Best Selling Books by Lee Goldberg

The industry speaks out about SUCCESSFUL TELEVISION WRITING "Where was this book when I was starting out? A fantastic, fun, informative guide to breaking into?and more importantly, staying in?the TV writing game from the guys who taught me how to play it." --Terence Winter, Coexecutive Producer, The Sopranos "Goldberg and Rabkin write not only with clarity and wit but also with the authority gleaned from their years of slogging through Hollywood?s trenches. Here is a must-read for new writers and established practitioners whose imagination could use a booster shot." --Professor Richard Walter, Screenwriting Chairman, UCLA Department of Film and TV "Not since William Goldman?s Adventures in the Screen Trade has there been a book this revealing, funny, and informative about The Industry. Reading this book is like having a good, long lunch with your two best friends in the TV business." --Janet Evanovich "With sharp wit and painful honesty, Goldberg and Rabkin offer the truest account yet of working in the TV business. Accept no substitutes!" --Jeffrey B. Hodes and Nastaran Dibai, Coexecutive Producers, Third Rock from the Sun "Should be required reading for all aspiring television writers." --Howard Gordon, Executive Producer, 24 and The X-Files

Harvey Mapes is a twenty-nine-year-old security guard who spends his nights in a guard shack outside a gated community in Southern California, reading detective novels, watching TVLand reruns, and waiting for his life to finally start . . . which happens when Cyril Parkus, one of the wealthy residents, asks Harvey to follow his beautiful wife Lauren. The lowly security guard jumps at the opportunity to fulfill his private eye fantasies and use everything he''s learned from Spenser, Magnum, and Mannix. But things don''t exactly go according to the books . . . or the reruns. As Harvey fumbles and stumbles through his first investigation, he discovers that the differences between fiction and reality can be deadly. With the help of his mortgage-broker neighbor and occasional lover Carol, Harvey uncovers a blackmail plot that takes a sudden and unexpectedly tragic turn . . . plunging him into a world of violence, deception, and murder . . . and forcing him to discover what it really takes to be a private eye.Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award nominee whose many TV writing and/or producing credits include "Martial Law," "Diagnosis Murder," "The Cosby Mysteries," "Hunter," "Spenser: For Hire," "Nero Wolfe," "Missing," and "Monk." He''s also the author of My Gun Has Bullets, Beyond the Beyond, Successful Television Writing, The Walk, and the Diagnosis: Murder series of paperback originals. He resides in California.

#1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Lee Goldberg hits the ground running in a breakneck thriller where truth and fiction collide for the unluckiest writer alive. When a passenger jet crashes onto the beaches of Waikiki, bestselling thriller writer Ian Ludlow knows the horrific tragedy wasn''t an accident. Years before, the CIA enlisted Ian to dream up terrorism scenarios to prepare the government for nightmares they couldn''t imagine. Now one of those schemes has come true, and Ian is the only person alive who knows how it was done...and who is behind the plot. That makes him too dangerous to live. Ian goes on the run, sweeping up an innocent bystander in his plight--Margo French, a dog walker and aspiring singer. They are pursued by assassins and an all-seeing global-intelligence network that won''t stop until Ian and Margo are dead. Ian has written thrillers like this before, but this time he doesn''t know how it''s going to end--or if he will be alive to find out.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller - with a mind-blowing twist. There''s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . . The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away. But it''s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption. Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance. His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identify a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm. Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past . . . and a past that''s not her own . . . until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.

A gated dream town for the megarich becomes a murderous nightmare in a riveting Eve Ronin thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg. Hidden Hills is a private celebrity enclave of white picket fences and horse trails that seems to exist in a dreamworld. But when reality superstar Kitty Winslow is killed within their gates and corpses are found in the vast state park outside them, LASD detective Eve Ronin realizes there is a deadly, razor-thin line between what''s real and what''s imagined. Eve discovers that Kitty''s surreal on- and off-camera life, a blur of fact and fantasy, shockingly mirrors her own as she struggles to investigate the killings, wade into a music industry war, and battle a vicious Chilean gang--all while her life is being turned into a fictional cop show directed by her estranged father. Eve''s grip on reality and the case is strained to the breaking point as the slayings continue, the media frenzy reaches a fever pitch, and the only inescapable truth she can see is death...and it''s coming for her.

Adrian Monk is feeling strangely satisfied these days-and he''d like his agoraphobic brother to feel the same way. So he takes Ambrose, against his will, on the open road in a motorhome. Little crimes pop up along the way and Monk can''t resist getting involved. Nor can he help sensing a pattern that reveals the hand of a serial killer at work on this highway to hell.

