Title:	The Burglar who Counted the Spoons
	Author:	Lawrence Block
	Published:	2013, Lawrence Block
	No. of Pages:	250
	Cover Price:	$30.00 Hardcover, $14.99 Hardcover, $4.99 Kindle

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It has been a long time (almost 10 years), but the Burglar, Bernie Rhodenbarr, is back, along with his lesbian sidekick, Carolyn. This 11th book in the Burglar series, The Burglar who Counted the Spoons, is just as hilarious as the previous books. Lawrence Block, who also writes serious thrillers, is brilliant with the puns and dry humor, and leaves readers with a smile. Even though the book is humorous, there are twists and turns, plenty of suspense, a murder, and several unique bad guys (including Bernie, the protagonist, who is a very accomplished, albeit lovable, burglar).

Block consistently comes up with imaginative scenarios as well as characters, which make reading the Burglar books lots of fun. In this book, Bernie's bookstore isn't doing very well, but his burgling business is booming. A man who calls himself Mr. Smith (whose real name is Buttons), hires Bernie to steal a rare manuscript, a draft of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Benjamin Button with a different title, and a spoon with a likeness of Button Gwinnett (Buttons collects everything having to do with buttons due to his name). After Bernie delivers the stolen property at a clandestine spot in a bar, Buttons excuses himself to go to the restroom and disappears, without paying Bernie. In addition to this little drama, an elderly lady is murdered, and since Bernie knows he will be blamed, he must solve the murder himself. Of course Bernie comes through, but this time it is in the style of Nero-Wolfe, which is quite unexpected. The suspense is there, and readers will find themselves cheering Bernie on. They will also be quite surprised at the end.

For those not familiar with Bernie Rhodenbarr and the series, it would probably be a good idea to start with the first book to get a good introduction of Bernie, et. al. However, the book is good on its own, since Block weaves in enough background information for readers to get to know and love Bernie. Humorous thrillers can be a nice change from serious murder, violence, and mayhem, and The Burglar who Counted the Spoons is a fun, fast, humorous read.

This book was purchased with personal funds and no promotion of the book was solicited by the author or publisher.

This book may be purchased at Amazon:
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (Bernie Rhodenbarr), Hardcover
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (Bernie Rhodenbarr), Paperback
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (Bernie Rhodenbarr), Kindle