Mr. Monk and The Two Assistants (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "My name is Natalie Teeger..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on the USA Network show Monk, Goldberg's fourth Adrian Monk novel, the first in hardcover (after Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu), fails to master the many challenges that television adaptations face. The books share the show's sparseness of plot, without the charm of Tony Shalhoub's Emmy-winning portrayal of the obsessive-compulsive genius sleuth. Goldberg's wrinkle this time is to partner Monk's first assistant, Sharona Fleming, whose husband, Trevor, is in prison for murder, with her successor, Natalie Teeger, a widowed California soccer mom who narrates the tale. Natalie is anxious that Sharona might supplant her, a concern not allayed when Monk asks both women to work for him part-time. The puzzle centering on Trevor is fairly thin, and Goldberg throws in several shorter mysteries for Monk to solve almost instantly. While it might have been too much to expect a book from Monk's perspective, even within the confines of Natalie-as-narrator, more could have been done.
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Review

"Lee Goldberg has expertly captured the nuances of what makes Monk, well, Monk." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover (July 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451220978
• ISBN-13: 978-0451220974
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #173,204 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not 5 stars but 4, just because it's an even number, December 21, 2007

By	Lee (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Monk and The Two Assistants (The Monk Series) (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suspend your disbelief and enjoy!, March 10, 2008

By	Debra Hamel (TwitterLit.com) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants (Paperback)

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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining... just like the show!, November 11, 2008

By	M. A. Galloway "BookWorm" (Largo FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Monk and The Two Assistants (The Monk Series) (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan on the Monk TV show and was suprised to see these books in the store. I don't usually buy books that are "based" on TV or movies but this one peaked my curiousity. Surprisingly they were very entertaining. Maybe because I have watched so much Monk I found that when reading them it was almost like watching the show in my head. It helps that I already knew what most of the characters look like but the writing is very descriptive as well. On paper Monk comes off a lot more stilted, rigid and more disturbed than on the show but the story lines were pretty well done.

In this book there is a lot of inner dialogue in Natalie's head that sometimes get annoying (mainly because she tends to whine) but I enjoyed how the author played Natalie and Sharona off each other and it's always nice to see Sharona back in the mix.

The books would probably be more interesting and entertaining if you are a fan of the show but it's possible that reading the books could turn someone into a fan!