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Major Crimes Unit detective Tom Wade secretly worked with the Feds to nail seven of his fellow cops for corruption...turning him into a pariah in the police department. So he''s exiled to patrol a beat in King City''s deadliest neighborhood...with no back-up, no resources, and no hope of survival. Now Wade fights to tame the lawless, poverty-stricken wasteland...while investigating a string of brutal murders of young women. It''s a case that takes him from the squalor of the inner-city to the manicured enclaves of the privileged, revealing the sordid and deadly ways the two worlds are intertwined...making his enemies even more determined to crush him. But for Tom Wade, backing down is never an option...even if it will cost him his life. It''s one reason why bestselling author Janet Evanovich calls Wade "an unforgettable and deeply compelling character in the most original crime novel to come along in years."

"A television pilot is a sample episode of a proposed weekly series. An unsold pilot is much, much more. It''s fresh faces and old favorites lining up for a one-night stand with the viewing public. It''s producers, writers, directors, and network executives scrambling to keep up with the changing trends in American taste. It''s the betting stub you''re left with after your horse has lost the race...The networks are in the entertainment business and lucky for us consumers, even the business-behind-the-business is entertainment. Pilots may be lunacy, but as long as they make them, as long as they sneak into primetime, we can all pretend we can run a network" --

“The best bathroom reading ever!” —San Francisco Chronicle “The shows that got away—luckily.” —Hollywood Reporter “Packed with amusing failures.” —Chicago Sun-Times “Irresistible and enthralling.” —Hartford Courant “Full of fool’s gold and genuine TV treasures.” —The New York Post Finally in paperback! This two-volume set will tell you everything you could possibly want to know about the thousands of TV series ideas rejected by the networks since 1955—who made them, who starred in them, what they were about, and why they ultimately failed.

Agent O''Hare reluctantly partners with con-man Nicolas Fox to take down a big-league criminal.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From Janet Evanovich, #1 bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, and Lee Goldberg, bestselling author and television writer for Monk, comes the first adventure in an electrifying series featuring an FBI agent who always gets her man, and a fearless con artist who lives for the chase. FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare is known for her fierce dedication and discipline on the job, chasing down the world’s most wanted criminals and putting them behind bars. Her boss thinks she is tenacious and ambitious; her friends think she is tough, stubborn, and maybe even a bit obsessed. And while Kate has made quite a name for herself for the past five years the only name she’s cared about is Nicolas Fox—an international crook she wants in more ways than one. Audacious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Nicolas Fox is a natural con man, notorious for running elaborate scams on very high-profile people. At first he did it for the money. Now he does it for the thrill. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail—particularly Kate O’Hare, who has been watching his every move. For Nick, there’s no greater rush than being pursued by a beautiful woman . . . even one who aims to lock him up. But just when it seems that Nicolas Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: He convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Problem is, teaming up to stop a corrupt investment banker who’s hiding on a private island in Indonesia is going to test O’Hare’s patience and Fox’s skill. Not to mention the skills of their ragtag team made up of flamboyant actors, wanted wheelmen, and Kate’s dad. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first. Praise for The Heist “The Heist is the perfect title to carry on a trip to the beach. The laugh out loud humor that readers expect from Evanovich is in full force, and Goldberg’s crafty and elaborate writing is prominent. . . . Everyone will be eager for the next book in the series.”—Associated Press “The action is fast-paced and the writing is first-rate, making The Heist an excellent choice for vacation reading.”—Huntington News The hardcover edition of The Heist contains stickers—“I ‘Heart’ Plum” and “The Con Is On”—and a sneak peek from the next Stephanie Plum novel!

Obsessive. Compulsive. Detective. The husband of Monk''s former assistant, Sharona, has been arrested for murder. Now back in San Francisco, she''s ready to reclaim her place in Monk''s life-much to the chagrin of his current assistant, Natalie. While Monk tries to maintain a delicate balance between the two women, he discovers a few unsettling snags in the case against Sharona''s husband, and may be up against a killer who not only understands him, but is one step ahead.

Reverting to his OCD habits when his therapist, Dr. Kroker, heads off for a conference in Germany, an anxious Adrian Monk follows his shrink to Europe and comes face to face with a man with six fingers, who just might be the man responsible for his wife''s death.

Based on the hit TV series! Monk is horrified when he learns there’s going to be a blue flu in San Francisco. He doesn’t understand what the blue flu is, but it sounds terrible. Stottlemeyer explains that it’s not really a virus. The police force plans to call in “sick” until they get a better contract. The good news is the labor dispute will give Monk a chance to get back on the force. The bad news is it means he’ll be a “scab”—and he doesn’t like the sound of that either. Before he knows it, Monk has his badge back, and his own squad to command. Unfortunately, some of the squad members make Monk look like a paragon of mental health. But despite the challenges, they’ll have to pull together to catch an astrologer’s killer, solve a series of mysterious fatal assaults, and most importantly, clean up their desks.

