Tony Shalhoub is a tremendous actor. Whether he plays Antonio Scarpacci in the old WINGS TV show, or as Primo the chef in BIG NIGHT or now as Adrian Monk in the USA Network series MONK, Shalhoub brings a vulnerable quirkiness to every role. His range is surprising, and his attention to detail is what can make a relatively minor character (like Scarpacci) into a vital part of the whole. The subtle touches he provides, especially to a damaged character like Mr. Monk, make you watch him and become engrossed in the story.

Former police detective Adrian Monk is a character not every one appreciates. An outstanding detective who lost mental focus after the murder of his wife – a crime he cannot seem to solve – Monk’s eccentricities devolve into full-blown obsessive-compulsiveness. He’s a clean freak. He’s obsessed with symmetry. He boils his toothbrush after brushing. He is freaked out by odd numbers. He is germophobic. In essence, he’s a brilliant mind wrapped in a protective shawl of fear, paranoia, inhibition and a committed belief that there is only one right way, the Monk way, to interact with the world. Spontaneity does not enter into the picture.

Based on a character by Andy Breckman, Shalhoub plays Monk perfectly. But there’s a little something missing in an hour-long show devoted to both an intricate mystery and the character’s oddness. There usually isn’t enough time to explore Monk and why he’s doing what he’s doing. So enter Lee Goldberg and another excellent TV tie-in book, the first in the series, entitled MR. MONK GOES TO THE FIREHOUSE. A book-length exploration of Monk is just so much more satisfying because we get to see more of the detective’s odd little world.

Monk’s house is being fumigated so he must temporarily move in with his long-suffering assistant, Natalie Teeger. The book is written from her point of view, a clever shift that allows us to be a voyeur on Monk’s behavior without the constraints that would come from having Monk explain his own obsessions. Teeger has an adolescent child and surprisingly, Monk and the child get along well, even though he notes to the mother that children are “walking cesspools” of disease. The child is upset because a local firehouse dog has been killed by some ax-wielding maniac. Monk takes the case.

And from there, the case gets progressively weirder, as do Monk’s habits. First, another body is found, then Teeger becomes romantically involved with one of the firemen, and all the while, Monk is slowly driving his assistant crazy with incessant demands and whacked-out behavior. But there is always a method to Monk’s peculiar madness, and the way he solves crimes and deduces facts throughout the plot is thoroughly entertaining. He sees more than we do, because he sees things that are out of place. We might see a mess, but Monk sees a catastrophe, and because of that vision, he is able to know when things are not only not right, but downright sinister.

While there are some rather contrived plot points, most of the book sails through on its good humor and the likeability of the protagonists. If you like the series, you’ll love the book, and if you’re just lukewarm about the show, the book is even better and stays true to the character that Breckman and Tony Shalhoub have helped to create. –Mark Rose

Buy it at Amazon.