• Mr. Monk is Miserable

  • By: Lee Goldberg
  • Narrated by: Laura Hicks
  • Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (398 ratings)

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Mr. Monk is Miserable  By  cover art

Mr. Monk is Miserable

By: Lee Goldberg
Narrated by: Laura Hicks
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Publisher's summary

On a return trip from Germany, Monk and Natalie stop over in Paris. They visit the catacombs - a vast, underground cavern in the center of the city, lined with millions of ancient human bones. Monk picks up a skull and announces that this person was murdered - by a modern weapon made in the last few years. He thinks someone hid a recent murder victim among the old bones.

As Monk starts to investigate the crime, he uncovers another murder that involves a society of "dumpster divers," people who live commerce-free off the waste of society. It might just be the last straw in Monk's visit to Paris.

©2008 USA Cable Entertainment LLC. All rights reserved. (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

What listeners say about Mr. Monk is Miserable

Average customer ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Mr. Monk and the Audiobook

I must first confess a bias... I wrote the book and was delighted to learn that Laura Hicks performed the reading. She does a great job channeling Natalie and capturing all the other characters. She wisely doesn't try to imitate the actors from TV series and makes the characters her own. I especially enjoyed her, as Randy Disher, singing "I Don't Need A Badge." I was stunned that she actually did her homework and sang it to the tune from the episode where the song first appeared. That's dedication!

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very entertaining

I am a fan of the show Monk, and found the concept of a Monk novel enjoyable; it reminds me of a Gregory Maguire novel.

The story has a good rythm and pace in which envisionment of the characters and situations are clear.
The Humor in the book is very "Monk-ish".
I did notice, however, notice that the author has an obsession with the word "said" in "he said, she said" this made it a little hard to endure those talk back moments.
A better narrator could have been chosen, even with the volume on my Ipod on a lower setting her voice was a little harsh in a "third grade teacher scolding" type of way. I dealt with the narrator and listened to the whole novel. (try listening to the sample before purchasing)

Overall this is a must for Monk fans.

I enjoyed the novel very much and hope that Audible will carry more audio book versions of the Monk novels.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Mr. Monk's Assistant is Miserable Too.

'Mr. Monk is Miserable' reads like a travelogue enhanced with low grade bickering throughout.

Monk's perseverative personality is rich with potential, (a la Running With Scissors, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) however, it's squandered on flippancy and whining.

The boundaries of the relationship between Monk and his assistant are inconsistent: Is her role to ease his way socially or to bully him? Does he see the world in literal terms or is he just selfish? Does she interpret him to the community and vice versa or is she merely his handler?

I couldn't finish it. The lack of compassion and prose got to me.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite

I’ve listened to a lot of the Monk books and loved them as much as I liked the series. This one though has Natalie describing too much of what they see in Paris and her feelings. I got through the book and actually smiled and chuckled a few times but definitely not a favorite of these series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Should be called Natalie is Miserable

Listened until the last hour and from nearly the first thirty minutes I continuously wanted to stab sharp instruments into my ears. Kept waiting to why Mr. Monk was miserable - or even Mr. Monk BEING miserable - but instead, all I hear was Natalie nag, whine, and complain through the whole book….or at least up until the last hour when I mercifully decided I’d had enough. While I can appreciate Mr. Monk has his issues which bring out his unique personality traits that can be annoying the one thing I have not heard from him in all the books I have listened, and they have been many, is whining. Yet, Natalie, without any “special issues” whines about everything in this book. Additionally, if I have to hear one more time about Mitch and Kosovo I swear I’m going to do something desperate! You loved him. We get it. We aaaaalll know about what happened. Stop reminding us. And for people new to the books who don’t know, it’ll be an incentive for them to buy another and find out.

And as if all her whining wasn’t enough (and, it was), she just loooved to repeatedly tell us at least a half dozen times how she got a “c” in French yet managed to translate every French street and building and bridge sign and long conversations in a boujie accent straight out of a French movie. The whole book was like a travel guide to Paris - and that’s not an exaggeration. From every dish they ate to the streets and alleys they walked to the buildings and architecture they saw we had to hear the names and details of all of them. You want a guide to Paris this is it. You want a good Monk story look elsewhere.

I’m sorry but Lee Goldberg really phoned it in on this one.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Natalie is HORRIBLE

Je taime France. And I was so excited to see a novel take place there, but Natalie ruined this entire experience for me. She's an inexcusable asshat in this book. I almost quit halfway through.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring & redundant. Clearly a filler.

I fell asleep with it on and that is the only reason it was, technically, completed. Zero storyline, characterizarions thin... like cardboard stand-ups. I LOVE everything Monk...except this.
Don't do it. Just skip this one.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the narration

The narrator had such a great voice and her french pronunciations made me feel like I were there.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

And Now, Paris!

Monk winds up applying his amazing skills of detection in Paris, France. It will never be the same!

Laura Hicks does an excellent job of narrating.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An entertaining story

This was a fun story to listen too. The narrator did a nice job. I enjoyed it.

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