6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mr. Monk Goes to Germany, July 8, 2008
This review is from: Mr. Monk Goes to Germany (Hardcover)
Mr. Monk Goes to Germany
The latest book in Lee Goldberg's Mr. Monk Series is well-paced and exciting. The chapters speed by as though you are watching a good movie.
Monk is coping fairly well when Dr. Kroger announces that he is going to Germany for a weeklong conference. Within 24 hours Monk has turned into an emotional wreck fraught with abandonment issues. He is convinced that Dr. Kroger cares deeply about him and won't be annoyed about being followed overseas. He pays Natalie's way for her and with a bit of chemical help "The Monk" flies to Germany with his assistant.
The book is full of comedic moments as Natalie navigates their way to the village where the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs originated. Picture Monk staying in a centuries old house built without any right angles! There is just enough description of the charming setting around Lohr, local customs, and people to make the book interesting, but it never becomes the focal point.
Naturally there is no such thing as a quiet vacation (including routine appointments with a less than pleased Dr. Kroger at the conference center) when Monk is around. The bodies start to show up almost immediately which puts the village's tiny police department into a tailspin. Again the writing is clever as we meet Commissioner Stoffmacher and Lt. Geshir who just happen to have a Skipper/Gilligan relationship like Stottlemeyer and Disher back home!
Monk spots a six-fingered man in the village, and immediately the detecting becomes very personal for him. Although the man is an upstanding citizen Monk is determined to find criminal evidence against him and works relentlessly to this end. There are many twists and turns to the plot as Monk with Natalie at his side digs for the truth. Natalie's voice as the narrator is funny and full of insight. She provides the normalcy that counterbalances all of Monk's unique perceptions. There are some unexpectedly dramatic scenes with Dr. Kroger. At this point the book is moving on fast forward with the reader along for a wild ride. Everything resolves itself in the end of course as Monk ingeniously solves the mystery. For me the book was over too soon!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mr. Monk's European Vacation, July 1, 2008
This review is from: Mr. Monk Goes to Germany (Hardcover)
This sixth `Monk' novel is a breeze of a read. It's very entertaining, the mystery elements are neatly handled and there's plenty of Monk madness to enjoy. And yet, for all that, I have to admit that I found this the least satisfying of the `Monk' novels so far published.
Monk is horrified when his psychiatrist, Dr. Kroger, suddenly announces that he is going to Germany for a week to attend a conference. How will Monk cope without his regular sessions with the good doctor? The answer to that soon becomes apparent when Dr. Kroger tries to pacify Monk by arranging for Dr. Jonah Sorenson, the one-armed psychiatrist who we first met in the television episode `Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink'. Sorenson's lack of body symmetry has our obsessive compulsive detective in something of a cold sweat. Added to this is the fact that Monk's new neighbor only has one leg. Monk slips into a state of "tearless weeping" and "losing count of his blinking." He decides that the only course of action left open to him is to follow Dr. Kroger to Germany.
Monk's unease about people with physical anomalies is about to become even more pronounced because he suddenly notices a man who has six fingers on his right hand. This is especially significant to Monk because his wife's murderer was hired by an eleven-fingered man.
Where I have some difficulty with this novel is in some of the situations that Monk and Natalie get into and how they react to those situations. Obviously, with a television series as the basis for a novel, you can't help but refer back to the characters as they appear on screen. In the television episode, `Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine', as I remember it, when Monk is under the influence of the personality-altering drug, Dioxynl, his usefulness as a detective is non-existent. In this novel, Monk's detective skills are unimpaired after taking the drug. Also, Natalie's extreme reactions toward Dr. Kroger in this novel didn't ring true for me when compared to her screen persona, or even when compared to her ususal laid-back character in the novels.
When reading this novel, I kept asking myself why it was set in Germany as opposed to any other country. Why did the cast have to be transported out of San Francisco at all? There are even a couple of characters that mirror Stottlemeyer and Disher with similar sounding, if Germanic, names. All good comedy stuff, admittedly, but at times, things felt a little forced to me.
All this moaning is perhaps a bit harsh. I'd still recommend this novel to fans of the previous books in the series because it's a good, entertaining read. However, compared to the previous `Monk' novels, I do feel that this is the weakest entry in the series.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mr Monk strikes again, September 4, 2008
This review is from: Mr. Monk Goes to Germany (Hardcover)
These books are so much fun, they almost make all my issues small by comparison. I have read all the books and anxiously look forward to the next one. If you are looking for pure escapism when you read, pick up these books. The characters are fun and believable (well, as believable as Monk can be), the stories are well written and you do not have to watch the series to enjoy them (I don't have cable and have only seen 1-2 episodes). If you want a fun read, read MONK!
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