Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

"The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown" by Lawrence Block is a delightful addition to the Bernie Rhodenbarr series, blending the familiar charm of Bernie's burglarious escapades with a refreshing twist of science fiction.

In this installment, Bernie Rhodenbarr, the beloved bookseller and occasional burglar, finds himself in a world that seems to have taken a step back in time. The omnipresent security cameras and impenetrable locks of the 21st century have vanished, replaced by the simpler security measures of yesteryear. This unexpected shift allows Bernie to indulge in his less-than-legal hobby with a renewed vigor, even as his legitimate business thrives once more.

The plot thickens when Bernie sets his sights on the legendary Kloppmann Diamond, leading him down a path filled with intrigue, theft, and murder. Block's narrative is as witty and engaging as ever, with a vibrant portrayal of New York City that serves as the perfect backdrop for Bernie's adventures. The introduction of a parallel universe adds depth to the story, raising questions about fate, free will, and the nature of reality itself.

While the novel may stray from the typical heist formula, it retains the series' hallmark humor and cleverness. The blend of genres may not be to everyone's taste, but for those willing to follow Bernie into this brave new world, the rewards are plentiful. Block's prose is sharp, his characters are indelibly drawn, and the story is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

"The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown" is a testament to Lawrence Block's ability to evolve a series while staying true to its roots. It's a must-read for fans of Bernie Rhodenbarr and a fine example of how to keep a long-running series fresh and exciting.

This is the 13th book in the series. Bernie Rhodenbarr has come back to life in this book. Haven't seen this series in years. He is lost in the old days without having amazon the internet for people to come to his table to buy used books. The internet does that for you, but people still wander the streets of Manhattan looking for a good buy on books. But for Bernie technology has taken over the market on these books so people can look around on the internet and search for all kinds of books. Otherwise, the author is still the same in his writing like back in the day.

Another Bernie story...Lawrence Block, recognizing his skills don't work in the modern day has made him a time traveler. Entertaining as always.

First published in 2022; published by Subterranean Press on October 31, 2023

Fredric Brown wrote pulp fiction from the 1930s to the 1970s. Lawrence Block is a prolific crime writer whose most productive years began in the 1970s, although he won most of his awards in the 1980s and 1990s. The burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr is one of his ongoing characters.

Bernie owns a used bookstore in Greenwich Village. He’s fortunate to own the building that houses the store so he doesn’t need to worry about rent increases. Bernie hasn’t burgled much in recent years because he can’t pick a digital lock and security cameras are everywhere.

One night, Bernie falls asleep reading Brown’s What Mad Universe, a 1949 novel about an alternative universe that predates the modern understanding of the multiverse. When Bernie wakes up, he finds himself in an alternate universe that is similar to his own but better. A couple of Greenwich Village businesses that closed are still operating. A fence who died long ago is still alive. Amazon doesn’t exist so his store is doing a brisk business. Security cameras and digital locks are mostly nonexistent. And his best friend Carolyn wants to have sex with him. In his universe, Carolyn is a lesbian; in this one, she still is but she has the hots for Bernie.

Bernie takes advantage of the changes to steal a famous diamond, unencumbered by digital locks and security cameras. The convoluted plot then introduces jade figurines that alternate Bernie may already have stolen, an insurance scam, a few murders (the victims seem to be from Alice in Wonderland), and a classic reveal in which multiple suspects gather in the bookstore so that Bernie can set things right before returning to his own universe.

While the novel’s dip into science fiction is a bit odd (Block dabbled in the genre in his early years but generally stuck to crime fiction), the story flows effortlessly. Block riffs on Candide’s notion about the best of all possible worlds. The novel’s message (Block spells it out to make sure the reader takes his point) is “If you want something badly enough, you’ll get it. And then you won’t want it anymore.” When we scratch an itch, the itch goes away. A corollary is that we don’t always know what we want until we get it.

The book is ultimately about friendship. I don’t know if it’s politically correct for two people to have a cisgendered relationship after a lifetime of feeling no sexual attraction because of their sexual identities, but Block is too old to give a crap about being politically correct. His point is that we are all free to scratch our itches, that it’s nobody’s business if we do, and that friends are allowed to mark and change the boundaries of their friendships without judgment. While this is the strangest of the Bernie Rhodenbarr novels I’ve read, it proves that Block, at the age of 85, still has worthwhile stories to tell.

RECOMMENDED

It's hard to write a good book with a burglar as the main character now a days and still have it set in the present, unless you make it a high-tech job. There are too many cameras, security systems, etc. Well, that is unless you go the way of Lawrence Block who just sends the character is a different version of our world in the multi-universe. So, it is our world, with the internet and everything, just not closed circuit tv systems, etc.