When Beverly Hills Police Officer Charlie Willis pulls over a speeding Rolls Royce hell-bent for Neiman Marcus, he''s surprised to see Esther Radcliffe, the geriatric star of the TV series "Miss Agatha," behind the wheel. He''s even more surprised when she guns him down and keeps on driving. A few hours later, he wakes up in the intensive care unit...to find a William Morris agent, a network president, and the head of Pinnacle Studios standing at the foot of his bed. They have a proposal for him: in exchange for conveniently forgetting who shot him, they''ll make him the star of his own series, "My Gun Has Bullets." So Charlie trades in his real badge for a fake one...and so begins an uproarious but deadly romp through the wonderful world of TV make-believe...with real bullets.

Nick Fox, international con man and a fugitive on the FBI''s most wanted list, has been kidnapped from a beach front retreat in Hawaii. But the kidnapper doesn''t know that Nick has been secretly working for the FBI. Nick''s partner, Special Agent Kate O''Hare, takes off in pursuit of the kidnappers. The trail leads to Belgium, France, and Italy, and pits Nick against a deadly adversary: Dragan Kovic, an ex-Serbian military officer, who is planning a crime that will net millions and cost thousands of American lives. Nick and Kate mount the most risky and audacious con they''ve ever attempted in an effort to stop Kovic from launching a catastrophe of epic proportions.

Series title inferred from name of protagonist.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, bestselling authors of The Heist, return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O’Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on the line. Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Together they’ll go undercover to swindle and catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals. Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artifact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar—and against the clock—to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove’s elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills of their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate’s dad. A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it’ll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty’s priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O’Hare. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg''s The Job. Praise for The Chase “Fast and entertaining . . . new thrills and adventure on every page.”—Examiner.com “The action never stops . . . and a humorous tone keeps everything moving at a fun clip.”—Associated Press “Great fun, with plenty of twists.”—The Sacramento Bee

It was love at first con. Find out how FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare and con artist Nicolas Fox first met in this exclusive eBook original short story! Con man Nick Fox is after Garson Klepper’s golden Peruvian relics. For Fox, convincing Klepper to hire him as security for the relocation of the relics to the Getty museum in L.A. was easy. Problem is, Fox wasn’t planning on Klepper also enlisting the help of the FBI. Fox also wasn’t planning on being paired up with rookie special agent Kate O’Hare. She’s smart, she’s tenacious, and when she’s conned, she holds a grudge. Life for Fox and O’Hare will never be the same again. The Shell Game is a prequel to the riveting series from Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. Praise for the Fox and O’Hare series “The laugh-out-loud humor that readers expect from Evanovich is in full force, and Goldberg’s crafty and elaborate writing is prominent. . . . Everyone will be eager for the next book in the series.”—Associated Press, on The Heist “Great fun, with plenty of twists.”—The Sacramento Bee, on The Chase

On a side trip to France, detective Adrian Monk takes a tour through the historic underground world of the Parisian sewers, where he encounters catacombs filled with ancient human remains, including one much more recent skull bearing evidence of murder.

Dr. Mark Sloan saves a would-be suicide victim, but her jump from a building leaves her in a coma. Obsessed with learning why she attempted suicide, Sloan stumbles into a manhunt for a cop-killer. Original.

When the local government of Summit, New Jersey, is hit with a string of arrests, Chief of Police Randy Disher finds himself acting as mayor. With a town to run and a series of robberies to investigate, he calls on Adrian Monk to serve as a temporary policeman.

Ever since a 1962 unsolved train robbery made it famous, people have flocked to the town of Trouble in California''s gold country, searching for the booty that train robbers supposedly dumped off the Golden Rail Express in a botched heist. When the town''s museum''s watchman is murdered, Adrian Monk and his assistant, Natalie, are sent to investigate. But if Monk isn''t careful, he''ll learn that the town of Trouble can live up to its name.

With help from Monk''s agoraphobic brother, his loyal assistant Natalie tackles her own investigation while Adrian Monk tracks a second-hand couch that seems tied to a series of murders. Following a bloody trail, Natalie and Monk soon end up face-to-face with the most ruthless killer they''ve ever encountered.

Welcome to the series of original mysteries starring Adrian Monk, the brilliant investigator who always knows when something''s out of place... No one likes to come home to a mess--least of all Monk and Natalie. But when they return from an extended stay in New Jersey, Natalie discovers that somebody has been sleeping in her bed. But this Goldilocks isn''t asleep. She''s dead. And stuffed under the mattress, investigators find marked money from a Federal sting operation. Now Natalie''s life is a real mess, and she needs Monk to help clean it up. Meanwhile, Monk''s brother Ambrose is desperate to find his missing girlfriend, Yuki--but his agoraphobia prevents him from leaving the house. With Monk forced to do double duty, the body count rises, and so do Monk''s suspicions about Yuki''s dangerous past...

