Monk Books

The Two Goldbergs You Meet in Heaven

by

 I was going to leave a post about the MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY booksignings I am doing tomorrow with my brother Tod, author of BURN NOTICE: THE FIX. But his post about the  signings is so good, I am just going to steal it:

As I
think everyone knows, I'm a huge, huge Mitch Albom fan, so imagine how
happy I was to learn that his next book, after The Four Chinese
Gymnasts You Meet In Pre-School, would be called The Two Goldberg
Brothers You Meet In Heaven! And keep an eye out for the Hallmark Hall
of Fame movie based on the book, starring Lou Diamond Phillips as me
and Levar Burton as Lee, with special guest appearances by Rosie O'Donnell as our sister Linda and Illeana Douglas as our sister Karen…

Hackett55In celebration of this exciting honor, my brother Lee and I have
decided to go out on the road to meet the people who will be so
inspired by us next year at this time. This weekend we'll be making two
appearances and, just for kicks, thought it might be fun to sign some
of our own books, too. I'll be signing The Fix and Lee will be signing
his 145,032nd Monk novel.

Here are the details:Clive_owen_01

First, this Saturday at 1pm, we'll be at Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks.
If you happen to be one of the many people who've threatened to kill us
over the years, this would be a good one to attend as our sisters will
be there, too, and you can take out the whole family.

Then, three hours later, at 4pm, we'll be at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. My understanding is that for this event they are anticipating over 150,000 people, but my numbers could be slightly off.

My brother got a few facts wrong. Clive Owen will be playing me in the movie and Buddy Hackett will be playing Tod. I eat a lot at The Habit in Woodland Hills, so if you can't make the signings, you can always hang out there with your MONK books and I am bound to show up eventually.

UPDATE 8-17-2008: You're not going to believe this, but my brother Tod actually got emails from some furious Mitch Albom fans who thought he was serious about the new book ("The Four Chinese
Gymnasts You Meet In Pre-School") and the movie…and warned him that Albom and Rosie O'Donnell weren't going to be amused by his hoax. It's astonishing that people that dumb actually survive into adulthood. 

Free Books

by

I'm going to be at the The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore  in San Diego on Friday, August 8th at 7 pm to sign my new book MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY alongside my brother Tod, who will be signing his new book, BURN NOTICE: THE FIX.

Anyone who buys a copy of  MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY at the signing will get a free signed, hardcover, first edition of BEYOND THE BEYOND  or MY GUN HAS BULLETS while supplies last.

I'll also be giving away the books at my signings on Saturday, August 16 at Mysteries To Die For (1 pm) in Thousand Oaks, CA and Mystery Bookstore (4 pm) in Westwood, CA.

I hope to see you there!

Monk’s 100th Party

by

P8030007
I just got back from the MONK 100th Episode party at an Italian restaurant in Hollywood. I had a great time catching up with all the writers and meeting some of the guest stars (as well as new semi-regular Hector Elizondo). I brought along my nephew Killian, who doesn’t speak a word of English. He’s in town with us from France for a few weeks and is a big MONK fan. Luckily for him, USA Network president Jeff Wachtel, actress Glenne Headly (who played Stottlemeyer’s wife), and Jason Gray Stanford’sP8030006 girlfriend all spoke French, so he had folks to talk to. He also got to meet the whole cast and have his picture taken with them. On the way out, we all got a bottle of French wine in a “Monk 100th episode” comemorative leather bottle-bag. I let my nephew drink it on the way home (just  kidding, of course). Now I am back at home, working on my 8th Monk novel, which is due in less than 90 days. Ahhhhhh!

Mr. Monk and the Librarians

by

The librarians at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana have given MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY, and the MONK books, a strong recommendation:

As a librarian, I have a love/hate relationship with television. Okay, I’m lying. I love television. I’m probably not supposed to say that, but I don’t think reading and watching tv are mutually exclusive activities. Case in point– novels based on tv series can help ease the pain when a favorite show is canceled, or tide you over through rerun season. Sometimes the show is better than the books, sometimes the books are better than the show. In the case of the novels based on the television detective series Monk, which airs on the USA Network, the novels are as deliciously good as the show. […] If you’re looking for fast reads with hefty doses of humor, you won’t be disappointed.

