Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews

Page One of Three

The Burglar on the Prowl by Lawrence Block

William Morrow, March, 2004
Hardcover, 304 pages
ISBN: 0060198303
Ordering information:
Amazon.com


The Burglar on the Prowl
 by Lawrence Block After his last novel, Small Town, a hard-hitting literary post-9/11 novel which raised a few eyebrows because of its raunchy sex scenes, diehard fans of gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr were beginning to despair. Would they ever see another of the witty, lighthearted books which take most of the conventions of the cozy and twist them around into something that's simply irresistible? Mercifully, the long drought of Bernie books is over (the last was 1999's The Burglar in the Rye). In his latest caper, Bernie is asked by an old friend to burgle the home of a sleazy plastic surgeon who stole the old friend's mistress. The surgeon cheats on his income tax and has lots of unreported cash in his safe. The job is an easy one, but Bernie can't resist one more heist on the way home. He ends up unwittingly trapped in a woman's apartment when she comes home early and witnesses something that he really wishes he hadn't seen, which (naturally) ends up involving Bernie in the young woman's life. Next a mysterious foreigner buys a copy of Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent for $1,300 (it's worth about $12) then gets himself shot outside Bernie's bookstore. So, what do all these threads have in common? It is only when Bernie invites everyone even remotely involved in these happenings to a denouement at the home of the plastic surgeon (a la Hercule Poirot) that we find out the solution to the various mysteries.

Lawrence Block is one of those writers who must wake up every morning with ideas simply overflowing. No one does either a caper comedy or a mystery story quite like he does. Coincidence piles upon coincidence and subplot intertwines with subplot until you think that he'll never, never in a million years pull this one off. But he does, of course, with considerable panache. Let's just hope that it's not another five years we have to wait for the next installment in this perfectly executed, witty and delightful series.

--Claire E. White


The Cat Who Talked Turkey by Lilian Jackson Braun

Putnam, January, 2004
Hardcover, 181 pages
ISBN: 0399151079
Ordering information:
Amazon.com


The Cat Who Talked Turkey
 by Lilian Jackson Braun Since 1966, Lilian Jackson Braun has been pleasing cozy fans with her mystery series starring journalist Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese casts Koko and Yum Yum. Now living in Moose County after inheriting a huge estate, Quill certainly doesn't need to work, but he writes a column for the local newspaper just to keep his hand in. As the bicentennial of the nearby town of Brrr approaches, Quill agrees to help with the festivities. But when a dead body shows up on his property, Quill and the cats spring into action to find a killer.

Despite some rumors to the contrary, the cozy is alive and well, and "The Cat Who" series is one of the classics. There is a murder and a subplot involving the sleazy granddaughter of Edythe Carroll, a wealthy widow who has left her beautiful mansion to retired to the Ittibittiwassee Estates. Quill and the cats wrap things up nicely, and while doing so treat readers to more of the stories about the eccentric characters who populate Moose County. This is the coziest of cozies, with cats, gentle humor and a non-violent background that is a welcome diversion from the gore and terror so prominent in today's news.


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