Customer Reviews

Mr. Monk and The Two Assistants

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Adrian Monk is up there with Lieutenant Columbo as one of my favorite television characters of all time. Like Columbo, Monk is a quirky detective whose irritating eccentricities contribute to his efficacy at sniffing out wrongdoers. While Columbo hides his acumen behind feigned incompetence, Monk's genius for solving crimes is a byproduct of his nearly crippling obsessive compulsive disorder. Monk is a tortured soul who can solve any crime except the one that matters most, the murder of his wife Trudy. Her death exacerbated his OCD tendencies, so that he functions in the world only with difficulty, and only with the help of an assistant. But his obsessiveness makes Monk a better detective. Because he is peculiarly sensitive to disorder, he notices things that other investigators miss. Monk's solution of a crime is his way of reestablishing some order in a universe that is, for him, heart-breakingly out of order.

Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants is the fourth installment in Lee Goldberg's series of tie-in novels. (See my reviews of Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse, Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii, and Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu.) As the title suggests, Monk and his current assistant--Natalie Teeger, the narrator of the series--run into Monk's first assistant, Sharona, who gave Monk his life back after Trudy died by helping him become functional again. And then she left him, without saying goodbye, to get back together with her nogoodnik husband. Sharona's reintroduction into the series is interesting because it allows Goldberg to explore Monk's relationships with both Sharona and Natalie. Sharona also pulls Monk, however unwillingly, into the book's principal investigation: her husband has been arrested for murder.

"'What he did was unforgiveable,' Monk said. 'Luring you away to New Jersey with his smooth talk and false promises, forcing you to abandon the people who needed you most, plunging them into the impenetrable darkness and despair that lies in the pitiful depths of their tormented souls.'

"Monk noticed us both staring at him and then hastily added, 'And Trevor murdered someone, which is also very bad.'"

While working on the case other crimes vie for Monk's attention, one of which--a bizarre murder on a nude beach--proves to be more than just a distraction.

I love this series. Sure, Monk is an unrealistic character, and some of his feats prove a little harder to swallow than others. (The book opens, for example, with Monk solving a murder at a kids' soccer game. The murderer, a caricature of a too-competitive soccer coach, betrays his guilt with the pattern of steps in his victory dance.) But they're good light mysteries, and more intricate than you'd expect. (This one, in fact, was so intricate that it became a little confusing at the end.) What makes the books shine, however, is Monk's dialogue, which is spot on and often hilarious.

"As we filed in, the old lady dabbed her fingers in the bowl of holy water at the doorway and crossed herself and kissed her fingers afterward.

"Monk gasped and motioned to me for a wipe. I gave it to him and he held it out to the woman.

"'Take this,' Monk said. 'Quick.'

"'What for?' she said.

"'The water, of course,' he said. 'Didn't you see all the people who stuck their filthy hands in it?'

"'It's okay, young man,' she said. 'It's blessed.'

"'But it isn't disinfected,' Monk said.

"'God has cleansed it,' she said.

"'You're old and your resistance to infection is weak,' Monk said. 'You should gargle immediately with a strong mouthwash before the deadly germs you slathered on your lips invade your aged body.'"

My advice: suspend your disbelief and enjoy the escapist fun.

-- Debra Hamel

In my mind Sharona and Natalie's only purpose was to be what mystery writer Evan Marshall refers to in The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing as the "confidant". Monk just needed someone to whom he could explain his plans and thoughts without resorting to a voiceover, someone to stand in for a normal person having the normal reactions to Monk's weirdness, yet ultimately explaining to the audience why he's likeable anyway, much the way Watson sings the praises of Holmes to the audience despite his cocaine and morphine addictions. To me Sharona and Natalie were interchangeable.

Then I read this book.

It goes as far as acknowledging that Natalie's character began as a Sharona clone, yet explains how she's evolved into something more. In fact, there are lots of jokes in Natalie's narrative that tap on - if they don't actually break - the fourth wall, and it has the effect that postmodernism should: By acknowledging its own artifice, addressing the audience directly, it paradoxically becomes more a part of the real world to deliver everything that's real about the personalities and truths about human nature within the fiction. In doing so, this book made me care for the first time about Natalie AND Sharona.

Also, cracking postmodern jokes referring to real-life events behind the show and the mystery genre in general frees the book to explore some of the reasons behind Monk's OCD without seeming to take itself too seriously. I prefer the Monk stories that explore why he behaves the way he does rather than only playing it for laughs.

Good stuff.

