The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian (edit title)

Shelfari edited the description of The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian Sunday, August 2 2009.

• If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the noir classic When the Sacred Ginmill Closes , then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business. "I hurried uptown and changed into chinos and a short-sleeved shirt that would have been an Alligator except that the embroidered device on the breast was not that reptile but a bird in flight. I guess it was supposed to be a swallow, either winging its way back to Capistrano or not quite making a summer, because the brand name was Swallowtail. It had never quite caught on and I can understand why." That's Bernie Rhodenbarr, used book dealer and gentleman burglar, making a literary fashion statement in this latest return to print of one of Block's best books about him. As with the other entries in this admirable series-- The Burglar in the Closet , The Burglar in the Library , The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling , The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza , The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart , The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams , Burglars Can't Be Choosers --Block manages to be very amusing, moderately suspenseful, and impressively erudite all at the same time. The plot is a complicated tangle of double-cross and deceit surrounding the theft of a valuable painting and two murders. Mondrian isn't the only artist being framed here: Bernie has to use all of his skills--as burglar, lover, and art expert--to prove his (relative) innocence. --Dick Adler

Shelfari edited the contributors of The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian Saturday, July 25 2009.

• Added a contributor: Lawrence Block: (Primary Author)