues if he has any hope of nabbing the priceless edition for himself. Narrator Richard Ferrone captures Bernie's cool demeanor and his flair for perfect timing.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateAug 22, 2008
    ISBN9781436169479
    Author

    Lawrence Block

    Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.

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    Reviews for The Burglar in the Library

    4/5

    202 ratings17 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The homage to Raymond Chandler. Block’s burglar series is an homage to mystery writers. They just aren’t well plotted well written and exciting they are lol funny. As much as I love his Scudder series these are getting really great.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Not the best Burglar story, the mystery was too convoluted. However, I like the guy so what can I say?
    • 3/5
      After his girlfriend announces she's getting married to another man, Bernie takes off to an English Style country house with Carolyn to lick his wounds in searching for a Raymond Chandler book rumoured to be personally inscribed to Dashell Hammett.

      It's the winter, in the middle of nowhere, and the snow is coming in thick and fast. The last thing anyone needs is to realise they are trapped with no chance of escape with a killer on the loose.

      Medium length book (most of Block's books come in at under 300 pages, this is just over), and it has all the usual witty conversations and one liners between Bernie and Carolyn. Some of the secondary characters were not particularly 3 Dimensional - only one of the murder victims actually got to say anything, but do you really ever talk to everyone when on holiday?

      There is a precocious child, and I have a vague feeling that this has been used before as a technique in a previous book, but I could be mistaken.

      Anyway, once again, a Rhoddenbarr book that I enjoyed.
    • 4/5
      I like the Bernie the Burglar series, but this one got pretty convoluted in the solution.
    • 5/5
      4.5* for this audiobook edition which has a marvelous narration by Richard Ferrone.Bernie has his very own English country house murder to solve when he and Carolyn are snowed in at an inn in the Berkshires - or is it a Raymond Chandler story instead? Such a fun book for any fan of classic mysteries!
    • 3/5
      So lightweight but still fun. There's a world of difference between Matthew Scudder and Bernie Rhodenbarr. This one pays homage to the kind of genteel country house murder mystery that I've never read while simultaneously referencing Chandler and Hammett. Silly fun.
    • 5/5
      Block's eighth "Burglar" book is a tribute to the history of twentieth century mystery fiction and, in it, he pays homage to everyone from Agatha Christie to Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and George Herman Coxe. Indeed, this book shows that Block is not just a writer of mysteries, but a reader of them as well as being a mystery historian.

      Don't like murder mystery weekend stories where all the characters are stranded in some quaint hotel or bed and breakfast up in the Poconos and the guests are being killed off one by one? Well, you should still give this one a try. It is filled with Block's trademark humor and flows so much better than all those stiff Victorian mysteries.
    • 5/5
      Bernie Rodenbarr, bed-and-breakfast, puntastic, snarkfest, murder, amateur sleuth I'm reading my way through the series in order this time and finding that I missed some. As always, this has me giggling and snurfling my way through the book. The publisher's blurb gives hints and there is no need for spoilers, but there is so much more to the fun and mayhem. Simple adjustments for inflation and telecommunications make this a timely tale instead of a historical one,so locate a copy and enjoy! Once again Richard Ferrone gives an excellent tongue in cheek interpretation of the characters and their awful puns and snarks!
    • 4/5
      A great book. A tongue-in-cheek cross between Phillip Marlowe and Agatha Christie. Very enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      What better way to recover from a break-up than a sojourn to the countryside for a weekend of English coziness? Combined with a small amount of larceny, of course. And if Bernie's accompanied by Raffles the cat and Carolyn rather than the curvy blond Lettice? Well, it will still be a weekend to remember...There's murder done, of course. And absent a butler, the villain must be one of the houseguests, but which? Block takes on the English cozy, mixes in a dash of the mean streets, and of course, doesn't spare the scotch.
    • 4/5
      Mr. Block amuses us with his parody of an "English manor mystery". There the characters all are, snowbound in a faux English manor, and someone keeps murdering people. The ending is a bit convoluted, but that only contributes to the farcical nature of the adventure.
    • 4/5
      It sounds like an English country manor mystery, complete with an English-style inn, snowbound guests for the weekend and bodies all over the place. The first one appears in the library, done in by a camel and a pillow. And they continue to pile up. But as Bernie Rhodenbarr (burglar, bookseller and sleuth) says, “…this isn’t a cozy little English murder case at all, it’s tough and hardboiled and it’s not going to be solved by pussyfooting around like Miss Jane Marple or Lord Peter Wimsey. This is Philip Marlowe’s kind of caper.” I quite enjoyed the romp.
    • 4/5
      It's rather unusual to have a burglar who is the sleuth in a book, but Bernie Rhodenbarr fits the description. After he is jilted by his girlfriend, he and his friend Carolyn (and cat Raffles) end up in a house that has the feel of an English country house in the Berkshires. He is there to look for a copy of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep which he believes Dashiell Hammett may have left in this house's library years ago. After the last guests, who turn out to be the jilted girlfriend and her newlywed husband, arrive, it doesn't take long until a body shows up in the library. As in Agatha Christie's book, And Then There Is None, access to the outside world is cut off, and it is up to Bernie to find the murderer before the rest of the guests end up dead. It's a cute read with a plot twist that will probably appeal to some readers and make others wish they'd sticked to Christie. I'm really not that comfortable with a burglar as a sleuth, but it certainly makes for a slightly different narrative than other books.
    • 3/5
      After being jilted by his latest lady friend, Bernie takes off with his pal Carolyn for a vacation at a country home right out of an Agatha Christie novel with the intention of a stealing a rare book he believes is in the library. In "Then There Were None" fashion, people start dying and a ridiculous number of twists and turns happens before the book ends and Bernie solves the case.
    • 4/5
      Not my favorite in the series, but an enjoyable read none the less. I had a friend who started with this one, and although it’s ok, I’m glad it wasn’t my first. It had the same cozy feel, with the comfortable wit of Bernie’s that I have grown used to. I am really gonna hate it when I get to the end of the series. They have a sort of ‘good guy wins’ vibe (except of course for the dead guys) to it that I have really grown to like. This one was no exception. I think I’m even going to miss Carolyn and Raffles the cat. Gotta say the ending wasn’t as satisfactory on this one as I liked. I like nice neat ends.
    • 4/5
      Bernie is a book seller in New York and a Buglar. He plans a weekend in an English style cottage with his girlfriend, but she has other plans. He bring his friend Carolyn instead. The house is isolated by the snow. The setting is the typical setting of agatha Christy. But the end of the story is in Chandler style.I like the dialogs, their wittiness.
    • 5/5
      The best of this excellent series which features 'the burglar'of the title,Bernie Rhodenbarr.