Book Review: Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Lee Goldberg
Class/Genre:   Mystery   TV Tie In
Series: Monk
Signet, Jan 2006, $6.99

In San Francisco Natalie Teeger is used to taking care of her boss private investigator Adrian Monk; so when the sleuth informs her that his house is being fumigated she suggests the world renowned Belmont Hotel. That place proves not good enough so she kindly offers to take him into her home, rationalizing how bad it will be to have Monk and her twelve years old daughter Julie under the same roof. Of course, Monk has to modify her abode to fit his acceptable level, the white glove cleanliness test.

Julie informs Monk that someone murdered the beloved fire dog Sparky. Monk offers to investigate in exchange for Julie to pick up her discarded tissues and place them in a plastic container before the EPA arrives. He begins his investigation into the canine homicide by visiting Sparky’s Fire Chief, Captain Mantooth, who informs Monk that they were working a fatal nearby fire when someone killed the Dalmatian. Soon Monk links the canine murder to the “accidental” human fiery death, but has no suspect let alone a motive; still the case has just begun.

No way could anyone bring an anal lunatic like Monk from the TV series to a novel because his idiosyncrasies would become boring, but this reviewer failed to account for the talent of Lee Goldberg to adopt the sleuth to the written word. Enhancing Monk’s eccentricities without slowing the plot, Mr. Goldberg spins a terrific who-done-it that will excite fans of the show and bring the quirky sleuth to a new audience. The investigation is fun to follow as the detective thinks so differently than anyone else as Monk is simply Monk in his first novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner