Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse
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| Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse | |
 1st edition 2006 paperback cover |
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| Author | Lee Goldberg |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Monk mystery novel series |
| Genre(s) | Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Signet Books |
| Publication date | January 3, 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 304 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-451-21729-2 |
| Followed by | Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii |
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse (ISBN 0-451-21729-2) is a mystery novel written by Lee Goldberg and based on the American television series Monk.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Adrian Monk, the obsessive-compulsive modern-day Sherlock Holmes, is forced to move in with his assistant Natalie Teeger, who is the narrator of the novel, while his apartment is being fumigated. While there, Julie Teeger, Natalie's daughter, hires Monk to investigate the murder of the local firehouse's dalmatian Sparky.
In the course of his investigation, Monk discovers that the murder of Sparky is tied to the murder-by-arson of local curmudgeon Esther Stoval. Stoval stood in the way of San Francisco real estate tycoon Lucas Breen's planned redevelopment of her neighborhood by not selling her house to him. However, this was not what prompted the murder. Stoval saw and took photographs of Breen while he was having an affair with her next-door neighbor Lizzie Draper. Breen went to Stoval's house, and when she threatened to expose Breen's affair, he killed her, by suffocating her with a pillow, and burned down her house, making it look like she died falling asleep while smoking a cigarette. However, he forgot his overcoat when he left, and needed a way of getting back into the house. So, he broke into the firehouse while the firemen were away on a call, intending to steal a fireman's outfit that would allow him to get into Stoval's house again. He did not realize that Sparky would still be in the house, and so when Sparky attacked, he killed him with a pickaxe hanging on the wall, then stole back into the scene of the fire and took his coat.
Monk eventually solved the case by noticing that Breen's house was covered in cat dander, to which both he and Breen are allergic. Apart from her unpleasant demeanor, Mrs. Stoval was known for her many cats, and so Monk knew he would be able to connect Breen to the scene of the crime. Breen is arrested by Captain Leland Stottlemeyer after attempting to flee and being stopped by Monk and Lieutenant Randy Disher.
[edit] TV adaptation
The episode "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing", the 4th episode in Season 5 , was written by Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin and is loosely based on this novel. The episode aired on July 28, 2006.
[edit] Release in the UK
Amazon.co.uk has the release date of 30 July 2006 for a very long time but there is a chance that this is confused with the release date of the second book, Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii, on 5 July 2006. However, Ottakar's, one of the UK's largest bookstores, lists the release date as 30 July 2006, and the second book as 2 August 2006, which is a more believable date.
[edit] Continuity mistakes
Some minor gaffes between the television show and the novel were noted after publication. Some of the more notable ones included:
- Monk says "I'm allergic to cats." (p. 38). However, Monk is not allergic to cats. (Lieutenant Disher is, as seen in "Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny".)
- "Monk came out of the kitchen with a glass of milk." (p. 92). The show has established that one of Monk's top phobias is lactophobia, the fear of milk.
- It was pointed out that Stottlemeyer smokes a cigar in the novel, but has only smoked once on the show in the episode. This is true but Stottlemeyer has also said that he has tried to quit smoking in "Mr. Monk Goes Home Again" "Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever".
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