I was really looking forward to this book. Natalie meets Sharona? Comparisons of their Monk-caring styles? Interactions between two women who are so similar but so different? It seemed a perfect basis for a story.

I realize books tend to go from "things are really rough" to "over time people get to know each other and understand each other" as a plot device. This book takes it to extremes. A similar situation sprung into mind while I was reading it. When Alien 3 came out, James Cameron was very upset that his favorite characters had been callously mistreated. I felt the exact same thing here. I'd always liked Sharona, and to have her treated as a pariah, and berated, grated on me a lot. Yes, Natalie "grows to tolerate her", but it doesn't make the first half of the book any more enjoyable.

The book has numerous "jab at the reader" moments. The most obvious one is when Natalie is taking about Sharona, and says "At first I felt like an actress brought in to replace a beloved character on a hit TV show." Jeez, that wasn't subtle! Her snottiness really is over the top. The book does try to "add context" to it by later on having Natalie talk about how Monk is being petty and childish when threatened by a rival, but it doesn't help much.

The book felt really rushed to me. There are many key moments that the storyline is being told straight out, rather than shown and experienced. There are really important scenes that seem extremely flat. I realized at one point - during a powerful, confrontational scene between Natalie and Sharona, that neither one was expressing any emotion, according to the dialogue. Natalie "said" something. Sharona "said" something. Natalie then "said" something. Nobody yelled, or groaned, or did anything but "said". I went back to the beginning of that chapter and began counting. Literally 50 "saids" in a row from start to end, and NOTHING else. It made what should have been a very powerful scene fall flat.

The milk fetish is brought up explicitly again, as the author tries to undo the mistake of a previous book where Monk (who never drinks milk) has some. The author also says in the prologue that he can't really be held accountable for discrepancies between his books and the TV series since they're written sort of simultaneously. That probably refers to another mistake in a previous book regarding the Captain's marriage.

But there was still something that really stood out to me, as a musician. At one point they talk about a keypad playing the song "Mary Had a Little Lamb" - as 1212333. As far as I can tell, that won't play the song! It should be 3212333 starting with a 3. How can they have the song starting with a 1? Is this a different version of the song?

Also, maybe I'm just reading too many Spenser novels, but the scenes with Natalie and Sharona beating on gay people really bothered me a lot. It seemed completely inappropriate and out of character. I'm not saying books have to be completely PC, but it was uncomfortable to read.

So normally Monk falls into a "casual light read" for me, something I grab to pass two hours or so of time and relax. I expect the time to be enjoyable and non-grating. And there were several laugh-out-loud moments in here that the other people with me looked over to ask what was funny - so the book does have its good moments. I hesitated between 3 stars and 4 stars because of that. In the end, there were enough funny bits to kick it up to 4 stars.

Still, though, I really don't think they had to malign Sharona so much - that was unnecessarily nasty. I also don't think they had to go after the gay characters the way they did. But at least Natalie has more backbone than previous books, and her strange personality quirks of the previous books did not return, so I count those all as good things and am interested to see where the next book goes.

Writers of TV series tie-in books face a unique challenge. They have to meet fans' expectations while generating enough story that could fill two or three hour-long shows. But there are benefits from the novel format. A novel, for example, doesn't demand four acts, each the same length and ending in a cliffhanger just before the commerical.

The careful tie-in writer can even take advantage of real-life events behind the TV series, as Lee Goldberg did in "Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants," the fourth book in the series. For the first couple of seasons, Monk -- the obsessive-compulsive consulting detective for the San Francisco Police Department -- was assisted by Sharona Fleming, who acted as nurse, counselor and caretaker of Monk's Handiwipes. Because of a contract dispute, the actress playing her was replaced and a new assistant, Natalie Teeger, was created. This caused a debate among "Monk" fans, in intensity somewhere below "Kirk vs. Picard" but well above "Dick York's Darrin vs. Dick Sargent's Darrin."

That substitution forms the spine of "Two Assistants." Sharona left Monk to reconcile with her husband, who she believed was trying to reform, but she dumps him after he is charged with killing a woman in her home. Monk, being Monk, is thrilled at having two assistants. Natalie, being a single mother, is less thrilled at having her salary cut in half. Rather than lose her job, she tries to get Monk to investigate.

Sharona resents Natalie's meddling, and their conflict is played out against a series of murder investigations that showcase Monk's abilities as an investigator. These are old-school cases, relying on spotting the clues that don't add up, and Goldberg concocts several clever solutions that reflects on Monk's idiosyncratic view of the world.

