"Fine adaptation"

In San Francisco Natalie Teeger is used to taking care of her boss private investigator Adrian Monk; so when the sleuth informs her that his house is being fumigated she suggests the world renowned Belmont Hotel. That place proves not good enough so she kindly offers to take him into her home, rationalizing how bad it will be to have Monk and her twelve years old daughter Julie under the same roof. Of course, Monk has to modify her abode to fit his acceptable level, the white glove cleanliness test.

Julie informs Monk that someone murdered the beloved fire dog Sparky. Monk offers to investigate in exchange for Julie to pick up her discarded tissues and place them in a plastic container before the EPA arrives. He begins his investigation into the canine homicide by visiting Sparky's Fire Chief, Captain Mantooth, who informs Monk that they were working a fatal nearby fire when someone killed the Dalmatian. Soon Monk links the canine murder to the "accidental" human fiery death, but has no suspect let alone a motive; still the case has just begun.

No way could anyone bring an anal lunatic like Monk from the TV series to a novel because his idiosyncrasies would become boring, but this reviewer failed to account for the talent of Lee Goldberg to adapt the sleuth to the written word. Enhancing Monk's eccentricities without slowing the plot, Mr. Goldberg spins a terrific who-done-it that will excite fans of the show and bring the quirky sleuth to a new audience. The investigation is fun to follow as the detective thinks so differently than anyone else as Monk is simply Monk in his first novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 9, 2006

Summary

The brand-new mystery series starring the brilliant, beloved, and slightly off-balance sleuth from the USA Network's hit show! Monk's house is being fumigated, and he has nowhere to go. Fortunately, his assistant Natalie and her daughter are kind enough to welcome him into their home. Unfortunately, their home is not quite up to Monk's standards of cleanliness and order. But while Monk attempts to arrange his surroundings just so, something else needs to be put straight. The death of a dog at the local firehouse-on the same night as a fatal house fire-has led Monk into a puzzling mystery. And much to his horror, he's going to have to dig through a lot of dirt to find the answer.