Goldberg, Lee: Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu

Signet © 2007, 286 pages [amazon]

There's a serial killer on the loose in San Francisco, a foot fetishist who strangles women while they're jogging and absconds with their left shoes. That the victims are left unevenly shod is particularly irksome to Adrian Monk, the obsessive compulsive detective who is called in to help the SFPD solve the crimes. Before long, Monk becomes more than a consultant on the case. Contract negotiations between the police union and the City have broken down, and a great many police officers--for whom it is illegal to go on strike--have opted to call in sick with the "blue flu" of the book's title. To cope with the crisis the Mayor of San Francisco gives Monk his badge back (Monk lost it years before when his OCD rendered him incapable of performing adequately) and promotes him to Captain of the homicide division. At the same time, a handful of disturbed former police officers are temporarily reinstated on the force to work with Monk.

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