Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants

I have enjoyed all of the Monk books, but this was my favorite. Having Natalie and Sharona together with Monk was wonderful. I wish that this storyline would be used in a future television episode. Definitely recommended for a fun mystery.

I always enjoy Lee Goldberg's books on Monk the OCD detective. They keep me in stitches just as the show does. I have already pre-ordered the new book and can't wait until I get it in the mail.

I really enjoyed this story, can almost picture in my mind Natalie and Sharona meeting the first time when in the clinic getting Julies arm casted! Although will still kind of miss Sharona, it ended well and Natalie does very well and is very believable as Monks assistant. Although I really enjoy Monk on TV and the stories, if he were my boss I'd probably end up popping him along side the head at times! Keep em coming!

Writers of TV series tie-in books face a unique challenge. They have to meet fans' expectations while generating enough story that could fill two or three hour-long shows. But there are benefits from the novel format. A novel, for example, doesn't demand four acts, each the same length and ending in a cliffhanger just before the commerical. The careful tie-in writer can even take advantage of real-life events behind the TV series, as Lee Goldberg did in "Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants," the fourth book in the series. For the first couple of seasons, Monk -- the obsessive-compulsive consulting detective for the San Francisco Police Department -- was assisted by Sharona Fleming, who acted as nurse, counselor and caretaker of Monk's Handiwipes. Because of a contract dispute, the actress playing her was replaced and a new assistant, Natalie Teeger, was created. This caused a debate among "Monk" fans, in intensity somewhere below "Kirk vs. Picard" but well above "Dick York's Darrin vs. Dick Sargent's Darrin." That substitution forms the spine of "Two Assistants." Sharona left Monk to reconcile with her husband, who she believed was trying to reform, but she dumps him after he is charged with killing a woman in her home. Monk, being Monk, is thrilled at having two assistants. Natalie, being a single mother, is less thrilled at having her salary cut in half. Rather than lose her job, she tries to get Monk to investigate. Sharona resents Natalie's meddling, and their conflict is played out against a series of murder investigations that showcase Monk's abilities as an investigator. These are old-school cases, relying on spotting the clues that don't add up, and Goldberg concocts several clever solutions that reflects on Monk's idiosyncratic view of the world. Goldberg also gets to have fun with mystery writers when best-selling author Ian Ludlow is brought in to consult on a case. Genre fans can wonder if parts of Ludlow was built from James Patterson's multiple-books-a-year publishing schedule and Joe Konrath's book signing sprees. As a bookseller says about Ludlow's series featuring detective Marshak: "an unsigned Marshak is harder to find and more valuable than a signed one." Goldberg also takes shots at writers, their plots and even their author photos, but they exhibit a sweetness of temperament and are not meant to wound. Despite all the goings-on, Monk remains a commanding character, whether captivated by a poster of perfectly sized teeth at the orthodontist, shocked at the beach by the presence of nudist sunbathers or visiting Los Angeles wearing a gas mask. And while the murder investigation takes some deeply odd turns, Goldberg's intricate plotting ensures that the cases are wrapped up in a way that would meet the approval of this obsessive-compulsive detective, as well as his many fans.

Goldberg tells these stories from the perspective and in the "voice" of Natalie Teeger, and does so quite well. This novel, which has Natalie and Sharona meeting and becoming a central point of the case seems like it was lifted right from a collection of the show's best episodes.