Book Review: Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse
My friend Pauline Jones recommended the book Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse in her blog a couple of posts ago (http://www.livejournal.com/~paulinebjones/). I took her up on it and got the book. She said it was a fun read, and as per usual, she was exactly right!
While Monk's building is tented and de-infested, he stays with assistant Natalie and her daughter Julie. Monk and Natalie arrive home to find Julie in tears - the local firehouse's dalmatian has been murdered. Monk assigns himself to the case, which leads to another murder mystery. Shiny firetrucks on the plus side. Cats, garbage, dentures, chipped plates and elevators on the minus side. In the way only Monk can, he observes all and bites back many fears on his way to solving the cases.
If you're a fan of the show, the book is a must. Like Pauline said, it's fun to see and hear the characters in your head as you read - no one but Tony Shalhoub can be Monk! Lee Goldberg, the book's author and one of the show's writers, gives us a good mystery and a surprise ending. A very charming book, fast-paced, full of visuals and fun. Highly recommended.
If you're not a fan of the show, would you like this book? Probably, but I can't say for sure because I have seen the show. For me, half the fun of reading it was visualizing Monk (Tony Shalhoub) and Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) as I read. Beyond that, the characters are drawn well enough to get a sense of them even without the tv show background. The pace is fast. Watching Monk solve the case then backtrack into proving his hypothesis is entertaining. So yeah, if you haven't seen the show, you'll probably like the book, but you might appreciate it more if you can catch an episode on tv or on DVD before you read it.
This is the first book in a series and includes a preview from the next book, Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (due out July 2006). Remember the tv episode where meds turn Mr. Monk into The Monk? He's baaaaack....and you can bet I'll be getting this next book as soon as it comes out.
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse
By Lee Goldberg
Signet, January 2006
ISBN 0-451-21729-2
A personal pet peeve: a typo right on page two. Sheesh. Something for a human to catch; not a spellcheck type of error. Slow down, people.
While Monk's building is tented and de-infested, he stays with assistant Natalie and her daughter Julie. Monk and Natalie arrive home to find Julie in tears - the local firehouse's dalmatian has been murdered. Monk assigns himself to the case, which leads to another murder mystery. Shiny firetrucks on the plus side. Cats, garbage, dentures, chipped plates and elevators on the minus side. In the way only Monk can, he observes all and bites back many fears on his way to solving the cases.
I don't watch the show all the time, so I'm not an expert on the series. I've only seen one episode with Natalie as the new assistant. The book is told from Natalie's point of view, which gives a little more insight into Monk in the longer book format. Your heart aches at his loneliness and his burdens, but he makes you smile too.
If you're a fan of the show, the book is a must. Like Pauline said, it's fun to see and hear the characters in your head as you read - no one but Tony Shalhoub can be Monk! Lee Goldberg, the book's author and one of the show's writers, gives us a good mystery and a surprise ending. A very charming book, fast-paced, full of visuals and fun. Highly recommended.
If you're not a fan of the show, would you like this book? Probably, but I can't say for sure because I have seen the show. For me, half the fun of reading it was visualizing Monk (Tony Shalhoub) and Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) as I read. Beyond that, the characters are drawn well enough to get a sense of them even without the tv show background. The pace is fast. Watching Monk solve the case then backtrack into proving his hypothesis is entertaining. So yeah, if you haven't seen the show, you'll probably like the book, but you might appreciate it more if you can catch an episode on tv or on DVD before you read it.
This is the first book in a series and includes a preview from the next book, Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (due out July 2006). Remember the tv episode where meds turn Mr. Monk into The Monk? He's baaaaack....and you can bet I'll be getting this next book as soon as it comes out.
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse
By Lee Goldberg
Signet, January 2006
ISBN 0-451-21729-2
A personal pet peeve: a typo right on page two. Sheesh. Something for a human to catch; not a spellcheck type of error. Slow down, people.