Bernie Rhodenbarr is the protagonist of the ''Burglar'' series of comic
mystery novels
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
by
Lawrence Block
Lawrence Block (born June 24, 1938) is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York-set series about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and the gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. Block was named a Grand Mas ...
. He first appeared in ''Burglars Can't Be Choosers'', published in 1977; as of 2013, he has appeared in eleven novels by Block, as well as four short stories ("Like a Thief in the Night," "The Burglar Who Dropped In On
Elvis
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
," "The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke" and "A Bad Night for Burglars").
H. R. F. Keating described him as "one of the most delectable characters of the day", and "inimitable",
[''Whodunit? A Guide to Crime, Suspense & Spy Fiction'', edited by H. R. F. Keating; published 1982 by ]Van Nostrand Reinhold
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, Academi ...
; p. 124-125 while ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called him "the
Heifetz Heifetz is a Jewish surname from Belarus and Lithuania. It derives from Hebrew חפץ (chefets; "delight" "pleasure"). It is unrelated to the similar-sounding Arabic name حافظ (Hafez or Hafiz; guardian, protector). It is also spelled Chafets, Ch ...
of the picklock"
[CRIME]
in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
; published October 23, 1977 and a "timeless (...) treasure[]".