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The Burglar on the Prowl

by Lawrence Block

Every new Bernie Rhodenbarr novel is always a delight, and Lawrence Block never fails to please, regardless of whatever he writes! I must admit I'm hooked on the 'Burglar' series, but anything Mr. Block puts on paper seems to turn to gold – something like the mythical Midas. The Burglar on the Prowl brings us Bernie's latest accomplishments, both in the area of stealing (and sometimes replacing) other people's stuff plus his ability in sorting out the most complicated reasons behind a murder – or in this case, murders.

Meeting by his friend's invitation at a private club called The Pretenders on Gramercy Park in Manhattan, Bernie is given an offer he can't refuse from Marty Gilmartin. It seems Marty's erstwhile acquaintance, Crandall Rountree Mapes, has stolen Marty's mistress' heart and he wants revenge. Gilmartin knows Mapes has a wall safe behind a picture in his bedroom and it's probably full of unreported cash income. He wants Bernie to steal it.

Bernie agrees, and his long-time friend Carolyn Kaiser wants to come along. Carolyn owns The Poodle Factory, where she washes and grooms dogs, just down the street from Bernie's straight occupational location, a bookstore where he sells antiquarian books during the daylight hours. Bernie plans his heist for the coming Friday night, when Mr. and Mrs. Mapes will be out, attending the Metropolitan Opera performance of Don Giovanni. But before the actual burglary, he naturally wants to 'case the joint' and find the best way to enter illegally.

The Mapes house is completely protected on every floor with a state-of-the-art alarm system, and even the cellar entries are impossible to use. But there is one way left to gain access to the huge mansion, albeit a rather uncomfortable one. Bernie realizes no one is home, and he's tempted to do his burgling then and there, but he doesn't. Instead he goes home. Much later, however, we find him 'on the prowl' and surrendering to his acquisitive impulses – although not at the Mapes' home.

Caught in the middle of the burglary by footsteps approaching the apartment he's illegally inhabited, Bernie tries unsuccessfully to escape, and eventually winds up under the bed. There he becomes verbal witness to the fact that the female occupant of the apartment has been the unsuspecting recipient of a date-rape drug, and her male attacker not only has his way with her but leaves the entire apartment in a mess when he steals everything Bernie left behind.

When Bernie is back in his bookshop, he gets a call asking him to set aside a certain Joseph Conrad book – a familiar voice Bernie can't quite place, but he's sure he'll recognize the individual when he comes for the book. However, another man enters the shop, and when he tells Bernie that Bernie has something for him, Bernie assumes the caller has simply sent someone else to pick up his request. The price for the book is small – but when Bernie realizes that the man has paid him the amount in hundred dollar bills, he runs after him on the street – only to have the man killed before his eyes and the book stolen by the killers.

What follows is a mad mixup of Bernie's own apartment being ripped off, including his hidden 'Get Out Of Dodge' funds – their replacement by his theft of the Mapes' safe, Bernie's arrest by Ray Kirschmann, a rather ignorant cop who respects Bernie's abilities while deploring his background, Barbara, the girl who was date-raped, murders of three more people, William Johnson, the date-raper who also happens to be related to a man in the mob, Latvian ambassadorial representatives and several others thrown into a totally confusing jumble of events and suspects.

How Bernie finally makes sense from the confusion is something only Lawrence Block could know, but he nails the murderers in the best traditional way, and the tale ends with partners for both Carolyn and Bernie – as well as a very
satisfactory cash stash for each. Lawrence Block has once more supplied a page-turning suspenseful story featuring his burglar with the proverbial heart of gold and enough plot twists to satisfy the most discriminating reader. But then you can say that about anything authored by Lawrense Block.

Alan Paul Curtis

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