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mcf's review against another edition
2.0
Hoooo boy. Skip this one, it's almost proudly derivative (overtly of The Maltese Falcon in terms of characters, and of Bogart films in general more broadly), and pretty shockingly lazy. And, to make matters worse, the audiobook has a new, vastly inferior reader. Grim all around.
(In good news, the next one is a return to form, AND the old narrator is back. Whew)
(In good news, the next one is a return to form, AND the old narrator is back. Whew)
ogreart's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, somehow I missed this one when I was reading the series in chronological order. And I really liked this one a lot. Then again, the quotes and references to Bogart touched me.
twincam59's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
usbsticky's review against another edition
3.0
Spoilers ahead:
This is a terrible plot formula that Block has been using in the last few Bernie books.
Part 1) Bernie steals something and dead bodies appear which is he then framed for.
Part 2) Bernie does something. He meets people, breaks into apartments, calls people. None of this is explained and therefore none of it is interesting.
Part 3) Bernie calls everyone into a meeting where he explains everything.
Basically Block creates a complex and convoluted plot which we are supposed to ooh and aah at, but is actually the opposite of interesting to me. The complexity of the plot isn't interesting to me. It's all made up anyway. It's the characters, the setting and the relationships and the way the characters interact with each other which makes books interesting. As a veteran author Block seems to have forgotten this.
I mean this is why I still persist in reading this series. I like Bernie and his relationships with the characters in the book. The plot and the mystery sucks, frankly. Block also has a way of stretching short conversations into long pieces, but I've learned to fast read through that.
As to the plot of this story, it's about a fictional country that tried to appear out of the chaos of WWI (or WW2 or Cold War). The ruling family got exiled with a bunch of securities which some ex-Cold War spies are trying to steal. They try to get Bernie to steal it and chaos and "hilarity" ensues.
I'm now going back to read book #1 in the series which I dnf'd at 36% to see if I feel any different about it. I dnf'd two of Block's series before I read the Scudder series which I liked. Because I liked the Scudder series I also became more tolerant of Block's annoying writing idiosyncrasies so I'm going back to finish the other books I hadn't finished before.
This is a terrible plot formula that Block has been using in the last few Bernie books.
Part 1) Bernie steals something and dead bodies appear which is he then framed for.
Part 2) Bernie does something. He meets people, breaks into apartments, calls people. None of this is explained and therefore none of it is interesting.
Part 3) Bernie calls everyone into a meeting where he explains everything.
Basically Block creates a complex and convoluted plot which we are supposed to ooh and aah at, but is actually the opposite of interesting to me. The complexity of the plot isn't interesting to me. It's all made up anyway. It's the characters, the setting and the relationships and the way the characters interact with each other which makes books interesting. As a veteran author Block seems to have forgotten this.
I mean this is why I still persist in reading this series. I like Bernie and his relationships with the characters in the book. The plot and the mystery sucks, frankly. Block also has a way of stretching short conversations into long pieces, but I've learned to fast read through that.
As to the plot of this story, it's about a fictional country that tried to appear out of the chaos of WWI (or WW2 or Cold War). The ruling family got exiled with a bunch of securities which some ex-Cold War spies are trying to steal. They try to get Bernie to steal it and chaos and "hilarity" ensues.
I'm now going back to read book #1 in the series which I dnf'd at 36% to see if I feel any different about it. I dnf'd two of Block's series before I read the Scudder series which I liked. Because I liked the Scudder series I also became more tolerant of Block's annoying writing idiosyncrasies so I'm going back to finish the other books I hadn't finished before.
bundy23's review against another edition
3.0
A bit of a let down... it was a decent read, very typical of the series, but then I got a bit lost during the resolution and honestly couldn't tell you who dunnit and why they did it even though it was all laid out for me during the final few pages just a few hours ago :-)
yarnam01's review against another edition
4.0
The Burglar books are all fun to read, but I think Bogart and Mondrian are my favorites in the series. Bernie is a well-read used-bookstore owner by day, and a burglar with a heart of gold (sort of) by night. He solves mysteries on the side, since a dead body just happens to show up every place he robs. Since he's not a murderer, he has to discover who is to prove his innocence. Luckily one of his friends is a corrupt cop who gives him some freedom to move around. Lawrence Block is an incredibly witty writer, so even if the mysteries sometimes get a little convoluted, they are always enjoyable.
danberman's review against another edition
2.0
Exact same ending as the last 4 or 5. Some decent wit in the first two thirds though
paigechu's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, my least favorite one from this series so far.
psteve's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable if slight. Bernie Rhodenbarr is a bookstore-owning burglar in New York, and a regular character of Block's. In this one, a strange Eastern-European walks into his bookstore (of all the bookstores in all the world...), and strikes up an acquaintance. She's planning on attending a Bogart film festival, and he goes along. They go to almost every Bogart movie in the festival, on double-bills. At the same time, an acquaintance of his tells hires him to burgle some documents from an apartment. This goes bad, the girl disappears, and our man gets involved in figuring out what was going on, which involves a maybe king of a central European country. Not a lot to it, though all the Bogart references, both subtle and not are fun, especially at the end.