Monday, December 19, 2011

Mr. Monk on Patrol -- Lee Goldberg

I've reviewed quite a few of Lee Goldberg's books about Adrian Monk, and I've enjoyed every single one of them.  I've never failed to get many chuckles and a good number of guffaws, but the humor's not the only good thing about this series.  The way that Monk's assistant, Natalie Teeger, who narrates the books, and Monk himself, have gradually changed and learned about themselves adds a lot to the enjoyment.  And of course the mysteries and Monk's approach to solving them are always solidly entertaining.  Goldberg has announced that he'll be writing only two more Monk novels after this one.  I'm certainly going to miss them.


In Mr. Monk on Patrol, Natalie and Monk go to Summit New, Jersey, to help out their friend Randy Disher, who, as regular readers of the series will recall, left San Francisco to take a job in Summit as Chief of Police.  Now, because of rampant corruption in city government there,  he's been installed as mayor, and he needs some crime-solving help asap.  Monk's former assistant, Sharona, using the direct approach, helps Natalie get Monk across the country without much trouble, but things are different in Summit.  There's a series of baffling burglaries, a ghost in a hotel, and finally a murder.  Monk eventually wraps up everything, thanks to his unique approach to crime solving.  I recognized a couple of familiar names in the story, and that's always fun.  There are also a couple of big surprises in the book, and I'm not about to spoil them here.  There's even a cliff-hanger ending, but I think I have it figured out.  As usual, highly recommended.

No comments: