Regular readers of the blog will know that I have been dipping into the Adrian Monk mysteries a lot this year. I’ve mostly been working through them chronologically, so I was intrigued when I arrived at today’s title in the series, since it is the first book to be situated after the solving of the murder of Adrian’s wife. This event is the finale of the last season of Monk on TV (I really wish it was possible to view the recent film in the UK!). I was curious to see how resolving this mystery/personal tragedy would affect Adrian Monk as a character. I was also surprised to read that Mr Monk on the Road centred on Adrian taking his agoraphobic brother Ambrose on a road trip in a motorhome – the last thing you would expect Monk to do based on his personality. Let’s just say it seems a very bold choice for a man who usually hates travelling!
Synopsis
‘With his job secure and his wife’s murder finally solved, Adrian Monk is feeling strangely satisfied. He’d like his agoraphobic brother Ambrose to feel the same way, so Monk puts a secret ingredient in Ambrose’s birthday cake: sleeping pills. When Ambrose wakes up, he’s in a motorhome on the open road, with Monk determined to show him the outside world. But Ambrose isn’t the only one struggling to let go. As little crimes pop up along the highway, Monk can’t resist getting involved…’
Overall Thoughts
Given how the events in this novel succeed the TV series’ timeline, the opening chapter does a reasonably good job of punchily summing up how the final TV episode ended and the trajectories of the different characters in terms of relocating, love interests and other life developments. Interestingly Natalie is sort of the only one who lacks much personal change in her life. I wondered if she needed to remain more fixed/stationery in order for the series concept to still function. The opening is a little clunky occasionally, but it works as this section hinges upon the contradictions in Adrian Monk’s life and the irony they hold.
Like previous books in the series, there is a mini case for Adrian to solve at the beginning of the story, which shows he is still very much himself, despite the changes in his life. He is still able to obsess over the uneven number of steps leading up to the victim’s home, convinced that they would tip anyone over the edge to commit suicide. Nevertheless, he proves that the death is murder. I think readers will know the “who” of this mini case but may need to wait for Monk to explain how the crime was done. This small investigation also allows us to be introduced to Randy Disher’s replacement, Lieutenant Amy Devlin and this injects a new source of comedy into the piece as she is someone new, who needs to get acclimatised to Monk’s habits and peculiarities. Based on this book I would suggest that the acclimatisation process may take some time…
I was pleased that Ambrose is a key part of this book as he is a character I enjoy reading about. He brings out interesting aspects to Adrian’s character, as Adrian is far less socially considerate than Ambrose and this shows in the way Adrian often treats his brother. In some ways Adrian feels more comfortable being rude to Ambrose than showing affection. But that does not mean he lacks that affection, which is borne out in Adrian’s mad idea to take his brother on a motorhome road trip. I think it’s good that Adrian’s flaws are not allowed to get out of control and make him a repellent character.
This is an episodically structured story, but it doesn’t feel bitty, nor does it drag. I like how the various small incidents dovetail together nicely, a good example being when Adrian uses information about a cereal product to solve another mini case. This book is character led as consequence of its episodic nature and there is no main crime presented in chapter one. Nevertheless, I was really grabbed by the narrative and on one night reading it I had to tear myself away from it, so I could go to bed.
The premise of this novel holds a great deal of comic anticipation, as the reader gleefully wonders what sort of hilarious or absurd situations Adrian, Ambrose and Natalie will find themselves in once they hit the road in the motorhome (not forgetting the elaborate plan concocted to get Ambrose into the motorhome in the first place). The author does not disappoint, and I loved spending so much time with this trio. The reader’s anticipation is certainly rewarded, and I liked how the writer balances events, so it is not just Natalie who has to face her fears, but Adrian and Ambrose also have things to cope with and to learn to tolerate.
From time-to-time dead bodies do appear in this story, and the second murder of the road trip is brilliantly introduced, preceded by Adrian Monk’s horror at an alleyway wall covered in chewing gum:
“This entire alley is a crime scene,” Monk said. “I’ll secure it while you make the call.”
“The gum has been on these walls for a very long time, Mr Monk. I’m sure the authorities here know about it. The merchants here certainly do. the cops aren’t going to come out here for that.”
“They’ll come for the murder,” Monk said.
I felt a horrible, oppressive sense of dread. It was like a physical weight pressing down on my entire body.
“What murder?”
Monk gestured past me to the vagrant sleeping on the ground in the alley.
“His,” he said.
Adrian’s personality has the advantage of providing plentiful opportunities for darkly comic moments.
There is less crime in this novel compared to other books in the series, but it remains a very fun narrative. I would describe it as a feel-good read, with a travelogue element to it. Adrian solves three murders in the final 20-30 pages. The initial effect is a feeling that this comes out of nowhere. Looking at the story more closing there is some very subtle cluing, although I suspect the reader would still have to intuitively alight on the guilty party. The denouement is surprisingly dramatic, and the book overall has the sort of plot you could visualise being made into a TV episode or film.
This is a hard book to rate as I would class it as a borderline detective story, since most of the book has nothing to with crime or detection. Yet by what criteria should it be judged? If I were to just isolate the crime and detective elements and assess them in light of genre expectations, then I think this book would only get 3/5. But if I were to rate it just as a comic adventure novel then it’s sheer entertainment factor and enjoyable characters would give it a 4.5/5. So, if you love amusing adventure stories then I think this book has a lot to offer. Although I would not recommend it being the first book you read from the series.