The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza

By: Lawrence Block

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling author Lawrence Block exposes the wickedly exciting double life of Bernie Rhodenbarr - respectable bookseller by day and notorious burglar by night. In The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, Bernie applies philosophy to match wits with a wily murderer and a few too many burglars. Bernie and his dog-grooming partner in crime, Carolyn, are planning the perfect crime. Tonight, they will rob a brownstone while the well-heeled owners are out of town with their vicious watch dog. But when Bernie painstakingly picks the lock, they discover somebody has already emptied the house - except for a valuable coin almost too hot to handle. Lawrence Block's finely-crafted plots and well-drawn characters have earned him three Edgar Awards and the title of Grand Master. With his deep, gravelly-toned narration, Richard Ferrone provides the perfect voice for the book-loving thief and his sophisticated friends as they land in one hilarious scrape after another.

©1980 Lawrence Block (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC

Leaves you rooting for the burglar !

This is one of the books in the "Burglar Who..." series, by Lawrence Block. The adventures of Bernie Rhodenbarr, a burglar who prays to St. Dismas (the saint of thieves) and seems so likeable that it's hard not to hope he will succeed. He has the front of being a used bookstore owner, and in some ways Block lets the reader think that he would like to go straight for good, but his addiction to robbing people is so powerful, he seems always to get tantalized into burgling yet another place. Good thing there is no 12 step group for burglars, or we would be deprived of these delightful books. Actually, these books are so cleverly written, that he does wind up being the "good guy" most of the time, because even as he is busy burgling and quickly being suspected by the police--even spending time in jail occasionally-- he is also working quietly to solve the crimes that other people are committing as well (usually murders).

In this book, he & his friend Carolyn have gone to a house with intent to burgle, only to discover that someone was there before them. They find several things to take with them, but leave, believing they missed out on an opportunity--not knowing that a murder occurs there. They visit a kind old man, who seems to be a "gentleman fence," a man whom Bernie seems to genuinely like and so makes a gift of an old book of writings by Spinoza before getting down to the transaction of selling his loot. All that happens after this is typical Bernie, with the on-going cast of characters who people the stories, including the semi-crooked cop, Ray (who both wants to arrest Bernie, but tends to help him as well).

This is a good story, a good listen. My only small criticism (and it is small) is that the narrator does not do a good job of women' voices. He tends to lower his voice tone (rather than raise it) for Bernie's friend Carolyn, which can leave the listener confused. This entire series is really a fun listen. For some reason I have been listening to them out of order, and it doesn't seem to hurt anything (there is rarely mention of what took place in earlier books). Recommend!

Quick entertaining listen

It was well read but I've gotten spoiled with books that have multiple readers. I got a little confused, just momentarily, at the end of the book.

Lawrence Block’s Bernie and Carolyn ALWAYS satisfy!

Bernie Rhodenbarr might be your run of the mill book-monger. He likes it that way! He doesn’t HAVE to make a mint selling second-hand tomes since he is NOT your typical burglar. His lucrative part-time avocation leads to endless whimsical adventures and misadventures. His best friend Carolyn - top tease at The Poodle Factory. No, she isn’t a stripper, she spends her days fluffing and polishing the posh canine pets of Manhattan.

With an inscrutable salad of random but cogent, facts from history, literature and New York life - the pair provide riveting stories what are wonderfully recounted by the voices of Richard Ferrone. He has one of those voices that would make a science textbook more palatable.

I’ve loved these books for ages - listening on cassette tapes in my pick-up truck in college, CDs in my BMW while showing houses around town and even today - streaming through Audible into my Forester.

I’m glad the books were a hit, because it’s nice to have good AND humorous mystery writing this rare in such ample supply.

Bernie is Real...

Non stop captivating entertainment. Richard Ferrone is brilliant narrating. Lawrence Block crafts a tale of Mystery suspense humor and realism. the New York City scene is all too familiar with me and made it even more enjoyable to recognize the culture cuisine neighborhoods making it even more visually impactful for me. It is of course written and conceived in the late seventies with no cell phones and only phone booths where dimes are necessary.

He’s Always Got a Story

His imagination never stops. He has more ideas than the average burglar. He’s amusing as well.

love the narrator and these stories

I love these bernie books. wish Block would write more. love Frangione . so droll

Bernie always gets the blame!

bernie-rodenbarr, murder, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, nyc, humor, snarky

Bernie Rhodenbarr does it again. He and Carolyn become the second thief and he gets blamed for the burglary as well as a murder. They take the loot to a fence he knows well,and then that man gets murdered. While Bernie works to find out who did the murders, we get a nice lesson in numismatics. The solution is presented with a flourish, as usual.
Richard Ferrone is the narrator and is fantastic.

Loved everything

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Bernie does it again. He burgles, he is arrested, and he solves another mystery to save himself. Lawrence Block does it again! Another wonderful story.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes

Which scene was your favorite?

All of them!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I always laugh at Bernie's adventurws.

Any additional comments?

No

Richard changed Carolyn’s voice in this one

He made her voice deeper like a man. Not sure why he didn’t put forth the effort because he had the ability and she didn’t have a deep voice in the previous book. This wasn’t good. I rarely dislike anything he does. Maybe he didn’t feel well with this narration but this was a poorer one. He’s usually great. In fact, just listening to the story was rather boring this round.