Burglars Can’t Be Choosers by Lawrence Block
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I do like Block’s writing very much, but as I wade further into his work, the plotting and core stories are proving the lack of an ability to construct a cogent story.

This was the first of a series involving a burglar who finds himself in larger stories than his choice of occupation. This first story is a surprise to start off with as I ended the book and looked back on a convoluted tale with tacked on characters. It all made sense when I read the postscript by author Block in the 1994 edition of the book, basically, explaining the ending came from a person he lodged with in his travels. Sounds like emotion got the better of reason and produced a ridiculous solution to a crime that no part of law enforcement could prosecute.

His characters are, again, top notch. They seem for real, despite many used just for window dressing.

Nevertheless, Blocks writing make the silly trip worthwhile again. I shall continue with his books for that reason only.

Bottom line:
I don’t recommend this book (Unless you want to read Block’s writing). 5 out of 10 points.

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Hit Man by Lawrence Block

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Block’s book is nearly a travel journal as the main character roams about doing his job and trying to figure out his place in life. As each trip is logged in another story starts within the book. The stories aren’t broken into specific named chapters. The overall book contains probably a dozen tales of the adventures of the character. I wonder if that was the original thought. To have a series of short stories for a magazine or some such. Overall it is very good. Well written. Well defined characters. The interaction of the main character and the main contact for his work is nearly magic. The writing there is simply superb.

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