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This page lists novels in the Burglar series by Lawrence Block featuring the burglar and occasional amateur detective Bernie Rhodenbarr.

The cover images are, when possible, the first US edition and a recent paperback edition.

Burglars Can't Be Choosers

Lawrence Block

1977

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.) He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer. Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police - a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?"

The Burglar in the Closet

Lawrence Block

1978

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"The thing about being a burglar is it's a secret best kept to yourself. You live safer, and the police have less chance of finding you out. Maybe you can tell a friend, but your dentist? Well, this is the awkward situation Bernie Rhodenbarr finds himself in, in The Burglar in the Closet. Like all great capers, it starts out complicated and goes downhill from there. At a routine teeth cleaning Bernie discovers a few things. One, he's got a nasty cavity. Two, his dentist is unhappily married. Three, his dentist knows Bernie's a burglar. Seems good old Dr. Sheldrake is in need of a burglar to steal back some valuable diamonds from his soon-to-be ex, Mrs. Sheldrake. Next thing Bernie realizes is his tooth feels better, and, prowling around Crystal Sheldrake's apartment for the goods, his head hurts. That's because someone just put a key in the lock and is coming through the door. With only one place to hide, Bernie slips into the closet, agonizing over the overly friendly sounds coming from Crystal's boudoir. Time passes, Bernie emerges, and there's the lovely Crystal Sheldrake - only she's not so lovely anymore - lying dead on the floor, a dental instrument to blame. To top it all off, the diamonds are gone. So too is Bernie, chasing a killer's shadow and evading the inquiring eyes of his nemesis, Detective Ray Kirschmann."

The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling

Lawrence Block

1979

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"Bernie Rhodenbarr has gone legit -- almost -- as the new owner of a used bookstore in New York's Greenwich Village. Of course, dusty old tomes don't always turn a profit, so to make ends meet, Bernie's forced, on occasion, to indulge in his previous occupation: burglary. Besides which, he likes it. Now a collector is offering Bernie an opportunity to combine his twin passions by stealing a very rare and very bad book-length poem from a rich man's library. The heist goes off without a hitch. The delivery of the ill-gotten volume, however, is a different story. Drugged by the client's female go-between, Bernie wakes up in her apartment to find the book gone, the lady dead, a smoking gun in his hand, and the cops at the door. And suddenly he's got to extricate himself from a rather sticky real-life murder mystery and find a killer -- before he's booked for Murder One."

The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza

Lawrence Block

1980

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"In the realm of larceny, there's no one quite like Bernie Rhodenbarr. A gentleman, a bookseller, and a thief, Bernie steals with style. But now Lawrence Block's beloved criminal has discovered one of the abiding truths about the burglary business: Two's company. Three is definitely a crowd. The second burglars were Bernie and his dog grooming partner, Carolyn. They came to rob the Colcannons' West Side brownstone while the couple was out of town having their own personal burglar alarm - a Bouvier named Astrid - bred. But when Bernie and Carolyn break in they discover that they've already been beaten to the punch. Fortunately for Bernie, the first burglars left behind some decent goods, including a pair of emerald earrings, a fine Piaget watch, and a valuable coin that could just be too hot to handle. But of course he takes it anyway. The Colcannon home, though, still has a busy night ahead, and the next morning one person is dead. And when the next murder strikes uncomfortably close to home, it's time for Bernie to go to work."

The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian

Lawrence Block

1983

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"It's not that used bookstore owner and part-time burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr believes the less legal of his two professions is particularly ethical. (It is, however, a rush, and he is very good at it.) He just thinks it's unfair to face a prison term for his legitimate activities. After appraising the worth of a rich man's library - conveniently leaving his fingerprints everywhere in the process - Bernie finds he's the cops' prime suspect when his client is murdered. Someone has framed Bernie Rhodenbarr better than they do it at the Whitney. And if he wants to get out of this corner he's been masterfully painted into, he'll have to get to the bottom of a rather artful - if multiply murderous - scam."

The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams

Lawrence Block

1994

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"Bernie Rhodenbarr is actually trying to earn an honest living. It's been an entire year since he's entered anyone's abode illegally to help himself to their valuables. But now an unscrupulous landlord's threat to increase Bernie's rent by 1,000% is driving the bookseller and reformed burglar back to a life of crime -- though, in all fairness, it's a very short trip. And when the cops wrongly accuse him of stealing a priceless collection of baseball cards, Bernie's stuck with a worthless alibi since he was busy burgling a different apartment at the time . . . one that happened to contain a dead body locked inside a bathroom. So Bernie has a dilemma. He can trade a burglary charge for a murder rap. Or he can shuffle all the cards himself and try to find the joker in the deck -- someone, perhaps, who believes that homicide is the real Great American Pastime."

