Mr. Monk and the Happy Ending

Mr. Monk is a MessMy seven year, three episode, fifteen book relationship with Adrian Monk has ended. I've just finished writing my last book in the series, Mr. Monk Gets Even, and I will be sending it to my editor next week after taking one last pass through it (don't despair — the book series may continue with another writer). 

My relationship with Monk has been long and wonderful. It began when  “Monk” creator Andy Breckman hired me and William Rabkin to write an episode of the TV series entitled “Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico,” which would end up being the first of three episodes we wrote for the show.

At the time, Bill and I were about to begin writing & producing the Lifetime TV series Missing and I was deep into writing the Diagnosis Murder novels, which were based on the TV series of the same name that we’d also written & executive-produced.

When Andy was approached by NAL about writing Monk novels, he declined the opportunity and recommended that I write them instead.  I took the assignment, which was an insane thing to do, since it would mean writing a new book by night every ninety days, alternating between Monk and Diagnosis Murder, while also running a TV series during the day.

That’s how much I loved Adrian Monk.

I kept up that brutal pace for two years before finally ending the Diagnosis Murder book series after eight novels.

Andy liked my first Monk novel, Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse, so much that he hired Bill and I to adapt it into an episode of the TV show. The episode, entitled “Mr. Monk Can’t See A Thing,” may be the first time in American TV history that a tie-in novel of a TV show has been adapted into an episode of the series….and by the author of the book, no less (if it’s ever been done before, we haven’t found it. And if it has been done, it’s obviously a rare occurrence!)

If it wasn’t for Andy’s enthusiasm and support, I doubt I would have written so many “Monk” novels or had so much fun doing them. He gave me his trust and the creative freedom to make the book series entirely my own, and for that I will always be grateful.

Mr. Monk Gets Even comes out in January…but Mr. Monk is a Mess, the second to last of my Monk novels, comes out in two weeks.

(Below is a trailer I did for a Monk book excerpt that appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

7 thoughts on “Mr. Monk and the Happy Ending”

  1. There’s so much interesting stuff in this short little post that I could comment on, but instead, I’m going to be a douche and comment on your grammar. 😉
    You wrote that Andy Breckman “hired Bill and I” when “Bill and me” not only sounds better but is technically correct.
    This is what happened: people used to misuse “me” as part of a compound subject and now they’re overcompensating and making a similar mistake in the opposite direction.
    Yes, “Bill and I hired,” would be correct
    (although “Me and Bill hired” doesn’t bother me at all),
    but you shouldn’t use “and I” after the verb.
    Any time you can take out the current phrase and replace it with the word “us”, you should use “me”. (e.g. “Andy hired us.” Use “me”)
    The other one that bothers me is when people overuse “whom” (or “whomever”).
    For example, “Give this to whomever is in charge”, would be wrong — despite the preposition — because whomever can’t be the subject of the verb “is.”
    My feeling is that, when in doubt, default to the less formal version.
    It’s better to use “who” or “me” in the wrong place than to misuse “whom” or “I”.
    It’s better to be wrong and casual than to be wrong and official. 🙂
    Also, I bet actors misuse “and I” quite often, and I hope screenwriters and directors will lay down the law and stop ’em!
    (Finally, feel free to delete this rant after reading it, since it might be more suitable to private e-mail than to a public comments section.)

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  2. But that’s an uneven number of books. You can not finish the Monk-series with 15 books, there must be 16 at least. (or 14, but that’s too late now, I guess…)
    “You’ll thank me later.”
    greetings from Germany,
    darktiger666

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  3. Mr. Goldberg, I just started your series and am about to begin Mr. Monk Goes To Hawaii, and already its over! Ahhhh =,( but I thank you whole-heartedly for continuing the series for as long as you have and for bringing us the Monk we all know and love..
    Also I must say that I don’t know if another author will have the correct formula and insight to continue the series that you have done such an amazing job on.. IF another author does take over do you intend to meet with him and sort of guide his hand until he grasps the character fully? Please respond, and thanks again for the amazing books

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