Customer Reviews

Mr. Monk in Outer Space

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Everything about the case seems ordinary. The man was shot outside a hotel. In fact, the assassin was captured on four different security cameras. Yet Monk was still called in to help the San Francisco police department solve the case. Why? Because the victim was Conrad Stipe, creator of the cult 70's TV show Beyond Earth. And the assassin was dressed as one of the aliens from the show.

Because Stipe was shot right outside a fan convention for his show, Captain Stottlemeyer knows there are too many suspects. He's hoping Monk's attention to detail will help them find the one fan who did it.

However, Monk is unnerved by the costumes everyone is wearing. The alien costumes are elaborate and unnatural. Monk just can't see how anyone would willing become devoted to something so unnatural.

And then he finds out his brother Ambrose is a devoted fan of the series.

Who shot Conrad Stipe? What clues does the costume provide? And will Monk ever look at Ambrose the same way again?

The Monk novels have proved to be plenty of fun, and this is no exception. I must admit I had pieces of the plot figured out before Monk, but I think that is because I have gotten used to author Lee Goldberg's plotting. Still, I enjoyed finding out if I was right and how Monk would piece it all together. I felt at times Monk slipped into caricature in this book, a charge I've leveled at the TV show a time or two as well. Still, I laughed out loud plenty. Fans and TV executives get a gentle skewing over the course of the book. I especially enjoyed one producers proposal to change the Monk series.

This isn't the strongest entry in the Monk novel series, but it is still absolutely worth reading. Fans of the TV show are in for another treat.

Mr. Monk is an obsessive-compulsive - and also a great detective who consults for the San Francisco Police Department. They only call him in for the really tough cases, like the murder of Conrad Lorber, CEO of fast-food giant Burgerville. And then the murder of Conrad Stipe, creator of the cult television hit Beyond Earth. But the corpses don't stop piling up there. Mr. Monk's incredible skill is needed!

The story is told by Natalie, Adrian Monk's long suffering assistant. A single mother with a 12 year old daughter, Monk seems to be Natalie's second parental responsibility.

Monk has enough quirks, neuroses and phobias to get his own chapter, if not volume, in the DSM. But his unique skills are needed to solve all these murders which have an oddness of their own. Lorber, for example . . . well, I don't want spoil it for you. So I won't tell you much about Conrad Stipe's murderer except that he has an odd nose and ears.

Though Monk can't make it through a revolving door, won't go to odd-numbered floors, counts the parking meters on streets, is afraid of elevators and so much more, his powers of deduction are so great, that solving the most baffling of murders is child's play for him.

But this time, he needs not only Natalie's help, but that of his brother as well. Ambrose Monk is an agoraphobic (panic disorder in today's lexicon) who hasn't left his house in years. But Ambrose is a successful writer of all manner of things like installation manuals. He is also the author of the authoritative history of Beyond Earth and understands Drach, the entirely made up language of one of Beyond Earth's characters. (If you get the impression that Beyond Earth is a send up of Star Trek, you're absolutely right - and it is very funny.)

Adrian Monk, for once, has to acknowledge his brother's worth, which is mildly heartwarming.

All in all, Mr. Monk solves a bunch of murders in his inimitable way and everyone lives neurotically forever after.

Lee Goldberg has turned out another very humorous installment of the Mr. Monk saga.

Jerry

A small carpet stain in his apartment drives Monk to seek refuge at his brother Ambrose's house. This reunion with his brother has a beneficial side-effect: when a murder connected with cult television show `Beyond Earth' is committed, Monk discovers that Ambrose is a renowned expert on the show.

Having a sci-fi show as one of the backdrops to this novel gives the author plenty of scope for comedy. There's a wonderful scene at a `Beyond Earth' convention involving some priceless packets of thirty-year-old breakfast cereal. Monk also recoils at the sight of the attendees in their `Beyond Earth' regalia, particularly those dressed as Mr Snork, one of the show's lead characters complete with trunk-like snoot.

As ever, Monk's assistant and friend Natalie Teeger chronicles this adventure; the events are told in the first person from her point of view in easy-going, humorous prose. We share her exasperation at Monk's obsessiveness while at the same time marveling at his uniqueness.

One thing that has been missing from some of the previous novels in the series has been the lack of Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher in the stories. This is not the case with `Mr Monk in Outer Space', and, in my opinion, their presence in this story adds to the feeling that this could, and perhaps, should be turned into a television episode.

Lee Goldberg has really done the business with this latest Monk novel. Funny, clever and thoroughly compelling, this is the best in the series so far. Mind you, I think I might have said that about all the Monk novels.

I don't care whether or not you ever saw the show--Lee Goldberg's murder mystery series based on Monk are simply great. I can only think of a handful of mystery writers who can blend wit with a decent mystery. But Lee Goldberg certainly can.

This time, Monk is pulled in to investigate a murder at a "Beyond Earth" convention, a TV show that was lasted only a few seasons many decades ago. Mr. Monk is horrified by a bowl of mixed nuts, cars parked without any thought of equal spacing between, and the Beyond Earth groupies.

Goldberg also draws smiles for his critique of current TV. A producer wants to remake the "Mr Monk" TV show into "something a lot better--a detective who is a sex addict...

Monk's eyes widened in horror...

"And his assistant is a stripper. We're going to Showtime with it...It fits right in with their shows about the dope-dealing mother, the Vancouver lesbians, the bigamist, and the cop who is a serial killer" (p 102).

Really cute and fun.

I always enjoyed the series Monk and reading the books by Lee Goldberg, allows me to enjoy Monk again since the series ended. Enjoy the humor in the books as I did in the series.

Just like the other Monk books, this one had me laughing out loud and making everyone around me jealous.

I'm not a big reader of any type of books. I do love the Monk TV show and saw this book and decided to read it. I finished it in 2 days. Its not the longest book and I know a lot of people read a books in a couple of days, but not me. This book was great and the story was like watching a great new episode of my favorite tv show Monk. I couldn't put the book down, and even being a slow reader I just read it for hours and hours. I recommend this book to anyone who likes the tv show.

I'm starting to get the sense that the Monk series are like the Star Trek movies - if you're not overly fond of one of the books, just wait patiently for the next one to come out, and you'll be impressed by what you get. I was definitely very impressed with Mr. Monk in Outer Space. This book fixes up the issues of the previous book and delves head-first into a fascinating look at the psychology of Monk and his entourage.

Mr. Monk in Outer Space is set in a fandom world somewhere between Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, and isn't shy about the similarities. It even calls those two shows out by name several times. It was like re-reading "Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby" and a recent Meg Langslow mystery set in that same world. I wonder if it's the current theme in book writing, to surround yourself with interstellar aliens. What I'm saying is that parts seemed *too* redundant just because the other books had covered this exact same ground, but that's something you expect when writing about a subgroup that is very popular at the moment.

Monk starts running into a series of unrelated murders, and solving them as he usually does. Many of the details are telegraphed so you can spot what's going on before Monk does, but that's fine. This book isn't really about those murders. Rather, it is about how Monk relates to his brother Ambrose, and how he becomes slightly more self aware.

I *adore* the Ambrose character - the episode where he is introduced is one of my all time favorites. I was extremely nervous when this book began with Ambrose, given my feelings (and the feelings of many others who wrote me) about what was done to Sharona in the last book. However, my worries turned out to be completely unfounded. If anything, Ambrose was far more rich, more fully realized, than the show had time to draw him. And really, this is one of the true keys of a novel. A TV show has extremely tight time constraints and has to convey the quintessence of meaning in every line of dialogue. With a novel, you have the luxury of fleshing out the nooks and crannies, of building depth and history and meaning. This book certainly does that in a stellar fashion.

It's not just basic "Oh this is why he does X" type of history. It's better than that. It's the little glimpses into personality, the small looks, the hesitations. This book is just head and shoulders above the previous books for many reasons, and it really echoes in the experience you have when you read it.

