The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams
Bernie Rhodenbarr series
by Lawrence Block
In The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, Bernie Rhodenbarr has been "on the wagon"
for a year, earning his living as the owner of a used bookstore rather than burgling domiciles.
He falls off the wagon when his new landlord, Bernie Stoppelgard, tells him that he plans
to raise the rent by over 1000%. Needless to say, the used bookstore is not doing well
enough to cover the increase. Bernie succumbs to temptation and returns to his life of
burglary. Bernie is wrongly accused of stealing a million dollar baseball collection.
His alibi is even worse: he was breaking into another apartment to burgle it and found
a dead body. If he tells the truth, he could be accused of murder. Bernie has no choice
but to become an amateur sleuth and figure out the identity of the dead body and the murderer.
Bernie solves the whodunit á la Agatha Christie; he gathers all the suspects together
to explain how the deed was done.
Sprinkled throughout the book are humorous references to Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery
series. Fans of the Bernie Rhodenbarr series will consider this novel one of Lawrence
Block's best. Although there are several references to earlier books in the series,
first-time readers will have no problem enjoying this novel, but I do recommend going
back and reading the series in order. The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams is a
hilariously funny, witty whodunit that takes many twists and turns before the mystery is
solved. It is a really fun read that I most highly recommend. |
The Reviewer |
Robin Thomas |
Reviewed 2005 |
NOTE: |
|