Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu

The In-Laws were in town this weekend. Suzy and I were just discussing how lucky we are to have them involved in our, and our boys, lives. Suzy's dad is great about playing and having loads of fun with the boys, as well is amazing with all of the stuff that he builds for our house. He is currently working on bunk beds for the boys. Very cool. Suzy's mom is great, but in totally different ways. She loves to read with the boys, snuggle with them, give them comfort when their grandpa is too rough, or gets them calmed down after all of the crazy things grandpa does. Tutu is also always ready with something interesting to talk about or think about. I have had great discussions with her about an amazing variety of things. The other way that she has made herself near and dear to my heart is that she is a librarian by trade. That means that she is always ready with a book, a new author, or an opinion on something that I would like to read. Since they were down this weekend she let me read Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu, which she had brought down for me.

While not a classic read by any stretch of the imagination, it was just what I was in the mood for. Sometimes SciFi books can be a bit preachy. I am not too interested in preachy SciFi, but I have to put up with it if I want to fly around the galaxy. When I have had enough of SciFi authors telling me how the world or humanity could be better I like to escape into a mindless mystery. Mysteries are good for me because they go quick, they generally hold your attention, and almost never do they preach to you.

Mr Monk, if you haven't seen the TV show, is an extremely obsessive compulsive detective who consults for the San Francisco Police Department. The reason he consults is that his OCD makes him incapable of functioning in society without the help of an assistant. The book is told from the perspective of that assistant, and deals with a time that the Police department is on 'strike', and hires Mr. Monk to help pick up the slack. Mr. Monk and his fellow misfit detectives have to find a way to solve the raging murders in the city (don't go to San Francisco, lots of killing going on there!), by embracing their various disorders (OCD, paranoia, impulse control, senility). I have watched the TV show a few times, and thought it had some funny moments, but have never watched regularly. The book was about the same, pretty funny at times, and easy to follow, but I don't think that I will rush out to by the rest in the series. Maybe it is on the order of a book that you would pick up in the airport, assuming that you don't have to entertain kids that is. Oh, to remember the time when my only concern on a plane ride is what book to read. It seems like that was a long time ago.

Three stars for Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu.