My decision to self-publish The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons http://tinyurl.com/nhfm6o7 has had gratifying results, but there’s been a downside: self-pubbed titles don’t get much media attention or store distribution. Well, Orion’s UK edition just came out, and here’s Geoffrey Wansell’s lovely review in the Daily Mail:
“Wise-cracking New York bookseller and burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, back after almost a decade, is one of modern crime’s most delicious characters.
“An erudite, literary man at one moment, expert thief the next, Block’s Rhodenbarr is a descendant of Nick Charles from Dashiell Hammett’s masterly The Thin Man — full of the driest wit and the neatest one-liners — although on the wrong, rather than the right, side of the law.
“But, as happens here, Bernie usually finds himself embroiled in a murder that forces him to turn private detective to save himself, this time after stealing an F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscript for a client.
“Replete with references to crime novels of the past — Bernie’s cat is called Raffles — it is a delight to find the burglar back on his best form, proving that, even at 75, Block is still one of the greatest crime writers of his or any other generation.”
LOL!
I have not read this one yet but i am Certain to Concur Completely with these Comments.
We pre-ordered it, not because E-books sell out, but because we didn’t want to wait a single day after it became available. And LB did not disappoint. We actually waited a few days to read it, because both my wife and I were afraid to read the LAST BR book. come on, LB, give us another. Maybe BR can be in the wrong place at the wrong time, just as Keller is doing his job, and BR is accused by Ray of the crime. It practically writes itself!
Loved the tip of the hat to Ed McBain, the boys at the 87th Precinct and particularly the hilarious references to Meyer Meyer in confusion to Myer Myers. From the glorious cover to the last page, this book is an absolute delight. Please LB, don’t make us wait another 10 years for the next Burglar.