The Burglar Who Liked To Quote Kipling Part 25

"You'll steal some other car, then."

"I suppose so."

"Take me with you."

"Huh?"

"Why not?" She leaned forward, laid a hand on my arm. "Why the h.e.l.l not, Bern? I can help. I didn't get in the way when we stole Randy's Polaroid, did I?"

"We borrowed borrowed Randy's Polaroid." Randy's Polaroid."

"Bulls.h.i.t. We stole it. Then we happened to give it back when we were done with it. If you look at it that way, I'm an old hand at this breaking-and-entering business. Take me along, Bern. Please? I'll get rubber gloves and cut the palms out, I'll pa.s.s up my after-work drink, I'll do anything you say. Please? Please?"

"Jesus," I said. "You're... you're an honest citizen, Carolyn. No record. A respectable position in the community."

"I wash dogs, Bern. Big hairy deal."

"There's a risk."

"Screw the risk."

"And I always work alone, see. I never use a partner."

"Oh." Her face fell. "Well, that's it, then. I didn't think of it that way. I'd probably be a drag anyway, wouldn't I? It's okay, Bern. I don't mind."

"No drink after work."

"Not a drop. I can come?"

"And you can't ever tell a soul. Not Randy, not some future lover. n.o.body."

"My lips are sealed. Are you serious? I can come?"

I shrugged. "What the h.e.l.l," I said. "You were handy the other night. You might be useful to have around."

About the Author.

A Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, LAWRENCE BLOCK is a four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe and Shamus awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and j.a.pan. He also received the British Crime Writers' a.s.sociation's prestigious Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in crime writing. The author of more than fifty books and numerous short stories, he is a devout New Yorker and enthusiastic world traveler. You can visit his website at www.lawrenceblock.com.

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Almost criminally enthusiastic praise praise for for New York Times bestselling Grand Master bestselling Grand Master LAWRENCE BLOCK's BERNIE RHODENBARR and The Burglar who liked to Quote Kipling "MY FAVORITE."

Spokane Spokesman Review "Readers get a funny lesson in rare book economics and breaking and entering. Rhodenbarr is a wonderful New York character with a knack for surrounding himself with colorful eccentrics...

BITE, WIT, AND ENOUGH STYLISH ATt.i.tUDE.

to power the Plaza for a week."

New York Daily News "BERNIE RHODENBARR IS THE PERFECT COMPANION if you're spending a week at the beach, catching a plane to Omaha, or just seeking an escape from the demands of the day."

Tampa Tribune "THIS RHODENBARR ROMP IS SAUCY AND BRIGHT...

If you like Donald Westlake's capers, you'll like Bernie."

Washington Post Book World "Notre Dame at dusk. Pepys' account of the Great Fire of London. A really good cashmere coat. Some treasures are timeless... I feel like putting Bernie Rhodenbarr on that list...

BERNIE IS ONE WRY GUY AND SOME PIECE OF WORK."

New York Times Book Review "LAWRENCE BLOCK IS A MASTER OF THE ART OF THE MYSTERY...

Bernie's a great burglar and a funny guy."

New Orleans Times-Picayune "ONE OF THE FINEST MYSTERY WRITERS OF OUR TIME."

Houston Chronicle "It's the mark of an innovative storyteller to turn a normally reprehensible character into a hero-of sorts. Author Lawrence Block's BERNIE THE BURGLAR SERIES AREN'T JUST GOOD MYSTERIES, THEY ARE SUPREME ESCAPISM."

Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "[Block's] written dialogue has the honesty of a conversation overheard on a bus...

BERNIE RHODENBARR IS A LOT-OF-LAUGHS BURGLAR."

USA Today "VINTAGE BLOCK...

[His] effortless style sweeps Rhodenbarr through a complex plot with ease. The laid-back technique precisely matches the misadventures of the delightful thief."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Having a burglar for a hero is tricky, to say the least. Is he a bad good guy or a good bad guy, and does crime pay or doesn't it?...

BLOCK MANEUVERS AROUND THESE MORAL S-CURVES WITH GREAT AGILITY...

Block's effortless first-person narrative and zippy dialogue is as pleasing as escapist fare ever gets."

Lost Angeles Times Book Review "Good mystery and good comedy, mined from the same vein Dashiell Hammett tapped for his 'Thin Man.'

BLOCK'S BURGLAR SERIES IS ONE OF CRIME FICTION'S BEST."

South Bend Tribune "With a writer like Block, A MASTER PLOTTER,.

trying to figure out the guilty party can definitely keep you turning the pages."

Toronto Star "BLOCK IS A MASTER OF WITTY DIALOGUE, plotting and pace, and the series' wacky, offbeat characters make great companions."

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Other Books by Lawrence Block The Bernie Rhodenbarr Mysteries BURGLARS C CAN'T B BE C CHOOSERS T THE B BURGLAR IN THE C CLOSET T THE B BURGLAR W WHO L LIKED TO Q QUOTE K KIPLING T THE B BURGLAR W WHO S STUDIED S SPINOZA T THE B BURGLAR W WHO P PAINTED L LIKE M MONDRIAN T THE B BURGLAR W WHO T TRADED T TED W WILLIAMS T THE B BURGLAR W WHO T THOUGHT H HE W WAS B BOGART T THE B BURGLAR IN THE L LIBRARY T THE B BURGLAR IN THE R RYE T THE B BURGLAR ON THE P PROWL The Matthew Scudder Novels THE S SINS OF THE F FATHERS T TIME TO M MURDER AND C CREATE I IN THE M MIDST OF D DEATH A S A STABINTHE D DARK E EIGHT M MILLION W WAYS TO D DIE W WHEN THE S SACRED G GINMILL C CLOSES O OUT ON THE C CUTTING E EDGE A T A TICKET TO THE B BONEYARD A D A DANCE AT THE THE S SLAUGHTERHOUSE A W A WALK A AMONG THE T TOMBSTONES T THE D DEVIL K KNOWS Y YOU'RE D DEAD A L A LONG L LINE OF D DEAD M MEN E EVEN THE W WICKED E EVERYBODY D DIES H HOPE TO D DIE Keller's Greatest Hits. .h.i.t M MAN H HIT L LIST Collected Short Stories ENOUGH R ROPE.