Monk Books

Mr. Monk Gets The Scoop

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The folks at Gelati's Scoop like MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT a lot. They said, among other things:

Lee Goldberg’s gift of humor is, I think, the main ingredient in making this series of novels work at such a high level. Taking such every day mundane situations or objects (like a bottle of water), and weaving them into a well-crafted novel that is moving and insightful from start to finish is no small undertaking, but he succeeds novel after novel. Mr. Monk Gets Cleaned Out is a fun summer read. It took the pain of missing the series out for me right away

Curiosities, the Curious Book News blog, also liked the book. They said, in part:

This highly entertaining tale takes place in San Francisco before the events of the show's final season It adroitly explores the obsessive-compulsive behavioral problems of the brilliant but flawed detective.[…]This is great fun if you were addicted to the popular television show – you don't even have to read others in the series to enjoy it.

Thanks to both blogs for the great reviews!

Mr. Monk Gets Some Love

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Bill Crider blogged today about MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT, a book that I am pleased to say that he enjoyed. He wrote, in part:

I keep thinking that Goldberg is going to run out of situations or new ways for Monk to react to the world, but he seems to be endlessly inventive. I found myself laughing out loud more than once in the course of the book.
Monk's relationship with Natalie advances, too. I'm not saying anything more about that, but the relationship between them gets more complex with each book. This is fine entertainment, and I'm already looking forward to the next book.

Thanks, Bill!

A Novel Promotion for Tie-Ins

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My publisher, Penguin-Putnam, has found an unusual way of promoting their tie-ins…

Congrats to Penguin TV Tie-In Emmy Nominations!

We wanted to congratulate all the nominees for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards!

Here are the list of nominees from Penguin TV tie-ins:

 

The Pacific
Outstanding Art Direction For A Miniseries Or Movie
Outstanding Casting For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
Outstanding Cinematography For A Miniseries Or Movie (Part 5 and 9)
Outstanding Costumes For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Part 3)
Outstanding Directing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special (Part 8 and 9)
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Miniseries Or A Movie (Part 5, 9, 8)
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Makeup For A Miniseries Or A Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Original Dramatic Score)
Outstanding Miniseries
Outstanding Sound Editing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Part 5)
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Miniseries Or A Movie (Part 2, 5, 8, and 9)
Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Part 1 and 5)
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries,
Movie or a Dramatic Special (Part 8 and 10)

True Blood
Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series
Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series

Monk
Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

Burn Notice
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Psych
Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)

Return to Cranford
Outstanding Art Direction For A Miniseries Or Movie

Kudos to Penguin for a) taking pride in their tie-ins and b) trying to get some extra attention for them.

Mr. Monk is Out

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No, he's not gay. He's published.

MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT, the 10th book in the series, is out today in bookstores everywhere.  

This is the last book that's set before the final season of the TV series…and takes place against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. Squeezed for money, the SFPD fires Adrian Monk as a consultant…again (you might recall it happened before in MR. MONK AND THE DIRTY COP). Monk figures he can live off his savings for a while. Then Natalie learns that Monk invested his money some time ago with Bob Sebes, the charismatic leader of Reinier Investments, who's just been arrested on charges of orchestrating a massive $100 million fraud. All of Sebes' clients-including Monk-are completely wiped out.

When the key witness in the government's case against Sebes is killed, Monk is convinced that Sebes did it, even though the man has been under house arrest with a horde of paparazzi and police surrounding his building 24/7.

In a sense, it's a classic "locked room" mystery…with a lot of other mini-mysteries thrown in.

The paperback edition of MR. MONK IN TROUBLE is also out. So that should keep MONK fans entertained until January, when MR. MONK ON THE ROAD…the first book set *after* the final season…is released.

Meanwhile, I am hard at work on MONK #13, tentatively titled MR. MONK ON THE COUCH, and its something of a departure from the whodunit structure of the previous books…but more on that later.

My Doctor Is In

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There's a new interview with me up at Dr. Doug Lyle's Writer's Forensics Blog. But I should disclose that it's a biased interview…he's an old friend, he's given me medical advice on all of my books and many of my TV scripts, and he's also my doctor. Here's a brief excerpt:

DPL: What’s the hardest part of writing [tie-in novels]?

LG: Capturing the feel of the show, and the voices of the characters, while also kicking things up a notch. You have to offer the reader something more than they are getting from simply watching the show (or the reruns). It’s also difficult, particularly with a long-running series, to come up with stuff that the writers haven’t already tackled.

DPL: You have a new Monk book coming out July 3rd. What can you tell us about it?

