The Burglar in the Rye (26 page)
Read The Burglar in the Rye Online
Authors: Lawrence Block
Tags: #Fiction, #Library, #Mystery Fiction, #Mystery & Detective, #Rhodenbarr; Bernie (Fictitious character), #General, #New York (N.Y.), #Thieves
“But you read them before you shredded them, right?”
“I was going to,” I said.
“And?”
“And I decided against it,” I said. “I decided it would be a violation of privacy.”
“You violate people’s privacy all the time,” she said. “Bern, you break into their houses and go through their drawers and closets, and when you find something you like you take it home with you. Reading some old letters seems pretty minor by comparison.”
“I know,” I said, “but this is Gulliver Fairborn, Carolyn. This is the man who wrote
Nobody’s Baby.
”
“And that book changed your life.”
“It did,” I said. “And I figured I owed him something.”
A Mystery Writers of America Grand Master,
LAWRENCE BLOCK
is a four-time winner of the Edgar® and Shamus awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He also received the British Crime Writers’ Association’s prestigious Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in crime writing. The author of more than fifty books and numerous short stories, he is a devout New Yorker and enthusiastic world traveler. Readers can visit his website at
www.lawrenceblock.com
.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
for
New York Times
bestselling Grand
Master
LAWRENCE BLOCK’s
THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE
“One of the mystery genre’s favorite characters,
Bernie Rhodenbarr, is back…. Veteran reader-
pleaser and award-winner Lawrence Block
provides action, mystery and a number of
quirky characters, led by Bernie.”
San Antonio Express-News
“[Block] always seems to be having the time of
his life in this series about a nimble-witted New
York City antiquarian book dealer and still
once-in-a-while hotel burglar. In
The Burglar in
the Rye,
Block comes up with a delightful
comic turn on the J.D. Salinger–Joyce Maynard
saga…. [He] maintains perfect comic pitch….
A goofy farce…. This is all lighter than helium,
and it’s irresistible.”
Washington Post Book World
“Once again, Block has produced a funny and
eminently readable mystery with clever
plotting and amusing twists—just the sort of
book to take away on holiday.”
Roanoke Times
“One of the best in the series, filled with comic
dialogue, puns and witty allusions to literature
and the news…. It is a confection by an author
whose tone is, should we say, nothing if not wry.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Bernie Rhodenbarr still hasn’t learned to keep
his hands to himself. That’s good news for fans
of Lawrence Block…. Block peoples his mystery
with a wacky cast of characters who all happen
to have a knack for snappy dialogue, the wackiest
and snappiest being Bernie himself,
of course…. Light, fluffy, and side-splittingly
funny,
The Burglar in the Rye
is likely to
steal any mystery fan’s heart.”
Florida Times-Union
“This summer’s must-read comedy/mystery….
Hilarious…. Bernie is such a likable goof, the
dialogue so finely crafted and the plot so twisted
that one sitting is all it takes on this book.”
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“Lawrence Block clearly has a great deal of fun
writing his Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries,
and the sense of whimsy is infectious….
He now has turned his sights on the
J.D. Salinger–Joyce Maynard affair in
The Burglar in the Rye
…. As usual, Block delivers.”
Richmond Times Dispatch
“[An] addictive series…. Block’s effortless
mastery of his material, his relaxed ease,
are as pleasurable as always, and he has some
splendid fun with an author not unlike
J.D. Salinger…. A steal at any price.”
Publishers Weekly
“As good as it gets. Rhodies will eat it up.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“Intoxicating writing.”
Chicago Tribune
“[Block] is as much a pro at writing mysteries
as Rhodenbarr is at stealing. Beyond the
mechanics of building a mystery, however,
Block hasn’t lost that mischievous gleam in his
writing eye that leads readers through the
twists and turns of a satisfying plot.”
Wisconsin State Journal
“Bernie Rhodenbarr is the perfect companion if
you’re spending a week at the beach, catching a
plane to Omaha or just seeking an escape from
the demands of the day.”
Tampa Tribune
“A mystery stuffed to the eyeballs with endearing
oddballs…. [A] French farce of a plot.”
New York Times Book Review
“The bookseller-thief remains one of the most
endearing characters in the genre, and combined
with a stellar supporting cast, remarkably clever
premises, and nonstop humor, the series offers
terrific entertainment. This latest Bernie book
provides all of the above…. Close enough to perfection to
please even the most demanding
readers.”
Booklist
“[Block] is one of the great mystery writers of all
time. And gets better as he goes.”
New York Daily News
The Bernie Rhodenbarr Mysteries
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The Adventures of Evan Tanner
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Collected Short Stories
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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author?s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE
. Copyright © 1999 by Lawrence Block. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © MAY 2007 ISBN: 9780061842870
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