Mr. Monk Gets a Nice Review

by

Bill Peschel gives MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY a very nice review. He says, in part:

Those who follow Lee Goldberg’s life on his blog know that he spent
time in Germany filming a TV show, so it’s natural he’d set his next
Monk book there. And he uses his experiences well, weaving in the
details you’d pick up if you were a tourist. It’s those little touches
that give the story flavor, such as the description of an inn that was
built in the 1400s, or describing the free magazines, including
Playboy, that can be picked up at German airports.

As for the mystery, it is competently set up and sprung, but, really,
the fun lies more in watching Monk at work, baffling his police
partners and reacting to the chaos around him, whether its attempting
to navigate the trails in the German forest or visiting an unusual
resort for outcasts.

Thanks, Bill!

Mr. Monk and the 100th Episode

by

Cast cake
My daughter Maddie and I went down to the MONK set at Paramount Studios to have lunch with my friend David Breckman, one of the writer/producers on the show (and the brother of series creator Andy Breckman). While we were there, they cut the 100th episode cake and had a little press conference for the entertainment media. I ran into Jeff Wachtel, the president of the USA Network, and congratulated him on the great ratings for the second season premiere of BURN NOTICE. He smiled and said “Thank you, we see it as a two-hour commercial for your brother’s book.” I’m sure Tod will be glad to know that.

I took a picture of Maddie at Stottlemeyer’s desk, gave her a tour of the back-lot, and I headed home to get back to work on the 8th MONK book…Maddie stottlemeyer1

Mr. Monk Gets His Chops

by

Blogger Winthrop J. Quiggy thinks MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY demonstrates that I’m finally getting the hang of this writing thing. He writes, in part:

I do believe our boy, Lee Goldberg, is finally getting his chops at writing novels, at least the ones based on the MONK TV series. […] Not only is Mr. Goldberg getting better at writing, he has picked a real winner here for a story. […]I’m giving this particular novel 9 stars.

Thanks, Winthrop! I’ve decided not to go into the furniture business after all.

Mr. Monk and the Ride of a Lifetime

by

Monkgoestogermany2
 Tracy Farnsworth at Roundtable Review gave MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY a rave review. She writes, in part:

Quite simply, the best praise I can give a book is by saying that my teen son picked it up, read it in one sitting and then announced it was just as good, perhaps better, than an actual television episode. As the television season for Tony Shalhoub’s fascinating character Monk tends to be sporadic, it is thrilling to be able to fill the gaps with Monk novels.
[…] MR.MONK GOES TO GERMANY is one of the best Monk novels to go to print. I laughed hysterically at times and felt truly sorry for all Monk went through at others. The novel gets hold of your emotions and takes you on the ride of a lifetime.
Once again, Lee Goldberg does such an incredible job with everyone from the show and creates a novel that makes you feel as though you’re watching it on television. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Monk in the next novel.

Thank you, Tracy!

Mr. Monk and the New Contract

by

I’ve had a lot of emails from people asking me if there are going to be more MONK novels beyond the one I am writing now — MR. MONK AND THE DIRTY COP, the eighth in the series, slated for publication next summer.

Well, now I can answer that question. I’ve just agreed to write three more original MONK novels for Penguin/Putnam, which means there will be new books in the series through the end of 2010, regardless of whether or not this ends up being the last season of the TV show.

I realized after I agreed to the deal that this means that I will have written at least 20 novels between 2003, when I started the DIAGNOSIS MURDER books, and 2010 when my current contract runs out (which is about as many novels as James Reasoner or Robert Randisi write in one year).

I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Mr. Monk and the Decent Job

by

Publishers Weekly gave MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY a nice review today. They say, in part:

The sixth novel (after 2007’s Mr. Monk in Outer Space) based on the popular MONK  TV series created by Andy Breckman effectively meets the challenges of
translating the screen concept to the page. […] Despite the lack of the TV series’ visual humor and the
performance of actor Tony Shalhoub, Goldberg does a decent job of
conveying both the sleuth’s quirks and his genius.

You can read an excerpt of the book here and decide for yourself if PW is right or not.