MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT by Lee Goldberg

Publisher: NAL
Date published: July 2010
ISBN: 978-0451230096
Mystery
Hardback
Reviewed by Angie
Review copy provided by publisher


Based on the USA Network Television series, MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT takes a single case and delights readers with the same drama and obsessive compulsions that have delighted viewers for eight seasons.

When the SFPD fires Monk because of budget cuts he is unconcerned about his finances until he and his assistant Natalie learn that he had invested his savings with a con artist. Bob Sebes, has been arrested on charges of fraud - all of his clients including Monk have been totally wiped out. When others surrounding the case start turning up dead, one at a time, Monk steps in to solve the case - even though he is not being paid.

Lee Goldberg has become a genius in my book! He has taken a screenplay and turned it into a novel. I felt as though I were sat in front of my television watching a much loved character. While I have not been a devoted fan of the series on television, I am definitely going to be looking for more episodes.

As a reader, this novel delighted me in many ways. There was not a bad page in this book; each page is filled with humor, drama and emotion. While I cannot as a person understand Monk's obsessive compulsive disorder, I sympathized with the characters surrounding him. His problems were heartbreaking yet laugh out loud funny at the same time. Lee Goldberg has taken a serious disorder and turned it into one of the funniest drama's I have ever read - or seen.

Natalie quickly stole my heart as she shows she is devoted to Monk, not as just a paycheck but as a friend. Her arguments with her daughter left me smiling, teenagers are never easy, and I thank goodness, I never have to go back! The SFPD made me laugh, their camaraderie and the way they work together give a dramatic situation the humor it needed to be a great read.

This book gets two thumbs up from me! I will be searching out Lee Goldberg's two previous Monk novels in the very near future!

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.