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yodamom's review against another edition
2.0
I got to 50% and found myself skimming pages. Time to put it down and find another. The mystery was good, the banter between the characters was weird and never felt believable. It was like some cheesy play, each line felt over rehearsed. The only characters that was working for me was the cat. Well I tried, this garage sale find was a bust.
mcf's review against another edition
3.0
Block getting a wild punning hair in this entry in the series — and only this entry — is both unexpected and weirdly charming.
ogreart's review
4.0
The inventive ways that Bernie finds corpses keep the stories fresh. And the wheels within wheels within wheels keep spinning.
sandin954's review
3.0
Bernie, the bookseller/burglar, is an engaging character and plot was well done. Listened to the audio version read by the always excellent Richard Ferrone.
zeroiv's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
usbsticky's review against another edition
3.0
As with most Lawrence Block's books I like the characters and the setting. In this series, I don't like the plot formula that Block uses and repeats.
Spoilers ahead:
This is the plot formula:
1) The set up. Bernie steals something. There is a dead body involved. He is framed for the murder.
2) Bernie investigates, puts something into motion. This part is hidden from the reader. We only know what he does to some degree but it's not explained.
3) The reveal where Bernie gathers everyone and then explains how everything goes together.
Sometimes the reasoning isn't very credible but mostly it's not entertaining. Block goes through some hoops to make the events complex. But readers are not really interested in manufactured complex plots. They are interested in the characters and how they react to events in the book. There is also often a lot of stretched dialog where two people talk about something which should only take 1-2 sentences but Block stretches it to a page or two, or even more. I've learned to fast read though them. This is like my 6-7th book in the series. I'm not sure how many more I can suffer through.
Plot, seriously don't read this unless you want it spoiled: Bernie's landlord wants to raise his rent 11x. The rest of the plot is about a set of stolen baseball cards (hence the title) and a dead body. The plot is so contrived that I'm not going to describe because it was so uninteresting. The book ends up with Bernie owning his own building. We're not told how he gets the money though or how much it was. At this point I'm continuing the series through inertia.
Spoilers ahead:
This is the plot formula:
1) The set up. Bernie steals something. There is a dead body involved. He is framed for the murder.
2) Bernie investigates, puts something into motion. This part is hidden from the reader. We only know what he does to some degree but it's not explained.
3) The reveal where Bernie gathers everyone and then explains how everything goes together.
Sometimes the reasoning isn't very credible but mostly it's not entertaining. Block goes through some hoops to make the events complex. But readers are not really interested in manufactured complex plots. They are interested in the characters and how they react to events in the book. There is also often a lot of stretched dialog where two people talk about something which should only take 1-2 sentences but Block stretches it to a page or two, or even more. I've learned to fast read though them. This is like my 6-7th book in the series. I'm not sure how many more I can suffer through.
Plot, seriously don't read this unless you want it spoiled: Bernie's landlord wants to raise his rent 11x. The rest of the plot is about a set of stolen baseball cards (hence the title) and a dead body. The plot is so contrived that I'm not going to describe because it was so uninteresting. The book ends up with Bernie owning his own building. We're not told how he gets the money though or how much it was. At this point I'm continuing the series through inertia.
bundy23's review against another edition
4.0
Bernie adopts a cat, and I'm a total mark for cats. Also, he gets framed for a murder FOR THE SIXTH TIME IN SIX BOOKS and has to solve the case to clear his name. Probably the best book in the series so far.
hedon's review against another edition
4.0
bought it to have something to read in the airport, never heard of the writer before. enjoyed it a lot, fast, breezy, funny read.
deborama's review against another edition
4.0
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13239480
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13239480
danberman's review against another edition
3.0
that makes three of these books in a row with the exact same ending