LG: The book is MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT and it’s the last book set before the finale of the TV series. This one is set in the midst of the current national economic crisis. The SFPD has to make draconian cutbacks to save money… so they fire Monk as a consultant. Monk figures he can live off his savings for a while. Then Natalie learns that Monk invested his money some time ago with Bob Sebes, the charismatic leader of Reinier Investments, who’s just been arrested on charges of orchestrating a massive $100 million fraud. All of Sebes’ clients, including Monk-are completely wiped out. Monk is broke…he can’t even afford to pay Natalie. So they end up taking all kinds of odd jobs. Meanwhile, when the key witness in the government’s case against Sebes is killed, Monk becomes convinced that Sebes did it, even though the man has been under house arrest with a horde of paparazzi in front of his building 24/7. I hope people have as much fun reading it as I had writing it!

Mr. Monk and the Nice Reviews

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Mr. Monk und Mr. Monk

Now that the paperback of MR. MONK IN TROUBLE has come out, I've been getting a second wave of nice reviews for the book. For instance, here's a sampling of what Dana Mentink had to say on her blog: 

This book is a combination of satisfying mystery, hilarity and a shade of poignancy which is the flip side of Monk’s OCD. The reader is made aware every so often, that Monk’s gifts do not come without a price and at the core he is a lonely, frightened soul. Because he has Natalie, we can enjoy the fact that he cannot cut a pizza unless he’s brought along his string, compass, T square and level.

The fine folks at Gelati's scoop like the entire book series and say, in part:

The nice part of the novels for me is that Goldberg allows us to get inside the mind of Natalie as she helps Monk through the crisis du jour. Stottlemeyer, Disher, Natalie, & Monk take us on adventure after adventure through the course of the book series. Monk has gone to such locations as Hawaii, France & Germany. I found those installments to be some of Goldberg’s best work with the characters. Monk rarely leaves San Francisco, so I enjoyed the situations the cast of characters endured as Monk was being Monk, going on planes, trains and staying in different hotels (even numbers are a must). I think that through his narrative, Goldberg not only continued the characters’ story lines for us, but enhanced it and made them more enjoyable, believable, likeable and endearing.

And there's this rave of the German edition, MR. MONK UND MR. MONK from Swabian Touring Theatre. He says, in part and roughly translated:

When I heard this book was going back to 1850s, I was a little worried about how it would work. I should not have been. The flashbacks fit in seamlessly with the story and adds a whole new level of humor to the events. As always, the characters are sharp and the humor is wonderful. I laughed loudly and repeatedly. Nevertheless, there were some subtle character moments that made me really see things in a new light.

Thanks to all those bloggers for the great reviews!

Mr. Monk and the Reader’s Choice

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ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE has just announced the winners of their Readers Choice Awards for the best stories of 2009 and I am stunned, and pleased, to discover my Artemis Monk story "The Case of the Piss-Poor Gold" made the list.

First place:
Mike Herron's "Dolphin Junction" tied with Doug Allyn's "An Early Christmas"

Second place:
Clark Howard's "White Wolves"

Third place:
Dave Zeltserman's "Julius Katz"

Fourth place:
Doug Allyn's "Famous Last Words"

Fifth place:
Doug Allyn's "The Valhall Verdict"

Sixth place:
Jack Fredrickson's "For the Jingle"

Seventh place:
Janvillem van de Wetering's "The Bleeding Chair"

Eighth place:
Lee Goldberg's "The Case of the Piss-Poor Gold"

Ninth place:
Lou Manfredo's "Central Islin, USA"

Tenth place:
Brian Muir's "Dummy"

Congratulations to all the winners!

The Mail I Get

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This is my favorite fan letter of the week:

I read a book of Criminal Minds by another author and really enjoyed it. The story was true to the characters and I learned even more about them. Everything was written very true to the TV series. Mr. Monk is Miserable, however, is way off base from the TV series. One, pill or not, Monk hates to fly and I don’t believe he would agree to fly so often because of a little pill. Is it too hard to come up with stories in the country of America that can be driven to? […] couldn’t even finish the book because it was so devastatingly off course and I would never recommend the books to anybody else. I think you need to do better research to stay true to the TV series. Read Criminal Minds and you’ll get an idea of what YOU SHOULD BE DOING!

Mr. Monk and the Thrill of it All

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Monk and the Dirty Cop

Chris Well at The Thrill of It All has given MR. MONK AND THE DIRTY COP some love. He says, in part:

Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop is a real-deal whodunit that will have you turning the pages as Monk puts each clue in its proper place. But at its heart, this isn't just a another book where Monk works through his OCD long enough to solve a murder mystery — it's also a book that challenges some of our preconceptions about the relationships Monk has with Capt. Stottlemeyer and with Natalie. By the end of the journey, we've learned something about these people — and they've learned something about themselves.
Whether you're a fan of the TV show or not, Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop is a gem for any fan of mystery fiction.

Thanks Chris!