Monk''s house is being fumigated, and he has nowhere to go. Fortunately, his assistant Natalie and her daughter are kind enough to welcome him into their home. Unfortunately, their home is not quite up to Monk''s standards of cleanliness and order. But while Monk attempts to arrange his surroundings just so, something else needs to be put straight. The death of a dog at the local firehouse-on the same night as a fatal house fire-has led Monk into a puzzling mystery. And much to his horror, he''s going to have to dig through a lot of dirt to find the answer.

Some people think Hawaii is paradise. But Monk knows that danger—like dirt—lurks everywhere. Look at Helen Gruber, the rich tourist who took a fatal blow from a coconut. The police say it fell from a tree, but Monk suspects otherwise. His assistant, Natalie, isn’t exactly thrilled about Monk’s latest investigation. It was bad enough that Monk followed her on vacation, and now it looks as though the vacation is over.... Smooth-talking TV psychic Dylan Swift is on the island and claims to have a message from beyond—from Helen Gruber. Monk has his doubts about Swift’s credibility. But finding the killer and proving Swift a fraud—all while coping with geckos and the horror of unsynchronized ceiling fans—may prove a tough coconut to crack....

California and Adrian Monk are in a financial crisis when he''s fired by the SFPD and finds his savings are gone. Bob Sebes, the leader of Reinier Investments, swindled his clients, including Monk. Whena key witness is killed, Monk is convince that Sebes, under house-arrest, did it. Being jobless and broke, Monk can devote all of his obsessive energy to solving this latest mystery.

While investigating casino magnate Evan Trace, con man Nicolas Fox and FBI agent Kate O''Hare go undercover as high-stakes gamblers in an attempt to stop Trace''s money laundering operation.

Captain Leland Stottlemeyer relies on Adrian Monk to solve his most baffling cases, but when the captain is faced with budget cuts, Monk''s fees are one of the expenses he trims. Monk is too compulsive to stop investigating; he resorts to calling in tips under assumed names, infuriating the captain. But when Stottlemeyer is arrested for murder, he turns to the only detective who can prove his innocence. That is, if Monk can overcome some potentially crippling obstacles along the way!

Welcome to the series of original mysteries starring Adrian Monk, the brilliant investigator who always knows when something’s out of place.... The future is looking bright for Adrian Monk. Natalie is working as a cop in Summit, his brother is a week away from getting married, and Monk has a new assistant—and even a girlfriend. All this change doesn’t keep him from work, though. He’s investigating a string of accidental deaths and suicides that he believes are actually murders. But when Monk’s suspect is killed, he must face the fact that he might be wrong. Have stability and happiness robbed Monk of his mojo? Meanwhile, Monk’s imprisoned arch nemesis, the morbidly obese criminal mastermind Dale the Whale, is being transferred from prison to San Francisco General Hospital for an operation. When Dale escapes and all signs point to Captain Stottlemeyer as his accomplice, Monk will have to reboot his detective skills to clear the captain’s name—and prove that he’s still the one and only Monk.

At a convention for the cult science fiction show Beyond Earth, Adrian Monk meets fans as obsessive-compulsive as he is. Though he’s not preoccupied with the program, Monk can understand the phenomenon. Who wouldn’t want to live in an imaginary world? But there may be a killer in the Beyond Earth community: Someone in a starship uniform has gunned down the show’s legendary creator. Could a fan be that furious at him for selling out to Hollywood? Or is more going on behind the scenes? Luckily, Monk’s agoraphobic brother, Ambrose, is an expert on the TV series, and together they’ll search the earth and beyond for the murderer. That is, if Ambrose can bring himself to leave the house. A new story starring Adrian Monk by Edgar® Award-nominated screenwriter Lee Goldberg. It’s compulsive, page-turning fun. “Even if you aren’t familiar with the TV series Monk, this book is too funny to not be read.”—The Weekly Journal

Drawn to his neighbor''s Malibu beach house by the sound of gunfire, Dr. Mark Sloan finds the bullet-riddled bodies of an aspiring actress and a Hollywood producer. An obvious suspect is the producer''s wife, but Mark thinks the crime scene resembles a mob hit more than a crime of passion. Original.

On a Hawaiian vacation, Dr. Mark Sloan and his son, Steve, are soon in the middle of a murder investigation when a man they''ve befriended is killed in a shark attack. Original.

"Hell comes to Southern California every October. It rides in on searing Santa Ana winds that blast at near hurricane force, igniting voracious wildfires. Master thief Danny Cole longs for the flames. A tsunami of fire is exactly what he needs to pull off a daring crime and avenge a fallen friend. As the most devastating firestorms in Los Angeles''s history scorch the hills of Malibu, relentless arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his wild card of a new partner, Andrew Walker, a former US marshal, suspect that someone set the massive blazes intentionally, a terrifying means to an unknown end"--