The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart

Lawrence Block

1995

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"Even burglars fall in love, and in this case, it's Bernie doing the falling, with the lovely and alluring Ilona. Night after night, sharing popcorn in the flickering shadow of a Bogie movie, Bernie finds himself tongue-tied - sometimes literally. It would appear Ilona's now doing all the stealing. Well, not really. Bernie's been approached by the oddly named Hugo Candlemas to pilfer a posh East Side apartment, make off with a portfolio and collect a fast, easy sum. A reasonable enough request for a trained burglar, sure, but just when things are going well, things turn bad. Bernie's nocturnal visit is interrupted, and he ends up going home empty-handed. If this wasn't bad enough, Hugo Candlemas turns up missing, and Ray Kirschmann, New York City detective-extraordinaire, comes looking for answers. A body has been found at Candlemas's residence, and there's evidence linking Bernie to the crime. For once, though, Kirschmann doesn't think Bernie's the guilty party. But he does want his help."

The Burglar in the Library

Lawrence Block

1997

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar extraordinaire and bookseller ordinaire, has taken leave of his beloved New York City and gone country. Our setting is Cuttleford House, a quaint, lovely inn, where Carolyn and Raffles the Cat have joined Bernie for a wintry weekend. Of course, Carolyn wasn't Bernie's first choice for a romantic getaway weekend, but his intended, Lettice Runcible, turned out to be someone else's intended. But if you think Bernie's sole purpose is healing his wounded heart, think again. As a bookseller, Bernie's always in search of a valuable edition, and this time he believes he's found it. And it's somewhere in Cuttleford House's largely ignored library. During his nightly prowl, Bernie finds unexpected company in the way of a corpse. The next morning everyone else find the body, too. Making matters worse is the fact that all of the guests - including, (surprise!) Lettice and her new husband, Dakin Littlefield - find themselves snowbound after a particularly fierce storm during the night. With everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, Bernie decides he's got to catch the culprit - before there's another murder. Isn't there always? And let's not forget that book, which has mysteriously disappeared off the library shelves."

The Burglar in the Rye

Lawrence Block

1999

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"Gulliver Fairborn's novel, Nobody's Baby, changed Bernie Rhodenbarr's life. And now pretty Alice Cottrell, Fairborn's one-time paramour, wants the bookselling, book-loving burglar to break into a room in New York's teeth-achingly charming Paddington Hotel and purloin some of the writer's very personal letters before an unscrupulous agent can sell them. Here's an opportunity to use his unique talents in the service of the revered, famously reclusive author. But when Bernie gets there, the agent is dead . . . and Bernie's wanted for murder. (He really hates when that happens!) Perhaps it's karmic payback; Bernie did help himself to a ruby necklace on his way out. (But it was lying there. And he is a burglar.) Now he's in even hotter water. And he'll need to use every trick in the book--maybe going so far as to entice the hermitic Fairborn himself out of seclusion--to bring this increasingly twisted plot to a satisfying denouement."

The Burglar on the Prowl

Lawrence Block

2004

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"A philosophical yet practical gentleman, Bernie Rhodenbarr possesses many admirable qualities: charm, intelligence, sparkling wit, and unwavering loyalty. Of course, he also has this special talent and a taste for life's finer things. So he's more than willing to perform some vengeful larceny for a friend - ripping off a smarmy, particularly deserving plastic surgeon - for fun and a very tidy profit. But during a practice run at another address, Bernie's forced to hide under a bed when the lady of the house returns unexpectedly with the worst kind of blind date in tow. In no time, Bernie's up to his burgling neck in big trouble. Again. And this time it includes his arrest, no less than four murders, and more outrageous coincidences than any self-preserving felon should ever be required to tie together."

The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons

Lawrence Block

2013

A novel in the Burglar (Bernie Rhodenbarr) series.

"Everybody's favourite burglar returns in an eleventh adventure that finds him and his lesbian sidekick Carolyn Kaiser breaking into houses, apartments, and even a museum, in a madcap adventure replete with American Colonial silver, an F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscript, a priceless portrait, and a remarkable array of buttons. And, wouldn't you know it, there's a dead body, all stretched out on a Trent Barling carpet."