The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Novel

Amiable burglar and Greenwich Village bookseller Bernie Rhodenbarr returns in this imaginative 13th installment of Block’s long-running series (after 2013’s The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons), which Subterranean Press is releasing in a limited hardcover edition. The 21st century hasn’t been kind to Bernie’s bottom line: online retailers have dealt a blow to the bricks-and-mortar book business, and the now-ubiquitous presence of security cameras and electronic locks have curbed his thieving. One morning, after a night of heavy drinking and discussing science fiction writer Frederic Brown with his best friend, lesbian dog groomer Carolyn Kaiser, Bernie wakes to find himself and Carolyn inhabiting an alternate New York City—one straight out of Brown’s imagination, with nary a security camera in sight. After Bernie steals a diamond he’s long had his eyes on, complications ensue, including multiple murders, the theft of a valuable jade collection, and the possibility that a parallel-universe Bernie may also be on the prowl. The sometimes too-zany plot is middling as far as Rhodenbarr novels go, but Block’s indelible characters, witty prose, and vibrantly realized New York setting are on full display. It’s good to have Bernie back. Agent: Danny Baror, Baror International. (Oct.)