So a bit strange and the ending disappointed me a little but overall, not bad.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover is what drew me in and I’m so glad I was able to read this. It had a great concept overall and I enjoyed going through this. Lawrence Block has a great writing style that I was hooked on. The characters were what I was expecting from the genre.

Bernie is a gentleman thief. He is also the owner of a brick-and-mortar bookshop in Greenwich Village, New York. Neither of those occupations are easy in today’s world. His customers browse in his bookstore but buy their books online. Cameras and electronic locks are everywhere. But what if one morning, Bernie woke up and, poof, online book sellers, surveillance cameras and fancy locks are gone. It seems that Bernie was The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown on the pages of his alternate universe 1950 novel. Could this really be happening? Bernie and his best friend aren’t waiting to find out. They are stealing an enormous diamond from a nasty neighbor as soon as possible. Preferably before the world snaps back to reality.

After reading eleven books in this series over the course of a lot of decades, I was curious how it was going to be revived in the current world. The author uses an ingenious method of throwing just enough alternate world science fiction into the plot to make this book a throwback to the earlier books. The entire series is a gently humorous look into one man’s life. The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown is an enjoyable way to spend a day or two reminiscing about the past. 4 stars!

Thanks to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Burglar Bernie is back and trying to figure out how to steal a famous Diamond.

I hadn’t read any in this series before so I was a bit confused here. The author doesn’t really provide context for new readers on to who everyone is. So if you haven’t read any other in this series, don’t start here. Overall too, the writing style wasn’t my favorite. It felt a bit chaotic but fans of the previous books should enjoy this one.

I am a longtime fan of Lawrence Block and I'm grateful NetGalley made this available so I'd finally read it. It's apparently been out since last year, and I used to read Lawrence Block ASAP, although I am a bigger fan of Matthew Scudder.
This has most of the hallmarks of a regular Bernie the Burglar book, except it's weird. Bernie is still working in the bookstore he owns and hanging out with his best friend Carolyn, but the world has moved on and made his burglar skills obsolete.
So Bernie goes to sleep and wakes up in a parallel universe where things are different enough that he can pursue a diamond he's had his eye on. There are odd things about the book, like how the relationship between Bernie and Carolyn crosses odd boundaries, but overall it's a romp. I enjoyed the banter and the book talk. This may be the last burglar book, especially when Block hasn't been focusing on this character. I would definitely recommend anyone who hasn't read Lawrence Block to try his different series, because they're a lot of fun.

Bernie Rhodenbarr may be New York's most charming bookseller (by day) and its most skillful burglar (by night), but the modern world isn't kind to either of his vocations. How is a bookseller supposed to make ends meet in a world where Amazon will deliver any title right to your doorstep? And how is a burglar to ply his trade in a city filled with security cameras and unpickable electronic locks? The answer, as Bernie will discover in the pages of this wildly imaginative new novel is that the world can sometimes change in the most unexpected ways. Tempted to steal a priceless diamond from the penthouse apartment of a swinish entrepreneur, Bernie goes out drinking with his best friend Carolyn instead. But when he wakes up with something much stranger than a hangover, he realizes he's got the opportunity of a lifetime if only he can figure out what to do with it. Taking inspiration from the mind-bending works of one of Bernie's favorite authors (and one of Block's), The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown throws Bernie into unfamiliar territory while keeping him squarely on the streets of the city he loves, and if that seems impossible to you, well--maybe that's because impossible is exactly what it is...

The twelfth in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series is...different. Bernie is one of my favorite characters. I enjoy his world and his adventures. Carolyn, Ray, and even Raffles add to the fun of the stories and this story is filled with Block's usual patter. I enjoyed it a lot, but, since I'm not familiar with Fredric Brown, it took me a while to figure out what direction this was heading. I also had mixed feelings about the change in Bernie and Carolyn's relationship, plus the loose strings that were waved away because of the changes in the world.
Recommended with reservations to those who have read the rest of the series.

Bernie Rhodenbarr finds that the world can become a little mysterious. He reads a book by Frederic Brown which inspires him to try a burglary of a very precious diamond with his friend Carolyn who runs a dog grooming company. Although Carolyn is definitely more interested in other women, while they are in a strange new world, they do sleep together. Many strange things happen in this new world. Bernie finds a collection of Jade in his store, more customers appear than usual.

I have loved all the books in this series, and am very glad to find a new addition after a long time.
Bernie is a very engaging character, and this is a fun addition - a cross between a fantasy and a mystery.

I thank Netgalley and Subterranean Press for the ARC in order to read the book before publication.

Bernie Rhodenbarr has had a pretty good life. He lives in New York City and owns a used book store which has admittedly struggled since the arrival of Amazon and Ebay, but that’s okay because, on the side, he occasionally engages in a bit of burglary at the homes of the well-to-do. Unfortunately, the arrival of security cameras and high-tech locks has made his back-up career less than profitable of late.

