Read A While Ago: "Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop" by Lee Goldberg

Read A While Ago: Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop by Lee Goldberg, 2009, 9780451228611 (paper).

Monk is still a nut job. Natalie still puts up with him.

Stottlemeyer cans Monk's contract when the city hits a budget crunch. At the same time Stottlemeyer is humiliated by a former SF cop at a convention when the cop points out, on stage, how Monk is the one solving all of the homicide departments cases.

When Monk gets canned Natalie's fears of "Who am I? What am I?" pop up. Nat talks to Stottlemeyer over coffee. Monk and Natalie travel with Stottlemeyer to visit a senile friend of his. While there Monk discovers the wonders of the Diaper Genie.

Monk gets hired by big-time, super-successful, super-expensive private firm. Monk promptly solves a load of their dead cases.

Senile guy, who used to be an informant, is murdered. Only Monk sees the clues of course. Cop who humiliated Stottlemeyer is murdered. Stottlemeyer framed for crime, Lt. Delusional arrests Stottlemeyer.

Monk works to solve the crime. Nat is worried that the new boss is working Monk too hard and suspicious of him. Things happen. Natalie has suspicions she cannot figure out. Monk investigates. Monk is crazy. Nat's teenage daughter is teenagey. Stottlemeyer is mustached. Lt. Delusional wants everyone to call him "Bullitt". Monk spreads his love of Diaper Genies. Crime is solved with guns, abandoned warehouse, karate fighting, bluffing, cell phones.

Comments
1. Either Goldberg never used Diaper Genies with his kids or he never had the problem I did with the Genie getting moldy gunk on the inside. Monk would not have this problem since he would likely clean the interior every time he emptied it.
2. Natalie pondering her life again? Does the woman ever not worry about her career all the time?
3. Natalie and celibacy. There is a comment that Nat's daughter knows she is not celibate. Too bad this is not the kind of book that goes into more detail on that issue.
4. One of Monk's favorite foods is Wheat Thins because they are perfectly square.
5. Monk washes his doorknobs in the dishwasher. Or, am I remembering that from the last Monk novel?
6. Travel commentary by Nat on Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, and the history of some hotel the name of which I will not bother to look up again. Boy #1 was just reading a Boxcar kids mystery set in SF where they visit Fisherman's Wharf. That place was neat to visit the first time I was there. The second time was not so interesting. The third time was a waste of time.