A red hot novel, written by a former Fletcher student, seems to expose the small town's secrets and inspires murder. Julie Adams, Gloria DeHaven, Kathryn Grayson and Ruth Roman appear again as the local gossips.
Sharona takes a break from Monk so that she can concentrate on her creative writing class, but gets caught up in a twisted murder plot that causes her to question her sanity. Meanwhile, Monk is distracted by Sharona's replacement, who is determined to fix him.
On Halloween, Monk visits his brother Ambrose in his childhood home to await a visit from his long-absent father, but things take a strange turn when a masked trick-or-treater repeatedly tries to steal Halloween candy.
Despite everyone's disbelief that a hero making the news is actually a coldblooded killer, Adrian tries to prove that a celebrity astronaut is responsible, despite an airtight alibi.
A judge is murdered while placing a 911 call, but before she dies she names her attacker - notorious criminal Dale Biederbeck. The problem is, "Dale the Whale" is over 800 pounds and hasn't left his bed in years.
A woman is murdered during the San Francisco marathon and Monk suspects her married lover. But he was running the race, and his tracking chip says he never left.
While on vacation at a resort, Benjy claims he witnessed a murder. Monk believes him, but with no body and the cleanest crime scene Monk has ever seen, it's going to be hard to convince everybody else.
Monk goes undercover at a department store to investigate the mysterious death of a popular store employee. In the process he also gains valuable insights into the life of his former partner.
Sharona's big payday is in jeopardy when Monk believes her uncle was murdered, rather than killed by an accidental fall, and the investigation will test everyone's tempers as Natalie and Sharona mark their territories.
