Monk learns that Sharona has moved back to San Francisco after a chance encounter in an emergency room after Julie breaks her arm in a soccer game.  Fearing for her job, Natalie tries to convince Monk to take the case of Sharona’s husband, who is in jail in Los Angeles having been charged with murder.  A quick trip overwhelms Monk’s senses, so he returns home hoping to make a breakthrough remotely.  Another case, looking like an alligator attack, takes over Monk’s time, at least until another consultant, brought in by Disher, solves both murders, leading to the arrest of both Sharona and Natalie.

Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants is the fourth of 18 novels based on the USA Network dramedy that ran from 2002 to 2009 from series writer Lee Goldberg. Once again told from the perspective of Natalie, the story shares the bones of the plot, with Sharona returning and causing friction with Natalie, with an episode from the final season of Monk, aired two years later.  With the remaining fourteen books waiting for me, hopefully things start to gel more as the series goes forward.