Burglars Can't Be Choosers, by Lawrence Block

This is the first of the Burglar books, a series I promised to revisit. Characters are introduced and developed, relationships are established, and the ongoing premise of twisted honesty is established. It appears that there are two main characters in most of the Burglar books, the thief Bernie and the cop Ray. Both of these guys are “a different kind of honest;” Ray isn’t above taking a bribe but will not break his promises, and Bernie is a crook that wants justice. Makes for an interesting setting, but unfortunately here the plot was pretty weak. There are way too many coincidences, and any character that is given a name figures into the crime for which Bernie is framed. While this can work, it doesn’t come off as well here. The players are quite compelling, though, so I’ll revisit Bernie in the future.

First Sentence:

A handful of minutes after nine I hoisted my Bloomingdale’s shopping bag and moved out of a doorway and into step with a tall blond fellow with a faintly equine cast to his face.