Block remains one of the smoothest operators in the crime writing
fraternity, and his regular protagonist Bernie Rhodenbarr one
of the most memorably characterised. The fact that Bernie isn't
all he should be is one of the charms of a witty and abrasive
series, and this time he's after the prized coin collection of
a man called Colcannon, confident that his inside information
will make collecting the spoils straightforward. The fact that
the collection consists of just one coin sounds appealing, but
Bernie finds (along with numerous other dangerous complications)
that selling the coin is one of his principal problems. Plotting,
as always, has the intricacy and precision of the finest Swiss
watch, while the pithy first-person narrative allows even the
most fastidious reader to be drawn into Bernie's murky world.
And the continuing conceit of Bernie's impressive cultural baggage
is another element that marks out this delectable series as very
different from any of Block's rivals.