Natalie shines in this book. I had several issues with her character as portrayed in previous books. I have nothing but praise for her here. Yes, she is flawed, but her flaws are natural and meaningful. She has strength, she has insight, and everything she does is true to what she is about. The same is true for all of the characters. You might get annoyed at a character for doing X, but their behavior fits within their mental framework.

I do have to comment about one aspect. Monk is greatly "escalating" his phobias in this story, without any stated reason. If there had been some back-story about this being "right around the anniversary of Trudy's death" or some other reason, I would have taken it in stride. However, there are several key plot points that involve specific phobias which specifically contradict TV show activity. In fact one phobia contradicts behavior from the previous book where I was very proud of Monk for how he behaved. They were fairly obvious and quite jarring.

Again, with the rest of the book being so excellent, I tried to mentally make up an excuse for Monk that he was "going over the edge" for some sort of internal reason. The carpet stain just wasn't enough to explain this change of his rules. I realize this writer may not watch all the TV shows as religiously as some of us readers do, but there should be an easy enough way to have a list of each show and the phobias / activities shown in it as a reference guide. Heck, I suppose maybe I should post one on my site. I realize there's always going to be minor problems in a story, but when something is a key plot point - and it's Monk suddenly not wanting to do X when he's been doing X fairly frequently in the past without any real problem - it's a roadblock. It would be like Batman being in a climactic final battle and suddenly saying "I don't like physical violence - why don't we just talk peacefully with the Joker?" It's certainly an interesting plot twist, but without any reason or context, it is awfully confusing.

So, that aside, the book had many laugh out loud moments, the insightful underlayer was fascinating, and the characters as a whole were extremely well done. Natalie and Ambrose were perfect. I am looking forward to the next book with great enthusiasm.

Ambrose makes a starring appearance in this story, and Monk shows a bit more heart than I have ever seen before. I was misled by the title "Outer Space," expecting some space shuttle mystery, or time at Cape Canaveral, etc. This tale has NOTHING to do with space. Star Trek fans may get a kick out of this parody--or not. The plot revolves around what basically amounts to a Trekkie convention, but all the names, characters,etc. have been changed. Burger King--I mean Burgerville--is also involved, since someone in the head home office winds up dead. I think the meat of the story is the psychology between Monk and Ambrose, and a tiny insight into their lives as children. I enjoy Ambrose, and the dialog between them is both reavealing and interesting. The crooks weren't that intriguing in this one, but Randy Disher is hilarious as the leader of his own "desecration" squad. This book is pretty good, so if you are a fan of the other Monk books, you will probably like this one.

Mr. Monk in Outer Space is the fifth installment in Lee Goldberg's series of TV tie-ins featuring Adrian Monk, the obsessive compulsive detective. In this outing Monk is called in by Captain Stottlemeyer of the San Francisco Police Department to help solve a series of murders. The most sensational of these is the murder of Conrad Stipe, the creator of a three-decade-old Star Trek-like cult favorite. He's shot dead upon arrival at a Beyond Earth convention, apparently by an obsessive fan, an "Earther," who's upset about a proposed remake of the show that isn't expected to stay true to the character of the original series. But of course the murder isn't as clear-cut as that, and its solution depends on Monk's preternatural attentiveness to detail. In fact, this time around there are two Monks on the case: Adrian's agoraphobic brother Ambrose literally wrote the book on Dratch--the made-up language (think Klingon) spoken by some characters in Beyond Earth. His command of the language and familiarity with the show proves invaluable to the investigation. The case provides the brothers with an opportunity to connect with one another. The development of their relationship is one of the sweeter parts of this story.

Like the rest of the books in Goldberg's series and the show itself, Mr. Monk in Outer Space is studded with amusing dialogue related to Monk's nearly paralyzing obsessive compulsive disorder. The book is also cleverly plotted, the various murders connected to one another in unexpected ways. Add to that Monk's subtle growth as a human being and the tender scene between Monk and his assistant, Natalie Teeger, at the book's close, and this installment in the series is a particularly enjoyable one.

-- Debra Hamel