The Burglar in the Library

Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar extraordinaire and bookseller ordinaire has left the Big Apple and gone country. The setting is Cuttleford House, a delightful English-style inn, where Carolyn and Raffles the Cat join Bernie for a wintery weekend. Carolyn isn't Bernie's first choice for a romantic weekend, but his intended, Lettice Runcible, turned out to be someone else's intended.

But healing his wounded heart isn't Bernie's sole concern. Bookselling Bernie's always in search of a valuable edition - this time it's a rare first edition of Raymond Chandler's 'The Big Sleep', autographed to, of all people, Dashiell Hammett. And it's somewhere in the Cuttleford House library. But during his nightly prowl, Bernie finds unexpected company in the form of a corpse.

Next morning everyone else finds the body too. Now, with everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, Bernie's got to catch the culprit - before there's another murder. And let's not forget that book, which has mysteriously disappeared from the library shelves ...