Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop

The San Francisco Police Department doesn't have the budget to keep hiring Monk so he must find another job in this story. Of course, he can't keep his nose out of their business and figures out who "dun" it and calls in tips to the hotline using the name Adrian Jones, Adrian Smith. (Like this would really fool them!) He does find a new job with a hotshot company and starts solving old cases and clears out cases that have been sitting around for years unsolvable. Then Stottlemeyer gets arrested for killing a dirty cop, and Monk is on his case. I love these books and I'm so glad they are still being released since we no longer have the show to watch. Natalie is hilarious as the storyteller in them. Can you imagine if Monk was the storyteller (they would be boring probably), so I'm glad the author chose Natalie to tell the story instead. She does something in this book that had me cracking up. She wanted to get rid of Monk for awhile so she dumps him off at Dr. Bell's office (Monk says he needs more therapy and even though he doesn't have an appointment, he goes in for 10 minutes at a time in between everyone elses.) Dr. Bell is not pleased of course. Meanwhile Natalie heads home, eats junk food and just relaxes on the couch. Kind of like a mother after she dumps her kiddies off at Granny's. The cases in these books are not the cases that were in the shows.

Book is funny, and gives chuckles. The Monk in the book is close to the tv Monk, though in some ways he seems more extreme. The book is from Natalies point of view, which limits what one reads to only what she is seeing. Julie suddenly ages, in the first couple books she was 12. In Mr Monk Goes to Germany she is 15.In this one she jumps to almost 18. Dr Bell is in this book, though no explanation to why. In the show Dr Kroger dies(as did the actor) Would recomend for light harted entertainment. Like all the Monk books it reqires little in the way of deep thought

When tragedy struck SFPD Detective Adrian Monk, he had a nervous breakdown; when he recovered he suffered from a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder. He no longer functions as a cop yet remains brilliant at solving mysteries. His former superior Captain Leland Stottlemeyer uses him as a paid consultant on the most difficult cases, but begins to detest the fact that Mr. Monk gets the praise while he receives scorn and derision. The Captain swears to Mr. Monk he is not jealous, but the latter's assistant Natalie believes otherwise. However, the captain soon lets Monk and Natalie go due to budget cuts. Angrily she wants her boss to find a new job within the private sector. Nicholas Slade, CEO of the Internect private security and investigation firm, hires Monk, who accepts the position because of the benefits. While Monk solves cases at an incredible pace, Stottlemeyer is arrested for killing a criminal informant suffering from Alzheimer's. The captain swears he was framed and asks his friend and colleague whom he fired to find the real culprit. Even Natalie wants Monk to take the case on, which he does. No one writes books based on popular TV series better than Lee Goldberg consistently does as the author always catches the essence of the key characters and their prevalent traits; in this case obviously the OCD. Mr. Monk in spite of his crippling illness gets around solving crimes at a Guinness Book of records rate. Natalie is protective of Monk so she lashes out at those who harm him like the captain did. Although the prime case takes time to become front and center, fans will enjoy Mr. Monk's latest adventures as he solves case after case after case. Harriet Klausner

Again, a fun read. Since this will be Monk's last season on TV, all you Monk fans should add this one to your list.

Once again, poor Mr. Monk is beset by people who don't care enough about balance and neatness, and poor Natalie is about to learn that her employer is perfectly willing to work for the city of San Francisco even though the city of San Francisco is not about to pay him anymore. With terrible repercussions for her bank balance. Not that Mr. Monk thinks that's a problem. Goldberg's Mr. Monk is pitch perfect, and by the last half of the book Goldberg has Monk solve knotty problems so difficult it appears there is no solution. And all the while, he fusses and frets and drives everyone else around him up the wall with his irritating habits. Goldberg's books about Monk are simply wonderful. Always entertaining, he puts Monk into situations that make you laugh out loud. I hope he plans to continue to write Monk novels even after the series comes to an end this year. Please, Mr. Goldberg! Funny novels are few and far between and I would miss these books.