Then, one evening, he talks to his best friend about Fredric Brown and parallel universes, only to find that the following morning he and his friend have both arrived in a universe very similar to, but also rather different from, their regular universe. Of course, it would be wrong not to take advantage of the absence of cameras and the presence of old-fashioned locks to relieve “one of the worst men in the world” of one of the most valuable diamonds in the world.

But when a body turns up in that particular penthouse and some other valuable items have also gone missing at an art gallery, Bernie decides he’d better come up with a clever idea fast.

My Thoughts

Well, huh.

Even though these books don’t fall into my traditional favorite genres, I have really enjoyed the Bernie Rhodenbarr books in the past. So, when I saw this on NetGalley, I automatically requested it without even reading the description. Always read the description.

It’s safe to say the parallel universe thing caught me a bit off guard, and I admit that even after finishing it I’m still perplexed. If modern day security cameras and locks make doing traditional Bernie burglaries too complicated, which I understand, wouldn’t it have made sense to just set it back in the 70s or 80s rather than this rather odd parallel universe approach? But maybe the author just felt like experimenting with a new genre?

In spite of the strange jump between universes, the book still had the humor that I expect in these stories. The banter between Bernie and Carolyn is always entertaining. One of my favorite lines is when Bernie tells Carolyn to sleep with the money in case they travel between universes again, to which she replies “Jesus, I’ll feel like Scrooge McDuck.”

The heist was well plotted out and most of the twists and turns that came after it, including a couple of dead bodies showing up, very much had the feel of one of the traditional Bernie Rhodenbarr books.

However, because of the parallel universe situation, the mystery just seemed a bit convoluted. The summary and resolution of the crimes was far less satisfactory than usual.

We also never learned where the second universe’s Bernie and Carolyn went. Did they go back to the first universe, and if so, did they cause trouble while they were there? Is there going to be a second book where we find out what the second Bernie and Carolyn were doing? Honestly, I hope not.

I received a free copy of the eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bernie Rodenbarr the bookseller and burglar returns in this interesting new adventure by author of the series,
Lawrence Block.
The reader can sense the conundrum the author faced. He wants to write another book in the series but modern anti-theft devices and cameras make it almost impossible to keep the stories in current times. Yet, the author does, with a twist.
Using the idea that the protagonist is reading a fantasy novel by Frederic Brown, the fantasy world in the book transforms Bernie’s. Suddenly the protagonist and his canine salon lesbian pal, Carolyn, awake in a world that is interestingly different. No more is there an Amazon or security cameras or ring doorbells, and bookstores are popular again. It is from this revised setting there that fun, including burglary begins.
This was not my first experience with the series, and I am not clear if it would help the novice. The good is that the reader gets to know a few memorable characters from the series. Perhaps, though it might come across as too odd.
Though I am not a fan of mixed genres, I found that the Frederic Brown twist worked, if only in that it afforded me a fresh story for an enjoyable character and series. My guess is other fans will enjoy this outing as well. Kudos to the talented Lawrence Block, who found a way to bring the gang back!

I've always found Bernie Rhodenbarr a favorite character among the Lawrence Block series and he's back in a novel I both loved and loathed. Bernie is now a used bookseller in a little bookstore near his friend Carolyn's dog grooming business. His burglary days are in the past but not forgotten and he's obsessing about the "Kloppmann" diamond, recently purchased for 60 million dollars by a very unlikeable bazillionaire. In this day of security cameras and less violable locks, he is resigned to his daydreams and chatting about this with his sometimes partner and always best friend Carolyn. Bernie is whiling away his days reading a Fredric Brown novel and chats with Carolyn about its plot. And then, something I cannot describe to you happens and they end up in an adventure together that they need to sort out as they go. Up till now and throughout the adventure, I was completely, completely hooked, found their conversation funny and philosophical and the story fine. Up to now, this was a four star book.

But when the adventure ends, Block just blew the last couple chapters and it makes no sense to me hoe uninteresting and unclear it was. He'd earlier handled tough concepts with aplomb, creating a fun fantasy/adventure while making sense of it even though it was largely nonsensical. And then he did a bad job, a not like him job, of having Bernie explain his final "solve the case(s)" moment and it wasn't funny. It was meant to carry out part of the gag that is the adventure but it was so poorly executed that it fell flat. Boo Lawrence! Boo. You're better than that. So, do I ding him down to a 3 stars for that? Yes, yes I do. This was so unnecessary. I recommend this book for the concept but suggest you each rewrite how he ends it.

Gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr returns! This is the twelfth novel in the Bernie the Burglar series and the first full length Bernie book in almost ten years (there was a short story anthology released a couple of years ago). It's a little different than other books in the series but it's got some familiar faces like Bernie's best friend, Carolyn Kaiser, and his sometime nemesis/frenemy, police detective Ray Kirschmann. There's also some fun surprises and, of course, a puzzling mystery, along with the typical back and forth dialogue between Bernie and Carolyn that's reminiscent of the old screwball comedy films of the 1940s. But this time out there's a sci-fi wrinkle that adds an entirely new dimension (literally!).

At the beginning of this book Bernie has almost come to terms with the fact that the world has changed; between high-tech alarm systems and the ubiquitous closed-circuit security cameras everywhere, he's been reduced to being a simple used book dealer, and with the proliferation of online book sellers even that occupation isn't what it used to be (and it was never a road to riches). If only things could be different. And then one day, somehow, it is different... but is it for better or worse?

Lawrence Block is a living legend in the world of crime fiction. The Mystery Writers of America Grand Master has been a professional writer for more than 60 years, going back to the days of the pulp fiction era. The guy knows what he's doing. Like most of the books in this series The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown is lighthearted fun with some surprise twists, and a somewhat confusing but mostly satisfying conclusion (the baffling resolution is a hallmark of the series).

If you're not already familiar with the series I don't recommend that you start with this book because there will be some spoilers from past books. If you are familiar with the series then I highly recommend you pick up a copy as soon as possible. These books are just plain fun!

I love mysteries and I love Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr Series. That is why I was thrilled that after a ten-year lull, Block had finally written another "Burglar Who " novel. There was a the "burglar in Short order " three years ago, but that was an anthology. Short stories provide an appetizer, and I was hungry for a meal. It is fortunate that I also like Fantasy and Science fiction. For the main mystery of this book is why did Block switch genres? Bernie has two careers, Burglar and Bookseller. But with the ever-present security cameras and pickproof electronic locks, his burglar career is all but extinct. And in the day of Amazon and Ebay, brick and mortar bookstores see very little traffic. While bemoaning this situation to his best friend Carolyn over drinks at the Bum Rap, Bernie also mentions the book he just finished: Fredric Brown's "What a Mad Universe", an early tale of finding oneself in a parallel universe. When Bernie awakes the next morning, he finds himself in the best of all possible worlds.

Don't pick up this book expecting a cozy mystery. Although there are thefts and murders, this book is actually a wacky investigation of the concept explored in the next book that Bernie starts reading: Fredric Brown's "The Screaming Mimi", the idea that if you want something hard enough you will get it. But now that he has everything he could wish for, will he really be happy?

Although this book takes a left turn from what you would expect, it still includes the style that makes the series so well loved. Bernie and Carolyn's clever banter is peppered throughout the novel, and reading the novel feels like visiting old friends.

Classic Lawrence Block. Burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr is back, this time with his eye on a priceless diamond. But the security cameras surrounding the penthouse apartment are impenetrable. Until Bernie reads a book about time travel (by Fredric Brown) and suddenly he and Carolyn are in an alternate universe with little security, a resurgence of lesbian bars, and the return of a bowling alley.

Block's wit and inventiveness are on full display here, and the book was a joy to read-- with some surprising twists. Highly recommended for any fans of mystery fiction as well as speculative fiction.

Burglar/bookseller Bernie is back and better than ever in master writer Lawrence Block’s creative mind. The story may be a mystery, but a mashup with science fiction produces a story unlike any other.

Bernie Rhodenbarr, used bookstore owner by day and (now-retired) thief by night, is back in a new installment of the beloved series started in the 1970’s (!) by Lawrence Block. It’s just like old times: best friend Carolyn is still meeting him for drinks at the Bum Rap after spending the day at her dog grooming business. Ray Kirschmann represents the forces of law and order, and down the street delicious ethnic food will be reliably served by the chefs of Two Guys from ___ (insert a new city here). The trademark humor abounds, and the whole experience of reading this book is an exercise in comfy nostalgia—that is, until crazy stuff starts happening with the timeline. We willingly suspend disbelief, because 1) readers are good sports and 2) the sudden absence of surveillance cameras suddenly makes it possible for Bernie to resume his burgling activities. Even if you didn’t set out to read sci-fi, this is all in good fun. About 2/3 of the way through the book, the funny dialogue of the beginning of the book starts to feel like too much silly chatter while we wait around for the plot to regain its lost footing. Even so, it’s hard not to enjoy a visit with these long-lost old friends.

Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for a digital advance reader’s copy.

Who would have thought to put the sci-fi standard of parallel universes with a mystery? But block does in this thoroughly entertaining novel. Bernie is a bookseller and a reformed burglar. When the chance at the heist of a lifetime appears, will he take it? Will he do so in a parallel universe? The results make this a delightful book.