Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries. 01 : Burglars can't be choosers

SUMMARY: Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.) He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer. Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police -- a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?

Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.)

He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer.

Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police — a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?

Fans of Lawrence Block's saucy series burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr (who was revived after a long absence in the recent The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams) will be delighted to learn that Dutton is bringing back the book that launched Bernie about 16 years ago. Burglars Can't Be Choosers shows an insouciant Bernie before he acquired the antiquarian bookstore he now runs when not burgling. As in Ted Williams, there turns out to be a corpse in the apartment where Bernie is doing his job; otherwise the two books are much different: Ted Williams is much funnier, but there's always pleasure to be had in seeing the birth of an enduring hero.

Now, we all know Bernie's the type of guy who likes to work alone. He finds the profits are higher and the risks a lot lower. But in Burglars Can't Be Choosers, Bernie finds that while he's no beggar, he's not above taking on a rare work-for-hire. It's simple, really. All he has to do is break into a posh East Side apartment, grab a blue leather-covered box, deliver it to his mysterious employer, and pocket a nice, easy fee. Well, nothing's ever that easy. No sooner is Bernie inside the apartment when things start to go wrong. Things like ... no blue box. Things like ... the police, led by his old nemesis, detective Ray Kirschmann. Things like ... the dead body in the bedroom. Things like ... being accused of murder Bernie, suddenly on the run, couldn't ask for a better place to hide than the anonymous streets of New York City - except for the fact his face is now in every tabloid newspaper and on every television newscast. Holing up at an out-of-town friend's apartment, he meets up with a lovely young lady ready with aid and comfort ... and other resources. At last Bernie's got some time to figure out what's going on, and who set him up. And why A handful of minutes after nine I hoisted my Bloomingdale' shopping bag and moved out of a doorway and into step with a tall blond fellow with a faintly equine cast to his face.