Goldberg also gets to have fun with mystery writers when best-selling author Ian Ludlow is brought in to consult on a case. Genre fans can wonder if parts of Ludlow was built from James Patterson's multiple-books-a-year publishing schedule and Joe Konrath's book signing sprees. As a bookseller says about Ludlow's series featuring detective Marshak: "an unsigned Marshak is harder to find and more valuable than a signed one."

Goldberg also takes shots at writers, their plots and even their author photos, but they exhibit a sweetness of temperament and are not meant to wound.

Despite all the goings-on, Monk remains a commanding character, whether captivated by a poster of perfectly sized teeth at the orthodontist, shocked at the beach by the presence of nudist sunbathers or visiting Los Angeles wearing a gas mask. And while the murder investigation takes some deeply odd turns, Goldberg's intricate plotting ensures that the cases are wrapped up in a way that would meet the approval of this obsessive-compulsive detective, as well as his many fans.

What a nice surprise to have Sharona back! I'm almost at the end of this book and I'll be sad to finish, it's so much fun to read. I'm not able to watch Monk on USA Network so I either watch the few released to the "regular" networks or rent the DVD's. Reading the books is even better than watching the hour episodes!

Thanks Lee Goldberg for such great writing books that capture Monk so well and I'm constantly amazed at the funny ideas Mr. Goldberg comes up with.

I always enjoy Lee Goldberg's books on Monk the OCD detective. They keep me in stitches just as the show does. I have already pre-ordered the new book and can't wait until I get it in the mail.

I really enjoyed this story, can almost picture in my mind Natalie and Sharona meeting the first time when in the clinic getting Julies arm casted!
Although will still kind of miss Sharona, it ended well and Natalie does very well and is very believable as Monks assistant. Although I really enjoy Monk on TV and the stories, if he were my boss I'd probably end up popping him along side the head at times!
Keep em coming!

Goldberg tells these stories from the perspective and in the "voice" of Natalie Teeger, and does so quite well. This novel, which has Natalie and Sharona meeting and becoming a central point of the case seems like it was lifted right from a collection of the show's best episodes.

Author Lee Goldberg is bringing to the fans of the USA Network television program _Monk,_ an original novel series.

For those fans who mourned Sharona leaving the show (I actually stopped watching Monk when this happened), they will be happy to see her appearance in _Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants._

Sharona's husband (with whom she reunited when she left the television show) has been arrested for murder. And Monk is in on the case. Natalie, his current assistant is not happy with Sharona's arrival as she believes her job is in jeopardy. Perhaps Monk will rehire Sharona and she will be out of a job.

As the brilliant but compulsive Monk wades through the clues in his attempt to bring the real murderer to justice, he finds himself knee deep in other cases while facing a murderer who might be as good as he is.

Will Monk solve the murder? What's with the novelist who is nosing around? Will Natalie lose her job to Sharona? Will Sharon's husband finally change his dreary ne'er-do-well ways?

If you like Monk, you'll have a bit of fun with the book. If you don't like that Sharona left the series, you may be disappointed with the book also. I don't usually enjoy television series to book attempts, but Goldberg has done a good job and should have a following.

Armchair Interviews says: Worth the read.

When the character of Sharona left the show Monk, many fans were upset. And while most have eventually warmed to Natalie, her replacement, some have wondered what would happen if the two met. That's exactly the scenario explored in this tie-in novel.

When Natalie's daughter Julie breaks her arm, Monk accompanies the two to the emergency room. There, he is shocked to discover that the ER nurse on duty is his former assistant, Sharona. She's returned to San Francisco after her husband was arrested for a murder down in Los Angeles. While he insists he's innocent, Sharona has written him off and intends to leave him forever.

Natalie is not happy about this turn of events. While Monk can irritate her, she has grown to love her boss and doesn't want to lose her job. So she heads down to LA to find out what she can. Her meeting with Trevor convinces her of his innocence, so she goes about trying to get Monk to take the case.

Monk quickly agrees with Natalie's assessment, but the dirt in LA distracts him. Plus there's a bizarre case in San Francisco that needs his attention. Can he free Trevor? Will Sharona return to work for Monk?

If you're at all a fan of the show, you'll love this book. Since Lee Goldberg has written episodes of the show with both assistants, his characterizations are spot on. And there are some great moments that explore the relationships more than can be done on the TV show. The story moves quickly with lots of humor throughout. I especially enjoyed recognizing a couple places Monk visited in LA. There was one scene in the middle that really made me uncomfortable and didn't feel like it belonged in the Monk universe, but it only detracted from my enjoyment momentarily.

That minor quibble aside, this is a great entry in the Monk universe that will please fans of either assistant.