Order of Bernie Rhodenbarr Books
Bernie Rhodenbarr is a fictional character created by American novelist Lawrence Block. Rhodenbarr is a NYC thief who is an expert lockpick who loves the thrill of breaking and entering. The series is lighter in tone than Block’s Matt Scudder series. The novel The Burglar in the Closet was (loosely) adapted into the film Burglar starring Whoopi Goldberg as “Bernice.” Needless to say, Block was displeased with this adaptation.
The Bernie Rhodenbarr series began with Burglars Can’t Be Choosers in 1977. Below is a list of Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr books in order of when they originally published (and in chronological order):
Publication Order of Bernie Rhodenbarr Books
Burglars Can’t Be Choosers | (1977) | |
The Burglar in the Closet | (1978) | |
The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling | (1979) | |
The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza | (1980) | |
The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian | (1983) | |
Like a Thief in the Night | (1983) | |
The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams | (1994) | |
The Burglar Takes a Cat | (1994) | |
The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart | (1995) | |
The Burglar in the Library | (1997) | |
The Burglar in the Rye | (1998) | |
The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis | (1999) | |
The Burglar on the Prowl | (2001) | |
The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke | (2011) | |
A Bad Night for Burglars | (2011) | |
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons | (2013) | |
The Burglar in Short Order | (2020) | |
The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown | (2022) |
Note: The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke was co-authored by Lynne Wood Block.