Mr. Monk is Miserable | Lee Goldberg

Mr. Monk is Miserable | Lee Goldberg | Mr. Monk Goes Underground

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Mr. Monk is Miserable

	Mr. Monk is Miserable Lee Goldberg NAL Hardcover, 2008 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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More compulsive, page-turning fun in this all-new, original mystery starring the popular TV detective.

Monk already ruined a trip to Germany for his longsuffering assistant Natalie. The least he can do is accompany her on a detour to France?and try not to ruin that too. In fact, Monk throws Natalie for a loop by announcing that he wants to visit the sewers of Paris. The historic underground maze of pipes and tunnels is famous for making the City of Light sanitary, and to Monk, that?s worth paying tribute to.

The only problem is that their explorations lead them to another hidden world below the Parisian streets: the catacombs, filled with aging skulls and bones. Monk?s sharp eye catches sight of one skull that?s not so old?and that shows evidence of murder?pulling them into a case more twisted than the catacombs themselves.

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fine entry

Mr. Monk stalks his psychiatrist by following him to Germany so they can continue their sessions; he also solves homicide cases that almost killed him and his assistant Natalie. Both Natalie and his shrink are unhappy with Monk for ruining their vacations. Using the guilt card, Natalie blackmails Monk into spending a few days in France on a real vacation. On the plane from Germany, a passenger dies; Monk determines who the killer is in a few minutes.

In France, Monk feels traumatized as he is out of his environment, but Natalie has no sympathy as she plans to enjoy her vacation. Monk decides to visit the famous Paris sewerage system because he wants to pay homage to the cleanliness of the city. In the catacombs below the streets, he finds a tomb filled with old skulls except one that looks quite recent. DNA testing proves this is San Francisco con artist Nathan Chalmers assumed dead for a decade. In a darkened restaurant a woman tells Monk she knows something about the deceased, but before she can explain further she is killed. The compulsive Monk is cleaning the Paris streets while putting the puzzle pieces in order.

No one does novelizations of TV shows better than Lee Goldberg consistently does. The author is able to catch the essence of Monk's personality while also providing an entertaining whodunit. Readers see a different side of Paris with its underground catacombs and sewers (unless you happen to be the Honeymooners' Ed Norton) where people live. Natalie will have to wait for her needed foreign vacation while series fans will relish following the idiosyncrasies of the hero as he cleans the streets of Paris.

Harriet Klausner

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Mr. Monk Goes Underground

Following on immediately from where the previous `Monk' novel (Mr. Monk Goes to Germany (Mr. Monk)) left off, we join ace detective Adrian Monk and his assistant (and chronicler of their escapades), Natalie Teeger on another corpse-laden yarn. Natalie has insisted that following their hair-raising experiences in Germany, a short vacation in Paris is called for. But, as all `Monk' fans know, wherever the obsessive compulsive detective goes, murder is sure to follow.

The title of this novel is a little misleading; Monk is not much more miserable here than he is in his usual San Franciscan habitat. In fact, at times, he is quite happy as he fits his detective work in between bouts of cleaning the Parisian streets thanks to a sanitation worker "generously" presenting him with the keys to a motorized sidewalk sweeper.

In an unusual development for this series, there are some light political overtones implied when Monk comes into contact with a group of people calling themselves Freegans: people who shun the consumer-driven lifestyle, preferring instead to live a kind of hand-to-mouth existence on scavenged food or second hand goods. Monk is, naturally, appalled at such debased thinking.

As with the `Germany' novel, the police chief in Paris bears some resemblance to Stottlemeyer, and he has his own bungling version of Disher in tow. Two books in a row? This is a joke that's wearing a little thin, I thought. But then there's a great punchline courtesy of The Randy Disher Experience . . .

I suppose it would be a little too predictable to have called this novel `Mr. Monk Goes to France' given the title that precedes this one. Of the seven `Monk' novels so far published, three of them take him out of his usual stomping ground (the other being Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (Mr. Monk)) and, in my view, this is too many trips in too short a time. The novels set nearer to home-base work the best. Having said that, this novel is still well worth a read if you're a fan of the television show or the previous novels. If you haven't yet read any of the novels, I'd recommend reading them in order because events from each novel are frequently referred to in subsequent stories. Additionally, many of the television episodes are mentioned. More importantly, all the novels are fun reads with some neat comedy moments to complement the clever clue solving.

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Mr. Monk Visits France

Natalie is ready for a vacation. Since she and Monk are already in Germany, she blackmails Monk into paying for them to visit Paris. She is looking for a few days of relaxation, which means she wants no murder investigation.

When they arrive, Monk surprises her by asking to tour the sewer system. Later that day, she insists they head to the catacombs. That was her mistake. See, in the middle of a pile of bones, Monk spots a skull that is only a few months old. Worse yet, the person was murdered. Despite Natalie's insistence that they are on vacation, Monk begins to work on the case. Who was the victim? Why was he buried in the catacombs? And will Natalie ever get a real vacation?

This book picks up moments after the last novel in the series ended. That means two things. One, it helps to have read that book first. Secondly, for those keeping track of TV chronology, this book is set before the end of the sixth season.

With that warning out of the way, we've got another fun case for Monk to solve. The mystery started slowly, with parts of the first half seeming a bit like a travel guide. But once Monk finds the skull, things begin to pick up. Since I hadn't read the jacket flap, there were several nice twists to the story I hadn't expected. The characters from the series are spot on as always, and the new characters are equally real and charming. Natalie is an interesting case here. I was at once frustrated and sympathetic to her at the same time.

And I can't leave out the humor. This book had me rolling multiple times as I read it. There are some great bits in the first quarter. A sub plot introduced in the second half was wonderful. Fans of the TV series will especially love the tie in there.

These series of novels continue to be a great companion to the TV series. If you haven't read one, pick up one today. You'll thank me later.

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