''Mr. Monk on Patrol'' is the thirteenth novel written by

Lee Goldberg Lee Goldberg is an American author, screenwriter, publisher and producer known for his bestselling novels ''Lost Hills'' and ''True Fiction'' and his work on a wide variety of TV crime series, including '' Diagnosis: Murder'', ''A Nero Wolfe M ...

to be based on the television series ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

''. It was published on January 3, 2012. Like the other novels, the story is narrated by

Natalie Teeger The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cast ...

, Monk's assistant.

Plot summary

The town of Summit, New Jersey is hit with a string of arrests of high-profile politicians, leaving

Randy Disher The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cas ...

serving as the town's mayor. Since Summit's police are understaffed, and the controversy brought forth more criminal activity, Disher's girlfriend flies to San Francisco to convince

Adrian Monk Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series '' Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. Monk has obsessive–compuls ...

and

to help their friend Randy, by serving as temporary police officers for the town. While working as police officers, Monk and Natalie discover a body, and Monk soon receives a threat on his own life that is meant to scare him away. Adrian Monk ignores the threats and keeps investigating, until he solves the murder. Weeks after the arrest,

Captain Stottlemeyer The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cas ...

asks Natalie and Monk whether they’re going to return to San Francisco. Monk makes a decision, which will be revealed in the next novel.

Mr. Monk and the Open House

''Mr. Monk and the Open House'' is an excerpt from ''Mr. Monk on Patrol'' that was published as a short story in the December 2011 issue of

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

before the release of the book.

List of characters

Characters from the television series

: the titular detective, played on the series by

Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; born October 9, 1953), is an American actor. His accolades include five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award nomination. He played Adrian Monk in the USA N ...

: Monk's loyal assistant and the narrator of the book, played on the series by

Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. Her roles include Sharon Carter on the television series ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series ''Monk''. Early life Howard was born in Orlando, Florida, to Peg ...

: The acting mayor of Summit, New Jersey, played on the series by

Jason Gray-Stanford Jason Gray-Stanford (born May 19, 1970) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor. He is best known for playing Lieutenant Randy Disher in the Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe-winning TV program ''Monk'' and for voicing the role of Raditz in ''Dra ...

Leland Stottlemeyer The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal ca ...

: Homicide Captain on the San Francisco Police force, played in the series by

Ted Levine Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Buffalo Bill in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009). Le ...

Original characters

*Amy Devlin: A lieutenant who is Stottlemeyer's right hand in the San Francisco Police Department *Ellen Morse: The owner of a shop selling items made with sanitized excrement. Despite her profession, Adrian develops a relationship with her based on her love of symmetry and sanitization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Monk on Patrol 2012 American novels Monk (novel series) Novels set in San Francisco Signet Books books