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A review by athenalindia
The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams by Lawrence Block
4.0
This was a reread. A many many times reread. The Burglar Who books are comfort reads for me, something to read while I'm eating or just want something fun and a little light.
Which is not to dismiss the series - the mysteries are solid, the writing good and occasionally great. Lawrence Block is a master of the mystery, and I do enjoy this lighter series more than the gritty Matthew Scudder series. (The few he has that are more or less a spoof of the Nero Wolfe books are also very fun.)
In this one, Bernie is accused of a robbery. For a change, it's not actually a robbery he committed. But that puts him in the sphere of corrupt cop Ray Kirschman, who is absolutely determined to split the money Bernie made from fencing those baseball cards. That he never stole. To make matters worse, his new landlord desperately wants the Ted Williams Chalmers Mustard series of cards from the same collection. Or he'll raise the rent 1000%.
Can Bernie steal himself solvent? Can he figure out who actually did steal the baseball cards? And what about the naked dead guy behind a locked door in a completely unrelated apartment?
This book also marks the introduction of Raffles, store cat.
Which is not to dismiss the series - the mysteries are solid, the writing good and occasionally great. Lawrence Block is a master of the mystery, and I do enjoy this lighter series more than the gritty Matthew Scudder series. (The few he has that are more or less a spoof of the Nero Wolfe books are also very fun.)
In this one, Bernie is accused of a robbery. For a change, it's not actually a robbery he committed. But that puts him in the sphere of corrupt cop Ray Kirschman, who is absolutely determined to split the money Bernie made from fencing those baseball cards. That he never stole. To make matters worse, his new landlord desperately wants the Ted Williams Chalmers Mustard series of cards from the same collection. Or he'll raise the rent 1000%.
Can Bernie steal himself solvent? Can he figure out who actually did steal the baseball cards? And what about the naked dead guy behind a locked door in a completely unrelated apartment?
This book also marks the introduction of Raffles, store cat.