Mr Monk Helps Himself

"When self-help guru Miranda Bigley jumps to her death in an obvious suicide, Natalie suspects murder and wants to investigate, but Monk brushes her off to solve the murder of a clown despite his fear of clowns. As they begin their independent investigations, they soon learn they need each other's help to figure out whodunit"--

Welcome to the series of original mysteries starring Adrian Monk, the brilliant investigator who always knows when something’s out of place.... Natalie is taking a break from studying for her PI license—the last step to becoming Monk’s full partner. She sneaks off to Half Moon Bay for a retreat run by Miranda Bigley, leader of the Best Possible Me self-help program, but her plans for a relaxing weekend are disrupted when Monk tracks her down to rescue her from the “cult.” Their argument is cut short when Miranda, in full view of everyone, calmly walks to the edge of a cliff and jumps. Even though Miranda’s death looks like suicide, Natalie is sure it's murder. But Monk brushes her off to help the SFPD solve the murder of a clown, despite his coulrophobia, aka fear of clowns. As Monk and Natalie begin their independent investigations, they quickly learn that if they want to figure out whodunit, they will have to find a way to become true partners.... An all-new story starring Adrian Monk by Edgar® Award–nominated Monk screenwriter and coexecutive producer Hy Conrad. It’s compulsive, page-turning fun.

Obsessive. Compulsive. Detective. An all-new original mystery starring Adrian Monk, the brilliant investigator who always knows when something’s out of place... Of all the things that make Adrian Monk uneasy, change ranks high on the list. So when Natalie completes her P.I. license—and technically becomes Monk’s boss—it’s not easy for him to accept. Nor can he accept Natalie attending a business seminar at sea without him, even if it means spending a week with her on a cruise ship. Between choppy waters and obnoxious kids, Monk finds himself in a perfect storm of anxiety. Luckily, Mariah, the cruise director, is always able to smooth things over…until someone pulls the man overboard alarm, the ship drops anchor—and the crew fishes Mariah’s dead body out of the water. Finding alcohol in Mariah’s system, the ship’s doctor declares her death an accident, but Monk isn’t convinced. He knows that Mariah and the captain were having an affair. Could someone have pushed her overboard? When the captain hires Monk and Natalie to look into a mysterious rash of vandalism onboard, Monk steers the investigation toward murder…

An all-new story starring Adrian Monk by Edgar® Award–nominated Monk screenwriter and coexecutive producer Hy Conrad. It’s compulsive, page-turning fun. Monk and Natalie have finally settled into a new office routine. Now they just need to work things out with their neighbors—a print shop run by hippies whose music leaks through the walls, driving Monk nuts. But the detectives soon have a more serious conflict to deal with: Captain Stottlemeyer’s new lieutenant, A.J. Cartledge—a man of limited skills whom Monk finds insufferable. Even the presence of Lieutenant Cartledge won’t keep Monk and Natalie from attending the funeral of Judge Oberlin, and it’s a good thing. In typical fashion, Monk examines the body in the casket—and finds evidence of poison. The judge was murdered. While there are no traces of the poison at the judge’s house, Monk detects that there had been an intruder. The next rainy day, when Captain Stottlemeyer begins to show the same symptoms, Monk deduces that there’s a diabolical killer at work, someone who wanted both the judge and the captain dead. Monk and Natalie turn to the captain’s ex-lieutenant in Summit, New Jersey for help, but even that might not be enough to solve this crime. With his friend in danger and an enemy close, Monk will have to put his reservations aside to crack the case in time.

At a convention for the cult science fiction show Beyond Earth, Adrian Monk meets fans as obsessive-compulsive as he is. Though he’s not preoccupied with the program, Monk can understand the phenomenon. Who wouldn’t want to live in an imaginary world? But there may be a killer in the Beyond Earth community: Someone in a starship uniform has gunned down the show’s legendary creator. Could a fan be that furious at him for selling out to Hollywood? Or is more going on behind the scenes? Luckily, Monk’s agoraphobic brother, Ambrose, is an expert on the TV series, and together they’ll search the earth and beyond for the murderer. That is, if Ambrose can bring himself to leave the house. A new story starring Adrian Monk by Edgar® Award-nominated screenwriter Lee Goldberg. It’s compulsive, page-turning fun. “Even if you aren’t familiar with the TV series Monk, this book is too funny to not be read.”—The Weekly Journal

Obsessive. Compulsive. Detective. The husband of Monk's former assistant, Sharona, has been arrested for murder. Now back in San Francisco, she's ready to reclaim her place in Monk's life-much to the chagrin of his current assistant, Natalie. While Monk tries to maintain a delicate balance between the two women, he discovers a few unsettling snags in the case against Sharona's husband, and may be up against a killer who not only understands him, but is one step ahead.

An all-new original mystery starring Adrian Monk, the brilliant investigator who always knows when something’s out of place.... It may be a foggy San Francisco summer, but for Adrian Monk the future is looking bright. Natalie is off working as a cop in Summit, his brother Ambrose and Yuki are a week away from their wedding, Monk has a new assistant—Natalie’s daughter Julie—and even a girlfriend, Ellen Morse. All this change doesn’t keep Monk from work, though. He’s investigating a string of accidental deaths and suicides that he quickly determines are actually murders. But when the man Monk pegs for the murder is killed, Monk is forced to face the fact that, for the first time, he might actually be wrong. Have stability, domesticity, and happiness robbed Monk of his special skills? Has Monk lost his mojo? Meanwhile, Monk’s imprisoned arch nemesis, the morbidly obese criminal mastermind Dale the Whale, is being transferred from prison to San Francisco General Hospital for an operation. But when Dale escapes and all signs point to Captain Stottlemeyer as his accomplice, Monk will have to reboot his detective skills to clear the captain’s name—and prove that he’s still the one and only Monk.

Some people think Hawaii is paradise. But Monk knows that danger—like dirt—lurks everywhere. Look at Helen Gruber, the rich tourist who took a fatal blow from a coconut. The police say it fell from a tree, but Monk suspects otherwise. His assistant, Natalie, isn’t exactly thrilled about Monk’s latest investigation. It was bad enough that Monk followed her on vacation, and now it looks as though the vacation is over.... Smooth-talking TV psychic Dylan Swift is on the island and claims to have a message from beyond—from Helen Gruber. Monk has his doubts about Swift’s credibility. But finding the killer and proving Swift a fraud—all while coping with geckos and the horror of unsynchronized ceiling fans—may prove a tough coconut to crack....