After seven previous tie-in novels, it’s safe (if not fairy obvious) to say that nobody knows the world of obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk better than novelist Lee Goldberg. But that doesn’t mean he’s become lazy or complacent. As MR. MONK AND THE DIRTY COP shows, Goldberg is willing to take chances with the firmly established characters, and is still able to provide plenty of laughs and well-crafted entertainment.
After all these years, it’s no secret how much Capt. Stottlemeyer of the San Francisco Police Department depends upon Monk. For all his obsessive-compulsive quirks and behavioral oddities, nobody solves more baffling cases for the SFPD than Monk. So when the two appear at a national law enforcement conference together, it is obvious to all that the department owes its high percentage of successfully closed cases to Monk’s uncanny ability to spot clues and connections where nobody else can see them. Stottlemeyer is fine with that … or so he says.
But shortly after the conference, Stottlemeyer delivers some crushing news to Monk and his long-suffering assistant, Natalie Teeger: The recession has hit the SFPD, and recent budget cuts no longer allow Stottlemeyer to retain Monk’s services. It’s nothing personal, Stottlemayer insists, but Natalie is not so sure. But there’s no time for that now. Monk is worried because his entire world has been knocked off of the balance he struggles every waking minute to maintain. And Natalie, of course, is concerned about her livelihood.
Just as she forms a campaign to bring Monk’s talents to other departments, she and Monk are approached by the founder and CEO of Intertect, a high-tech, highly successful private investigation firm that is more than willing to pay them a generous salary with plenty of perks, too. Immediately, Monk immerses himself into the pile of Intertect’s cold cases, solving them instantly, but at the expense of his health. Or so Natalie worries.
Yet all seems fine until the unthinkable happens: A cop is discovered murdered, and all the incriminating evidence points to Stottlemeyer as the murderer. Suddenly, he must depend upon Monk like he’s never done before. But Monk and Natalie uncover many confusing obstacles and problems as they try to prove the captain’s innocence.
Once again, the story is told from Natalie’s first-person perspective, and her personal doubts about her identity and career provide an unexpected depth and pathos to the telling. But she maintains her hard-forged sense of humor and innate sarcasm, even in the face of her suddenly uncertain future. How else can she put up with a boss who, for all his detecting genius, feels that the inventor of the Diaper Genie deserves a Nobel Peace Prize?
The action moves along effortlessly as Monk solves a seemingly endless array of cases along with those directly related to Stottlemeyer’s situation. At one point, however, Goldberg finds his first-person narration challenged when he must relay events from another character’s point-of-view. His solution — having Natalie recount the events as she leaned about them — is slightly awkward, but it is a minor irritation, and one we’re more than willing to suffer for so much entertainment and the eventual payoff provided.
Authors like Goldberg — and Max Allan Collins, most notably — completely disprove the notion that tie-in novels are inferior wastes of time. Truth is, you’d be hard-pressed to find another recent work that provides so many hip and humorous moments, along with its believable plot twists.
MONK series fans — and that means both the TV show and these novels — have another winner here to enjoy. And for those who haven’t experienced Monk in print, this new book is a fine place to start. —Alan Cranis
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE PAST TENSE by Lee Goldberg
• MR. MONK AND THE BLUE FLU by Lee Goldberg
• MR. MONK AND THE TWO ASSISTANTS by Lee Goldberg
• MR. MONK GOES TO THE FIREHOUSE by Lee Goldberg
• MR. MONK IN OUTER SPACE by Lee Goldberg
• MR. MONK IS MISERABLE by Lee Goldberg
Related posts:
- Mr. Monk Is Miserable
- Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu
- Mr. Monk in Outer Space
- Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse
- The Dirty Secrets Club / China Lake
